THE LIGHT OF JAPAN SOLDIER AND SERVANT SERIES, APRIL. 1906. EXTRA NUMBER THE LIGHT OF JAPAN \>i* 2^^ CHURCH WORK IN THE DIO- ^^ ■^J^Bl CESES OF SOUTH TOKYO, JU^^ ^****^l OSAKA AND KIUSHIU, UNDER J^^^V fel THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND 'j fe^ COMPILED BY A. ARNOLD, AS- SOCIATE OF THE S. P. G. IN THE A DIOCESE OF SOUTH TOKYO ^J^ WITH INTRODUCTION BY THE ^^^^^ BISHOP OF SOUTH TOKYO ^^^ CHURCH MISSIONS PUBLISHING CO AUXILIARY TO THE BOARD OF MISSIONS 211 STATE STREET HARTFORD CONN Copyright, 1900, by Church Missions Publishing Co. Illustrations The Bishops of the Nippon Sei Kokwai Frontispiece To face page Bishop Bickersteth 41 By kind permission of G. Palmer ... 28 First Six Clergy of the Nippon Sei Kokwai . 42 First Aid to the Injured 55 A Soldier of the Line .... 58 Tokyo Pro-Cathedral 66 St. Andrew's Boys' School, Tokyo ... 68 A Group of Pupils 70 A Pilgrim starting for the Holy Mountain . 74 The Bishop, the Rev. F. W. and Mrs. Kennedy and Family, Miss Makeham, the Staff and Pupils of St. Mary's School 100 Little Buddhist planting Prayers for Soldiers in the Grass 117 The Hommyoji Temple at Kumamoto . . 124 Men's Ward of the Gardens of the Kumamoto Lep- er Hospital 126 Deaf and Dumb Artist In-patient of the Leper Hospital at Kumamoto . . . • 128 Three Little Patients in the Kumamoto Leper Hospital 129 Chapel of the Kumamoto Leper Hospital . 131 Country walk near Ikan 143 Cherry tree-lined Arbor to the Famous Temple of Kompira ..... 145 The Church of the Holy Cross, Matsumoto, with the Chapter of St. Andrew's Brotherhood 157 Miss Makeham, Miss Ichimura, and Girls of St. Mary's Home, Matsumoto . . . . 160 Police Bible Class, Shitaya Station . . 186 The Cape Inuhoe Lighthouse which supplied the design for our cover is described on page 167-9 of this volume. The significance of the choice will be under- stood from the account there given of the use that the Headkeeper has made of his opportunities as guardian of that terrestrial light to point his visitors and associates to the Celestial Light, "Which lighteth every man that Cometh into the world." The inscription on the sides of the title-page follows out the same thought. It was used as a Christmas decoration in one of our mission schools and reads, "The Light from the Manger Bed has shown throughout the World:' With the exception of the frontispiece, most of the illustrations of this book have been made expressly for it, many of them from private photographs sent by Miss Arnold. Contents CHAP. PAGE I Introductory .... 1 II General Progress of Christian Mis- sions (1859-87) 13 III Bishop Bickersteth's Episcopate (1886- 97) 21 IV The Building Up of the Sei Kokwai — Bishop Bickersteth's Episcopate {Con- tinued) 28 V The Work of the S.P.G. and C.M.S. in Tokyo 42 VI St. Andrew's and St. Hilda's Commun- ity Missions at Tokyo . . 62 VII St. Andrew's and St. Hilda's Commun- ity Missions at Tokyo {Continued) 75 VIII Church Work at Osaka ... 84 IX Church Work at Some ''Treaty Ports" 100 X C.M.S. Work 112 XI The Lepers at Kumamoto, Its Church AND Hospital 125 XII The Missions of the Canadian Church IN Japan 132 XIII The Missions of the Canadian Church IN Japan {Continued) . . . 151 XIV Country Work in Boshu, etc. . . 162 XV Some Country Stations of the S.P.G. Mission in the South Tokyo Diocese 173 XVI Work Amongst Police and Factory Workers 185 XVII On the Japanese Prayer Book as Com- pared WITH THE English and American Prayer Books 193 Appendix I — Diocese of Hokkaido Appendix II — Translation of the Scriptures Appendix III — Statistics .... Index . Preface The Church Missions Publishing Company, in its endeavor to supply information from every part of the Missionary world, found a demand for some authority on the English Church Missions in Japan. They deputed one of their number to enter into correspondence with the workers in the field, and the four English bishops were approached. From two of them. Bishop Fyson of Hokkaido and Bishop Awdry of South Tokyo, answers were received. The former pointed us to the statistical information which can be compiled from printed sources, such as Mr. Stock's book and the Year book of the Church of England ; while Bishop Awdry most kindly undertook through Miss Arnold, an Associate of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, to prepare a state- ment of the field and the work. Many vicissitudes were encountered and, from various causes, delays arose which were vexatious. These delays have not, however, impaired the value of the work. It would be difficult to present any- thing as a finality for life in Japan to day, but it is certain that such an account of existing conditions secures for us the story of the work done by the Church of England in the Sunrise Kingdom, during its most important period. The Publishing Company had already brought out ''Japan and the Nippon Sei Ko Kwai," which the Rev. Dr. Abbott of Cambridge had kindly written at their request, presenting the work of the American Church in the Dioceses of Tokyo and Kyoto. They now send out to the public this little volume, which X PREFACE treats of some aspects of the Sei Ko Kwai and her missions in the South Tokyo, Osaka, and the Kiu Shin Dioceses, trusting that with its touches of per- sonal experience, with the account of missions to the fishermen and of those to the lepers, and with the additional fact that it is the first compilation of the missions of the Church of England in the Sei Ko Kwai as a whole yet published, it may constitute a sterling contribution to the literature of missions. At the request of Bishop Awdry and Miss Arnold, permission was given for the book to appear simulta- neously on both sides of the water. The EngUsh edition has, however, preceded the American, taking the title of ''Church Work in Japan"; while the American book will bear the legend ''The Light of Japan^with the English as an explanatory sub-title. Miss Arnold desires to say that she has endeavored to present the work not of one society or another, but that of the Church as a whole. The Dioceses have been taken as centres and the addition of Hokkai- do in an appendix by the American editor is due to the fact that it did not come within the range of her travels. She wishes to express her indebtedness to the Missionaries of the several stations for their review of each section of the work, and to the Rev. A. F. King for his careful scrutiny and kind advice, while to Mrs. Bickersteth and Bishop Awdry the Board of Editors unite with Miss Arnold in grateful acknowl- edgement of work which could not have been ac- complished save by their kind co-operation. Annie Leakin Sioussat, Editor for Church Missions PubHshing Co. Introduction Tokyo, Japan, December 19, 1905. Miss Alfreda Arnold has written this Uttle book at my request, and I was led to ask her to write it by the desire expressed in America* to have some- thing about the missions of the English Church in Japan more or less corresponding to what Dr. Abbott has published in regard to the American Church Missions in this country. This sketch is rather fuller than Dr. Abbott's but does not profess to be exhaustive. For example, as Miss Arnold has not been able personally to visit Hokkaido (the Northern Island of Japan), she has not included it in her sketch, through the mission of the Church Missionary Society there is very fruitful and the aboriginal inhabitants, the Ainu, who to the number of fifteen thousand are found there only, are rapidly becoming Christians under the influence of that mission. But Miss Arnold has travelled widely among the Mission Stations of the other three jurisdictions. South Tokyo, Osaka and Kiu Shiu which are under the charge of Bishops of the English Church, and her little book has the merit of being the product of the bright fresh mind of one who is living in Japan and taking her part in missionary work; while, being more free than most missionaries, she has travelled about to the places of which she speaks and has drawn her information at first hand. These qualifications are of the highest importance, for scarcely any one *Through the Church Missions Publishing Company. xii INTRODUCTION in the West understands Japan who has not been there for a considerable period, and changes are so rapid that what is written by a person who left the country five or even three years ago, may be quite out of date. William Awdry. Bishop in South Tokyo. CHAPTER I Introductory Modern Missions — Sketch from 1859-87. It was in 1853 that Commodore Perry anchored with his squadron off the entrance to the Gulf of Yedo. Eight months later, as the result of firm but courteous negotiations with the Shogunate, he arranged a treaty by which two Japanese ports were opened to American trade. For two hundred and thirty years Japan had been closed to the ^outside world ; the Dutch alone, under humiliating terms, had been allowed to hold scanty communication with it through the few Dutch merchants in Nagasaki. Fruitless efforts to open the closed doors had from time to time been made, but now at last Perry had succeeded in gaining an entrance, and the other Western nations hastened to claim the same privileges as those granted to the United States. For a time only a few further concessions were made, and these with the greatest reluctance; but in 1858 treaties with the United States and with Great Britain allowed members of those nations to reside at certain ports of Japan, and it was stipulated that these ports — Hako- date, Kanagawa (Yokohama), Nagasaki, Hiogo (Kobe), Osaka, and Niigata — should be opened to their com- merce. Very soon France and other countries received for their people the same privileges. 2 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN But these early treaties had been made with the Shogun's government, not with the Mikado who had been wrongly regarded by foreign governments as merely the spiritual ruler of his people. For some years attacks on the legations and on individuals witnessed to the deep resentment felt by many of the great Daimyos and by their retainers, the Samurai, at the way in which their Emperor's sovereign authority and their own rights were being ignored. The Powers concerned demanded heavy indemnities for the outrages which ensued, and much bitterness was created. Happily, though the in- cidents were deplorable in themselves, they led to some good results. The leaders of the Choshu and Satsuma clans began to seek closer intercourse with the Western nations in order to learn of them the arts that made them so strong. The Shogunate, too, from internal causes was by this time much shaken in power. The Shogun and his advisers had treated with the foreigners, in most cases from sheer inability to resist the guns of their fleets ; but when the Daimyos at Kioto (the Emperor's ancient capital) induced the Emperor to command that the foreigners be driven from the country, the Shogunate could only adopt a temporising policy towards both parties. Gradually the Powers awoke to the facts that the Shogun was but the Viceroy of the Emperor, that the Emperor himself had not sanctioned their treaties with his government, and that Daimyos and Samurai had had good cause for their hostilities. The recent misunderstandings began to clear ; the foreign treaties were ratified at Kioto by the Emperor in 1865 ; and, three years later, the progressive party, headed by the Satsuma men, directed a successful revolution against the Shogun's government — after having induced the new Shogun to resign — and firmly estabhshed the young Emperor, who had just come to the throne, as undisputed ruler of all Japan. INTRODUCTORY 3 The same year, as an outward sign of the momentous change wrought by the Revolution, the Emperor left his seclusion at Kioto, entered Yedo in state, and set up his throne there, making it his new capital. For centuries Yedo had been the seat of the executive government of the Shogunate, and Kioto the sacred Imperial city. Now a new era had begun — for nation and for city — and, to emphasize the change, Yedo re- ceived its new name of Tokyo, or " Eastern Capital." Then quickly followed, in 1871, a further change of highest import. That year witnessed the noble and self-denying surrender by the Daimyos of all their feudal rights, lands, and revenues into the hands of the Emperor. This voluntary act of patriotism meant nothing less than a supreme determination to have a truly united Japan under one Imperial ruler. Modern Japan had begun her march forward — to take her place within thirty years among the foremost nations of the twentieth century. Japan had not had the shghtesf ' desire to be drawn into the race with the Western nations, but finding that she must be in it, she resolved at the beginning that she would go on with all her heart and would run, not last, but with the first. Modern Missions (1859-87). The story of the Portuguese Jesuit missions to Japan conducted by Francis Xavier in the sixteenth century is too well known to need recapitulation here. Suffice it to say that while the Christian teaching of the Jesuits was welcomed by the people, many unfortunate cir- cumstances combined to bring about the speedy down- fall of a mission that numbered within fifty years close upon one miUion adherents. The ingrained suspicion of all foreigners on the part of the Japanese government ; a policy of predetermined opposition pursued so soon as 4 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN convenient by both Hideyoshi and lyeyasu ; ^ the bad feeHng between the Portuguese Jesuits and the later arrived Franciscan Spaniards from Manilla — a bad feeling made worse by theological differences, and the indiscreet zeal of the Franciscans ; lastly, the animosity and intrigues of the Buddhist priests who, persecuted by Nobunaga, saw their chance of regaining power under his successors Hideyoshi and lyeyasu : these untoward circumstances of opposing policy, internecine jealousy, and religious hatred, were without doubt turned to cruel account by the enmity of the Dutch (and, be it acknow- ledged, by a few English) traders who were bitter foes to Spaniards and Portuguese, alike in religion and trade. Hence, within fifty years came persecution, bloodthirsty and overwhelming, and a process of extermination — total as it was thought — of the foreign religion. The edicts for the discovery, denunciation, and relentless punishment of all Christians remained in force for over two centuries, and it needed but the marvellous dis- covery in 1865 of the continued existence, in the Pro- vince of Kiushiu, of loyal descendants of these Japanese Catholics of the seventeenth century, for the flame of persecution to rise again to fierce heat. Of this more in due course ; the story of modern missions to Japan begins properly in 1859. At that date the treaties of the foregoing year came into force — that with the United States being negotiated by Towsend Harries and the one with Great Britain being carried through by Lord Elgin. These, and those following with France and with other nations, gave to the foreign residents full religious toleration ; but the 1 Even Nobunaga's previous favourable reception of the Jesuits had only been diplomatic ; before his assassination, and as his position grew stronger, signs of change of his policy be- came evident (see Mr. J. H. Gubbins in Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan), INTRODUCTORY 5 edicts against Christianity were still proclaimed on the public notice-boards throughout the country, and were enforced with severity against any Japanese who might have the courage to embrace the Christian faith. Pre- viously, at long intervals, both Catholic and Protestant missionaries had made solitary attempts to force the barriers guarding the isolated empire^ but with little visible result. And for some years to come little or no work could openly be attempted beyond the limits of the treaty ports. But the delay proved beneficial in giving opportunities of fuller preparation for entering in at the door, afterwards to be flung wide open to all. To America belongs the high honour of first sending missionaries to take advantage of the treaties opening the country to the foreigner's residence. In May, 1859, even before the treaties came into force, the Rev. J. Liggins and Rev. C. M. Williams (afterwards Bishop of Yedo), of the Protestant Episcopal Church of America, had already arrived at Nagasaki. Within the year Dr. Hepburn (of the American Presbyterian Board), Dr. Verbeck (of the Dutch Reformed Church of America), and a minister of the American Baptist Free Missionary Society, had arrived and were settling at Nagasaki and at other treaty ports. Unfortunately the United States Civil War of 1861-65 sadly crippled American missionary efforts for the time ; in 1861, therefore, some of the episcopal mis- sionaries, who were compelled to retire from Japan for lack of home support, wrote to England, appealing to the Church Missionary Society to take up the work they had begun. Means, however, were not forthcoming, and on the restoration of peace the American missions were enabled to strengthen their forces in Japan. Next came the French Roman Catholic Mission on the conclusion of that nation's treaty with the Mikado. By 1862 chapels had been erected in Yokohama and 6 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN Nagasaki to supply the spiritual needs of Western Roman Catholics. To these, attracted by curiosity, came numbers of Japanese, and a church at Nagasaki, dedicated in 1865 to the " Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan," ^ became the direct cause of the discovery that " several Christian communities round about Nagasaki had survived the ruin of the Church of their forefathers over two centuries ago. They had preserved certain prayers, the rite of baptism, and a few books. But if these Christian communities survived, the persecuting spirit survived also. In 1867-70, all those Christians — and they numbered over four thousand — who refused to forswear their faith, were torn from their native villages and distributed over various provinces of the empire, where they were kept as prisoners by the re- spective Daimyos." ^ Exile, and torture in numerous cases, caused the deaths of over two thousand of these faithful Christians ; the remainder were set at liberty in 1873, about which time the laws against Christians fell into abeyance. This wonderful occurrence, in spite of all the sufferings, could not but arouse the keenest joy and thankfulness ; on the other hand, the mission has had to make way against the aversion in which they have been held on account of natural prejudice due to the memory of the past — a memory so fraught with religious animosity and supposed political intrigue. •English Episcopal and American Congregational Missions now followed in quick succession. From England came the Rev. George Ensor, of the Church Missionary Society, to Nagasaki, and from America the Rev. D. C. Greene, D.D., of the American Board Mission (Congregational), both arriving in 1869. Dr. Greene, a resident first in Yokohama and then in Tokyo, is still an active missionary of his Society. 1 Crucified for their faith at Nagasaki, in 1597. 2 B. H. Chamberlain in Things Japanese, 3rd ed. p. 287. INTRODUCTORY 7 Though for a long time the Church Missionary Society had been desirous of working in Japan, it was not till 1868 — the year of the Restoration — that a fitting op- portunity arose. In this year an anonymous dona- tion of £4,000 enabled the Church Missionary Society to send Mr. Ensor in January, 1869, as their first mis- sionary to represent the Church of England in Japan. For reasons of health he, and the Rev. H. Burnside, who had joined him in 1871, were soon obliged to retire. Their work at Nagasaki was carried on by the Rev. H. Evington (now bishop) from Osaka, and in 1875 the station was placed under the control of the Rev. Herbert Maundrell. Beside their first station at Nagasaki, the C.M.S. had between 1873 and 1875 established four new mission centres ; Osaka, to which came the Rev. C. F. Warren, afterwards Archdeacon in 1873 ; ^ Tokyo was assigned to the Rev. J. Piper, in 1874 ; Hakodate in the same year to the Rev. W. Dening, who was transferred from Madagascar, and Niigata, in 1875, to the Rev. P. K. Fyson from Tokyo, now Bishop of the Hokkaido diocese. These five stations, with the exception of Niigata, which was relinquished in 1883, are still the chief centres of the Church Missionary Society in Japan. Meanwhile, Mr. Williams (in 1866 consecrated " Missionary Bishop to China, with jurisdiction in Japan ") of the American Episcopal Church, through the ill-health of his colleagues and the American Civil War, had been left to carry on his Mission, from 1859 to 1871, practically single-handed. In 1869 he moved 1 For a year Mr. Warren conducted services for the English community in Kobe ; he was then reheved there by Mr. Eving- ton, and in 1875 that work was handed over to the S.P.G. This foreign settlement of Kobe is close to the native port of Hiogo, on the other side of the bay from Osaka, and has become the rival of Yokohama as a principal port of the Empire. 8 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN his centre of work from Nagasaki, to which place Mr. Ensor of the C.M.S. had just been sent, to Osaka ; there he was joined by a colleague, and in 1873 he came to Yokohama to start nearer to the capital of the em- pire a fresh centre of the Mission. A year later, and on becoming resident at Tokyo, his title was changed to that of " Missionary-Bishop of Yedo, with jurisdiction in Japan." At Tokyo, Osaka and Kioto, the American Episcopal Church have now their chief spheres of work, Tokyo and Kioto being their two diocesan centres. In the previous year, 1873, missionaries belonging to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in foreign parts began work in Japan, arriving at Yokohama in the same ship that brought Bishop Williams. The Rev. W. B. Wright and the late Rev. A. C. Shaw (of Toronto, Canada, and afterwards Archdeacon of the diocese of South Tokyo) proceeded at once to Tokyo, where they took up their residence. Starting work thus at Tokyo, in 1876 the Society took over the work of the C.M.S. Mission at Kobe, being represented there by the Rev. H. J. Foss and the Rev. F. B. Plummer. The former, now as Bishop of Osaka, still continues to reside there. Hence Tokyo and Kobe are the chief centres of this Society's Missions in Japan. The Russian Orthodox Church, though established in Tokyo so recently as 1871, numbers already some 24,000 Church members, and nearly 200 churches. It owes this striking progress to Bishop Nicolai, its founder in Japan. In 1861 he had come to Japan as chaplain to the Russian consulate at Hakodate ; for several years he made no attempt to preach to the Japanese, but devoted himself to a careful study of their language. In 1866 he baptized his first convert, a Buddhist priest, and three years later he baptized a physician. Return- ing in 1869 to Russia, Bishop Nicolai induced the Holy Synod to establish a Mission in Japan, and he was sent INTRODUCTORY 9 out as its first bishop. A man of striking appearance, and for forty- three years a resident in Japan — from 1871 Hving in the heart of its capital — no missionary has exerted a greater influence through personal magne- tism and force of Christian character upon Japanese and foreigners alike. With sometimes four — more often with only two or no other missionaries to help him — he has thoroughly trained numerous native assistants as priests and catechists, and dispersed them throughout the country. Some few of them have been even through a theological course in Russia. The cathedral of the Orthodox Church is in the centre of Tokyo, situated upon high ground and overlooking some of its most crowded and closely Duilt streets. It is conspicuous by its size and character — of simple but ample proportions in the Russian-Byzantine style. The exterior of stone, cased in stucco, gleams white in the sunlight as it dominates that portion of the city ; the interior possesses a magnificent and gilded chancel screen to the closed sanctuary, adorned with many modern pictures representative of the Christian Faith. As Mr. Chamberlain truly remarks, "It is the only ecclesiastical edifice in Tokyo with any pretensions to architectural splendour." Its commanding position has aroused some prejudice among the people, for no building in this city should, according to Japanese taste, attain a higher altitude than the Emperor's Palace. Fears also were prevalent on the outbreak of the present war that popular excitement might vent itself in some attempt upon the Bishop's life as a Russian subject, and on his cathedral as repre- sentative of the Russian faith. Police protection was at once afforded by the authorities, and now, after ten months of war, during which excitement has been kept at fever heat, now by glorious victory, occasionally by sudden disaster, we have it stated in the Seikyo Shimpo 10 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN (Greek Church paper) that not only have the services at their cathedral gone on as usual, but that the cordial feelings between the Bishop and his Japanese fellow- workers have not cooled in the least. Japanese Chris- tians were indeed praying for their country's success, but they recognized that their prayers were subject to the Divine Will. In the Bishop's letter to the Novoe Vremya he refers to the fact that the work of the Greek Church has been very little affected by the war. There have been 720 baptisms during the past year, and the number of workers has risen from 188 to 198.