History of Kumano welfare

10 years before a merger of Honguu town and Tanabe city. Nursing home Kumano Honguuen open in 1991. Honguu town population was only 4000 people back then.

Kumano Honguuen is only nursing home in Honguutown. Kumanofukushikai is managing 3 welfare work in Honguu town and Kumanogawa town. Today, Honguu town population is only 3000 people. 45.4% is 65 years or older (29.4% is 75 years or older). The chief industries of Honguu is agriculture, forestry and tourist.
So, it was a lot of work for make nursing home in here. During 1980, solitude death happened every year in Honguu town. Dr. Iwakura told to Osamu Nakagishi ” we need nursing home.” Osamu Nakagishi was grow up in the lowest class of poor family with 4 brothers and 4 sisters. He had to help his family so, he started work since 12 years old. Osamu’s mother dead when he was 38. Osamu was so sad about lost his mother, he thought ” People in Honguu don’t want feel like this ! ” Because of that reason when Dr. Iwakura came to his house, Osamu decide build nursing home. However, you cannot just build. In Japanese law, you need permission from the Governor of Wakayama.
Osamu went to talk with farmer and buy 4,5 rice fields. He build nursing home land development on rice fields. He drive 6 hours to prefectural office every month but officer said ” No. Because not many people live in south Wakayama.” Osamu’s motto is never give up.
January, 1988, he started dig a deep hole in the ground for find onsen. If he find onsen, might be the governor will give him a permission. When he is digging a hole he found a god of fox. The Fox said ” I will make a place, where 200 people will gather.” in Osamu’s dream. After the dream, he found onsen in rice fields. He got call from prefectural office ” Come here. ” Finally, Osamu meet the Wakayama governor Kariya. Kariya said ” You did hard work.” to Osamu.
1st, May, 1990, Osamu got the permission of nursing home. Thank you for reading.