BEST-SELLER AUTOBIOGRAPHY WRITTEN BY A DISABLED YOUTH
by Yukiko Nakanishi
President, ADI

One of the million-selling book in the first half of this year is "Gotai
Fumanzoku' written by Mr. Hirotada Ototake, a senior student with
disability. In Japan, a newly-born baby without disability is described as
"gotai manzoku", meaning having a satisfactory body with perfect limbs.
As "fu" indicates "contrary", so the title means an imperfect body.

He was born without limbs. Yet with his parents who taught their son to be
proud of his disability with love. And with his teachers and friends around
him who did not care his disability, he overcame the extreme challenge of
his disability and attended regular primary, middle and high schools in
Tokyo, commuting to school by a wheelchair. He even played baseball by
clamping the bat in his armpit at the primary school, played basketball at the middle school, and joined an American football club in the high school.

As he mentioned in the book, he might have been just lucky. It is partly because all disabled children are forced by the Government policy to study at the segregated school. He consciously regarded himself as handicapped. It had an overwhelming impact on readers in Japan, the majority of whom are non-disabled. For him, a handicap may be an inconvenience, but need not be a source of bad fortune. He merely considered his lack of limbs to be one of traits.

However, some disabled readers complained of his way of living. It may
easily make non-disabled think that all disabled persons can overcome their handicaps by making efforts by themselves. They know it is society that have to change, not disabled persons. The impression the readers got, in other words, have danger to insist the old medical model where
responsibilities of society was totally neglected. The readers with disabilities hope that Mr. Ototake joins self-help movement of disabled persons and work together with them to make a barrier-free society.

（30/9/1999）