^ Between the years 1871 and 1887 many new missions were established in Japan, or took the place of others resigned for various reasons. Among the earlier of these missions was the American Mission Home, an important educational institution set on foot in 1872 at Yokohama by the Women's Union Missionary Society of America ; in 1873 the American Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Church of Canada, besides the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, all com- menced work ; and in 1874 the Edinburgh Medical Mission was started and the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland sent out its first missionaries.^ Thus at the close of 1895 there were thirty-four Christian Missions represented in Japan; viz., the French Roman Cathohc Mission ; the Russian Orthodox Church Mission ; the American and British Episcopal Missions of the Anglican Communion ; the Missions of the Canadian " Methodist," and the American ** Metho- 1 Taken from the Japan Daily Mail, Dec. 10, 1904. Sum- mary of the religious press. 2 In 1873 the American " Baptist Mission Union " took the place of the Baptist Free Mission Society, one of the first group of Missionary Societies to arrive in 1859 ; and some few years later the Edinburgh Medical Mission withdrew from the field, transferring its work at Niigata to the American Board of (Con- gregational) Missions. INTRODUCTORY ii dist Episcopal " Churches ; the Scotch Presbyterian, one Swiss, and one Scandinavian non-Episcopal Mission ; the remainder being American — including Methodists, Baptists, Congregationalists and others — all non- episcopal. The Society of Friends, the Salvation Army, and the Young Men's Christian Association have also their Missions in Japan. This bewildering multiplicity of Protestant missions has become, however, since 1877 a good deal simplified. That year is memorable as seeing a great step towards unity taken by the three Presbyterian Missions, Ameri- can and Scotch, in amalgamating to form a single church, the " Nippon Kirisuto Kyokwai " or " Church of Christ in Japan,'' based upon the common Confession of Faith — the Apostles' Creed.^ Propositions also have been made for uniting the work of the different Methodist Societies, and at one time the union of the Presbyterian and " Kumiai " Congrega- tional Churches came close to completion. Mr. Chamberlain, in his Things Japanese,^ has ob- served : " Numerous as are the Protestant bodies labour- ing on Japanese soil, and widely as some of them differ in doctrine, fairness requires it to be stated that they rarely, if ever, have made Japan the scene of sectarian strife. The tendency has been rather to minimise differences, a tendency exemplified in the amalgamation of the various Presbyterian Churches, the proposed union of these with the Congregationalists and the cementing influence of the Young Men's Chris- tian Association work." As regards the Anglican Communion : — 1 This body embraces all the Christians (gathered) in connexion with the American Presbyterian, Dutch Reformed, and Scotch U.P. Missions. 2 Things Japanese, p. 291, 3rd ed. 12 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN An important step towards co-operation between the several Missions of the Anghcan Communion was taken in 1878, when a united conference of the C.M.S., the S.P.G., and the " American Episcopal Church " Mis- sions, under the joint direction of Bishops Williams and Burden, met to discuss a basis of co-operation for the bringing out of the Book of Common Prayer in Japanese. A Translation Committee was nominated by the Bishops, which brought out the larger part in 1879, ^nd the rest in 1882. This notable achievement undoubtedly paved the way for the formation, in 1887, in a full synod com- prising both Japanese and foreign members, of one Japanese Church, the " Nippon Set Ko Kwai.'' But the further history of these and kindred matters more rightly belongs to later chapters. CHAPTER II General Progress of Christian Missions (1859-87) Periods of preparation (1859-73) — Of popularity (1873-87) — Succeeded by a period of reaction. I. " The Period of Preparation."'— The years 1859-73, i.e. from the time of the opening of the treaty ports to that of the removal of the edicts, has well been called the " Period of Preparation." Preparation in language, preparation in the translation of books, preparation towards a better understanding between the missionaries and their inquirers — all this was necessary to the laying of a good foundation for the future work. During those thirteen or fourteen years the mis- sionaries made progress in the language,^ and prepared books to facilitate its study, amongst which should be specially mentioned Dr. Hepburn's Dictionary. They sold besides many thousand Chinese Bibles and other Christian books to the educated classes, among whom 1 The Japanese language has for the Western learner two special and peculiar difficulties. The spoken language is dissimilar to the written to the extent that while the common people cannot understand the latter, the educated classes look upon books written in the colloquial as beneath their consideration and fit only for children and the unlearned. Again, it depends on the standing of the person addressed — whether it be above or below the rank of the speaker — as to which distinct set of verbs and honorific phrases be punctiliously used or as punctiliously dropped ; hence the knowledge of a double vocabulary and an ever tactful remembrance as to how to use the newly acquired learning is rigorously necessary. 13 14 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN Chinese was the classic language, and they issued, as they were able, a few tracts in Japanese.^ Also a beginning had been made by a committee appointed by a united conference of Protestant missionaries in 1872 in the work of the translation of the New Testament into Japanese. The different Books were pubhshed as fast as translated, and the whole New Testament was completed in 1880, while the Old Testament was not finished until 1887. Moreover, medical and educational work, which met with a ready acceptance at the hands of the Japanese, as tending to their material advantages, was gaining for the missionaries a growing respect and confidence among the people they yearned to reach, and already a few isolated converts had been gained in these early years. In 1872 — nearly a year before the withdrawal of the edicts against Christianity — of these original converts two young men, with nine others, more re- cently baptized, were formed into an organized body, and called " the Church of Christ in Japan," having a constitution based upon a single evangelical creed. This first congregation of Japanese Christians is now one of the many connected with the present *' United Church of Christ in Japan," formed in 1877. II. " The Period of Popularity." — The year 1873 marked the commencement of a new epoch, or " the period of popularity." The edicts had been removed and, though the official Act had been somewhat equivocal in its 1 The difficulty in getting these tracts adequately translated by the aid of the missionaries' teachers was great. One missionary tells how sentence by sentence he forced his reluctant teacher to use simpler words. " When all was ready for the press, the teacher begged that his name should not be allowed to appear in connexion with the tract, as he would be ashamed to have it known that he had written anything in a style that could be easily understood." (From Japan and its Regeneration, by Rev. Otis Gary, p. 97.) PROGRESS OF MISSIONS (1859-87) 15 nature, the people saw that they no longer needed to regard Christianity as a prohibited rehgion.^ Other in- fluences also tended to make the official and educated classes regard religion with more favour. As the re- sult of a strong desire to adopt Western customs and ideas, and the growing curiosity to learn more of Western sciences, mechanics, electric apparatus, and the other branches of physical and natural scientific research and European customs — rehgions and ethics received in- creased attention. To many Japanese, the Christian religion came to be regarded at this period chiefly as a means of furthering the advance of civilization and of bringing good to the nation. Christianity in their eyes was merely a medium for the production of a constitu- tional government in place of a medieval — though benevolent — oligarchy, of popular rights in lieu of those arising from fealty. Many of a later generation would to-day ehminate from Christian religion and doctrine all that goes beyond the attainment of virtues necessary for responsibility and good citizenship. To such an extent did the movement grow that in 1884 some states- men and public leaders began to urge that Christianity be adopted as the national rehgion, one of them pro- posing that the Emperor should at once receive baptism. Fortunately this mushroom growth was prevented in time by the opposition of the Buddhists. It was natural 1 No law was repealed, but the edicts concerning Christianity were removed from the public notice-boards along with others respecting murder, arson, and robbery. These laws remained in force, and the officials were told to warn the people against supposing that 'they were changed because the notices were no longer exhibited. But in spite of explanations, the people began to regard the law concerning persecution of Christians as a dead letter, and the government, anxious to avoid offending the Christian sentiment of Western nations, was not adverse to this construction on its action ; having saved its face, it was the more willing to ignore breaches of a law now less conspicuous (see Japan and its Regeneration, p. 81). i6 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN that they, having lost the support of the government (1871-4), should resent a religion which through its teach- ers that threatened to supplant them in their lessening in- fluence, as such was exhibited by their enfeebled hold over the popular faith of the people. Christianity was denounced, and in some places churches and the houses of Christians were stoned, while preachers were occasion- ally assaulted. Buddhist priests formed societies for the " boycotting " of everything Christian, even to foreign goods — as in one instance to kerosene oil ! What was more to the purpose, strenuous efforts were made by Buddhists in the political arena to thwart the nomination and election of Christian members for Par- liament. Not by opposition only, but by the better way of imitation of Christian institutions, did Buddhism seek to hold her own against Christianity ; schools for young men, schools for girls (unmindful of their low estimate previously put on women), women's meetings, orphanages, temperance societies, summer schools, etc., were started and became items of organization in the Buddhist propaganda. Just as Christianity in its first youth had stirred in the reign of Julian the embers of a dying paganism to a fresh blaze, so now Buddhism, all but dead in Japan, seemed to take on a new lease of life. The result was not really detrimental to the progress of Christian work, for nothing, even though misdirected, that will give renewed zeal for the good of humanity in any shape can be profitless. And as regards the direct work of Christian evangelization, the hearts awakened to religious sensibility have been found more responsive to the reading of God's Word than those which are still sunk in the slumber of lethargy, through disbelief by the agnosticism of Japan's modern Confucius — Herbert Spencer. HI. The Reaction. — The great movement in favour of Christianity reached its height about the year 1888. PROGRESS OF MISSIONS (1859-87) 17 Soon after came a reaction that lasted for quite ten years before it spent itself, the more immediate causes being (i) the birth of a strong nationalistic spirit and anti- foreign sentiment, (2) the shaking of the newly acquired Christian doctrines, and (3) the growth of a commercial spirit. (i) The lengthened and wearying attempts to revise and curtail the treaty-rights of foreigners and other un- toward events caused irritation against all things foreign, including the " Western rehgion." Christianity must take on a Japanese form if it would claim her adherence. (2) Another disturbing and reactionary influence came from the shaking of doctrinal behefs. Many of the young men of Japan who had travelled and studied both in Europe and America returned somewhat better educated and imbued with modern thought. These Japanese, too often affected by the theological unrest of the present day, and especially by the Unitarianism of America, became — many of them — teachers of their countrymen. From the West they had accepted, but ill-digested, the (apparently) novel theological theories of the day, and they found, through the prevailing de- sire of independence of former teachers at home, ready listeners among their Japanese compatriots, always too apt to take up with something new. Views and criti- cisms that might have done little harm in communities that had long been instructed in Christian doctrines assumed an exaggerated importance and led many to give up apparently all their early faith. (3) A third influence now beginning to make itself felt was the growth of the commercial spirit. The won- derful increase in trade and manufactures, after the straitened times of the Revolution and succeeding days, had its influence on all classes. A desire to make money and the claims of business caused some members of Christian Churches to absent themselves from worship G i8 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN and to be careless of Christian duties, or to act incon- sistently with Christian standards of morality. Owing to such influences during this period of re- action, a few measures of direct opposition were taken by those in local authority, measures quite at variance with the spirit and even perhaps with the letter of the new Constitution of Japan, promulgated in 1889. Ac- cording to one article, " Japanese subjects shall, within limits not prejudicial to peace and order, and not anta- gonistic to their duties as subjects, enjoy freedom of rehgious belief." This article has greatly strengthened the position of the Christians, but its spirit has not always been consistently observed by those in authority. Sometimes local officials, as commanders of garrisons and teachers of public schools, made it difficult for Christian soldiers or Christian students to attend ser- vices, meetings, or Sunday schools, and visited their displeasure severely upon those who did. Such bigotry is rarely to be met with now. For many years also an educational system professedly secular, and with- holding privileges from private schools in which religion, Christian or Buddhist, is taught, tended to hinder Christian progress ; Christian ethics, said they, were not in harmony with the Imperial edict on education of 1890, which laid stress upon filial obedience, nor — as pointed out by the leaders of a revived and modified Shintoism inaugurated in 1897 — could the Christian doctrine of the worship of God and Christ, and the various authorities obeyed by Christians as the Bible, the Pope, or the head of the Greek Church (the Czar) be held consistently with the supreme duty of loyal Japanese to his sacred Majesty the Emperor. It was asked — Was the Mikado of Japan " to follow in the wake of Western Emperors and to pray, * Son of God, have mercy upon me ' ? " And yet through all this time of reaction, progress PROGRESS OF MISSIONS (1859-87) 19 was made. The sifting process had its advantages. What shook the faith of some made that of others stronger and more intelHgent. The need of greater care in admitting persons to Church membership was made plain. If in later years it has been less easy to get people to attend preaching services, Christian ideas and ideals have more and more found their way into the hearts of the people. The secular periodicals show by their frequent use of Christian phrases, and even of Biblical quotations, that new thoughts are influencing the minds of men. Knowledge of Western laws and Western literature has been famiharising educated people with new ways of regarding the universe and mankind. Almost unconsciously to many has come an unacknowledged belief in one God Who rules the world, and toward WTiom they have duties. The conduct of the present war, and of the previous negotiations, has shown to the world that the Japanese not only possess dignity and natural manliness, but other virtues superadded through the influence, direct or indirect, of Christian ideals. The labours of mission- aries through these years have had some share in bring- ing about this development in character. Though the conversion of the unbeliever is the aim of all missionary effort, the result of efforts cannot be rightly appraised solely by the counting of converts ; their indirect in- fluence upon the life of a nation has results far away and beyond that which can be calculated by the numbers of declared converts. In speaking of this period of reaction, we come to the episcopate of Bishop Bickersteth, which will be described in another chapter. But it is well to under- stand a little, beforehand, the causes of the reactionary period, its character, and tendency, that we may more fully appreciate his work in Japan, and the opportune- ness of that work. Coming to the country in 1886, when 20 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN there was a passing wave of popularity in favour of Christianity, Bishop Bickersteth saw, amongst other dangers, that of Christian sectarianism. He saw that the safeguard for her Christianity, as it has been for that of other nations throughout Christian history, could alone be a whole-sided Catholicism — real, broad, and deep. Then indeed, though she might have to learn of the Truth, as individuals and nations alike do, slowly, she would yet attain surely. Bishop Bickersteth's work was arduous, and exhausted his physical powers, but his devotion and zeal, at once fervent and well balanced, obtained for the Sei Kokwai of Japan a " heritage " ^ that her sons will ever regard as a gift in a special sense from him. 1 Bishop Bickersteth's Addresses to Japanese Divinity Students, published in Japanese in Japan, were reprinted in English, and published in England (1898), after his death, under the title of Our Heritage in the Church. CHAPTER III Bishop Bickersteth's Episcopate (1886-97) Second English Missionary-Bishop to Japan — His realization of the circumstances in Japan, and their tendencies — The need for a " Japanese Church " — " The greatness of the oppor- tunity " — Dangers to be avoided — Proper nature of a Church in Japan — Formation of the Nippon Sei Kokwai — First Conferences and Synod — Subsequent endeavour after larger unity. Consecrated in February, 1886, at St. Paul's Cathedral, by Archbishop Benson, as Missionary-Bishop of the Church of England in Japan, Bishop Bickers teth arrived at Nagasaki on April 13 of that year. Prior to 1882 the two " Church of England " Missions for Japan were under the supervision of Bishop Burdon, of Victoria, Hongkong. In that year Archbishop Tait arranged for the foundation of an English bishopric in Japan, the C.M.S. and the S.P.G. undertaking to con- tribute to its maintenance. The Rev. A. W. Poole, C.M.S. missionary in South India, was appointed and consecrated by Archbishop Benson in 1883. Bishop Poole was warmly welcomed in Japan, but, owing to the failure of his health, his episcopate was brief. Within ten months of arrival in the country he had to leave, and died in England in 1885. He was succeeded by Bishop Edward Bickersteth, son of the well-known Bishop of Exeter, and grandson of a former C.M.S. secretary. As founder and first head of the Cambridge University Mission at Delhi, North India, he had been for five years 21 22 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN connected with the S.P.G. Consequently the newly appointed bishop came to Japan with the experience of a missionary in touch with the great English Mission Societies. In a letter written on his way out, Bishop Bickersteth notes the many circumstances in Japan that called for more organised missionary effort, and gave promise (as explained in another letter i) of a prospect as bright as any which had been ever set before the missionary. He notes her acquirement, with " startling rapidity, of European methods and customs, and the adoption of the latest discoveries of the West." Railways, steamers, telegraphs, telephones, post-offices, and P.O. savings banks ; English methods of municipal and executive government ; and, lastly, a widespread system of educa- tion, 2 based upon European methods, in which English was taught as a classic — all had been " introduced within the space of less than two decades into a country wholly unknown to the last generation of English- men." In the same letter Bishop Bickersteth speaks of the changes (mentioned in the previous chapter) in public opinion that accompanied this eager advance, and made for an anti-foreign movement. Revived energy on the part of the Buddhist priesthood to maintain their hold upon the people coincided with a growing tendency " in the mind of the young Japanese — disabused of the superstitions of his youth — to regard the creed of Christendom as practically on a level with the faith of his own country " — and to reject both. This re- action lasting for something over ten years, amounted at one time to a distaste for any foreign influence, or leadership whatsoever. " Japan for the Japanese " 1 Letter to Dr. Searle, August, 1886, quoted from Life and Letters, etc. 2 29,000 schools were built and opened between 1873 and 1883. BICKERSTETH'S EPISCOPATE (1886-97) 23 became the popular cry. Along with others Bishop Bickersteth saw that the special danger to the Church of this transition time arose from a desire for a larger corporate union at the expense of the principles of true unity. The fear was lest the Japanese should adopt — after their eclectic fashion — an emasculated form of Christianity, and that the lack of co-operation and cohesion on the part of our Church's missions might aid in this result. In the face of this danger the differ- ent Presbyterian bodies already had joined together and the Congregationalists were showing signs of amalgamation. A recognised need is an opportunity for reform, and, in the eloquent words of Bishop West- cott, Bishop Bickersteth " at once recognized the greatness of the unique opportunity," for the union of the Anglican Missions in Japan. Might not the several Missions of the Episcopal Churches of England and America combine more closely their work in Japan and build up together a Native Church, at once orthodox, catholic, and evangelical ? Though it was well, as he said, for a newly founded Church " to pass as quickly as possible through the congregational stage," ^ there were difficulties first to overcome, mistakes and dangers to avoid. There had to be no planting of a new Church — a new branch had already germinated and needed only wise husbandry. It would be most unwise on the one hand to overlook, in excessive zeal for union, the existence of differing schools of thought within the Missions of the Anglican communion, in so far as these were complementary to one another and consistent with the real unity of the Faith. On the other hand — in regard to the native congregations — the mistake would be fatal if they sought to impose an exact reproduction of Western Canons 1 Speech, Birmingham Church Congress, 1893, quoted in Life and Letters, etc., p. 176. Second Edition. 24 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN and Articles upon Eastern minds. It must be "a Japanese Church," not an English Church. Any for- getfulness of this, any aiming at a different end, will only reproduce in the next 200 years the miseries which have arisen from the Italian Church, in the days of her prosperity, having determined to be the Church of other lands. ^ Speaking to the Rev. J. T. Imai, one of the foremost of the Japanese clergy, on the morning after his arrival in Tokyo, Bishop Bickersteth said : " The Church of Japan must be the Church of Japan ; the Prayer Book of that Church must be really its own Prayer Book." 2 Again, " Japan will adapt no mere Western type of the faith ; and although receiving, as is necessary, the framework of the Church from abroad, will complete her ecclesiastical organization on her own lines." " ' We are glad of teachers,' it was said by one of her own sons ; ' we require no masters.' " ^ The title chosen was a bold one ; Nippon Sei Kokwai. " Sei " means " Holy," lit. clean ; "Ko means "general" or " universal," and " kwai " means " society "or " com- pany." Thus the whole title may be said to correspond to the expression in the Apostles' Creed, "The Holy Catholic Church." The Nippon Sei Kokwai was to be a native Church, not in any loose nor attenuated meaning of the phrase, but,'as asserting its- historic position side by side with the Roman and Greek Churches in the country, it was to be a true " Ecclesia " rather than an aggrega- tion of Missions, and at the same time national. From the time of his arrival in Japan, in April, 1886, Bishop Bickersteth laboured to draw together the more or less separate Anglican Missions into one strong 1 Letter to him from Archbishop Benson, August, 1886, quoted in Life and Letters, etc., p. 251. 