Christianity in modern Japan

Front matter

Class'B V 34 i"-5

Book_ -CS

Copyright^

Introduction

The object of this book is to give a bird's-eye view of the work of Christianity in Japan. It is not intended to cover that subject in great detail ; it is rather planned to be a general outline with references to books, pamphlets, and magazines, where more complete information can be obtained on each special topic. This, it is hoped, will make it useful in mission study classes. The references in text and bibliography 1 have been made with care, and include probably the best books on each subject in the English language. The Appendix contains matter which did not happen to fit into the body of the book, but is important as sidelights. There may be some lapping over or repetition, but it seemed unavoidable.

The author's " Handbook of Modern Japan " has been freely used without recourse to quotation marks or even mention of the source. The illustrations are, as far as possible, typical and representative, and might easily have been duplicated or even quadrupled. Others just as deserving as those which appear have been omitted simply on account of lack of space. It is intended and hoped that the pictures will truly illustrate the subject.

There is no absolute uniformity in the transliteration of Japanese names ; neither is there so much

1 See page ix.

vii

Vlll INTRODUCTION

variety as to confuse. For rules of pronunciation, see page xi.

The author would acknowledge with gratitude the assistance of many friends. Oriental and Occidental, in the preparation of this book. He would also express his thanks to Rev. Frank S. Dobbins, formerly a Baptist missionary in Japan and now a district secretary of the American Baptist Missionary Union, for his assistance in getting this volume before the public. The author has been careful and tried to be accurate, but may have made mistakes, for the correction of which he will be thankful. May the kingdom of God prevail in the empire of New Japan.

Ernest Wilson Clement.

Tokyo, Japan, January i, 1905.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cary : Japan and its Regeneration.

Griffis : Dux Christus ; Verbeck of Japan ; A Maker of the New Orient ; The Religions of Japan ; Honda, the Samurai ; The Mikado's Empire.

De Forest : Sunrise in the Sunrise Kingdom.

Ritter : History of Protestant Missions in Japan.

Osaka Conference Proceedings.

Tokyo Conference Proceedings.

Gordon : An American Missionary in Japan.

Peery : The Gist of Japan.

Clement : Handbook of Modern Japan.

Uchimura : The Diary of a Japanese Convert.

Nitobe : Bushido, the Soul of Japan.

Scherer : Japan To-day.

Lewis : Educational Conquest of the Far East.

Mott : Evangelization of the World in this Generation.

Gulick : The Evolution of the Japanese.

Davis : Joseph Hardy Neesima.

Hardy : Life and Letters of Joseph Hardy Neesima.

Naruse : The Modern Paul of Japan.

Batchelor : The Ainu of Japan ; Sea Girt Yezo ; Ainu Folk-lore.

Mackay : From Far Formosa.

Tamura : The Japanese Bride.

Bacon (Miss) : Japanese Girls and Women.

Maclay : Mito Yashiki.

Kitchin : Paoli, the Last of the Missionaries.

Carrothers (Mrs.) : The Sunrise Kingdom ; Kesa and Saijiro.

Pierson (Mrs.) : Progress of a Mission in Japan.

The Christian Movement in its Relation to the New Life in Japan.

Japan Evangelist (interdenominational) and various denominational papers mentioned in the text.

ix

JAPANESE PRONUNCIATION a like a in father ai as in aisle

e " e " men ei " weigh

i " machine au ,

in bone

\ as o o " o " pony o

u "oo " book il as oo in moon

i in the middle of a word and u in the middle or at the end of a word are sometimes almost inaudible.

The consonants are all sounded, as in English : g, however, has only the hard sound, as in give, although the nasal ng is often heard ; ch and s are always soft, as in check and sin ; and z before u has the sound of dz. In the case of double consonants, each one must be given its full sound.

There are as many syllables as vowels. There is practically no accent ; but care must be taken to distinguish between o and o, u and u, of which the second is more prolonged than the first.

