Taiji Nojima

Taiji Nojima (野島 泰治, Nojima Taiji, November 10, 1896 – March 3, 1970) was a Japanese dermatologist at Ooshima Seishoen Sanatorium, for 41 years, (director for 36 years). He attended many international leprosy congresses and visited many overseas leprosy sanatoriums.

History

In 1896, he was born in Hiroshima Prefecture and graduated from Osaka Medical University ( now Osaka University) in 1921. In 1923, he worked at Sotojima Hoyoin Sanatorium. In 1927, he worked at Ooshima Seishoen Sanatorium. In 1932, he became a Ph. D. with studies on the serum reactions in leprosy. In 1934, he became the director of Ooshima Seishoen Sanatorium. In 1937, he was the president of the 10th Congress of the Japanese Leprosy Association at Takamatsu. In 1956, he attended a leprosy congress in Rome at his own expense by ship and reported the leprosy condition in Japan. Since then, he visited many leprosy sanatoriums throughout the world and reported his experiences through various means in Japan. In 1969, he retired. On March 3, 1970, he died.

Works

• Inoru- Overseas Trips of a Leposy Doctor 1973, Kyoto.
  • He visited various leprosy sanatoriums over the world, including Southeast Asia, Europe, North and South America, Philippines. The approval of the first trip to Europe by the Ministry of Welfare was very difficult and he had to travel at his own expense and by ship. The conditions of overseas leprosy sanatoriums were known through him who wrote many articles in a sanatorium journal.
• Essays - "Leprosy, Pickled ume(plum) and Military Policemen", 1971.
  • This was also a collection of his essays published in a sanatorium journal. The title came from his experiences at the end of the last war. Amid confusion of the end of the war, he was given a truck by the Navy and was using for the sanatrium, and was arrested by the Army and he was beaten up illegally.
• A collection of works by Dr. Taiji Nojima.
  • Papers read at congresses or published in journals amounted to 144. Throughout his life, he studied tuberculosis and leprosy; he claimed one theory that tuberculosis bacilli and the bacilli which cause leprosy are the same(ichigen-ron)

.

Criticisms

• He criticized the opinions of Noboru Ogasawara at congresses. He was regarded of the Kensuke Mitsuda school. In his essay, he recommended Kensuke Mitsuda for an Order of Cultural Merits.

References

• Inoru- Overseas Trips of a Leposy Doctor 1973, Kyoto.
• Essays - "Leprosy, Pickled ume(plum) and Military Policemen", 1971.
• Photograph of Taiji Nojima. On Nov. 13, 2010

Footnotes