2 Ibid., p. 249. 3 Ibid., p. 253. BICKERSTETH'S EPISCOPATE (1886-97) 25 native, Holy, and Catholic Church. And it was with special joy that the Bishop welcomed the evidence of the same aspirations on the part of some at least of his fellow workers, as given in a resolution proposed and carried " in conjunction with his American brother in the episcopate." This was in the following conference of the Church Missionary Society held at Osaka in May, where the preliminary step was taken that within a year brought about the full organization of the Sei Kokwai. This conference passed the resolution : — *' That, taking into consideration the existence of three episcopal Missions in this country, two of which are in connexion with the Church of England and one with the Protestant Episcopal Church of x\merica, and being convinced that co-operation between these three societies, and visible union among the native Christians connected with them, is necessary to the establishment of a strong episcopal Church and a necessary preliminary to any wider union of Christians in Japan on a per- manent and satisfactory basis ; and further, noting that for some time past united action has existed among the various sections of non-episcopal communities, to the manifest increase of their strength and influence, and that efforts are now being made, specially by the native Christians, towards unity among the different communities themselves — the annual conference of the C.M.S., now sitting in Osaka, wishes to suggest to the bishops and clergy of the American Church and the clergy of the S. P. G. the desirability of holding a general conference of the three Missions on this subject at an early date." Bishop Williams of the American Church accepted the invitation, and in May a second step towards con- federation was taken by a meeting of the English (C.M.S. 26 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN and S.P.G.) and American Missions, at which Bishop WiUiams presided, and a resolution passed to hold a conference of delegates in July, each society sending its own representatives. Bishop Bickers teth at once set to work in conjunction with Bishop Williams to draft Canons in order to submit a scheme to the forthcoming conference. In this he balanced carefully the claims of ancient precedents, and the decisions of the early Councils of the Church, with the more recent Canons of the American and New Zealand Churches as representative of latter-day needs. He also referred the matter to the Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr. Benson), who, while cautioning against undue haste, was equally anxious for the building up of a native Church. The delegates in the conference were met — as the Bishop said — not " to constitute a new Church for our native brethren in the faith — there (had) been already formed (in the country) a Christian Church " ; that Church existed, but as yet it was not organized as an entity separate from the parent Churches of her communion. It was now desirable to provide the fuller organization of a Church and to con- stitute a formal synod. The discussions upon the pro- posed synod and code of Canons drawn up in conjunc- tion with Bishop Williams proved " most harmonious," everybody, writes Bishop Bickersteth, trying to contribute rather than to oppose, to " build " rather than to " over- throw." A general conference was then resolved upon for February of the following year. This united con- ference of the Protestant Episcopal Church of America and of the Church of England took place on February 8, 1887, and preceded the first synod of the Japanese Church at Osaka. Its result was important ; the mem- bers accepted the Articles, so that no present difficulty might arise as to the Church of England basis, and de- layed the consideration of the more important Canons for two years. A letter from the Bishop testified to the BICKERSTETH'S EPISCOPATE (1886-97) 27 hearty co-operation of all concerned ; the C.M.S. mis- sionaries passed a unanimous vote of satisfaction ; those of the S.P.G. were " pleased/' and the Japanese were ** delighted at having done the thing with us." Nor did this first year of the Nippon Sei Kokwai as a self-organized Christian Church go by without a definite effort being made to " include " within its communion " as many as possible of the Christians of this country " ; this was in accordance with a resolution passed at the united conference of Anglican Missions, held as above stated. After a preliminary meeting in July, a series of conferences with the American Metho- dist missionaries followed during the advent of the same year, and were conducted in a candid but charit- able spirit for the discussion of a basis of union. A fundamental agreement in regard to creed, rite, and organization was considered by Bishop Bickers teth to be necessary. The limitation — of acceptance of the Scriptures as authority and the Nicene Creed as standard in doctrine ; of the rigid adherence, " without doctrinal explanation of the spiritual mystery" "to the ad- ministration of the sacraments in the forms which the Lord appointed," and of the maintenance of the three- fold ministry, and the Apostolic succession — proved insurmountable difficulties ; yet these conferences were not " without fruit," as was pointed out by the late Archdeacon Shaw in an address given at Karuizawa shortly after Bishop Bickersteth's death in August, 1897. " The attempt was perhaps premature — in Japan — but no one can believe that such efforts, made by such men, are altogether in vain or without effect in hastening the coming of that day when ' there shall be one fold,' as there is ' One Shepherd.' CHAPTER IV The Building up of the Sei Kokwai (bishop bickersteth's episcopate {continued) The framing of the Constitution and Canons of theN.S.K. — Revision of Japanese Prayer Book — Decision as to the Thirty-nine Articles — The Marriage laws — Minor measures — Extension of the episcopate — Canadian missions. The framing of the Constitution and Canons of the Sei Kokwai was the work, for the most part, of the first synod of the Church sitting in February, 1887 ; but though the Canons thus resolved upon have in the main been retained, they have since received certain amend- ments and considerable additions. Archbishop Benson was at the first somewhat afraid lest Bishop Bickersteth's enthusiastic spirit might lead him to push forward too rapidly the work of framing the Canons ; but Bishop Bickersteth and his co -leaders of the infant Church knew well the danger that would wait upon ecclesiastical delay. The Bishop's sermons and addresses show that he did not act precipitately, but felt at every turn the necessity of anticipating and providing against future dangers. The smooth working of the general synods (at first held biennially and now made triennial) since the first year of his episcopate have shown the wisdom of his policy, and were in themselves the reward of his unresting toil on the Church's behalf. According to the Articles of its Constitution the Nippon Sei Kokwai " receives " the Scriptures of the Old and 28 BUILDING UP OF THE SEI KoKWAI 29 New Testament, " believes " them to be '' a revelation of God, and to contain all things necessary to salvation," and acknowledges " the Faith contained in the Nicene and the Apostles' Creeds " ; by Articles III and IV it " sets forth the doctrine which Christ our Lord com- manded, administers the two Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion which He Himself ordained, carries out His discipline," and " maintains the three orders of Bishop, Priest, and Deacon, which have been transmitted from the time of the Apostles." Further, by a resolution of the first synod in 1887, the Thirty-nine A^^'cles of the Church of England were accepted provisionally, but their position was not de- termined. They have since been carefully re-translated, and in this form have been again accepted by the synod among the standards of teaching, but not as part of the Prayer Book. For the first few years the great questions before the synods were the revision of the Japanese Prayer Book and the Canon law on marriage. The much-needed matter of Prayer Book revision was delegated by the synod of 1889 ^^ two committees, one dealing with translation, the other with structural de- tails. It occupied six years of anxious work, and was not issued until September of 1895. With regard to the marriage laws of the Church, the framing of the Canon concerning them was deferred by the first synod for further consideration ; it has been debated at each successive synod, and in the synod of 1902 the first part of a Canon was enacted whilst the most debatable topics were referred to a committee to be brought up again in 1905. Meantime each bishop administers the marriage law of the Church according to the English or American Church Canons on the subject. The Revision of the Japanese Prayer Book, based as that is upon the English and American Books, took the line of filling in omissions from the American Book, and 30 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN adding from the English Book such details of service as had been retained by the English, but lost by the American Book. It was natural that with missionaries inheriting two slightly different liturgies, some variance in opinion should arise ; but their differences generally followed the divergence of theological views rather than of nationality. The result on the whole has been a gain in liturgical richness for the Japanese Prayer Book. Bishop Bickersteth referred in successive pastorals (1890--95) to the work of revision, setting forth the principles on which the work should proceed, noting its progress, and regretting the few things not then accomplished. The Bishop was anxious to limit the principles of revision to " necessary curtailments and additions," " to points of order and detail," not to the " substance and fabric of the work." He counselled the Japanese to revise rather than to remodel, for though the brief collects and suffrages of Western growth might be " less consonant to the genius " of the Japanese language, yet it was too soon for Japanese liturgical knowledge and skill to recast the Prayer Book into a new liturgy more suited to them. Neither could the foreign clergy serving the Japanese Church so break their canonical obligations. The lesser matters of forming in the Japanese language a suitable theo- logical terminology for the liturgy before them, the preparation of minor offices and the consideration of certain subordinate differences in the two Eucharistic offices from which their own was drawn, would suffi- ciently occupy their attention. In September, 1895, the revised Prayer Book was issued, accompanied by a joint pastoral from the bishops in Japan. The incorporation into the Office of Holy Communion of the American Prayer of Consecration as an alternative form, the restoration of a form of absolu- tion to the Visitation of the Sick, and the addition of BUILDING UP OF THE SEI KOKWAI 31 some excellent occasional prayers, chiefly from the re- vised American Prayer Book, were among the more im- portant improvements. On the other hand, there were two omissions — that of the Apocrypha from her lection- ary and of a direction for the use of the daily Office by the clergy prefixed to the Order for Morning and Evening Prayer. These omissions were deeply regretted by Bishop Bickersteth ; the Apocrypha on the ground that '' the Japanese Church had as yet no adequate knowledge to enable its representatives to form an independent judgment on its use," and the implied permission for her clergy to omit the use of the daily Office, because he held that " the standard of religion would never have been depressed as it was in England in the last half of the eighteenth century if the Church's rule in the matter had not been so widely neglected," and her " recovery of the practice " had, he thought, " ac- companied and largel}^ contributed to the present happier state of things." The debates in successive synods with regard to the marriage laws have chiefly turned on the following questions : — (i) The relation of the marriage service to the legal registration of marriage (that the latter must precede the former was carried in 1902.) (2) The prohibited degrees : marriage with a deceased wife's sister. (3) The nature of divorce. The difficulties have not been Japanese in origin, but are the same fundamental difficulties that are found dividing English and American Churchmen to-day. The stricter party has perhaps been in a minority in the synod all through, but it has been the more uncom- promising and has known its own mind better. Each synod has shown itself better instructed than the pre- ceding, and the tendency consequently is now in favour 32 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN of a stricter Canon than could have been passed ten or twelve years ago. Some reference to Japanese social customs and ideas in relation to marriage may interest the reader as show- ing how such customs in the minds of the native Chris- tians tend to complicate the situation and render more difficult any agreement upon a Canon. One great difficulty may perhaps be broadly stated thus, that whereas marriage in the West generally takes place from motives of personal happiness or of indi- vidual self-interest — seldom from that of the happiness, the well-being, or the interest of the family and con- nexions — in Japan (where, owing to the inheritance of Confucian philosophy and ethics, the family is every- thing, the individual nothing) marriage is entered upon and divorce allowable, from quite another set of motives and ethical ideas. The family is the social unit in Japan. Its individual members are the possessions of the family, or clan, to be disposed of for its well-being by the guardians or heads who, as trustees, are responsible for its honour. As it is a law of the land that no family, once regis- tered, be allowed to die out, each family must have its heir. The " elder brother " even of a humble household has duties analogous to those of the heir-apparent to a powerful dynasty. He enters into marriage as assuming a responsibility incumbent upon him as the heir. His wife is usually the choice of the family. If she turn out unsuitable for the purposes of her position, if she fail to give him children and heirs then his duty to his House may require him to divorce his wife, and to make a second trial for the sake of the family, or he may not always take such extreme measures, but adopt as a son and heir one of his relatives or any other suitable person. But an heir somehow or other he must have to whom to pass on the family name and entity. BUILDING UP OF THE SEI KOKWAI 33 The case is somewhat different if the head of the house has no son, but has daughters ; he can then marry one to a man whom he adopts as his heir, and who changes his name and sinks his identity into that of his wife's House. And here comes in a frequent cause of divorce, when the heiress (daughter or niece) of a man of position or wealth is married to an adopted son. The son-in- law may become tired of a position which is in a sense subordinate, or he may prove extravagant, or in other ways undesirable as heir to the family's name and traditions. But with divorce in Japan as an easy solution of the difficulty, the daughter is either re- married to a more ehgible man, or her own right as heiress is passed over in favour of a younger sister, who, in her turn, marries another adopted son-in-law. In this latter case, however, the disinherited elder daughter (or niece) may not keep her husband ; his divorce from her is necessary, for otherwise he would retain the family's name and there would be two claimants to that honour. These considerations will show how difficult it has been to frame a law that will uphold the sanctity of Christian marriage and yet not shift the centre of gravity in the Japanese code of social ethics. As everything in Japanese morals hinges on the family, and no personal right of man or woman may alter this, how can a Japanese live according to Christian standards of con- duct and yet remain an honourable member of the family in which he has been born, fulfilling his or her duties towards it ? This has been the problem, and the following pastorals and speeches of Bishop Bicker - steth testify to the discussion of succeeding synods, and show how they are slowly, but hopefully, feeling their way to a solution of difficulties which still perplex the conscience of the " Christian " West. Writing to his clergy in 1892, Bishop Bickersteth 34 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN observes that " the marriage law of the Church vitally affects its well-being as well as tests its obedience to divine commands and restrictions." He says : — " For myself, I cannot doubt that the two principles embodied by Archbishop Parker in the marriage laws of the English Church, and from which as English clergymen we are not personally at liberty to recede — namely, that marriage is unlawful within the third degree, and that relationship by affinity is to be treated as equivalent to relationship by consanguinity — are in accordance with scriptural guidance and catholic precedent." At the synod of 1893 he spoke of t^e dangers arising in " a Christian communion " from a " laxity " of their marriage laws, and added that " while recognizing the consideration which Christianity always gives to national or local customs," he " should indeed fear for the future of the Nippon Sei Kokwai if " our " marriage law embodied any other than the principles of the universal Church." No Canon was passed by this synod, but a joint pastoral on the Christian marriage law was issued by Bishops Bickersteth and McKim early in 1894. In the synod of 1896 there was eager discussion, and Bishop Bickersteth was distressed at the laxity of opinion expressed by a few of the Japanese delegates. His declaration in full synod, " that he would resign his position rather than preside over a Church which tampered with the Christian marriage laws " made a deep impression on the Japanese who were present, and had a great effect at the time. In the next pastoral to his clergy he emphasized his view, saying that "we are not at liberty, if we would be true to ourselves, to enact any law which would conflict with the mind and practice of the Catholic Church," and that " the practice of the Christian Church from the beginning, in days anterior to the definite enactments of canon law, was BUILDING UP OF THE SEI KOKWAI 35 in accordance with this view " — that of " the Mosaic law (which was) based on the principle that affinity is to be regarded as equivalent in point of relationship to consanguinity. . . . The canon law only defined what had long been accepted." The synod of 1896 was followed by a joint pastoral on the question issued by the four Bishops of the Nippon Sei Kokwai. The pastoral enumerated the " three fundamental principles," relating to Christian marriage derived from Holy Scripture ; it referred to a table of kindred and affinity enclosed with the letter ; and re-affirmed Christian principles and directions that should guide their conduct as Christians in regard to :— (i) Divorce between Christians ; (2) The legitimacy of the remarriage of the innocent party in a divorce ; (3) To unions contracted before baptism ; (4) To the binding force of a union when one of the parties becomes a Christian ; (5) The contraction of marriages between a Christian and an unbeliever ; (6) A marriage with a catechumen ; (7) The solemnization and registration of Christian marriages ; and (8) The seasons for their solemnization. Lastly, it called the attention of the clergy to the following additional points : — (i) To the statement in the recent synod that public opinion in Japan held marriage with a deceased wife's sister undesirable, though its civil law permitted it ; and to the question whether under Canon VIII the priest in pastoral charge should present persons who contract such marriages to the Bishop with a view to their excommunication. (2) On the case of the apostasy from the Faith on the part of a husband or wife. (3) As to the desirability of solemnizing the service of the Church with no unnecessary delay after due steps 36 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN had been taken to legalize the marriage according to the requirements of the civil law. The pastoral concluded by a reminder of " the utmost consideration and gentleness " that should be " ex- hibited ... in dealing with the various and often difficult cases which must necessarily arise until Chris- tian principles have wholly permeated the laws and customs of the land." By Canon XI, as drawn up and acknowledged by the synod of 1902, the law as to the banns and solemniza- tion of marriage and their registration in accordance with the civil law, was prescribed on the lines of the preceding pastoral. Apart from the questions of marriage and of Prayer Book revision, the rights of election to the Church vestries and synods, financial organization, the question of Church disciphne, and the formation of committees for home and foreign missions were among the matters of importance that came before the earlier synods. The outcome of their deliberations may thus be briefly summarized : — (i) In the Sei Kokwai, to quote from the S.P.G. digest of 1900, " each congregation has its vestry, and sends its representatives once a year to the council of the missionary diocese. Each diocese has its own council and societies for missionary and pastoral work, which are recognized and assisted by the foreign mis- sionary societies ; and once in three years the Canons require that there should be held (in Tokyo or Osaka) a general synod of the whole Japanese Church." In this synod the clerical and lay deputies may vote separately or together ; the bishops always vote separ- ately. (2) Funds for pastoral sustentation and for home and foreign missions are under the management of Board committees of the diocesan synods. Thus already BUILDING UP OF THE SEI KOKWAI 37 has the Japanese Church acknowledged her duty and privilege to provide means to carry on her work at home and abroad on a corporate basis, co -extensive with her dioceses, rather than on the too often divergent lines of parochial and individual interests. (3) Church discipline, though a delicate matter where the rulers in the Church are for the most part of a foreign nationality, and have to deal with converts of an independent nation, has been the easier to maintain through the instinctive fealty and loyalty to authority which stamps the Japanese character. Bishop Bicker- steth also by his tact and his care not to let little care- lessnesses in matters of ritual and reverence develop into abuses hard to eradicate, did much to induce reverent order and disciphne within the Church. Within his own jurisdiction, whilst careful to teach and uphold certain ceremonies and ritual, he was, as Bishop Evington wrote " liberal to all, so long as they kept within the bounds that he felt the Church would allow." In regard to grave misdemeanours, the Canon, as in force at present until the next General Synod of 1905, provides as follows : — (a) That a clergyman accused of ** crime or other offence " shall have his name presented to the standing committee, such presentment having to be *' signed by five communicants, of whom at least two shall be presbyters " ; if " reasonable cause " be shown, the clergyman so accused shall be presented to the Bishop for examination and trial ; and a court consisting of three presbyters chosen by the Bishop shall be constituted from among five presbyters, in no way connected with the accused, who shall have the right to reject the names of two in favour of a second choice. These presbyters shall accord judgment by majority and sub- mit it in writing, with the sentence they deem fitting, to the Bishop, and the Bishop " shall pronounce such 38 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN canonical sentence as he may deem proper," but not " more severe than the sentence fixed by the court." The accused may appeal to all the Bishops of the Sei Kokwai for their review of the case, " and their sentence is final." {b) That a lay member of the Church found guilty of immoral conduct or renunciation of the Faith, may be excluded from the Holy Communion by the presbyter, whose action must be reported to the Bishop for de- cision as to excommunication, or exclusion for a time only. The extension of the episcopate into six episcopal jurisdictions has been a matter of some nine years' growth, since the beginning of its corporate entity in 1887. In 1891 Bishop Hare of South Dakota, then in charge of the American Episcopal Mission, and Bishop Bickersteth, arranged a preliminary delimitation of their respective missionary districts. By this agreement Tokyo was, pro tern., divided into two districts. Osaka, where also both American and English missions were working side by side, remained as common ground, whilst the boundary line between their missionary spheres outside these towns followed very much the same lines as deliminated later. Three years later, in 1894, this arrangement, with modifica- tions, was ratified by the Japanese general synod, and by that of 1896 the American and English " missionary jurisdictions," now grown by sub-division into six missionary dioceses, were formally recognized. Of these jurisdictions two—" North Tokyo " (or " Tokyo") ^ 1 This missionary diocese is equally termed " Tokyo " and " North Tokj^o," owing to the fact that whereas in the constitu- tions of the Nippon Sei Kokwai it is designated " the North Tokyo District " (Kita Chihobu) to distinguish it from that of "South Tokyo" (Minami Chihobu), its jurisdiction is still, as before, styled " Tokyo " in the home missionary documents of BUILDING UP OF THE SEI KOKWAI 39 and Kyoto ^ — were assigned to the American Church, and four, viz. South Tokyo, Osaka, Hokkaido and Kiushiu — to the Enghsh Church. In accordance with the views maintained by Bishops Hare and Bickersteth in their agreement — that " the residence and jurisdiction of the American and Enghsh Bishops respectively should be determined ... by . . . ready access to each other, and to centres of life and population," and there being in Japan " but one great centre of thought, life, and influence — Tokyo, the capital " — Tokyo was retained as the residence of both the English and the American Bishoj^s respectively, of " South and North." As both American and English had important work in Tokyo and Osaka, the lines of territorial divisions in these cities were drawn upon those devised in the above agreement ; but since then the synod of the Japanese Church has refused to recognize any lines of division in these cities, lest under the native episcopate of the future such divisions should be perpetuated. The various missions are therefore free to work in any part of these two cities. Meanwhile, during a short visit to England in 1893, Bishop Bickersteth made proposals to the C.M.S. for the creation of two new dioceses, the one to be in the northern island of Yezo, and the other in the southern island of Kiushiu, both to be sub-divisions of his own the American Episcopal Church. Hence arises occasional con- fusion of thought. 