Be sure to avoid the flat sound of a, which is always pronounced ah.

xi

Contents

Chapter Page

I. Preliminary Period i

II. Period of Preparation 9

Chapter I Preliminary Period, 1803-1859

IT is our purpose in this volume to trace the development of Christianity in Japan, especially during the half-century that has passed since the opening of the country to foreign intercourse in 1853 an ^ I ^54- We consider that the birthday of New Japan was July 14, 1853, because on that day the Japanese authorities, breaking the strict laws that had held them in seclusion for more than two centuries and a half, illegally received at Uraga an official communication from the President of the United States and thus informally put an end to the old regime. Others, however, reckon the birth of New Japan from March 31, 1854, when Perry's treaty, the first made with a foreign nation, formally ended the old policy of seclusion. It is not necessary, and it is perhaps impossible, to be so exact in an affair of this sort, but, as a matter of convenience, we shall adopt 1853 as the date dividing the old from the new. And as a perfect understanding of the development of Christianity in New Japan from 1853 t° 1903 demands a " looking backward,'' we shall extend our survey so far as to take at least a glance over the half-century preceding 1853. Therefore the entire period under consideration is that of one hundred years, from 1803 to 1903.

Now the political history of this period is naturally divided into the following seven eras :

Seclusion, 1 803-1 853 ; treaty making, 1 854-1 858 ; civil commotions, 1 858-1 868 ; reconstruction, 1869- 1879 > internal development, 1879-1889 ; constitutional government, 1889-1899 ; cosmopolitanism,

But although the development of Christianity has

been considerably related to the political movements

and social progress of Japan, the history of the former

is more naturally divided into six or seven periods,

whose names and dates do not always correspond with

those just given. They are as follows :

It should be kept in mind that in both these lists the names of the periods are not absolute, but relative, and yet they quite fairly indicate the prevailing characteristic of each period as well as the general progress of the hundred years. Let us, then, take up the consideration of these periods one by one in order :

In 1803 there was no apparent sign of Christianity in Japan except the negative evidence of the anti-

PRELIMINARY PERIOD, 1803-1859 3

Christian edicts * on the bulletin boards of the empire. It was assumed, moreover, that Christianity was practically extinct ; that the persecutions, capped by the slaughter of the Shimabara rebellion, had exterminated the Japanese Catholics, and that the rigid policy of exclusion pursued by the Tokugawa government had prevented foreign priests from entering Japan. That this policy had not been completely successful is evident in the case of Father Sidotti, a Sicilian priest, who succeeded in reaching Japan in 1709, but was so carefully quarantined that his "pestilential doctrines " did not spread among the people. It is, therefore, quite accurate to state that in 1803 Christianity was practically extinct in Japan. It had absolutely no influence upon public affairs or public opinion. It was even branded as a" wicked teaching " and so regarded by the nation as a whole. And

1 One of those edicts is said to have read as follows : " So long as the sun shall warm the earth, let no Christian be so bold as to come to Japan, and let all know that the king of Spain himself or the Christian's God or the great God of all, if he violate this command, shall pay for it with his head." Another ran as follows : " Edict of 1682.— The Christian religion has been prohibited for many years. If any one is suspected a report must be made at once. Rewards : To the informer of a bateren (father), 500 pieces of silver; to the informer of an iruman (brother), 300 pieces of silver ; to the informer of a Christian who had once recanted, 300 pieces of silver ; to the informer of a Christian or a catechist, 300 pieces of silver ; to the informer of a family who shelters any of the above, 300 pieces of silver, the above rewards will be given. If any one will inform concerning his own family he will be rewarded with five hundred pieces of silver or according to the information he furnishes. If any one conceals an offender and the fact is detected then the head man of the village in which the concealer lives and the * five men company ' to which he belongs and his family and relatives will all be punished together."— -Japan Mail.

for fifty more years from 1803 this exclusion of Christianity from publicity in Japan continued.

It may also be affirmed that in 1803 there was no special interest among Christians, except in Roman Catholic circles, for the conversion of the Japanese. The first English missionary society, that of the Baptists, only about ten years old, was especially interested in the work of Carey, Marshman, and Ward in India. The first American missionary society, the American Board, was not yet organized. Thus in 1803 spiritual darkness prevailed in Japan, and no special desire to dissipate that darkness had arisen, at least among Protestants. The man who at that date should have foreseen and prophesied the Christianization of Japan would not unreasonably have been denounced as visionary, as a wild and insane prophet.

