“Devine punishment, they called it. Some people even said it was punishment for sins in a previous life, you know. If somebody got it, the police and public-health officials were called in, and then there’d be full-on disinfecting. It was awful for families too they were made to feel terribly ashamed.”

“Devine punishment, they called it. Some people even said it was punishment for sins in a previous life, you know. If somebody got it, the police and public-health officials were called in, and then there’d be full-on disinfecting. It was awful for families too they were made to feel terribly ashamed.”

— Durian Sukegawa