著者

福岡 安則 黒坂 愛衣

出版者

埼玉大学大学院人文社会科学研究科

雑誌

日本アジア研究 = Journal of Japanese & Asian studies : 埼玉大学大学院文化科学研究科博士後期課程紀要 (ISSN:13490028)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.18, pp.167-184, 2021

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2012 年6 月18 日,福岡安則と黒坂愛衣は,熊本県合志市にある国立ハンセン病療養所「菊池恵楓園」の面会人宿泊所「渓楓荘」に,地元合志市在住の木村チズエさん(1932 年9 月13 日生,聞き取り時点で79 歳)と森三代子さん(1934 年4 月1 日生,聞き取り時点で78 歳)にご足労ねがって,聞き取りをさせていただいた。 おふたりは,菊池恵楓園附属保育所「龍田寮」の最後の保母である。 二人とも,昭和一桁の年代に農村部に生まれた女性にもかかわらず,親の理解と本人の向学心により,家庭がさほど裕福でもなかったのに,戦後の学制が旧制から新制に切り替わる時期に,高等学校を卒業している。そして,木村は 1952 年 12 月に,森は 1953 年4 月に「龍田寮」に勤める。この時期は戦後の「無癩県運動」が渦巻いていた。にもかかわらず,二人の親は〝結核は怖いが,ハンセン病はそうそうウツルものではない〟と娘の就職を歓迎している。そのような認識が,ハンセン病療養所の地元住民の一部とはいえ,明確にあったことは興味深い事実である。 龍田寮には,親がハンセン病を発症して恵楓園に収容されて,引き取り手のない,ゼロ歳児から中学生までの子ども約 70 人が暮らしていた。1953 年の終わりに,恵楓園の宮崎松記園長が,龍田寮の小学生たちが地域の黒髪小学校への通学を認められず,龍田寮内の分教場に押し込められていることを不当とし,新 1 年生から本校への通学を求めたことから,「黒髪校事件」とも「龍田寮事件」とも呼ばれる騒ぎが勃発する。地元住民の多数派が通学拒否の反対運動を組織し,さらには龍田寮自体の閉鎖を求める排斥運動を強力に展開したのだ。 お二人の語りからは,多数派住民の偏見差別から子どもたちを守ろうとし,龍田寮が閉鎖になったあとも,恵楓園の事務官として勤務し続け,あてがわれた官舎を,龍田寮出身の子どもたちが盆や正月に〝里帰り〟できる場として維持し続けた生涯がうかがわれる。かつて〝未感染児童〟とラベル貼りされた子どもたちに対して,献身的な姿勢を揺るがせることなく,最後まで寄り添い続けたお二人の生きざまには,頭がさがる。 On June 18, 2012, Yasunori Fukuoka and Ai Kurosaka visited Keifu-So, the visitors' lodge in Kikuchi Keifuen, a national Hansen's disease sanatorium in Koshi City, Kumamoto Prefecture to meet Ms. Chizue Kimura (born September 13, 1932, 79 years old at the time of hearing) and Ms. Miyoko Mori (born April 1, 1934, 78 years old at the time of hearing). These two are the last nursery teachers at Tatsuta Dormitory, the orphanage attached to Kikuchi Keifuen. Despite being women born in a rural area in the early Showa era, both of them graduated from senior high school which was changed from the old system to the new one after the Second World War. Although their families were not so wealthy, their parents' support and their willingness to study made this possible. Kimura worked at Tatsuta Dormitory in December 1952 and Mori in April 1953. During this period, "Leprosy-Free Campaign" was swirling. But their parents supported their daughters' job, saying that tuberculosis is scary, but leprosy is not contagious. It is interesting that they had such recognition even though they were towners near the leprosy sanatorium. In Tatsuta Dormitory, about 70 children from zero-year-olds to junior high school students, whose parents had Hansen's disease and were admitted to Keifuen, lived in the dormitory. At the end of 1953, the director of Keifuen, Dr. Matsuki Miyazaki, appealed that it was unfair that elementary school students in Tatsuta Dormitory were not allowed to attend the local Kurokami Elementary School, and demanded new first graders' enrolment to the local school, and then so-called "Kurokami School Incident" or "Tatsuta Dormitory Incident" broke out. The majority of local residents organized a movement to refuse Tatsuta Dormitory members' enrolment to the school, and also strongly demanded the shutdown of Tatsuta Dormitory itself. From the story of the two, we learned that they tried to protect the children from the prejudice and discrimination of the majority residents, and even after the Tatsuta Dormitory was closed, they continued to work as the clerk of Keifuen and keep their official residence as the home where the children from Tatsuta Dormitory can come back during the Bon Festival or New Year holidays. For the children who were labeled as "Uninfected Children", the two dedicated their whole lives without shaking their devotion to the children.