But within less than a quarter of a century from that date, 1827, we near °^ what was probably, at least so far as material in hand is concerned, the first display of American interest in mission work in Japan. It was at a prayer meeting in the home of a Christian merchant in Brookline, Mass., and after prayers for the conversion of the world a collection was taken up and designated for " mission work in Japan." This seems to have been followed by other contributions for several years, until the whole amounted to more than six hundred dollars. " By the time the American Board commenced its work in Japan this money, which had been committed to its care, amounted, with accrued interest, to over four thousand dollars." '

1 Cary's "Japan and its Regeneration," pp. 76, 77.

PRELIMINARY PERIOD, 1803-1859 5

Just two years later there occurred in Japan an event which showed the persistency of the gospel and real faith in surviving opposition and persecution, for in 1829, it ^ s sa ^j seven Christians were crucified, although the place of martyrdom is not stated. (Osaka ?)

When another two years had passed away (1831), twenty Japanese sailors, wrecked on the Philippine Islands, were found to have in their possession " Christian medals," which they regarded with great reverence, and, they said, had been handed down by their ancestors. 1

More than a decade later, 1844, a French priest and a native catechist were carried to the Loo Choo Islands and allowed by the king to remain, but kept under strict surveillance. 2 About ten years later still, 1855, there were Roman Catholic priests waiting in the Loo Choo Islands for the opportunity to enter Japan as soon as permission of residence there should be granted.

But, to go back a little. In 1846 Doctor Bettelheim, representative of a missionary society formed by officers of the British navy, got into the Loo Choo Islands and labored there for a few years with great difficulty and little apparent success. It must have been about this time that, " though the living preacher was excluded from Japan, it was hoped that some way might be found for the entrance of the living word." 3 Some Japanese, whom their government would not receive when an attempt was made in 1837 to return them to their native land, worked with

1 Cary's "Japan and its Regeneration," pp. 76, 77.

Gutzlaff and S. Wells Williams in Macao in the translation of the New Testament. Doctor Bettelheim also did work of this kind.

It would not of course be extravagant in this connection to take into consideration the various attempts made by foreign nations from 1803 to 1853 to °P en commercial relations with Japan, for such attempts, if successful, would have resulted, by breaking down the old policy, in opening the way for the introduction of the gospel. Merchants and missionaries, though generally different in purpose and character, are often mutually helpful. But, inasmuch as these attempts proved abortive and our space is limited, we must be content with this statement and refer those interested to historical works.

We come now to a consideration of Perry's successful attempt to open Japan. This is important, first, because it was the initial event in the period of " unlocking, " 1 853-1 859, a period practically synchronous with that called " treaty-making " in the secular history of Japan. But Perry's expedition is also important because it contained an indirect religious element. This must be called " indirect," because Commodore Perry took pains to assure the Japanese that he intended no interference in their religious affairs. But he also claimed logically the right to have no interference with his religious principles and practices.

Therefore, although the Japanese desired on Sunday, July 10, 1853, to continue communication, Perry declined to allow any visitors on shipboard, and based his declination on the sole ground that it was the Christian Sabbath. Nor was he satisfied with merely a

PRELIMINARY PERIOD, 1803-1859 J

negative observance of the holy day, but he held divine worship, as was his wont, on board the ships. This was undoubtedly the first Protestant service, with hymn, prayer, Scripture reading, and sermon, held in Japan in modern times. 1

Perry's expedition is related to our subject also because among the sailors of his fleet was Jonathan Goble, who afterward became a Baptist missionary and was thus the first Protestant missionary to Japan to set foot on Japanese soil.

The year 1855 deserves a star in the chronological table of Christianity in Japan, for it was in that year when Wakasa-no-Kami happened to pick up from the waters of Nagasaki harbor a strange book. It turned out to be a Dutch New Testament, and it aroused a deep interest in the story of the gospel that led to the conversion of himself and others of his family. Thus, although he did not receive baptism till later than others (1866), he was probably the first Japanese convert to Protestantism in New Japan. 2

It is pleasant to be able to record the fact that Hon. Townsend Harris, the first United States minister to Japan, like Commodore Perry, was a Christian who set a good example and let his light shine. He also

1 For fuller account of this impressive event see GriffiV "Matthew Calbraith Perry," pp. 323-325. The first stanza of the hymn sung on that occasion is as follows :

Ye nations bow with sacred joy ; Know that the Lord is God alone ;

He can create and he destroy.