1 The first Bishop of Kyoto, the Right Rev. Sidney 'Catlin Partridge, was also "the first bishop ever consecrated in Japan." The consecration took place in Trinity Cathedral, Tokyo, on the Feast of the Purification (February 2), 1900, the consecrator. Bishop McKim of Tokyo, being assisted by Bishop Graves of Shanghai, Bishop Scheresehewsky, formerly of Shanghai, and by the four English bishops in Japan, i.e. the Bishops of South Tokyo, Osaka, Kiushiu, and Hokkaido (see S.P.G. Digest of 1900. 40 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN jurisdiction. The English missionaries in these islands were entirely supported by the Church Missionary Society, whose committee now undertook to be re- sponsible for the Bishop's stipends if nominated by the Society. Accordingly, in March, 1894, the Rev. Henry Evington was consecrated to the southern diocese of Kiushiu, and after some little delay, in 1896 the Rev. P. K. Fyson was nominated, and received consecration, to that of the Hokkaido, as Yezo and the smaller islands near it were now officially termed. Both Bishop Evington and Bishop Fyson had been since 1874 — some twenty years — missionaries of the Society in Japan, and had for many years worked at Nagasaki and Hakkodate respectively, where they have con- tinued to reside. In 1896 the missionary diocese of South Tokyo was further sub-divided by the creation of the bishopric of Osaka, and to this see the Right Rev. WilUam Awdry, Bishop -suffragan of Southampton, was appointed. For the stipend of the new see the S.P.G. accepted entire responsibility at the instance of the Archbishop of Canterbury, when the C.M.S. felt themselves obliged to decline co-operation in the fund unless they were given the right of nomination, on the ground that most of the missionaries working in the proposed diocese belonged to their Society. A year later, in August, 1897, when in England to re- cover from a dangerous illness, and at the close of the Lambeth conference, at which he had been present. Bishop Bickersteth was called to his rest.^ He was one 1 Bishop Bickersteth was succeeded in the see of South Tokyo by Bishop Awdry, he in turn being succeeded at Osaka by the Rev. H. J. Foss, for twenty-three years S.P.G. missionary at Kobe. For the same reason as with the diocese of Osaka, the C.M.S. discontinued its co-operation in the financial support of the South Tokyo see on the accession of Bishop Awdry, for whose stipend the S.P.G. assumed then the whole responsibility. BUILDING UP OF THE SEI KOKWAI 41 " whose far-seeing mind and statesmanlike judgment had done much in laying the foundations "of the Church in Japan during the eleven years of his episcopate. The consolidation of the Japanese Church into the Nippon Sei Kokwai, with its complete synodical organi- zation, is the living monument to a memory, and to a name which is revered as an inspiration by all to whom he still speaks in his recorded life and words. CHAPTER V The Work of the S.P.G. and C.M.S. in Tokyo Sketcli of the progress, and summary, of S.P.G. Work — The Society's Work among Women— CM. 5. Work and its General Progress — Its Church Centres and "Hostels." It has been mentioned in an earlier chapter that the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel sent out the Rev. A. C. Shaw, M.A. (afterwards Archdeacon of North Japan, I'^'o), and the Rev. W. B. Wright, M.A., as their first missionaries to Japan in 1873. Establishing them- selves at Tokyo, they cultivated friendly relations with some of the Buddhist priests and within a few months opened services for Europeans in a disused temple. Within two years, which were spent largely in the study of the Japanese and Chinese languages, they were rewarded by the baptism of five converts ; these were subsequently confirmed by the American Bishop of Yedo (afterwards '^okyo). In 1876 Bishop Burdon came from Hongkong and confirmed fifteen men and three women. At first, both Mr. Shaw and Mr. Wright carried on their Mission work chiefly through schools, Mr. Shaw holding classes " for moral, really Christian science " in the large school or university established by the late Mr. Fukuzawa. This gentleman, with whom for over three years Mr. Shaw resided, was a leading Japanese of wide intellectual influence at Tokyo. 42 THE WORK OF THE S.P.G. AND C.M.S. 43 As direct evangelization became easier, their efforts were devoted more to preaching, and within the first four years (by 1877) nearly 150 converts were baptized. In 1883 Mr. Wright resigned his work in consequence of his wife's illness, but Mr. Shaw continued in charge of the S.P.G. work until his death in 1902. Of the Society's work in Tokyo Archdeacon Shaw had been the principal founder and director. In the words of a non-Christian paper {Jiji Shimpo), he had " won the love and respect of all his fellow countrymen in Tokyo, together with that of an immense circle of Japanese " ; during his long residence " his life had been indeed an example to all priests." In 1895, after some twenty years spent in Japan, " Archdeacon Shaw was formally thanked by the Japanese Government for his services rendered to Japan in one of the most critical periods of its history by writing and correcting misapprehensions about the country from time to time." Upon his death the Emperor paid to his widow the further honour of pre- senting her with a sum of yen 1,000 (£100) in token of his Imperial appreciation of the Archdeacon's services to the country. The general progress of the S.P.G. work in Tokyo may be noted as follows : — (i) The training of mission agents, begun in 1878 by Messrs. Wright and Shaw, was carried on for eleven years, principally by the latter. This work was taken up and continued by the St. Andrew's Mission, and will be more fully described under that head ; but it should be here mentioned that as a result of their teaching and influence six native clergy had been ordained by 1890. Of these, the first were the Rev. J. Y. Yamagata (deacon 1885, priest 1890), the Rev. J. Imai (deacon in 1888), (2) In 1883 the S.P.G. shared with the C.M.S. in the provision for a resident English [bishop in Japan. Bishop Poole, of the C.M.S., was first appointed, and lived 44 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN at Kobe. Owing to his serious illness and enforced absence, an arrangement he entered into with the Ameri- can Bishop of Yedo was never ratified. This was that the English missionaries at Tokyo should be supervised by himself, but that confirmations and ordinations should be administered by the resident American bishop, from whom they were to hold special hcenc ;. On the succession of Bishop Bickersteth in 1886 this plan was- abandoned, as the English bishop resided in Tokyo. In 1891 he and Bishop Hare (then representing the American Church) agreed on a basis for the exercise of the jurisdiction of the English and American bishops, by which the former retained the south-western part of Tokyo. Since the death of Bishop Bickersteth and the appointment of Bishop Awdry of Osaka as his successor, the S.P.G. has been responsible for the entire support of the Bishop of South Tokyo. (3) Educational work under Christian influence was carried on for some five years (from 1885-90) by the Rev. Arthur Lloyd, at that time working with the S.P.G. Mr. Lloyd, who was at one time fellow and dean of Peterhouse College, Cambridge, having accepted the offices of lecturer in the Japanese Government naval medical college and naval academy, and the super- intendence of the English branch of Mr. Fukuzawa's private university, exercised a wide influence over the educated young men of the capital. (4) Work ■among women in Tokyo was begun in 1875 by Miss Hoar, of the Ladies' Association, afterwards (1866-1895) called the " Women's Mission Association " of the S.P.G.^ This work was carried on by her for some twenty-two years with the assistance of her cousin. Miss A. Hoar, who joined her in 1886. But in 1898, both 1 Since January, 1904, the S.P.G. has assumed full responsi- bility for all the women's work in its missions, and the W.M.A. Committee has become the Committee of Women's Work, S.P.G. THE WORK OF THE S.P.Cx. AND C.M.S. 45 being broken down in health, were obhged to return to England. Their special work of teaching and train- ing Japanese women as missionary helpers was then handed over to St. Hilda's Mission, which had been founded by Bishop Bickersteth about ten years before. Meanwhile, a few months before, i.e. in September of 1897, fresh work had been begun upon her own initia- tive by another English lady. Miss M. D. Weston. This was the providing of Christian home-life for a few school- girls and students, and was the fulfilment of an idea long cherished by her and her friend Miss Hasegawa. In April, 1898, Miss Weston was appointed as Miss Hoar's successor, and her house became the W.M.A. centre in Tokyo. She commenced her housekeeping in company with the Japanese lady above named, whose co-operation in the work has been invaluable in extending Christian influence among Japanese ladies and schoolgirls. The small house taken by Miss Weston and Miss Hasa- gawa proved before long to be too small for the in- creasing numbers of students and schoolgirls who had come to live with them. In February, 1899, ^^ey re- moved to larger quarters. It happened that the only house at all suited to their needs in the district of Kojimachi was situated just opposite the Peeresses' School. This large and important school now occupies a good deal of the attention of the Mission. The move had results, therefore, far wider than were ever ex- pected at the time. The growth of the work in general made it desirable to make another move not long after. This was pre- cipitated by an order from the town authorities, who had bought up the land where the house stood for a new road, in view of the increasing traffic in the city. Accord- ingly a move was made in 1901 to another house. The two former houses had been entirely Japanese, though 46 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN in the second one there had latterly been some half- dozen chairs and a desk for the convenience of Miss Weston. This third house had foreign-built rooms in the annex and a mixed mode of life was adopted. The house was the best that could be procured at the time, but the situation was not a desirable one from the health point of view. In 1902 notice to leave was given to the Mission by the landlord ; and thus circumstances once again guided the Mission into other quarters, where a still further expansion of work was made possible. The present house is situated in an excellent position for the work in the Peeresses' School and for the evan- gelistic work among its students which arises from that work. It is a healthy home for the girls and students, and has a nice garden of its own which, being near to some temple gardens, appears to be of great extent. Miss Parker, who had been engaged in important educational work in Japan from 1887 to 1891, offered herself to the S.P.G. in 1900, and came out in November of that year to take charge of Miss Weston's work during her furlough. It was under her locum tenency that this last move was made. The work of this Mission has thus been of gradual growth. The wish foremost in Miss Weston's mind, when with Miss Hasegawa she began her plan unsupported by any Society, was to provide a bright home-life for those in her house ; a home-life free fr^m daily contact with non-Christian ideas and superstitions, and one which, while retaining many of the Japanese social customs and ways of living, should unconsciously influence the minds of the inmates towards Christianity. The number of girls and students vary from eight to ten, some of whom attend the Peeresses' or other schools in the neighbourhood ; others are older students who are glad of the opportunity which her house affords for the study of English. One of these older students had THE WORK OF THE S.P.G. AND C.M.S. 47 served at one of the base hospitals and on a hospital ship during the war with China in 1895. She came with the twofold object of perfecting her English and of learning Christianity. She was taught and prepared for baptism, confirmation, and Holy Communion while at Miss Weston's house, and is now married to a Christian Japanese living in San Francisco. Another of these elder students who came in the first instance for the study of English, became interested in Christianity during her first year with Miss Weston, and became finally a most earnest Christian. She is now holding a scholarship in St. Hilda's Divinity School for Women. The house is not only a Home, but a centre for classes in English, social intercourse, philanthropic effort and, most important of all, for definite Christian teaching. The opportunities for such teaching arise out of all these varied efforts to come into closer touch with the women and girls of progressive Japan. When in 1900 Miss Weston obtained the position of sole foreign lady teacher on the regular staff of the Peeresses' School, it was a great step towards a further advance in the desired direction. This Peeresses' School, with its Kindergarten, now numbers nearly 600 pupils. It was founded by H.M. the Empress in the year 1884, and was especially designed to give the best educational opportunities to the daughters of the nobility. It stands as a companion school to the Peers' School founded shortly before by the Emperor for the sons of the nobility. A large num- ber of pupils other than those from noble families are admitted, but the whole management is regulated by the need and claims of those families. The princesses sit side by side in class with daughters of the nobihty, and of the official and wealthier merchant class. That a missionary should be given a post on the staff of this school was a sign of the growing public 48 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN good-will towards Christian teachers. Her teaching (of English conversation and hterature) at the school takes up a great part of her time, but its value has been proved by experience to be great. It has been the means of bringing her into contact with a large and important section of the community, and of the gradual extension of Christian influence among them. A few come from time to time to be baptized and profess their faith in Christ, but social and family reasons forbid many from doing this. For the majority, the seed must be sown in faith, and in hope that the fruit wall be found " after many days." Two interesting societies for Japanese ladies have come into being through Miss Weston's efforts. One is a " Reading Society " for the encouragement of the regu- lar reading of good litertature, Japanese or foreign. It is forming for itself a library, and at the present time uses the Mission House for its headquarters. A further development has taken place on the initiative of the ladies themselves. It has been arranged to hold monthly meetings of an informal nature, at which the members shall take it in turn to give some account of the special points of interest in their reading, and at which consecu- tive readings from some specially chosen book shall be given by one member appointed for the purpose. Some of the members of this Reading Society are attending a fortnightly reading meeting which Miss Weston has started for some of her older pupils. This reading meeting is a combined one — half the time is spent in Bible study, and half in the study of some English classic. The other society, called the " Jizen Shugei Kwai " (charity hand- working society), was inaugurated by Miss Weston in October, 1900, with the help of a com- mittee of Japanese ladies. Beginning with thirteen schoolgirls, it now numbers over ninety members, a THE WORK OF THE S.P.G. AND C.M.S. 49 large number of the original members who have left the school having retained their membership. It holds monthly meetings at Miss Weston's house, at which some speaker interested in, or engaged in, philan- thropic works addresses the members, whilst sewing and knitting go on. Some work has been sold, and from the funds raised donations to various deserving chari- table institutions have been given from time to time. A good deal of clothing has also been made and distributed among the deserving poor and inmates of orphanages and the like. During the present year all energies have been taken up by the war with Russia, and this Society has contributed its share of cholera-belts, socks and other articles to be sent to the front. Neither the members nor the committee are necessarily Christians ; but its work in the cause of charity and its general influence prepares the way for Christianity. What is now needed is a larger staff of workers to enable the Mission to do its work more efficiently and to watch for, and take advantage of, all the opportunities for Christian work which lie in its way. THE CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY AT TOKYO In 1873 the Rev. A. C. Shaw and the Rev. W. B. Wright of the S.P.G. arrived at Yokohama, in the same ship that brought Bishop Williams of the American Episcopal Church from Osaka. While the S.P.G. missionaries proceeded at once to Tokyo, it was not until the following year that Bishop WilHams established in the capital a fresh branch of his Mission. In that year also, 1874, the Rev. J. Piper and Mrs. Piper were sent to Tokyo as the first missionaries of the C.M.S. Arriving at Yokohama in April, they removed to Tokyo in May, and were shortly afterwards joined by the Rev. P. K. Fyson (now Bishop of Hokkaido) and Mrs. Fyson. During the first eighteen months the time was chiefly occupied with the study of the language, and the for- E 50 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN mation of friendly acquaintances with the people. Mr. Piper also aided largely in the forming of local com- mittees of the British and Foreign Bible and Rehgious Tract Societies. In 1875 Mr. Fyson was transferred to Niigata/ and Mr. Piper was for nearly four years, until 1879, the only C.M.S. missionary at the capital. From the close of 1875 to 1878 Mr. and Mrs. Piper lived in the heart of the city, at some distance from the foreign concession ; but permission to do this was then withdrawn by the Government, which desired to reduce the number of foreign residents outside their settlement in Tsukiji. However, Mr. Piper secured suitable premises there for their house, and a small Mission church was dedicated by Bishop Burdon from Hong Kong in May, 1878. The Church Mission House in Tsukiji became the centre of the Society's work in Tokyo, but in the city also a room, formerly secured for evangelistic services, was retained. These earlier years were full of hope. As early as 1876 five converts received baptism, the first confirmation was held, and Holy Communion administered to them. A Church Committee was soon formed and the nucleus of a native congregation was established. It was one of the first of the C.M.S. congregations to become self- supporting. The Mission buildings had a narrow escape from the terrible fire of 1879, which destroyed thousands of homes, many being burnt down in close vicinity to those of the Mission. The calamity was a means of awakening sympathy and good feeling between the Japanese and the foreign residents. From those in Yokohama and Tokyo ;£i,6oo was subscribed in relief funds, in the distribution of which the missionaries took their share. This practical benevolence inspired by Christianity produced— as Mr. Piper wrote — " a profound impression 1 This CM S. station was relinquished in 1883. THE WORK OF THE S.P.G. AND C.M.S. 51 on the minds of many Japanese in favour of Chris- tianity." In 1880 Mr. and Mrs. Piper left for England owing to the failure of the latter's health ; and for the next three years the Rev. I. Williams, lately arrived from Hakkodate, took charge of the Mission. Mr. Piper's literary work in Japan had been of great value. Besides sharing in the work of Bible and Prayer Book translation, which will be referred to later, he wrote and translated into Japanese numbers of tracts for the Religious Tract Society in Tokyo. He also prepared a Japanese edition of a Life of Christ in the words of the Evangelists. But his chief Biblical work was the Japanese reference New Testament containing 12,000 references. During Mr. Williams' oversight of the Mission, 1880-3, the members of its congregation increased in numbers, while the better educated and more intellectual men and women among the converts raised its tone and character considerably. Of these Dr. Hada, now hving in Boshu, may be mentioned. Mr. Williams left for England in 1883. When Mr. Fyson, who had succeeded to the charge, also left in the following year, it was feared that this important Mission station would have to be given up. Until more missionaries could be sent to strengthen the work at Osaka and Nagasaki, the pastoral and evangelistic work would have to be carried on by a catechist, aided by the superintendence of the Rev. C. F. (afterwards Archdeacon) Warren. In 1885 both Mr. Williams and Mr. Fyson returned to Tokyo, and for the next few years — in spite of several disappointments — the work ad- vanced not only in the city and its suburbs but in the country villages around, more especially in Boshu, which lies across the bay from Tokyo. During the latter part of 1894 and the whole of 1895 the work of the Society at Tokyo was again left in the 52 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN hands of native pastors and catechists, occasional visits being paid to them by Mr. Warren, from Osaka. But early in 1896 the Mission was placed in charge of the Rev. W. P. Buncombe, who was transferred from Tokushima, and since then it has not been left without a resident foreign missionary. During Mr. Buncombe's furlough, 1901-2, the Rev. H. J. Hamilton, formerly at Gifu, was placed in charge. At the same time, in 1896 the Mission was further re- inforced by the return of Miss Julius, a missionary of some years' standing, and by the advent of other new missionaries from England. The Mission at Tokyo took its full share in the forma- tion, in 1887, of the Sei Kokwai, and in the legislative work of its synods and the compihng and revising of the Prayer Book. The C.M.S. evangelistic work in Tokyo during the last seventeen years may be briefly described in connexion with (i) the Church of St. Paul's, Kyo- bashi, and of Immanuel, Kojimachi ; (2) the Mission -halls in the Ginza and Fukagawa districts ; (3) the hostels for young men and for girls. (i) St. Paul's Church, Kyohashi. — By 1898 the little church, dedicated to St. Paul, in Tsukiji, had become too small and too dilapidated ; its plaster had fallen off in consequence of earthquakes and from damp during the rains. It was therefore erected upon a larger scale, and later — as the newly built American episcopal cathedral was also situated in Tsukiji — St. Paul's was removed outside the foreign concession to another quarter of the same city division, Kyobashi. Here the numbers and the Christian influence of its congregation have progressed steadily. Until the formation of a Church congregation in Kojimachi, St. Paul's received all the converts resulting from the various evangelistic agencies of the C.M.S in Tokyo. In 1900 its congre- gation contributed £55 in the year, although the mem- THE WORK OF THE S.P.G. AND C.M.S. 53 bers were principally confined to the less wealthy classes. In igo2 the Society's grant-in-aid was dispensed with, and the Church became self-supporting, with the Rev. M. Tomita as its pastor and priest-in-charge. Meanwhile a second and distinct congregation was growing up near the Mission-hall in Kojimachi, which is an important district on the opposite side of Tokyo.