Hannah Riddell

A British female missionary, she was a pioneer in Japan in providing relief to patients with Hansen's disease (formerly known as leprosy). Born in North London, she was assigned to Kumamoto as a missionary for the Church of England in 1890 (Meiji 23). That spring, she saw her first patients with Hansen's disease and decided to provide relief to them. In 1895, she established the Kumamoto Kaishun Hospital (capacity 80 patients) in the outskirts of Kumamoto city, a facility for patients with the disease. She then resigned from her missionary position to devote herself to her work. She provided relief to patients in Kusatsu, Amami, and Okinawa. She also appealed for the national responsibility for this issue more widely, and was a driving force behind the enactment of the Leprosy Prevention Law. She died in Kumamoto at the age of 78. She was awarded the Blue Ribbon Medal and the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Sixth Class.

Her niece, Ada Hannah Wright (1870-1950), was also born in London and came to Japan in 1896. She worked in English education and missionary work in various places, but from 1923 (Taisho 12) she assisted Liddell in his work. After Liddell's death, she took over the work, but with the international situation becoming increasingly tense, the Kumamoto Kaishun Hospital was finally dissolved in 1941 (Showa 16). Wright spent the Second World War in Australia, but returned to Japan after the war. She died at the age of 80 in her residence at the site of the former hospital. She was awarded the Medal with Blue Ribbon and the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Fourth Class. The site of the hospital became the Liddell-Wright Memorial Home for the Aged (now the Liddell-Wright Home) and the Liddell-Wright Memorial Hall, and their remains rest in the ossuary within the hospital, along with many other sick people.

[Nori Akiyama]

"Miss Hannah Liddell," edited by the Kumamoto Kaishun Hospital Office (1934, Kumamoto Kaishun Hospital; Reprint, 1993, Liddell and Wright Memorial Association)" ▽ "Waiting for the Eucalyptus to Ripen - The Lives of Liddell and Wright," written by Kazuchika Shiga and edited by Mamoru Uchida, reprint (1990, Liddell and Wright Memorial Nursing Home)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

イギリス人の女性宣教師で、日本におけるハンセン病（旧称、癩(らい)）の患者救済の先駆者。北ロンドンに生まれ、1890年（明治23）イギリス国教会の宣教師として熊本へ赴任。その春、初めてハンセン病の患者を見て、その救済を決意する。1895年熊本市郊外に同病者の収容施設、熊本回春病院（定員80名）を創設。その後宣教師を辞任し、事業に専念。草津や奄美(あまみ)、沖縄方面の患者の救済にあたった。さらに広くこのことの国家的責任を訴え「癩予防法」制定の原動力となった。78歳で熊本で没した。藍綬褒章(らんじゅほうしょう)、勲六等瑞宝章(ずいほうしょう)受章。

　なお彼女の姪(めい)のライトAda Hannah Wright（1870―1950）もロンドンに生まれ、1896年に来日。各地で英語教育や宣教に従事したが、1923年（大正12）以降はリデルの事業を補佐した。リデルの没後、その事業の後継者となったが、国際情勢の緊迫化に伴い、1941年（昭和16）ついに熊本回春病院は解散した。第二次世界大戦中ライトはオーストラリアで過ごしたが、戦後ふたたび来日。同病院跡の住居において80歳で没した。藍綬褒章、勲四等瑞宝章受章。病院跡はリデル・ライト記念老人ホーム（現、リデルライトホーム）とリデル・ライト両女史記念館となり、二人の遺骨は同園内の納骨堂に他の多くの病者とともに眠っている。

［秋山範］

『熊本回春病院事務所編『ミス・ハンナ・リデル』（1934・熊本回春病院／複製・1993・リデル・ライト両女史顕彰会）』▽『志賀一親著、内田守編『ユーカリの実るを待ちて――リデルとライトの生涯』再版（1990・リデル・ライト記念老人ホーム）』

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