2 This was believed correct when first written. A note from Rev. J. H. Ballagh, however, makes the correction that the first baptism was that of a convert who later became a teacher, and took place in November, 1864.

scrupulously observed the Sabbath and on every Sunday read aloud the Episcopal service. He remarks in his diary * : " I am probably the first resident of Japan who ever used that service. How long will it be before that same service will be used in Japan in consecrated churches ? " On Sunday, December 6, 1857, he enjoyed another distinction, because "this was beyond doubt the first time that the English version of the Bible was ever read or the American Protestant Episcopal service ever repeated in this city " (Yedo, now Tokyo). *

To Harris belongs also the honor of getting incorporated into the first treaty of trade and commerce negotiated by New Japan with a foreign country a clause which "provides for the free exercise of their religion by the Americans, with the right to erect suitable places of worship, and that the Japanese would abolish the practice of trampling on the cross." 1

By this and other treaties in 1858 and 1859 Japan's door was unlocked and opened, never to be closed again to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And in 1859 through this " open door " the first missionaries, both Protestant and Roman Catholic, entered New Japan to make preparations for its evangelization.

• 1 "Townsend Harris" (Grifiis).

Chapter II Period Oe Preparation, 1859-1873

THE treaties which had been concluded in 1858 with several foreign nations did not go into effect till July, 1859. Before that time " reconnoitering trips " were made to Japan by persons interested in the establishment of missions in the newly opened country ; but such persons could only make limited visits to Nagasaki or Shimoda. When, however, the treaties went into effect permanent residence was allowed to foreigners in several ports and "concessions." At the beginning of the period under consideration, these " open ports " were only three in number — Nagasaki, Kanagawa (or Yokohama), and Hakodate, but before the period closed Hyogo (or Kobe), Osaka, and Niigata had been included, and foreigners were allowed in certain " concessions " of Kyoto and Yedo (Tokyo).

It is needless to say that missionaries came to reside in Japan just as soon as allowable. The Protestants who first landed in Japan in the capacity of missionaries were Rev. J. Liggins and Rev. C. M. Williams (later bishop), of the American Protestant Episcopal Church. In fact they reached Nagasaki a month or two before the treaties went into effect. 1

1 These two pioneer missionaries are still living, although neither is at present in Japan. Bishop Williams resided in Japan till December, 1903, when he returned to the home land.

IO CHRISTIANITY IN MODERN JAPAN

In the fall of 1859 the missionary force was increased by the arrival of J. C. Hepburn, m. d., 1 of the Presbyterian Church North, in October, and Rev. S. R. Brown, 2 D. B. Simmons, m. d., 2 and Rev. G. F. Verbeck, 2 of the Dutch Reformed Church, in November. In the spring of i860 Rev. Jonathan Goble, of the American Baptist Free Missionary Society, arrived. ,

During the first decade, 1 859-1 869, of the gospel' in New Japan, these four American missions were the only Protestant societies at work there, but the personnel of the missions was largely changed through removal, transfer, death, and reinforcements. In 1869 the Church Missionary Society (British) and the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions entered the Japanese field.

Roman Catholic missionaries too, re-entered Japan as soon as possible. In 1862 the church in Yokohama, and in 1865 that at Nagasaki, were dedicated. In connection with the latter service occurred a marvelous event which Pope Pious IX. honored by the appointment of a " greater double feast " to be celebrated forever in Japan under the name of " The Finding of the Christians." For it was no less an event than the discovery of thousands of Christians who had kept their ancestral faith in secret, but disclosed themselves after the dedication. 3 And in the following year, 1866, the Nagasaki priest, Father Petitj ean, was appointed vicar-apostolique of Japan.

1 Still surviving, in America. 2 Deceased.

3 For details of this discovery, see Cary's "Japan and its Regeneration," pp. 79-81, and Ritter's "History of Protestant Missions in Japan," App.

PERIOD OF PREPARATION, 1859-1873 II

Moreover, it was in 1864 that Father Nicolai came to Japan, but about ten years later when the Russian Church formally began work in that country.