^ The Rev. V. H. Patrick was placed in charge of it in 1902, when a certain portion of the hall was set apart for divine service. Mr. Patrick and his catechist are assisted in their Sunday schools, district visiting and other evangelistic work by the Society's lady mission- aries living in Kojimachi. Like many other Japanese Church centres, the Church of Immanuel, Kojimachi, possesses a small but vigorous congregation. It is already contributing towards the support of its catechist, but as yet the Mission-hall has to serve both as preaching- house for evangelistic purposes and as a church for Christian worship. Funds are gradually being col- lected, however, and it is hoped that before long a more ecclesiastical building will be provided for this congre- gation. (2) The Mission-hall in the Ginza and at Fukagawa. — The Mission-hall, or Whidborne Hall, in the Ginza occupies *' an ideal position." It is situated in the middle of the most important thoroughfare of Tokyo, a street traversed from end to end by electric trams, that follow each other momentarily. It is one of the few in the entire city that can boast of a raised 1 Kyobashi may be said to be in the business and Kojimachi in the residential section of the city. Kojimachi stands on much higher ground and contains, besides its pubhc buildings and palaces, many handsome residences of the nobihty and foreign diplomats, and some of the more important government and private schools of the capital. Of these may be mentioned the Peeresses' School under Imperial patronage, and the flourishing private school for English, established by Miss Tsuda — a Japanese lady and member of the Sei Kokwai. 54 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN pavement on either side for foot-traffic. In the Ginza are some of the largest and most up-to-date of the Tokyo shops, which cater for the daily needs of Japanese and foreign residents. In trams and on foot crowds pass along the Ginza at all hours of the day, and many stay to listen for a while to the missionary or catechist in the Whidborne Hall. In one year (1902-3) 300 meetings were held in this hall, which were attended by at least 25,000 people. Even if the number of those who are convinced of the Truth and become baptized members of the Church appear few in comparison (in that year twenty), yet one may feel assured that what they hear must bear fruit in after years. The hall is rarely empty on any preaching-night ; it is often fiUed with passers-by, who come in for a while from idle curiosity, but still there are always those who come again and again to listen eagerly to the divine message. In Fukagawa, a much poorer and very low neighbour- hood, and at some distance from Tsukiji, there have been living, for several years, some families belonging to St. Paul's congregation. Miss Peacocke held for about three years, 1896-99, a class in this district for men of the pohce-force. This work has since been carried on and developed at the police headquarters, Kojimachi, by Miss Palmer upon lines suggested by similar work at Osaka. A small Mission-hall has been owned in the Fukagawa district since 1885. It was rebuilt and im- proved in 1902. Preachings are held there two or three times each week and every Sunday evening. Classes for inquirers and children are taken weekly by the catechist, assisted by ladies of the Mission. There is consequently a small congregation of baptized Christians growing up in this district. (3) Hostels for Young Men and for Girls, — The plan of opening " hostels " for students attending public FIRST AID TO THE INJURED Ladies' Volunteer Nurses' Association, Tokyo 1905. By kind permission of G. Palmer. THE WORK OF THE S.P.G. AND C.M.S. 55 colleges was adopted some years ago and has been proved a successful means of evangelization. By the action of the Government in recent years in the regula- tion and licensing of schools, grants were refused to schools which gave rehgious teaching in their curriculum, and thus Christian instruction in school hours became impossible in schools that desired the grant. Mission work has been hampered by these regulations and by the difficulty of maintaining the level of educational efficiency which has made competition with non- Christian schools more severe. However, no Sei Kokwai Mission schools have been closed, and they have gradually become stronger. Meanwhile, Christian " hostels," or boarding-houses, have been welcomed by guardians and parents who appreciated Christian influence and the moral advan- tages of a Christian family life. What little has been lost by the restriction of Christian teaching in Mission schools has been more than counterbalanced by pro- gress in this direction. The estabhshment of Christian hostels has proved a means of bringing Christianity within the reach of some of the large number of students who attend the ordinary public and private schools of Tokyo. The men's hostel for Christian students was opened in Yushima, on the borders of the Kanda and Hongo divisions of the city, in 1899. Its object is to provide a Christian home for Christian students during their time of study in Tokyo. Most of those who have entered have been members of the Sei Kokwai. The hostel is always full, and has ten or twelve students in residence. Such a hostel is rendered the more necessary by the deplorable state, morally and otherwise, of the ordinary students' lodging-houses for men. The Hostels in Kojimachi and Kanda for Girls, — A 56 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN similar work to that which was begun in a small way by Miss Weston and Miss Hasegawa, and afterwards de- veloped by the W.M.A. of the S.P.G., was undertaken in 1898 by the C.M.S. Tokyo committee. In the autumn of the year Miss Carr and Miss Brownlow opened a Hostel for Girls in the district of Kanda. Students from the High School attached to the Higher Normal College attended their Christian classes, and they averaged about nine girls as boarders, all belonging to upper- class families. The house, which was convenient and roomy, was unfortunately not the Society's property, and therefore in 1900 Miss Carr and Miss Worthington were obliged to seek fresh quarters for their hostel. A permanent habitation was specially desirable in Tokyo, but the state of the society's finances imposed stringent conditions. After a few weeks spent in temporary quarters a move was made in June, 1900, to the present house in Hirakawa Cho, Kojimachi. This, which was taken on a lease with right of sale, is partly Japanese and partly foreign, and fairly convenient, being near to the Peeresses' School. It was thus able to take in a few students who attend this school, as well as some belonging to other schools ; but, on the other hand, it could no longer meet the requirements of the former students and friends living in Kanda. It was to supply this deficiency, and because the board- ing-house system was already giving encouraging results, that in 1902 a second hostel was opened at Misaki Cho, Kanda, under the charge of Miss Reid. Her house was excellently situated, but was cramped for space. She has had many applicants, and there was great sorrow this summer when it was known that the hostel might be given up. In December last (1904) Miss Worthing- ton, who has been in charge with Miss Langton of the Kojimachi hostel since Miss Carr's breakdown in health and return home in 1901, was to go home on furlough. THE WORK OF THE S.P.G. AND C.M.S. 57 This house was the larger, and was the Society's property. It was therefore deemed advisable for Miss Reid and Miss Langton to join, and for a time at least to give up the second hostel in Kanda. A class-room, however, near to her old house, has been secured, where Miss Reid can still give her English and Bible classes. She will therefore keep in touch with most of her former pupils and friends. Evidence has been forthcoming during these years of the spiritual value of these boarding-houses. To those who come from non-Christian homes, the Bible is an unknown book and Christian teaching is not desired. But many learn to take a heartfelt interest in the new teaching. They prove eager to learn, and anxious to discontinue at home the observances which they recog- nize as wrong. From time to time individuals profess the Faith and receive Baptism. In many other cases it may confidently be believed that the seed of eternal life once sown in their hearts will spring up and bear fruit in the years to come. Both in Kojimachi and in Kanda the Mission ladies, in addition to the superintendence of the boarding- houses and the giving of secular and Christian instruc- tion to boarders and outside pupils, assist greatly as " parish " workers of the Mission churches in their neighbourhood. In Kanda, Miss Reid and her house- hold attended the services of All Saints' of the American Episcopal Church, this being the church nearest to them. In the " parish " work of this church she was also able to give some assistance. Indirect evangehstic work has been carried on by friendly intercourse with the friends and relatives of past and present pupils, who tend to gather round each hostel. The war has done much to bring together teachers and pupils, friends and acquaintances, and the hostels have become centres of sympathy and help to Japan in 58 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN her terrible crisis. In Tokyo the war was brought continually before the eyes of all. Soldiers were con- stantly to be seen entraining for the front, full of en- thusiasm for their country's cause, and hundreds of the same brave men were seen returning to fill the hospitals. The impressive spectacle of the mihtary funeral was a constantly recurring sight. The war came home to each class. From the princes and nobles of the highest rank to the working-man with children and relatives dependent upon him — none are exempted. Kipling's lines would excite a smile here of pity for our poor idea of duty. . . . *' Duke's son cook's son," etc. Why, they one and all go as a matter of course, the Emperor needs them ; no one, neither old mother, nor wife, far less an employer, would dream of holding them back. Priests are not excused from military service, be they Christian, Buddhist, or of the state religion, Shintoism. This is only to be expected, yet it seemed a strange thing to witness — the seeing off and wishing " God-speed " to a Christian clergyman departing, with his detachment to the front, as a sergeant in a line regiment ! The Rev. P. Y. Yamada is on the South Tokyo diocesan committee, and is priest-in- charge of the Japanese con- gregation of St. Andrew's church. He is one of the senior clergy of the Sei Kokwai, and has for some years had the care of the St. Andrew's boys' school in his house ; but he is also upon the reserves, having already served, as a corporal, in Kumamoto barracks during the v/ar of 1894-5. It was hoped that he would not be called on again for service, but in October last he was sum- moned to barracks. The Missions of the Sei Kokwai all took a share in the work of succouring the returned invalids from the war, or in that of providing necessaries and comforts for those in the field, or joined in the work of seeing after A SOLDIER OF THE LINE In the same detachment as the Rev. P. Y. Yamada. This man was in Mr. Pahiier's PoUee class and is also a Christian. The uniform is dark blue with yellow facings. By kind permission of G. Palmer. THE WORK OF THE S.P.G. AND C.M.S. 59 the needs of the famihes left behind. Sometimes the members of the missions assist with Japanese and foreign ladies to roll bandages in schools or elsewhere for the Red Cross Societies ; and everywhere missionaries, teachers, residents, students and school-children alike are to be seen knitting the woollen cholera belts and socks which are demanded in wholesale quantities ; in trains and trams, at social gatherings, at drawing-room lectures, in no place and at no time were the knitting needles absent. Many of the women missionaries in Tokyo were members of the " Imonkwai," a very large Japanese society with Princess Mori as president, which provided for the due visiting and relief of every family left behind by the soldiers and sailors. Every household which had sent a man to the front received regular visits of inquiry and sympathy, and where monetary help was needed it was given without delay. Hospital visiting and lantern shows for the convales- cent were carried on systematically, and in Tokyo, as elsewhere, they were the means of conveying Christian sympathy to many a wounded man. The worst cases did not come so far as Tokyo ; the men who returned as wounded or sick were already on their way to recovery. In Kojimachi hospital, which was visited two or three times a week by ladies of the C.M.S. , there were thirteen wards, with about forty men in each. The hospital was always full, owing to the constant stream of in- valids which came up from Hiroshima and Kiiishiu and passed on later, as they get better, to the Toyama hospital or to others in the country. During the sum- mer flowers and illustrated papers were taken to the men, but no direct Christian work could be done. Later on the singing of hymns in the wards became a regular feature of the visits. The authorities also willingly allowed the missionary clergy, foreign and Japanese, 6o CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN to go with the ladies and talk to the men of each ward. The patience and good temper of the men were most striking. The lantern pictures were welcomed with delight. These consisted of a few royalties or celebrities, some amusing pictures, pictures of flowers and scenery, one or two English cathedrals, and then Bible pictures were shown. The stillness that came over the ward when the Story was told was most impressive. At Christmas time the catechists of the Society in Tokyo and all over the country helped to write a private letter to each inmate of the hospital. Thus the 500 men each re- ceived a Christmas letter, a Christmas card, and a prayer-card (from England), together with bunches of flowers for each ward. Another scene might have been witnessed at the Toyama hospital, which was visited by Miss Ballard and Miss Pringle. Here the men were convalescent, and already waxing rather boisterous with returning health and the long ennui. Two large rooms were full of men sitting upon their heels in native fashion, with the lantern sheet hung in the open doorway between the two wards, and keen interest was shown on every face. The Emperor's portrait came first, for which all stood as they sang with vigour the national hymn. The foreign scenes of Gibraltar, Egypt, with the Suez Canal, and other places on the line of the route of the Baltic Fleet excited interest and amusement ; the two or three pictures which followed, of Christ's Life and Death, were received in reverent silence. Then the lights were put up, tracts were given out and then a wild rush was made for the leaflets. The wistful looks of those who asked if we had no more, testified to the wel- come with which the Christian literature was received. The tracts consist, for the most part, of extracts from the Bible, or are the Gospels bound separately. THE WORK OF THE S.P.G. AND C.M.S. 6i The war did not check the I\Iissions, but it changed some of the methods by which it was sought to reach the people ; and though the missionaries could not but lament the misery that it brought in its train, they were thankful for the great wave of mutual sympathy which carried away some of the barriers of prejudice and in- difference. They could thank God also for the spirit of earnest inquiry into the Christian teaching relating to human life and death, which was conspicuous in many different quarters. CHAPTER VI St. Andrew's and St. Hilda's Community Missions AT Tokyo The need for Educational Missions — Bishop Bickersteth's desire for Community Missions — The aims of the two Missions — The members of St. Andrew's Mission to-day (and dates of joining) — The work of St. Andrew's Mission as carried on to-day : i. St. Andrew's Church, Shiba — 2. Tlie Japanese Pro-Cathedral, also St. Andrew's Mission-rooms, boys' school, and hostel for Divinity students — 3. St. Barnabas' Church, Ushigome — 4. Church of Good Hope, Mil a — 5. Holy Cross Church, Kyobashi — 6. St. Stephen's Church, Azabu — 7. Mission-room and " Ragged School," Shina- micho — 8. St. Mary Magdalen, Shinagawa. The Missions of S. Andrew and St. Hilda were founded by Bishop Bickersteth in 1887 and were the outcome of his scheme to estabhsh in Japan communities of both men and women after the manner of the Univer- sity Missions in India. St. Andrew's he designed to be for graduates of universities, and St. Hilda's for ladies of culture as well as of devotional life and zeal. For this end the Guild of St. Paul was inaugurated in England, and has since maintained through its subscribed funds the work of these communities. Since 1900 these Missions have been formally associated with the S.P.G. The object of the Bishop was to reach by means of these Missions the educated classes of Tokyo, which would also form a useful centre for general Mission work. He had proved the good results of establishing University Missions in India, and thought that the labours of the ST. ANDREW'S AND ST. HILDA'S MISSIONS 63 C.M.S. and S.P.G. could be supplemented by like Missions in Tokyo, where educational problems were coming to the fore. It may be well to consider briefly the educational conditions then prevalent in this new capital. In 1886 an offer of educational work in Mr. Fukuzawa's celebrated Japanese school had been made to the Rev. A. Lloyd. As an individual he felt that he could only take partial advantage of this opening for Christian influence, and before the Bishop left England he wrote to him a letter in which he urged the desirability of establishing in Tokyo a University Mission. The needs of the new generation of Japanese women were equally pressing. Japanese history as far back as it goes has given an honourable place to women. Five Empresses have ruled in their own right. A woman was the first historian. Artists of skill and scholarship have been found among Japanese women. The spread of Buddhism, the introduction of Chinese literature, and, above all, the strong influence of the Confucian scholars brought about a change, and in the sixteenth century the Japanese women lost their former positions of respect and equality. Since then the women of Japan have had few educa- tional advantages. The Restoration of 1868 brought rapid and startling changes in the lives of all classes of women. The establishment of pubHc primary schools, of government middle and high schools, of higher normal schools, of the Peeresses' school in Tokyo for the daughters of the nobility and upper classes, altered within a generation the whole condition of female education. These changes have brought per- plexing problems in their train. One is " the difliculty of keeping the beauty and refinement of the old system along with the broader and newer ideas and the freedom of thought and action which come from the culture of 64 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN the intellectual powers." Other problems again are connected with the social position of women. Questions of marriage and divorce have been left to custom, through lack of civil codes upon such matters, though education has done much to change pubHc opinion ; the lessening influence also of the Buddhist religion, which looked down on woman and regarded her as full of impurity, has resulted in the raising of her position in society. Christianity has done, and is doing, much for the elevation of woman, and will undoubtedly do more. In view of these needs the Community Mission of St. Andrew is endeavouring (i) by means of a divinity school to train up men for the native ministry of the Church ; (2) to organize other lectures and classes, e.g. night schools for " the inquirers " and younger baptized members of the Church ; (3) to evangehze by itinerating preaching, and by meetings in and near Tokyo ; (4) to open out, as opportunity affords, fresh centres of work. The Community Mission of St. Hilda is endeavouring (i) to provide schools for the young ; (2) to undertake hospital work and evangelistic visiting ; (3) to train Japanese women missionaries and helpers for the evan- gehzation of their country people. The Rev. L. B. Cholmondeley, who had come out as the Bishop's chaplain, was the first (in 1887) to join the St. Andrew's Mission. During the next three years the Revs. A. F. King, F. E. Freese,^ and Herbert Moore joined the Mission. In 1890 the Rev. C. G. Gardener joined. He had already been working in Japan under the S.P.G. He resigned from St. Andrew's in 1898. Between 1891 and 1894 the Mission was re-enforced by the Revs. L. F. Ryde,2 W. F. Madeley, and A. E. Webb. The response to Bishop Bickersteth's appeal, although he 1 Took charge of St. Andrew's, Yokohama, in 1892. 