Spring on Leper's Island

Spring on Leper's Island (Japanese: 小島の春, romanized: Kojima no haru, lit. 'Spring on a Small Island') is a 1940 Japanese drama film directed by Shirō Toyoda. It is based on the memoir of Masako Ogawa, a Japanese doctor who specialised in leprosy treatment, and is noted by film historians for its humanist and compassionate theme in contrast to the militarist national film policy at the time.[3][4]

Spring on Leper’s Island
Japanese小島の春
Directed byShirō Toyoda
Produced byShigemune Kazunobu
Written by
Starring
Music byShūichi Tsugawa
CinematographyKinya Ogura
Production
company
Tokyo Hassei Eiga
Distributed byToho
Release date
  • July 31, 1940 (1940-07-31)
[1][2]
Running time
88
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Plot

Mrs. Koyama, a young female doctor working at the Nagashima Aiseien Sanatorium, travels the islands of the Seto Inland Sea to talk leprosy patients into moving to the sanatorium where they can be treated and live together with other people affected by the disease. Many patients and their relatives are reluctant to the move; while family father Yokogawa is still trying to work to support his wife and children, others are hiding in their family's homes or in deserted shacks. In the end, Yokogawa gives in to the doctor's advice and follows her to the sanatorium. His saddened and angered son Kenzo watches his departure by boat from the island's harbour.

Cast

Historical background

Spring on Leper’s Island was compliant with Japan's public health policy and its Leprosy Prevention Laws (last widened in 1931), which saw the increasing segregation of leprosy patients from their communities, a growing number of sanatoria where they were hospitalised,[5] and the launching of the No Leprosy Patients in Our Prefecture (muraiken undō) campaign[6] which Ogawa advocated. The film received a recommendation by Japan's Ministry Of Education.[1]

Awards

References
  1. Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Lanham, Toronto, Plymouth: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6004-9.
  2. "Entry for Spring on Leper's Island at IMDb". Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  3. Anderson, Joseph L.; Richie, Donald (1959). The Japanese Film – Art & Industry. Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company.
  4. "The best Japanese film of every year – from 1925 to now at the British Film Institute website". Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  5. Ferber, Sarah; Wilde, Sally, eds. (2011). The Body Divided: Human Beings and Human 'Material' in Modern Medical History. Burlington, Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-0-7546-6834-3.
  6. Miyasaka, Michio. "Leprosy Control Policy in Japan". Retrieved 7 January 2021.
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