Inasmuch as the anti-Christian edicts were still upon the bulletin boards, and were even specially renewed in 1868 by the new imperialism of the restored emperor, 1 public Christian work was attended with great difficulty and serious dangers. Meetings might be held in such places as the Catholic and Protestant churches, constructed partly at least for the services of Occidental Christians ; or even in the United States Legation, as when the first formal service in Yedo was held.

But such services were attended almost entirely by foreigners, for Japanese, if caught there, would be in danger of losing their lives. The old inherited prejudice against Christianity w T as still omnipotent, and even frightened Japanese away from positions like that of teacher of the vernacular to the missionaries.

The man employed by Rev. Mr. Ensor as a teacher was arrested in 1870, and remained in prison for two and a half years. The next year Rev. O. H. Gulick' s teacher was arrested, together with the latter' s wife. For a long time it was impossible to find where they had been sent. The teacher died a few months later in prison. In 1872 a person who assisted Mr. Gulick to rent a house in Kyoto was arrested and charged with the offense of trying to have the city opened to Christianity. He and his family were imprisoned in his own house. 2

1 Two of these new edicts ran as follows: "The evil sect, called Christian, is strictly prohibited. Suspicious persons should be reported to the proper officers and rewards will be given." "With respect to the Christian sect, the existing prohibition must be strictly observed. Evil sects are strictly prohibited."

2 From Cary's "Japan and its Regeneration," pp. 85, 86.

Thus the chief work of this period was necessarily very quiet and private, and consisted mainly in studying the language and in gradually overcoming the prejudice against foreign things. The latter was accomplished in different ways, but largely by English teaching, dispensary work, tactful conduct, and holy living.

This was, of course, a period of " firsts " in the records of Japanese Christendom. In 1864 occurred the first baptism, that of Yano Riyu, by Rev. J. H. Ballagh, in Yokohama. The second baptism was that of Wakasa-no-Kami and brother, by Doctor Verbeck, in Nagasaki in 1866. The following year saw the publication of the first tract, " Easy Introduction to Christian Doctrine," and the first dictionary, that of Doctor Hepburn, whose work stood so long without a rival in the field. In 1869 the first lady missionary, Miss Mary Kidder, now Mrs. E. Rothesay Miller, arrived ; and in 1870, after a short stay in Niigata, she took over in Yokohama Mrs. Hepburn's classes for girls, and afterward opened a school which later developed into the present well-known Ferris Seminary. The first mission school, however, according to Doctor Verbeck in his paper before the Osaka Conference, was that begun by Rev. Christopher Carrothers in Yedo, or Tokyo, in 1869. The first portion of Scripture published in Japan in the Japanese language, was a translation of Matthew by Rev. J. Goble in 1 87 1. And in 1872 was founded in Yokohama, by Mrs. Mary Pruyn and others, the well-known " Home," which has been the " spiritual birthplace " of so many Japanese women.

PERIOD OF PREPARATION, 1859-1873 1 3

As we now look back from our present vantageground upon this early period, we are greatly impressed with the idea that the strict enforcement of the anti-Christian edict, by the new and supposedly liberal government, from 1868 to 1871, was but the final dark trial before the bright triumph that was soon to follow. It was, for instance, in 1872 that the government grants were withdrawn entirely from Buddhist and partly from Shinto priests and temples. It was in that same year that the Gregorian or Christian Calendar was adopted, to go into effect from January 1, 1873. Still earlier than that, in 1869, the new young emperor had taken his " charter oath " that public opinion should be consulted and wisdom and ability should be sought after in all quarters of the world. In 1871 feudalism was abolished, and outcasts were removed from the category of " beast," as they had been classed under the old regime, and admitted to the ranks of human beings. A postal system, telegraphs, railways, docks, newspapers, educational institutions, etc., were all established, as incidental preparation in Christian civilization ; for these things broadened the horizon of the Japanese and brought them into closer contact with the nations of Christendom and instructed them in Christian ideas and ideals. On this general subject we add a few words from Doctor Verbeck, than whom no one is better qualified to speak :

The general breaking loose from ancestral traditions and the very subversion of the old foundations of society, prepared this naturally receptive people in a remarkable way for the introduction of the gospel.

