was a Japanese physician. He invented a Murata's method for the serodiagnosis of syphilis, and studied leprosy. He worked at the Osaka Prefectural Sotojima Sanatorium and was the director between 1926 and 1933. He treated leprosy patients as respectable persons. After the Sotojima Incident, in which communists were against religious societies, he resigned as the director of the sanatorium. Later, he personally studied leprosy at his house, and died in 1974.

Life

He was born in

Kōchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 757,914 (1 December 2011) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and ...

in 1884. When he was studying laws, he was interested in leprosy since a woman he knew developed leprosy. He asked

Kensuke Mitsuda was a Japanese leprologist and director of the Tama Zenshoen Sanatorium (1914–1931) and the National Sanatorium Nagashima Aiseien (1931–1957). He had been at the frontier of leprosy policy of Japan. He was given the Order of Cultural Merits (1 ...

for advice, and studied medicine at Tokyo University following his advice. He worked in the Institute of Infectious Diseases and invented Murata's method for serodiagnosis of

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, an ...

. In 1926 he assumed the post of the director of Osaka Prefectural Sotojima Sanatorium. In 1928, he was one of the founders of the Japanese Leprosy Association, together with Mitsuda.Hosaku Sakurai: In memory of Masataka Murata, Lepra 44, 1, 1975.

The Sotojima Incident and the Typhoon Muroto

When Murata assumed the post of director, the sanatorium was a troubled place riddled with gambling, and the public morals were very low. First he improved the meals (daily cost improved from 13

sen Sen may refer to: Surname * Sen (surname), a Bengali surname * Şen, a Turkish surname * A variant of the Serer patronym Sène Currency subunit * Etymologically related to the English word ''cent''; a hundredth of the following currencies: ** ...

to 22 sen) and allowed some patient control. In 1932, communism arose in the sanatorium, and his attitude toward the autonomy of patients was mistaken for his favoring communism. After severe questioning by the police, he decided to quit in 1933. Later he studied leprosy, without taking up any post. He released communists giving each person 10 yen for peace. In 1934, the sanatorium met the very severe

Muroto typhoon In September 1934, a violent typhoon caused tremendous devastation in Japan, leaving more than 3,000 people dead in its wake. Dubbed the , the system was first identified on September 13 over the western Federated States of Microne ...

, and many patients and workers died. Survivors were sent to other sanatoriums, and the new Oku-Komyoen Sanatorium was established in 1938 in Nagashima neighboring the

Nagashima Aiseien Sanatorium The , or the National Sanatorium Nagashima Aiseien, is a sanatorium on the island of Nagashima in Setouchi, Okayama, Japan founded in 1930 for the treatment of leprosy. Currently, only former leprosy patients reside there. History Background In 1 ...

, the successor to the Sotojima Hoyoen.

Character

*He was said to be an "Igossoh", a stubborn person who sticks to his principles. As to leprosy patients, he respected their autonomy, while

led patients, while he regarded himself as the father of the family.

References

*1. 桜井方策「村田正太先生を追悼す」レプラ 44,1, 1975. In Japanese. *2. 安部礼治「外島保養院小史」『楓』1953年1月号から8月号まで。 *3 近代庶民生活史 20 病気・衛生472,1995. in Japanese. *4 忘れえない恩師　村田正太　坂本　昭　in 救らいの父、村田先生顕彰碑のしおり　1978, in Japanese.

Footnotes

External links

Photo of Dr. Murata, Oct 11, 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murata Masataka Japanese leprologists Japanese healthcare managers 1884 births 1974 deaths People from Kōchi Prefecture