was a Japanese dermatologist at Ooshima Seishoen Sanatorium for 41 years, including director for 36 years. He attended many international

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

congresses and visited many overseas leprosy sanatoriums.

History

Nojima was born in

Hiroshima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 8,479 km² (3,274 sq mi). Hiroshima Prefecture borders Okayama ...

in 1896, and graduated from Osaka Medical University (now

Osaka University , abbreviated as , is a public research university located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is one of Japan's former Imperial Universities and a Designated National University listed as a "Top Type" university in the Top Global University Project. ...

) in 1921. In 1923, he worked at Sotojima Hoyoin Sanatorium. In 1927, he worked at Ooshima Seishoen Sanatorium. In 1932, Nojima earned a Ph.D. for 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 270px, Takamatsu City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Takamatsu city center 270px, View from Yashima to Takashima port is a city located in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 414,134 in 190120 households and a popul ...

. In 1956, Nojima attended a leprosy congress in Rome and reported on the leprosy situation in Japan. Subsequently, he visited many leprosy sanatoriums throughout the world, and reported his experiences through various means in Japan. Nojima retired in 1969, and died on March 3, 1970.

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 sanatorium, 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

Nojima criticized the opinions of Noboru Ogasawara at congresses. He was considered to be a member of the

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 ...

school. In his essay, he recommended

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
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nojima Taiji Japanese dermatologists Japanese leprologists People from Hiroshima Prefecture 1896 births 1970 deaths Osaka University alumni