2 Resigned in iSgq. ST. ANDREW'S AND ST. HILDA'S MISSIONS 65 was himself a Cambridge man, came at the beginning from the sister university, which was represented by these first seven members of the newly established mission. However, in 1896 Mr. Basil Woodd, of Trinity College, Cambridge, joined the Mission as a lay associate. Mr. Woodd returned to England in 1899 and has since returned to Japan, after taking Holy Orders, to undertake work in Osaka under the C.M.S. From the Church in Canada, and from Trinity College, Ibronto, in particular, have come the further rein- forcements. In 1895 the Mission was joined by the Rev. WilUam C. Gemmill, and in 1901 by the Rev. W. H. Mockridge. The members of St. Andrew's Mission are in charge of various Church centres and other spheres of Mission influence both in Tokyo and the surrounding neighbour- hood. Besides the work originating with this Mission they have since Archdeacon Shaw's death, in March, 1902, undertaken the superintendence of the whole of the work connected with the S.P.G. in Tokyo. In con- sequence, the Society now gives grants in aid of the stipends of these missionaries, pending a more per- manent arrangement. The present work of the two Missions may be sum- marised as follows : — I. St. Andrew's Church, Shiba, Tokyo. — ^This church was first built in 1879 for the Japanese congregation in charge of the late Archdeacon Shaw of the S.P.G. It was a pretty red brick structure, towards the building of which the English residents, through Sir Harry Parkes, the British Minister, made a generous contribution. Covered with creepers and occupying an elevated position at one corner of the Shiba park in the midst of the city, it soon became a picturesque landmark for that quarter of Tokyo. But unfortunately this first church was destroyed by the severe earthquake of 1894, F 66 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN and had to be succeeded by a temporary one of wood, which occupied the same ground. The flower beds and closely clipped lawn of St. Andrew's Mission House surrounding it make a pretty enclosure ; but those who remember the former building are ill content with its present substitute. Since 1881, when Archdeacon Shaw was made first chaplain to the British Legation/ it has been used also as the English Church in Tokyo, the Rev. A. F. King having charge of the English services. Until the Easter of this year the services for both Japanese and English congregations were conducted in St. Andrew's ; now, as the Japanese Sunday congregation is too large for the church, their Sunday morning services are held by the Bishop's permission in a large building called the " pro -cathedral." From time to tim.e the Japanese and English congre- gations have added to the internal fittings of the Church of St. Andrew's. 2. The Japanese '' pro-Cathedral." — This is a wooden structure built upon ground adjoining St. Andrew's Church, and known as " the cathedral ground " at Shiba. Its purpose being to provide larger room for diocesan needs until a permanent church can take its place, it has been built according to the most feasible design for the space at command. Apart from the chancel, which ends in a slightly raised apsidal recess that forms this sanctuary, the measurements are practically square ; yet the lofty open roofing gives a satisfactory sense of proportion. The interior is well lighted and ventilated, and in spite of its manifestly temporary character, its simple, spacious proportions induce a certain feeling of restfulness. Outside the two churches look well together as seen 1 Upon his death, in 1902,' the Rev. L. B. Cholmondeley was appointed Legation chaplain. ST. ANDREW'S AND ST. HILDA'S MISSIONS 67 through the separating trees and shrubs ; neither dwarfs the other, nor are they in too close proximity. Closely connected with the church are St. Andrew's Sunday schools, night schools and English club ; at the Mission Rooms, St. Andrew's hostel, and St. Andrew's boy's school : — (i) The Mission Rooms, attached to St. Andrew's House, and formerly known as St. Andrew's " divinity school." The "school" was started soon after the Mission was founded, and ceased about five years ago through the lack of students. The rooms in the school house were kept empty for two years, and were then placed in the charge of the Rev. William C. Gemmill and used as a boarding-house for Christian young men going to college or business. In this boarding-house there is a constant change of members. Eleven men can be housed at a time, and it has already proved most successful in giving a Chris- tian home to many an isolated young Christian man living for the time in Tokyo. The lower rooms of the building are used as Mission rooms, for Sunday schools, the night school, and English club, etc. The Church and parish meetings are likewise held there. The " night-school and English club," which has been going on for many years, is a prominent feature of St. Andrew's Mission work, and exercises an influence for good among an increasing circle of students and younger men of Tokyo. Students from the higher government schools and the higher commercial schools, cadets from the neighbouring military barracks, attend its classes, and take part in the debates which are held from time to time in English. Christians and non- Christians are here brought into friendly social discus- sion ; and the intercourse here begun is often maintained long after they leave Tokyo. This '* English Club " meets every night for an hour, on five nights for lessons 68 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN in English and for a Bible class upon Saturday night. Upon two nights after the English lesson, a lecture on some Christian subject is given to the class. Members often bring with them their friends. As many as fifty have been on the club list at one time, and sixty to seventy, with outside friends, have been present at the debates. (2) St. Andrew's boys' school was started about ten years ago with two or three little boys. It is sup- ported by St. Paul's Guild and the S.P.C.K. and has now ten boys living with their master, the Rev. P. S. Yamada, who is also the pastor-in-charge of the Japanese congregation of St. Andrew's Church. These boys (of Christian parents) are educated at the ordinary schools and under the care of Mr. and Mrs. Yamada, are trained in the hope that they will afterwards devote themselves to missionary work as catechists ; should they wish to do so they pass on into the divinity hostel. Of Mr. Yamada's past boarders, three young men are now in the hostel preparing to be catechists or clergy. (3) St. Andrew's hostel for divinity students, formerly " St. Andrew's divinity school " and revived under this new name, was restarted in 1902 under the Rev. John Imai's guidance. At first Mr. Imai had six students, who lived near to his own house until the hostel could be built. The house in which they were had formed part of the former St. Andrew's orphanage, but when that became no longer necessary it was removed and a larger house was carefully designed for the pur- pose of the hostel. There are now nine students training, and encouraging accounts are given of its condition and prospects. Mr. Imai, the principal, and himself in former years a divinity student of St. Andrew's, does much of the teaching. The students go for some of their lectures to the divinity school of the American Mission ; and Mr. Imai is one of the lecturers in that institution. ST. ANDREW'S AND ST. HILDA'S MISSIONS 69 A past student of this hostel has received a scholar- ship from Trinity College, Toronto, and has gone there for a four-years course. His first impressions Mr. Iwai has sent in a paper contributed to the South Tokyo diocesan magazine of August, 1904. 3. St. Barnabas' Church, Ushigome, Tokyo. — Ushigome is a part of Tokyo lying away from the main thorough- fares of the city, and, unlike Shiba, owns no park nor celebrated temple to form an attraction to foreign tour- ists or to Japanese crowds. But its streets are hvely, typical and picturesque. It is a residential quarter of the Japanese nobility, and the military college and the normal school and university make it an important centre of Japanese education. The Rev. W. B. Wright, who with the late Archdeacon Shaw was one of the two first S.P.G. missionaries sent out to Japan in 1873, was the first to start a Mission in Ushigome some twenty- five years ago, but since then Missions of six other denominations have commenced working in this densely populated district. Mr. Wright resigned in 1882, and the work was then placed in charge of St. Andrew's Mission ; in 1887 ^he district passed into the care of the Rev. L. B. Cholmondeley, and has thus continued to be a branch mission of St. Andrew's. In 1879 ^^^' Wright built a church for his congrega- tion, but the work under Mr. Cholmondeley, assisted by the Rev. W. F. Madeley, progressed so well that in 1897 a larger and handsomer church was opened in view of the increasing needs of this district. This new church was dedicated to St. Barnabas, and towards its building a generous donation of £410 was given by a lady in England, and a further sum of ^^84 was given by the Lincoln Branch of St. Paul's Guild in memory of the late Mrs. Venables of Lincoln. Shortly afterwards a Japanese dwelling-house close to that used for the parish room and night-school and conveniently near 70 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN to the new church was secured ; the two buildings were connected and turned into a mission house for the clergy, and the old church building was for a time used as a school and parish -room, but has since been given up. The night-school and the Young Men's Association connected with St. Barnabas' Church, both of which date from early days of the Mission, have done much to draw together the younger men who come into con- tact with the clergy and catechists. There are weekly and monthly classes and meetings for English and Bible study, which are usually well attended. Many of the members of the night-school and association are non- Christians, some of whom are thus led to become " in- quirers " and to attend services at the church. Since 1893 Miss Ballard, an associate of St. Hilda's Mission, has lived in Ushigome and has given valuable assistance to Mr. Cholmondeley in visiting and in Chris- tian work among the women of the district. Miss Pringle, also a St. Hilda's associate, has, for the last two years, been living near to St. Barnabas'. At first in Miss Ballard's house — during her furlough — and after- wards in a larger house she had boarding with her eight or ten students, who for the most part belonged to the ladies' university, which is not far off. Now that St. Hilda's has opened a hostel for students near to that uni- versity. Miss Pringle is once more in Miss Ballard's house taking the Ushigome work, while Miss Ballard does country work. 4. Church of Good Hope, Mita. — In this district of Tokyo is situated the great private university founded by Mr. Fukuzawa, one of the foremost of Japan's earher progressive educationists. Here, as has been said, the late Archdeacon Shaw and the Rev. A. Lloyd, then on the staff of the S.P.G., held classes, and carried on Christian work among the teachers and students in a small Japanese house rented for the purpose in the GROUP OF PUPILS. By kind permission of Miss Ballard. ST. ANDREW'S AND ST. HILDA'S MISSIONS 71 district. Mr. Lloyd at his own expense fitted up a small chapel in the university compound, in which for two years services in Japanese and Enghsh were held. Those in English were for the benefit of the foreign Christian teachers helping at the University. The congregation increased so much that in a short time a church was thought necessary. Through the kindness of a friend of Mr. Lloyd, a little church, named the Church of Good Hope, was built in 1888 near to the school, at a cost of £70. In 1890, upon Mr. Lloyd's leaving for Canada, the church was placed in charge of the Rev. H. Jeffreys. Since his time the members of St. Andrew's Mission have had the oversight of it, the Rev. W. C. Gemmill, who also lectures at the university, being the priest-in-charge. The congregation is largely composed of students, and is consequently a varying one. Indeed, much of the Christian work among them has now drifted to St. Andrew's House, as the " inquirers " and Christians among the students more frequently attend St. Andrew's services and classes. But a small house in the neigh- bourhood of the church at Mita has always been hired. Classes, meetings, and preaching for non-Christians have been actively carried on, and there is also a small library for use of the students and inquirers. Within the last year Mr. Gemmill has lately been trying to collect funds to build a house as church-house and catechist's residence in the same compound as the church. 5. Holy Cross Church, Kyohashi. — ^This church in the heart of the city was built originally by the Rev. W. B. Wright. The Rev. F. E. Freese was in charge, 1890-3, the Rev. A. F. King from 1893-1900, and since then it has been under the care of the Rev. C. N. Yoshizawa. 6. St. Stephen's Chtirch, Ichi-no-hashi, Azabii. — The Mission-house was rented for an " Enghsh club," ante- 72 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN cedent to the present St. Andrew's " English club " as early as 1888. Christian work in this district of Tokyo was originally begun by the Congregationalists, but some years ago the Mission bought from them their preaching- house, and have adapted part of the building as a chapel-of-ease for St. Andrew's, using the other part for a catechist's house and school-room. The work in the Azabu district has so prospered of late years that St. Stephen's is now a separate charge of the Japanese clergy of St. Andrew's. 7. The Mission-Room and " Ragged School " in ShinamichOy a part of Tokyo answering to the east-end of London, originated about 1890, from a famine relief fund raised by Archdeacon Shaw. The " Ragged School " was begun by a Mr. Naito as a work of Chris- tian philanthropy. Being in the ist Reserves, Mr. Naito was recalled to the colours as a non-commissioned officer at the beginning of the Russian war, and was one of the victims of the transport Hitachi Maru. His loss has been keenly felt by the Shinamicho Mission and schools. Together with the Rev. A. E. Webb, and with the assistance of one or other of the divinity students, the school had been carried on by Mr. Naito for some years and made most successful. More than seventy street urchins are taught daily in the new school-room, which is light and airy, and much larger than the old quarters. The school has been carried on for twenty years, always by soldier-teachers. There is no other school in the neighbourhood for the children to go to, and its good influence has been recognized by the authorities and is regarded most favourably by the police, this part of the city being one of the poorest and most depraved. Although described as '* nonde- script " the school can yet glory in " its Speech-day and Sports," and on that day at least the little scholars have a special " scrub up " for the occasion. ST. ANDREW'S AND ST. HILDA'S MISSIONS 73 A new Mission-house had to be built about the same time as the school. With the funds collected, and by the timely promise of the S.P.G. to be responsible for the ground-rent, this was successfully done. The Sanctuary can be screened off by the Japanese sliding doors when the room is not used for a service, and the Mission is thus enabled to hold Church services in the room as reverently and decorously as in a building entirely devoted to the purpose. 8. St. Mary Magdalen, Shinagawa. — Shinagawa, a suburb of Tokyo, lies along the sea-shore on the road to Yokohama. It has rapidly grown in size and importance, and bids fair to become a great manufacturing centre. Shinagawa was famous in years gone by as containing the chief execution ground of the city, and as such it may be the spot where many Japanese Christians died for the Faith under the Tokugawa persecutions. Round this place was grouped a small village of the Eta or pariah class of Japan. The Eta people were an outcast race, whose origin is obscure, to whom were assigned duties that none other would undertake, e.g. those of executioners, the preparation of leather and the dis- posal of the dead. Work among the Eta was begun by the S.P.G. through Archdeacon Shaw and the Rev. J. Imai in 1880. Ten years later a church, originally built by the American Presbyterian Mission, but whose congregation had fallen away, was purchased by sub- scription, and is now used for the Mission services. The funds for the support of this work have been chiefly supphed by Mr. Plummer, a former S.P.G. missionary. The church when bought was repainted inside and out, and has a handsome appearance. The name chosen in dedication was that of St. Mary Magdalen, the special notoriety of the neighbourhood giving this title a special significance. The site was formerly temple property, and there still remains in the front court-yard of the 74 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN church a sacred pine-tree known from old as the " tor- toise pine." A portion of the church building can be screened off, enabhng it to be used for classes, etc. It can be easily understood that work in this district has proved very difficult, and it is only of late years that the confidence of the poor down-trodden Eta class has been in any measure won. For the last two years Mr. Imai has been succeeded by the Rev. Yoniji Yamagata, and both he and Mr. Imai have worked with moderate success among the people of the neighbourhood other than the " Eta " class. In this they have been much assisted by the older divinity students. ^ ;.4^*':.i« >*< ^H liS A PILGRIM STARTING FOR THE HOLY MOUNTAIN Nikko 1904 By kind permission of G. Palmer. CHAPTER VII St. Andrew's and St. Hilda's Community Missions AT Tokyo (continued). Early days and the growth of St. Hilda's ^lission — j\Iiss Thorn- ton's death — The work of the Mission at present carried on — Its schools and other evangelistic work in Tokyo. Before giving a sketch of the work now carried on by St. Hilda's Mission, it will be necessary to say a few words about the start and early days of the community. The Bishop's great wish was to found a Mission on Church principles but not on party lines. Miss Thornton and Miss Braxton Hicks as first members of the Mission were welcomed by the bishops in Tokyo in December, 1887. Many candidates offered, but it was only pos- sible to accept a few. A list of the present staff of the Mission will be found in the S.P.G. annual report. The Mission buildings are situated upon rising ground, within a few minutes' walk of St. Andrew's Church. The members' house and the " High School " for girls were twice enlarged within the first ten years to meet the increasing demands of the work, and since then there have been still further additions. In the same compound, secured for the community by Bishop Bickersteth, various buildings have been erected from time to time, e.g. the training school for mission workers, the industrial school, and the orphanage. But these extensions have not entirely taken away the garden nor some fine old trees that together afford a dehghtful, welcome and restful shade to the busy inmates. 75 76 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN The last alteration has added a new wing to the original house for the use of the foreign and Japanese members, teachers, and certain divinity students ; also an enlarged chapel, into which have been removed the carved oak altar and chancel screen that were in the old chapel. The chapel is used daily by the members, the mission workers, and the pupils for various services. The warden, chaplain, and Japanese clergy hold services within it which are open to foreign and Japanese ladies other than those directly connected with the Mission. As can be judged from the frequent need for enlarged premises, St. Hilda's Mission has been constantly growing, but before summarizing the work carried on to-day, mention should be made of the medical work which was begun in 1888. A hospital was arranged within the compound, with twenty beds, and two dis- pensaries, which acted as centres for district nursing in different parts of the city. As an evangelistic agency it did good work. It was for this reason the more re- gretfully given up eleven years later, when the efficiency of the Japanese hospitals and their dispensaries had done away with the urgent need for foreign medical work in Tokyo. To-day St. Hilda's Mission work stands as follows : — (i) The " Joshi Shingakko," or school for the train- ing of Japanese women as mission workers. These re- ceive a three- or four- years course of theological study, combined with some further secular education to fit them, upon graduation, to be missionary workers. During the last year or two of their course the students assist in the evangelistic work, under supervision. It is expected of them that after graduation they should remain in the service of St. Hilda's Mission for two years, in return for their training. In their separate Japanese house, presided over by a Japanese matron, the students themselves do all the domestic work. ST. ANDREW'S AND ST. HILDA'S MISSIONS ^^ taking turns in the cooking. These girls come of good middle -class families, and receive with their missionary training a fair Japanese education. The aim in this divinity school is to fit them, not only for their duties as Mission workers, but as suitable wives for catechists of the Sei Kokwai when occasion arises. There are at present eleven students in the school ; a few others, who have had a better education, live in St. Hilda's House and have the advantage of the English classes in the girls' school while they are taking the theological course. These girls and certain workers live with the community ; but they eat Japanese food, and their bedrooms are constructed in Japanese fashion. Other dioceses besides that of South Tokyo have a share in the benefit of this school. One student has recently been trained for Bishop Foss, of the diocese of Osaka, and he has now sent two more to the school. Recently there were two students in training for the American Episcopal Mission. For the missionary society of the Canadian Church (M.S.C.C.) St. Hilda's has four students in training. This divinity school is one of the most important features of St. Hilda's work. From the first evangelistic work was the object of the Mission ; the hospital and dispensaries proved a means to this end, and from those earlier efforts has grown this important school. The need of it was early discerned by Bishop Bickersteth, who entrusted its organization to Miss Thornton. Her labours of nearly seventeen years have borne fruit which is recognized with gratitude to-day. Miss Thornton has now passed away from the Mission she loved so devotedly.^ Missionaries and residents alike of the Anglo-American community in Tokyo united with Japanese of nearly every social grade in doing honour to her memory, and in witnessing to its 1 November 13, 1904. yS CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN power and their own sense of loss. Crowds attended the funeral services in St. Andrew's pro -cathedral, and followed the procession of clergy, choir and mourners to the grave in the Aoyama cemetery. It is hard to describe what her loss has been to the Mission of St. Hilda's. (2) Evangelistic work has been undertaken in various parts throughout the city and country. The widely scattered Church centres in the districts of Azabu, Shinamicho, Mita, Kyobashi, Shinagawa, and Ushigome all receive aid from the Mission. The work among women and children, Sunday school teaching and visit- ing, is for the most part carried on by the members of St. Hilda's, aided by Japanese hcensed workers and students who have been trained in the St. Hilda's divinity school. The Mission also helps in S.P.G. work at Yokohama and Numazu, in the villages of Hadano and Oyama, and throughout the Chiba ken, or Prefecture. Occasional visits are paid to the Bonin Islands, which are under the charge of the S.P.G.^ (3) The girls' school is a " High school " for young ladies. The pupils, who are admitted from ten years old, have a high-class Japanese education on modern lines. Many of the subjects are taught in English, such as elementary science and Swedish drill. Japanese sewing is taught to all the pupils ; flower-arrangement and drawing, still considered essential accomplishments, are taken as extra subjects. Much attention is paid to games, and St. Hilda's was the first school in Tokyo to play hockey. These Japanese schoolgirls quickly show both interest and skill in their play. Such Western games as tennis and hockey help to brighten the wits and strengthen the delicate physique of the upper-class schoolgirls. Their life under the old regime was confined and enervating, while the education of the present day tends to unduly stimulate their mental ^ See footnote in chapter on work at Kobe. ST. ANDREW'S AND ST. HILDA'S MISSIONS 79 powers, unless with the studies is given healthy outdoor exercise to develop the body and brain. The school has about 100 girls, with twenty boarders. The staff consists of ten Japanese teachers besides the foreign missionaries. The fees, which are only four shillings a month, cover half the current expenses of the school. Last year a grant of £400 from the St. Paul's Guild enabled the Mission to build five more light and airy class-rooms, and to add some more sleeping accommodation for boarders. The pupils in the school receive Christian teaching, and the boarders attend morning and evening prayers in St. Hilda's chapel ; on Sundays they go to St. Andrew's church, i.e. the pro-cathedral. Many of the pupils have become Christians. Others long to follow their example, but their parents refuse permission. The marriage question often bars the way until the prospective husband (or rather his mother !) is found to be willing. On the staff also are to be found " inquirers " and catechumens ; and indirect results may be hoped for from the influence in later years of those who are now receiving Christian education upon sound Church lines. The girls' school is worked upon a different method from the divinity school, but its aims are the same. Cases are reported of girls telling their relatives and friends of the Christian Faith. The indirect influence of a younger generation may help in the near future toward breaking down the barriers, social and political, which have been raised by the old religions. (4) An industrial school is carried on, in which em- broidery and Japanese needlework are taught. It has been developed to help Christian girls to earn their own living, for, with many, refusal to marry unbelievers and other conscientious motives force them to seek independent livelihood. In 1890 the problem was partly solved by the opening of a 8o CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN school for English needlework ; this prospered greatly under Miss Bullock's care, and three years later the teaching of Church and other embroidery was started. The school is now established as one of the works of the Mission. It has solved the distressing problem for many a brave young Christian thrown sud- denly upon her own resources, and it has met a growing necessity of the Church by its supply of exquisitely worked altar frontals, altar linens, stoles, etc., which cannot otherwise be obtained in the country. Em- broidery is very popular with the girls and with their parents, and it is also a very lucrative trade in Japan. Any girl who graduates from St. Hilda's embroidery school can earn her own living. The orders coming in for Church embroidery testify to a desire to have " all things decent and in order " among the native clergy and congregations. There are twenty-five girls in the school, and of these the greater number of senior girls can support themselves by their embroidery. The four-years course enables them to gain a certificate qualifiying them to be teachers. The assistant teacher is herself a graduate of four year's standing. The girls are given religious instruction, and on two afternoons a week they have ordinary school- lessons. Many of them having passed through the