But the hopeful movements were not all indirect ; there was also direct encouragement ; for 1872 is the date of the first Japanese prayer meeting and the first Japanese church. The usual week of prayer in January of that year was repeated after the old-style New Year in February, and continued for three months until the end of the school year. At the very first meeting, and " for the first time in the history of the nation [several suppliants] were on their knees in a Christian prayer meeting, entreating God . . . that he would give his Spirit to Japan as to the early church and to the people around the apostles." And on March 10, 1872, the first Japanese Christian church was organized in Yokohama with eleven members, under the name of " Church of Christ in Japan."

This church was not at the outset a denominational organization, although its form of government was rather presbyterial. But it is now known as the Kaigan Kyokwai, Seashore Church, and is one of the churches of the Nippon Kirisuto Kyokwai, The Church of Christ in Japan. Its creed was " a simple evangelical " one, of which the first article read as follows :

Our church does not belong to any sect whatever ; it believes only in the name of Christ in whom all are one ; it believes that all who take the Bible as their guide, and who diligently study it, are the servants of Christ and our brethren. For this reason all believers on earth belong to the family of Christ in the bonds of brotherly love.

Another sign of the endeavor of the various missionary societies for co-operation is manifested in the first conference, held at Yokohama in September,

PERIOD OF PREPARATION, 1859-1873 1 5

1872. "The less than twenty missionaries who attended it comprised nearly all who were then in Japan." A plan of union of the Congregational, Presbyterian, and Reformed work was agreed upon, but failed to obtain the approval of the home Boards. The principal purpose and business of this conference was " to devise means for expediting the translation of the New Testament, as well as to call forth an active interest in it," and the result was the organization of a " translation committee."

February 19, 1873, should be a red-letter date in the chronology of Christianity in Japan ; for on that day was issued the decree which removed the edicts against Christianity from the official bulletin boards of the empire. This was the first step toward religious toleration and liberty of conscience in Japan.

Toward the close of this period " the sphere of the missionaries' opportunities was much enlarged."

Several had been engaged as instructors in the public schools ; students could be induced to live at the homes of the missionaries ; schools established and conducted on a Christian basis could be opened ; Bible classes could be formed . . . and the people generally came to be in a great measure accessible to various direct evangelistic efforts.

The statistics of this period are far from encouraging, but should not be neglected. It is stated, for instance, that there were only about fifteen converts during those fourteen years, an average of little more than one per year. But figures do lie sometimes ; or at least they do not represent the whole truth, but only a very small fraction of it. The real results of the labor of this period have been well stated in Doctor Verbeck's paper before the Osaka Conference, and may be summarized as follows :

(i) The missionaries, as a body, had gained the confidence and respect of the people. (2) The people no longer regarded Christianity with horror and aversion. (3) Thousands of volumes of Chinese Bibles and other Christian literature had been circulated. (4) The Japanese language had been diligently studied. (5) Much useful literary work had been done. (6) Translation of the Scriptures was well initiated. (7) Much dispensary work had been done. (8) Education of the youth of both sexes had made a small beginning. (9) Foreign communities were regularly supplied with preaching. (10) Many earnest prayers and supplications had been offered. (11) One joyful day of harvest had come toward the close of the period.

These results, though they " cannot be either accurately measured or expressed in precise terms " on account of their being " of an entirely moral nature," are nevertheless of "paramount importance." They certainly represent thorough preparation for the work to come.

Chapter III Period Of Foundations, 1873-1883

THIS period was ushered in under most encouraging circumstances, and continued to fulfill the promise of its beginning. The opening year, 1873, was the first one of the Gregorian, or Christian, calendar to be officially recognized. It was also the year, as already noted in the preceding chapter, in which the edicts against Christianity were removed from the bulletin boards ; so that the government no longer officially branded the Christian religion as an "evil doctrine." This step was taken in accordance with the cabled advice of the Iwakura embassy, while still in Europe. And in the fall of that year this embassy returned from the trip abroad and at once began to recommend a more liberal and progressive policy. It is true that there were attempts, abortive but costly, like the Saga and the Satsuma rebellions, 1875 and 1877, to check this progressive policy. But in general it maintained itself throughout the period and made its influence manifest in marvelous transformations in society, business, and administration. The 5 promise of 1878 to establish prefectural assemblies was carried out in two years ; and these assemblies became training schools in local self-government and political science. And it was in 1880 that new codes modeled somewhat along the lines of the codes of Christendom