was a Japanese Christian physician who helped Hannah Riddell

Hannah Riddell

Hannah Riddell was an English woman who devoted her life to the salvation of Hansen's disease patients in Japan.-Early life and her determination:...

 at Kaishun Hospital, an important Hansen's disease hospital in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 in prewar days. The medical care and administration were maintained by his devotion for 30 years(1897-1926).

Life

He was born in 1854 in Tsuwano, Shimane Prefecture

Shimane Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is Matsue. It is the second least populous prefecture in Japan, after its eastern neighbor Tottori. The prefecture has an area elongated from east to west facing the Chūgoku Mountain Range on the south side and to...

 and went up to Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

. He was qualified as a doctor and went into private practice in Tsuwano, and then Yamaguchi

Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi

is the capital city of Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.As of February 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 198,971 and a population density of 194.44 persons per km²...

. He was baptized in 1881. He worked in Nagasaki

Nagasaki

is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Nagasaki was founded by the Portuguese in the second half of the 16th century on the site of a small fishing village, formerly part of Nishisonogi District...

 and Taniyama

Taniyama

Taniyama is a Japanese surname.-Notable people named Taniyama:* Yutaka Taniyama , Japanese mathematician*Kishō Taniyama , Japanese voice actor* Mai Taniyama, fictional character in Ghostbusters...

, Kagoshima Prefecture

Kagoshima Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.- Geography :Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu and includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest for a few hundred kilometers...

. In 1897, he was asked to work at the Kaishun Hospital, Kumamoto's first leprosy hospital. He lived in the hospital, and was loved by patients. In 1921, he was awarded a prize for unselfish services by the Interior Ministry of Japan .

• Kaishun Hospital was famous for Hannah Riddell
  Hannah Riddell
  Hannah Riddell was an English woman who devoted her life to the salvation of Hansen's disease patients in Japan.-Early life and her determination:...
  
  , but this was because the hospital had been cared for by a devoted person like Miyake.
• Described by one patient as looking like an undistinguished village school master, he had a gentle appearance that was in marked contrast to tht of the officials of the state leprosaria, many of whom were former policemen and tended to treat their parents imperiously, as if they were criminals. Most nights, Miyake was called from his bed but he never complained. He did the houseworks for his sick wife, and his modesty and simple dress often caused visitors to mistake him for a servant. Miyake served as a buffer between Hannah Riddell
  Hannah Riddell
  Hannah Riddell was an English woman who devoted her life to the salvation of Hansen's disease patients in Japan.-Early life and her determination:...
  
  and patients and often sorted out problems when there was a breach of the rules.

Footnotes

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