orphanage are already Christians, and have received an elementary school education. Miss Thornton in one of her reports noted that " not the least satisfactory part of this embroidery work is the fact that it brightens the girls' intellects and makes them keen and interested. ... A brighter and happier set of girls it would not be easy to find." The training to earn an independent livelihood affords joy to the Japanese girl of to-day, on whom the yoke of the past customs and duties presses heavily. (5) The John Bishop Orphanage and School for Girls. ST. ANDREW'S AND ST. HILDA'S MISSIONS 8i — ^This work was started in 1892, and three years later a separate building was provided within the compound by the late Mrs. Bishop, the noted traveller, in memory of her husband. The school provides a home and education for destitute orphans. The minimum age is six, and it is customary for the girls when they are fifteen years old to pass on into St. Hilda's industrial school, or to go into domestic service. The elder girls are taught domestic duties, and the little children attend outside schools. The orphanage, which began with a small number, has now twenty-three children. (6) The Old Women's Home. — This Home has grown from a small house rented in Azabu, opened as a shelter for two or three aged Christian women in extreme poverty. In that crowded district there was constant dread of fire, and in 1901 a house with its own garden was built within ten minutes' walk of St. Hilda's Mis- sion. Away from the squalor of their old surroundings, the little compound in its shady lane affords a " quiet resting-place " and almshouse for eight or nine very old and infirm Christian women. The inmates do various kinds of easy work, such as the making of fans and match-boxes, and so earn a little each month. There are eleven with the matron ; they have their separate little rooms, a kitchen, and a small chapel. The house, built in Japanese fashion, is airy, light and clean. The Home is entirely supported by friends in Japan. (7) The work among students at Koishikawa con- sists of English teaching in the women's university in the Koishikawa district of Tokyo, together with a hostel and the giving of Bible teaching to students. The " Joshi Dai Gakko " is a large college of over 1,000 girls, established by a Japanese educational council, the growth and success of which, .have been remarkable. G 82 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN Nearly 600 girls are in the college department, and about 500 in the lower classes, or school. When the opportunity offered about two years ago for one of the members of St. Hilda's to be on the staff of teachers at the college, the work was undertaken by the Mission as affording a great opening for reaching this important class of young Japanese women. Most of the students in the college department are preparing for teaching ; they come from all parts of the country and are as keenly interested in all the student topics of the day as their sisters of the West in America and in England. In 1902 a temporary step was taken by the Mission to supply a want on the part of some of the Christian students at the college, when Miss Pringle in Ushigome, which is not far away, took a few of them, together with students from other schools, as boarders in her own house. A Christian hostel has since been built near to the college, with a member of the Mission in charge. This opening of Christian boarding-houses for students has met a need felt by young girls, children and older women students, who are being educated in Tokyo. It may be added that the St. Hilda's hostel for women students is already proving its justification as a new and outljdng branch of the Mission's work. The care of the students actually living in the hostel is only a small part of the work. The house has a wider use as a centre to which students from the College, and other schools in the neighbourhood, may come for Bible teach- ing. In the College, as in other pubhc schools, the education is purely secular, no religious teaching being allowed ; but the students may, if they obtain per- mission from their parents, attend Bible-classes held outside the college on Sundays, and numbers of students avail themselves of this opportunity. The house is built entirely on Japanese plans, with rooms for twenty- five students besides those for the missionary-in-charge ST. ANDREW'S AND ST. HILDA'S MISSIONS 83 and the Japanese matron, the guest-room, kitchen and offices, and class-rooms for Bible lessons and meetings. The number of pupils in the hostel during this first term gives promise for its future success. CHAPTER VIII Church Work at Osaka Sketch of its progress and present centres of C.M.S. work — Preaching-halls — Evangelistic Mission at the Exhibition- Mission schools — Osaka sub-districts and Mission out- stations (summary). I. Osaka was one of the treaty ports opened in 1858 to foreign residence and trade. From the time of Hide- yoshi onwards it has been a city of importance, and since its opening to Western commerce it has become second in size and the principal commercial city of the Empire. To this place came the Rev. C. F. Warren, in Decem- ber, 1873, as the first C.M.S. missionary to central Japan. The acquisition of the language and his duties as chap- lain for the English community at Kobe occupied most of his time at first, but gradually the tiny chapel, or Mission-room, adjoining his house became a centre of evangelistic effort and gathered within its walls the nucleus of the future Church. Though the edicts against Christianity had been withdrawn, it was as yet impossible to procure within the city a building for Mission purposes, excepting within the confined area of the foreign concession ; but crowds came there to hear the new doctrine, and within eighteen months from his first preaching Mr. Warren had the joy of baptizing his first six converts. For the next few years Mr. Warren, joined by the 84 CHURCH WORK AT OSAKA 85 Rev. H. Evington ^ in 1876, carried on encouraging work both in the city and in some of the surrounding villages of the Osaka plain. In the inns and the wayside tea-houses, in the houses of the newly baptized, and at the Mission chapel on the concession, interested hearers gathered to listen, who soon became " inquirers " ; then families of twos and threes received Holy Baptism, thus adding to the number of Church members ; and by June of 1877 as many as seventeen Japanese Christians were confirmed by Bishop Burdon of Hongkong on his second visit to Japan. This service was held in the newly dedicated Church of the Holy Trinity, which had replaced the smaller chapel. This church has since been twice en- larged ; in 1881 it was removed bodily to a short dis- tance, and six years later was rebuilt and erected on a larger scale on ground acquired by the Society in the city. Meanwhile a second church had been built and was be- coming a further centre of Christian effort. This was the Church of the Saviour — originally a dwelling-house inter- nally fitted up as a Mission church — which was opened for service in October, 1879. Its little congregation at the start included several of those formerly attending Holy Trinity Church. When, five years later, in 1884, the Home Committee of the C.M.S. made a grant to the pastorate fund of the Church at Osaka, " lay pastors " were appointed to these Churches ; the congregation of Holy Trinity engaging to pay the whole of its pastor's salary, and the other — the much smaller and younger congregation — making itself responsible for half the sum needed. The Church Council of these congrega- tions guaranteed as well nearly half the expenses con- nected with the native catechist and the evangelistic work of the two Churches. Until this time there had 1 Now Bishop of Kiushiu. 86 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN been no regularly appointed catechist at Osaka. In 1887 some lay pastors were ordained, and in due course received priest's orders, thus freeing the foreign missionaries, the Revs. C. F. Warren, H. Evington, G. Pile and G. Chapman — the last two arriving in 1881 and 1884 respectively — for other duties. Both the Church of Holy Trinity and the Church of the Saviour have become increasingly important and influential centres of evangelization. Japan is an independent nation, and her Church must be her own. In the same way as her military and naval foreign instructors have been retained so long as their sendees were necessary, so long will she welcome Christian instructors Care, however, needs to be taken lest the prospect should be marred by haste on the part of both Japanese converts and their foreign Christian guides. The desire of a congregation for a nativ'e pastor, and the rigid self-denial and zeal shown in view of its attain- ment, are to be highly commended. Besides the two older Churches, two newer Church congregations have been since gradually formed in different parts of the city. The Church of the Resurrection holds its services in a Japanese dwelling-house, which, with a few alterations, has been adapted to the uses of a church. About two years ago land was bought to the value of £300, and the missionary in (financial) superintendence, the Rev. C. T. Warren (son of the late Archdeacon Warren), hopes to raise the remainder of the sum then loaned for that purpose. The Rev. Y. Mori is in charge, and the women's and children's classes and the boys' night- school connected with this Church are especially flourish- ing, and are under the care of Miss Howard, the C.M.S. lady missionary working in that part of the city. The Jonan Church, so called from its situation which CHURCH WORK AT OSAKA ^y is south of the castle, is a temporary building in the style of a foreign church with its nave and chancel. The church was founded by Archdeacon Price about ten years ago, when principal of Momoyama school, also in this part of Osaka. He collected £20 towards a church building, and under the Rev. W. R. Gray two years ago, the congregation themselves began to add to this fund and to repay the bishop of the diocese for the cost of its church land. The little church is exer- cising an increasing Christian power and influence in the neighbourhood. The missionary in charge is assisted by a Japanese deacon, and has been aided in evangelistic visiting and in the women and children's work by Miss Jackson, now Mrs. Heaslett. Classes for soldiers and for men in commercial positions are carried on with encouraging success, and the Sunday school of sixty children gives especial hope. 2. Evangelistic Work at the Mission-rooms and else- where. — Along with the gradual organization of these separate Church congregations and the establishment of schools, to be referred to later, public preaching and instruction classes have been carried on at the preaching- places in different parts of the city. Special efforts have also from time to time been made to take advantage of special opportunities, to reach distinct classes of the community. Under this head may be classed work among the men of the police force of Osaka, which has served as the basis of similar work undertaken later at Tokyo. Another work is that among the factory hands. The first preaching- room was opened in 1879 with a book store for the sale of Church literature connected with it. A second was opened in the following year, from which grew the congregation of the Church of the Saviour. In 1900 a new and central Mission-room was opened and built in memory of Archdeacon Warren, 88 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN and is known as the " Warren Memorial Hall." It has separate class-rooms and a library attached. This library and reading-room for Christians and inquirers were founded in memory of the late Miss J. Caspari, for twenty-three years missionary in West Africa and Japan, who died at Osaka in 1888. Some seventy members attend the classes held in the hall several nights in the week, for English and for foreign singing. Bible instruction is also given at every class meeting. Good evangelistic results are shown by these classes, as also by the preaching which is conducted twice weekly in connexion with a young men's night-school. The C.M.S. book store is now associated with the Warren Hall, and its special monthly issue of a Japanese mis- sionary paper, The Light of the Warld^ has an increasing sale and Christian influence throughout the country. A great impetus to evangelistic work in general was given by the twentieth century " Jackyo Dendo " (or great missionary gathering), held in Tokyo in 1900, in which the C.M.S. took a prominent part. The several Church congregations at Osaka have become since the holding of the " Jackyo Dendo " stronger and more energetic centres of evangelistic work. Another great missionary effort was made at the time of the Osaka exhibition. During the Japanese national exhibition, held at Osaka in the spring and summer of 1903, an op- portunity presented itself for preaching and setting forth the Gospel of Christ to the thousands who visited this exhibition from all parts of the Empire. On this occasion the " Missionary Association of Central Japan " ^ determined to make a united Christian evangelistic effort. Ground was secured and a con- 1 Composed of the principal Protestant Missions, and with which the Church Missionary Society works as an Associated Mission. CHURCH WORK AT OSAKA 8q venient and large Mission-hall erected, in a most pro- minent position exactly opposite to the main entrance of the exhibition. From the first the attendance was so large that in place of three meetings a day, as previously arranged, ten became necessary. On the first Sunday there was an audience of 17,000 people, and there was a similar attendance on most of the succeeding days. The shops and various attractions in the immediate vicinity failed to attract crowds as great as those which were to be seen around the Mission-hall. Nor were the people reluctant to enter or to listen. Each meeting lasted about forty minutes, including one or two speeches and the singing of suitable hymns. Volunteers at the meetings distributed special tracts and papers for the names of those who desired to inquire further. Not only at the Mission-hall, but throughout the streets during the exhibition, the sale of Bibles and Christian literature was vigorously pushed by the colporteurs of the Bible Societies and Osaka Christian book stores. The Reli- gious Tract Society and the Japan Book and Tract Society made donations in money and pubhcations. It was calculated that 207 Bibles, 7,224 Testaments, 3,619 separate portions, and 6,813 copies of a special penny edition of the New Testament were sold ; to the exhibition officials 1,200 free copies of the last named were distributed. Four million people visited the exhibition during the five months it was open, and the total attendance at these Mission meetings amounted to 246,000, that is, one out of every sixteen visitors to the exhibition entered the Mission-hall.^ 1 The large sign board over the Mission-hall with the text " Come and see " in Japanese characters doubtless attracted the notice of numbers. It was observed that the meetings under that sign became the subject of conversation in the bazaars and stalls around the exhibition. 90 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN The five months were divided into thirteen days of " united effort " by the various Missions of the Associa- tion, followed by twenty-eight days for each of the five groups of Missions — the Episcopal, the Baptist, the Congregational, the Presbyterian, the Methodists, and the American Methodist Episcopal. It is difficult to sum up the result of an evangelistic Mission of this kind conceived and conducted upon lines which to some readers may appear inappropriate to the cause advocated. Definite results were not looked for. The purpose of an industrial exhibition is to show to the world objects of industry that otherwise would be unknown or the value of which is misunderstood. The missionary association, aware of the crowds that would flock from all parts of Japan to this exhibition, were of opinion that here was an opportunity for the preaching of the Gospel to thousands of men and women to whom its message was unknown. They succeeded beyond their expectations in making known the divine message to 246,000 souls. If the Mission be regarded as a pro- clamation the results attained were encouraging ; there were few tangible results in statistics which could be tabulated under lists of " earnest inquirers," or " bap- tized," in consequence of the Mission. But even from this point of view none of the missionaries would regard their labour as wasted, in view of the twenty or more persons whose baptism can be traced to this Mission. One woman heard a foreign missionary preaching on the Prodigal Son, and stayed to hear other sermons ; she is now a regular and earnest attendant at church, and is being prepared for baptism. Others, who at home lived near to Christian churches, had never heard, or had never listened to, the Gospel before ; but, at the exhibition Mission hall the Gospel message came home to their hearts, and they are now either baptized or preparing for baptism. CHURCH WORK AT OSAKA 91 The indirect influence exerted throughout the country by the sale of Testaments, Bibles and tracts cannot be calculated. A young Buddhist, or Shinto, priest was reading in a train near to Sendai a New Testament bought at the exhibition ; entering into conversation with a missionary in the carriage, he told her how at Osaka he had heard of Christianity for the first time, and how he was now diligently studying the New Testa- ment. 3. CMS. Mission Schools in Osaka — The " Bishop Poole Memorial Girls' School." — A boarding- and day- school for girls was established by the Society's Mission in 1879. ^^iss Oxlad, who was in charge of it at first, began with only fourteen children. From the beginning its work was recognized as Christian, and very soon the increase of boarders and day-girls outgrew the accom- modation. Matters were made worse in 1885 when, with an increasing number of boarders and day-scholars, still smaller premises had to be taken ; however, the next year, through the gift of a lady visiting Japan, a better house was obtained. A httle later Bishop Poole's widow and Archdeacon Warren collected sub- scriptions for building a suitable boarding-house and class-rooms for the school in memory of Bishop Poole's episcopate. The buildings were erected at the cost of £1,500, as the property of the C.M.S., and the school was carried on as before under the supervision of its mis- sionaries. The Society for Promoting Female Education in the East continued to provide one of the teachers. In 1890 the new buildings were formally opened under the title of the "Bishop Poole Memorial Girls' School," and Miss K. Tristram, B.A. (London), was installed as principal. Before long the head Japanese teacher and some of the girls having been baptized, Miss Tristram could report that all the elder girls in the school were now 92 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN Christians. A Sunday-school for poor children was worked from the school, and in a few years five of such schools were held every Sunday in different parts of the city. Before its removal to its new home, the work of the school had borne results, in spite of the lack of space from which it had suffered. Three of the first seven graduates undertook Christian work as bible- women in Hakkodate, Gifu, and Kumamoto respectively. Another became interpreter to an S.P.G. lady mis- sionary, while two remained at the school as Christian teachers. The death of a promising pupil in 1885 and its attendant circumstances in the missionary hospital so influenced one of the female patients in the same ward that she and her husband afterwards became Christians and members of the Set Kokwai. The " Bishop Poole memorial school " is a primary and high school combined. The whole course, primary, preparatory, and upper school takes eleven years, graduation from the latter securing a certificate from Government of higher degree than from the Osaka Government girls' high schools. Graduates from these latter schools enter for the higher Japanese course and for English at the " Poole memorial " school. In 1892 a change was made in the Japanese curriculum by the modification of the study of Chinese classics in the character. The curriculum for the primary or infant school is the same as in Government schools, and is under Government control. The whole school has been recognized as Christian from the beginning. In the infant school the Society has experienced difficul- ties of late years owing to the demand by the Govern- ment that there should be a teacher with higher certi- ficates, and to the demur which was made in regard to Biblical instruction, in a school under their surveillance. Fortunately a suitable Christian teacher came forward at the right moment. The other difficulty was over- CHURCH WORK AT OSAKA 93 come by the firm attitude assumed by the missionaries, who were prepared to disband the lower school rather than relinquish the religious teaching. The authorities accordingly gave way, and assented to the instruction being given as before, but before school hours and in another part of the building. Every morning, the whole school, boarders and day- girls, meet for morning prayers (hymns and school litany) and then separate into classes for Bible teaching before going to their other lessons. The infants and younger children are taught by pictures and such a simple outline of Christian teaching as is given in the ** Line upon Line " series. A higher class, at the time of my visit, was learning from St. Matthew's Gospel, and others, elder non-Christian girls, were having lessons from St. John's Gospel by the head Japanese teacher. Those who are more advanced in religious teaching and are Christians receive lessons on the Acts of the Apostles, whilst the highest class of older Christian girls study portions of the Old Testament under the principal. There are boarders in all three divisions of the school, and these have evening prayers with short exposition, and on the Sunday attend Sunday-school and the services of Holy Trinity Church. There are altogether 240 pupils, fifty-four of whom are boarders, whilst eighty-five are baptized Christians. Their ages range from six in the infant school up to seventeen or eighteen in the upper school. No one is ever urged to be baptized, but the Christian atmosphere and teaching exert a continuous influence ; " inquirers " become baptized Christians, and a large proportion of the graduates undertake the work of Mission helpers. Since the foundation of the school there have been fifty-five graduates. Of these forty-eight have, at least for a time, helped in the Mission ; fourteen, after working as Mission helpers or teachers in different parts 94 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN of the country, have married Japanese Christians ; five have helped in Mission work away from the school for a time and have now returned, or gone elsewhere for further study ; and nineteen are now actively working for the Missions of the Church.