National Sanatorium Miyako Nansei-en (国立療養所宮古南静園) was originally opened in 1931 as the Okinawa Provincial Sanatorium. It became a National Sanatorium in 1941.
Miyako Nansei-en was attacked by repeated bombing in March 1945. 110 people were killed by these attacks. The sanatorium lost its normal management and patients had to survive on their own in natural shelters. In 1946, it came under US military government administration, and in 1952 it was transferred to Ryukyu government administration. In May 1972, it was returned to Japan.
Miyako Nansei-en residents’ testimonies comprise the second part of the Collected Testimonies of Okinawa Hansen’s Disease Sufferers, which was published in 2008.