^ The " Memorial " school has thus become an agency both for evangeliza- tion and for the training of native missionaries. In connexion with this branch of Mission work, it should be mentioned that the Bible Women's Home, opened in 1891, has for thirteen years assisted the C.M.S. by training Japanese women for evangelistic work. Many of the women who have been through the Home during the thirteen years of its history are now working in the various Mission spheres of the Society. Besides daily Bible teaching and other instruction given by Miss Boulton, lectures were given by some of the tutors of the divinity school upon the Prayer Book, and Christian evidences, etc. The women shared in the evangelistic work of the Church and the preaching centres of the city, and in the vacations they were sometimes sent out, two together, to evangelize districts where openings for work had begun to appear. The opening of the girls' school in 1879 pi"epared the way for the establishment of one for boys. For some time Christian boys had been allowed to attend the girls' school, and when, in 1884, this was no longer pos- sible, a boys' school was opened in the room at the rear of Holy Trinity Church. At the end of the year there were twenty-six pupils. In two years' time a building had been purchased, re-erected and adapted for the purpose of boarding-house and day-school. These children of Christians, who paid for the most part their own fees, were educated on Christian principles 1 The work they take up is voluntarj^ excepting for those graduates who, as " scholars," agree to work for the CJVI.S., in return for help given for two years. CHURCH WORK AT OSAKA 95 instead of being left to the secular influence of a Govern- ment school. Although superintended by C.M.S. mis- sionaries this school retained to the end its independent character. Since 1897 this school and the " Momoyama Gakuin,'* a high school for boys, established in 1890, have been combined under the name of the latter institution. The " Momoyama Gakuin," i.e. " Peach-tree hill academy," was opened in 1890 as a boys* high school and boarding school, under the auspices of the C.M.S., the Rev. T. Dunn being the first principal. It was at first carried on in a disused Shinto preaching-place, but after about a year a move was made into new buildings near Tennoji, on the south-east side of the city. Its situation, not far from the celebrated Tennoji temples and their priestly precincts, is good and is high above the low-lying city. The school has class-room accommodation for over 300 boys and dormitories for forty boarders. Arch- deacon Price (at that time the principal), writing in 1894, reported that all the masters except one, who taught Chinese, and all the boys, except two who had just graduated, were Christians. There were forty-five boys, of whom twenty-seven were boarders. This was an increase of ten on the previous year. The school continued to go on steadily. Thus the Rev. G. W. Rawlings (now in charge of the Jonan Church, with which the school is in close connexion) wrote in 1902 that among the masters and boys twenty- three were Christians and as many as fourteen were apparently earnest " inquirers." The Rev. Basil Woodd, who had been headmaster since April, 1903, reports after nearly a year of school work : " Increase of numbers, and greater efficiency in teaching, with steady improvement in the discipline of the school and the religious life of the boys." 96 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN The new Government educational enactments of 1899 affected the standing of private schools, and caused the Society to apply for a Government licence as a Government middle school. They obtained a licence which exempted its graduates from an almost prohibi- tive entrance examination on passing into the higher Government colleges to which boys from private schools have been subjected. On the other hand, until the school authorities ob- tained the higher, or major licence, their graduates were unable to shorten and postpone their term of military service, nor were they eligible for the Government services. In spite of some objections to the status of Government schools in the obligation to give religious instruction only out of school hours, and the additional cost of keeping up to the enjoined standard of effi- ciency, the privileges stated above seem to have fully justified the school authorities in pressing for the full licence which they have now obtained. But this recognition of the school as a Government middle school has made no change in the religious instruction and training of the boys. Thus, prayers and Bible-class for Christians and non- Christians may be held at any time apart from the regu- lar school hours. Sunday services may be conducted in the school buildings both for teachers and students ; and in ethical lessons the teaching of Christ may be brought before the boys. This is indeed liberal treat- ment on the part of a non-Christian Government. The Osaka divinity school is one of the training institutions in China and Japan which owe their exist- ence to the late W. C. Jones, by whom the China and Japan Native Church Mission Fund which bears his name was established. As soon as a site was secured, at the end of 1883, the committee of this fund made a grant of £2,000 for the building, which was at once com- CHURCH WORK AT OSAKA 97 menced. In a few months it was ready for occupation, and in September of 1884 it was formally opened by Bishop Poole. The Rev. G. H. Pole was the first principal of the school, and he and his successors have had the assistance of their fellow-clergy of the C.M.S. as tutors and teachers. For many years also the school has had the assistance of the Rev. S. Koba, at one time in pastoral charge of the Church of the Saviour, and of the Rev. P. Y. Matsui and Mr. K. Yamada. The Rev. G. Chapman is now the principal of the school. In 1896 nineteen students were in training, and whilst every effort was made to render their theological course thorough, pains were taken to keep them inconstant touch with practical Mission work. They frequently gave addresses at the four preaching-places established in the city, and during the vacations they were some- times sent out, two together, on evangelistic tours in the country districts.^ Archdeacon Warren's analysis of the subsequent careers of seventy-two students, who by 1896 had finished their course, will convey an idea of the importance and influence of this school. While eighteen of the students entering the school during this first twelve years of its existence had left before finish- ing their studies and must be accounted as unsatisfac- tory, the remaining fifty- four had proved their sincerity in their profession of the Faith and their value in the Mission field. Four had died after bearing faithful testimony to their convictions, ten were in Holy Orders, three were working and using their influence for Chris- tianity in their secular employments (as railway manager, lawyer and doctor), and the rest, making thirty-seven, were working satisfactorily under C.M.S. missionaries in various parts of the Empire. 1 See Japan and the Japan Mission, by Archdeacon Warren. (C.M.S.) 3rd ed., p. 154. H gS CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN Of those who graduated in 1902, two became cate- chists in Hokkaido, one in the south Tokyo diocese, and one at Hamada ; one went in 1903 to Tokushima to be in charge of the preaching district of Sanomachi, another (a married student) ^ to Sakai, in the Matsuye district ; and another, coming from the southern island of Kiushiu, returned to his home, to Nagasaki. These students, and future missionaries of the Sei Kokwai, come from all parts of the Empire — from Kiushiu in the south- west to Hokkaido in the far north ; from the ancient capital Kyoto (where conservative principles still reign supreme) to Tokyo, the progressive centre of modern Japan ; from across the mountains dividing Matsuye and Hamada from us in the south for half the year, to the rice -farming district of Boshu. 5. Summary of out-stations and diocesan sub-districts, the out-growth of CMS. work at Osaka. — Osaka is the parent C.M.S. Mission station. Three or four sub- districts which in the seventies and eighties formed only preaching centres for country itinerating have now their resident foreign clergy, lay missionaries and Japanese catechists. Others have still to be provided with resident clergy, but, by means of the visiting clergy and the zeal of the resident lay missionaries and Japanese helpers, their congregations and Church members are growing yearly in numbers. Matsuye and Hamada upon the Sea of Japan ; Toku- shima, the busy port and largest town in the Island of Shikoku, lying almost due south of Osaka, and facing the Pacific Ocean ; these sub -districts, with their clergy and staff of assistants, foreign and Japanese, are now important centres of the diocese of Osaka, and are all 1 Some of these divinity students come as married men, and their presence as residents amongst the others has been shown to be a help to the school, and their own studies to be in^no'wise hindered by the fact of marriage. CHURCH WORK AT OSAKA 99 worked by the C.M.S., under the supervision of their diocesan, Bishop Foss, of Osaka. They were all originally out-stations of the early " eighties." Hiroshima and Fukuyama are towns upon the In- land Sea, where the work which began somewhat later in the " eighties " has progressed steadily. They have been under the disadvantage of losing for long intervals their foreign clergy. Of Hiroshima an account is given in chapter x. Out-station work is also carried on by the C.M.S. from Osaka, nearer to the city. Towns and villages lying all around among the rice-fields in the plain to the north are periodically visited by foreign clergy and lady missionaries of the society, and many of the Mission stations have catechists of their own, or are regularly worked by them. CHAPTER IX Church- Work at some " Treaty Ports '* Yokohama — Kobe — Nagasaki . YOKOHAMA Yokohama is the chief seaport of Japan, and has a population of 200,000. It is the largest of the treaty ports, and is practically the port of Tokyo. It is also the place where visitors — especially from America — first touch Japanese soil. For these reasons, the foreign population is more floating and varied in nationality than in any other Japanese town. As a Church centre it has been difficult to work. The foreign community is of varied races and religions ; the native population is largely composed of classes who have had their ancient standards of religion and ethics confused, and too often debased, by the inrush of alien strangers from almost every quarter of the globe. The Chinese live in their own quarter. Sectarian Missions from America have occupied Yokohama from the time when, as a treaty port, it was exchanged for Kanagawa, being then but an insignifi- cant fishing village. In 1881 an Episcopal Mission in Yokohama was started by the American Church, and in 1888 a small Mission was opened in connexion with the S.P.G. Mission at Tokyo. St. Andrew's Church was erectedin 1891, partly by money leftjnthe will of a o r. s > o « CHURCH WORK AT "TREATY PORTS" loi former member of the congregation. But superintend- ence from Tokyo proved to be difficult, and progress was slow. From 1892 to 1898 the Rev. F. E. Freese was resident here. He did much to organize and con- solidate the work. From this time to 1902 there was no resident S.P.G. missionary, and the work conse- quently suffered. Year by year hundreds of educated men are drawn to Yokohama, and find employment in its business houses, offices, shipping yards, customs and courts. Not a few are Christians or have come under Christian influence. The Japanese catechist, superin- tended by one of the clergy of St. Andrew's Mission from Tokyo, which is twenty miles away, has with difficulty kept together his little congregation and has done little aggressive work. The members and evangelistic workers of St. Hilda's community have assisted the Mission at Yokohama, but the lack of a resident clergy- man has sadly hindered their efforts. The little Church community, whose baptized members numbered about sixty, have been supported by the foreign congregation of Christ Church. In 1902 the S.P.G. were able to provide a resident priest, and since the Rev. W. Weston's arrival the Mission has been making progress. Mr. Weston has endeavoured to purchase a better site for the Mission church, with a view to building a larger church and one better suited to the needs of the work. Liberal assistance has been forthcoming from the foreign resi- dents and from the native congregation. Until the Mission has a good central basis to work from and a fitting church for its worship, no great advance can be made Christ Church, of Yokohama, for the use of the foreign residents of the Anglican communion, scarcely comes within a survey of missionary work. But its chaplain's duties are supervised by the Bishop of South Tokyo, 102 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN and the two churches — Christ church and St. Andrew's — aid one another from time to time. During the two years between the demoHtion of the old Christ Church in 1899 ^^*^ the completion of the new in 1901, occasional early celebrations of the Holy Communion in English were provided for some of the worshippers by the priest in charge of the Japanese Mission ; in St. Andrew's Church, members of the English congregation have supported liberally the financial needs of the Mission Church, and have also subscribed to the funds of the Mission to the Foreign and Japanese Seamen in charge of the Rev. W. T. Austen. Another connecting link between the foreign and Japanese congregations of these two Churches is the large number of Eurasians in Yokohama, some of whom are Christians and belong, in fact, or by right, to one or other of these Church communities. Some few of these take their places more naturally with the foreigners, while others go to St. Andrew's, as they prefer the Japanese language. Their positions in society are so various that in no way can the Eurasian element of the population be grouped together ; Christian work among them in a quiet way was carried on for more than a year recently by Miss Burke, an independent lady worker under Bishop Awdry. She has now returned to evangelistic work in Tokyo, as already her special task at Yokohama has been in part accomplished. It remains to speak of the Mission to Seamen at Yoko- hama. Here again the work of this society having been for many years chiefly among the foreign sailors of the port, its work only partially belongs to that of the Sei Kokwai. But in the efforts that Mr. Austen has of recent years been enabled to put forth to reach the Japanese sailors at Yokohama, he has responded to a very real need of that Church, and his Mission pos- CHURCH WORK AT "TREATY PORTS" 103 sesses an increasing influence both among Christian and non-Christian sailors. Mr. Austen has the assistance of a Japanese catechist who, by means of his own native " sampan," or boat, can visit most of the Japanese steamers, principally of the Nippon Ytisen Kwaisha's service of merchant vessels, that enter the harbour. Near the Japanese landing-stage has been rented a house for a Japanese " Seamen's Home " similar to, though smaller, than that for the foreign sailors. Here are provided books, papers, and games, and here, too, are held meetings and services for the inquirers. Before the establish- ment of this branch of the Seamen's Mission, quite a number of Japanese Christian sailors came to Mr. Austen's foreign Church services and Mission meetings held in the Society Institute, most of these men under- standing English fairly well. Mention should also be made of the Japanese Sea- men's " Mission Club " at Tilbury, London (afterwards at Woolwich), where of late years in a cottage-home, under the superintendence of a committee, Japanese sailors have found recreation, and, to a limited extent, inexpensive and comfortable lodgings. This Club has been able to provide for the sailors a Christian welcome from their own countrymen — the chaplain, and one or two other Japanese gentlemen — and has done for Japanese sailors in London what our " Seamen's Mis- sions " do for our own British sailors in foreign ports. For three years the Committee of this Society — " for Church-work among Japanese seamen in British ports " — secured from the Kyoto diocese the services of the Rev. H. Yamabe as their chaplain. Its work of pro- viding the sailors off duty with healthy forms of amuse- ment and of instructing as opportunity was given some of the hundreds of men visiting our English shores from year to year, made progress and grew more and more popular. These sailors of Japanese nationahty were 104 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN chiefly of the Nippon Yiisen Kwaisha steamships, which run between Antwerp and Yokohama, and on each voyage stop for about a week in London. During the last few years]also not a few crews of the Japanese navy have come to England to man their own new ships of war built in England and to take them back to Japan ; while the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, and later the King's Coronation festivities, were occasions when the Japanese navy was duly represented. Lately, however, in consequence of the recent war, the Japanese sailors were wanted nearer home, and, tem- porarily^only we hope, the Club has been closed.^ But the six years or so of this Mission's work has already borne Christian fruit. Men have been admitted as catechumens, to receive baptism in Japan on their return home ; and among those baptized in England that of the captain of a Japanese merchant-ship has testified to the Mission's value to the higher ranks of seamen. KOBE. Kobe lies 250 miles south of Tokyo, adjoins the old native town of Hiogo, and is not far from Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan. In importance as a seaport it rivals if it does not exceed Yokohama, and like that port owes its foundation to the treaties of 1868, making it (or rather Hiogo) a settlement and treaty port for foreign residents. Its beautiful and good situation on the shores of Osaka Bay, the health of its climate and its prosperous trade have combined to make it increas- ingly popular for foreign residents. From the first missionary effort was made in Kobe, but principally by 1 At Poplar also, and at Chiswick, where Japanese crews were waiting for the delivery of torpedo boats from Messrs. Thorny- croft's yard. Mission work was undertaken by missionaries from Tilbury, with the kind assistance of the Vicar of Chiswick. CHURCH WORK AT "TREATY PORTS" 105 non-episcopal bodies. For two years, from 1S74 to 1876, the C.M.S. had conducted services for the EngUsh com- munity; but when in September, 1876, the Rev. H. J. Foss, M.A. (now Bishop of Osaka), and the Rev. F. B. Plummer, M.A., of the S.P.G., arrived from England, the C.M.S. handed over this duty and the responsibility of Mission work among the Japanese to the S.P.G. In 1878, through illness from overwork, Mr. Plummer had to return to England, but already he and Mr. Foss had baptized their first convert and had laid some good foundations for future work ; also Mr. Plummer had by a visit to the Bonin Islands opened up an important missionary connexion with that far-off dependency of the Japanese Empire.^ For the next two years, and at another time for seven 1 The Bonin Islands are a small group lying about 500 miles south of Yokohama ; they were annexed to Japan in 1875. ^^'hen visited by Mr. Plummer, S.P.G. missionary from Kobe, in 1878, they were inhabited by imported Japanese and by a small mixed population of old settlers — English, French, German, Chinese, Ladrone and Sandwich Islanders, etc., all speaking English and professing Christianity, but in reality intensely ignorant and of low moral standard. The one learned person in the community — that is, able to read or write — was a man named Webb, a Churchman, who was accustomed to baptize, marry and bury people. Mr. Plummer brought away with him to Kobe two Ladrone boys for instruction, and three more boys followed in the same year. (See footnote from S.P.G. Digest, 1901.) Since then others have been brought over for education in Kobe. The Christian work in the Islands has been placed in the charge of St, Andrew's Mission, whose clergy, and also INIiss Hogan of St. Hilda's Mission, pay periodical visits once or twice a year by the fortnightly steamers, and steady progress has been made. For many years Joseph Gonzales, one of the settlers, has proved himself a most faithful catechist. He is now assisted by a Japanese fellow catechist, and together they are doing noble, but terribly isolated, Christian work among the settlers and Japanese colonists, who, in spite of inter-marriage, largely remain separate communities. Praiseworthy efforts are being at present made by the Christians, who in all number about eighty, to raise a fund for the support of a resident clergyman and the building of a church. io6 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN years (from 1883 to 1890), though the situation needed only workers to make decided progress, aUke in the town, in the countryside, and across the bay in the Island of Awaji, Mr. Foss was left well nigh single-handed. Nevertheless, the work went forward with success, and small companies of Christians, gathered in various places within a radius of 50 to 100 miles, became each the nucleus for Church centres of the future. One example will show how Christianity spreads in country districts from the Truth becoming known, perhaps, to one convert. In Banshu, a province not far from Kobe, the first convert was an old man who long before had seen (as a sailor) that Madagascar had been blessed by the reception of Christianity. Having year after year wished that some one would come to Japan to preach it, he at length heard that it was gradually getting near to his home, and at the age of seventy he set off to Yashiro, four miles distant, to see Mr. Foss. The result was that he was baptized (in 1882) and within the next four years eight others were brought to Christianity by his means {S.P.G. Digest, 1901.) Meanwhile, in Kobe, the year 1878 saw the small beginning of the now flourishing and important boys' school, in which Japanese, Eurasian, Chinese, and Europeans are educated ; this work has been started and developed under the management of an English schoolmaster, Mr. Henry Hughes, who came to Mr. Foss's assistance twenty-six years ago. On his staff of teachers are the Rev. C. W. Davidge, M.A., and Mr. F. B. Walker. There is also in the town a girls' school, founded by the committee of Women's Work in 1889. Help for this school at Kobe was the first work undertaken by the " King's Messengers," the Children's Branch of the S.P.G. The school was started for the daughters of CHURCH WORK AT "TREATY PORTS" 107 Christians ; gradually those of non-Christians also came, and now these form a large proportion. Of eighty scholars, twenty are Christians. The girls generally enter the school after they are thirteen, when leaving the Japanese primary schools. The school is divided into an upper and lower. The girls do not take a full Japanese course of education, but a few of the most important subjects are taken, together with a course in English and in sewing. The scholars, both day-pupils and boarders, of which there are about twenty, receive a thorough grounding in Christian knowledge. All the teachers but one, and the majority of boarders, are Christians. On the staff are three foreign ladies and nine Japanese assistant teachers. Mrs. Foss for five years before her marriage had charge of the school ; she was succeeded in 1901 by Miss Reader (S.P.G.), now married to the Rev. T. A. Nind, priest-in-charge at Okayama. Since then the work has been under the care of Miss Parker, who for two years had been at Tokyo taking Miss Weston's work during her absence on furlough. There are two Christian churches in the town, and the S.P.G. lady missionaries, in addition to their school duties, share in the evangelistic work carried on by these churches. They undertake visiting and Sunday-school teaching at St. Michael's Church and in the district of West Kobe, the Christian congregation of which is in charge of the Rev. M. Kakuzen. They are assisted by two Bible-women, contributions for whose support are given by the British and Foreign Bible Society. St. Michael's Church, which replaced the original school church of early days, was built in 1881, but was burnt down ten years later and rebuilt in 1894. The first native clergyman ordained as assistant to Mr. Foss was his catechist, the Rev. J. Mizuno, subsequently stationed at Nagano, where he is now an assistant to io8 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN Mr. Waller. There are now working under Bishop Foss in Kobe two Japanese priests, and the English community have since 1889 supported a chaplain of their own. Since 1896 Kobe and its branch Missions have be- come a part of the diocese of Osaka, of which Dr. Awdry was the first bishop. On his translation to South Tokyo, in 1897, he was succeeded by Bishop Foss. Bishop Foss, who was consecrated in Westminster Abbey in February, 1899, had then been twenty-three years a missionary at Kobe, and was for long intervals the only foreign ordained missionary of the Anglican communion at this important centre. He has, as bishop, had the supervision of the Church work in Formosa (Taiwan), which was undertaken by the missionary society of the Nippon Sei Kokwai. The Rev. P. T. Terata from Hiroshima has been stationed at Taipeh, the northern capital, where most of the Japanese settlers are congregated. Many Christians who come to Formosa are members of the Sei Kokwai, and to find they were not forgotten by their Church is a great encouragement to them. Since 1903 the S.P.G. has made a grant-in-aid to the Mission. The Presbyterians began work in the island in 1865, mainly among the Chinese, who form the large majority of the inhabitants. Of these the aborigines in the interior still number about 250,000 ,and the Japanese something under 100,000. Since the transfer of the island to Japan the whole state of the country has undergone great change, and the Japanese are endeavouring to raise the tone of the Chinese population and to civilize the savages of the island both by education and the just administration of law. Of the outlying sub-districts of the Kobe Mission the Island of Awaji is the oldest.^ 1 Cf. Chapter xv. CHURCH WORK AT "TREATY PORTS" 109 Okayama is the capital of a populous province. A Church Mission was begun there under a native catechist about 1897, and since 1899 the Rev. T. A. Nind, who was ordained in 1900, has been in residence. At Bakan, Shimonoseki, which from its strategical importance has been termed the *' Gibraltar " of the Inland Sea, a new station has recently been opened in the charge of the Rev. C. G. Gardner, M.A., who was previously at Kobe and at Shidzuoka. The prospect there is full of promise, but as yet the Church congrega- tion is small, consisting of only a very few famihes. There is, however, in Bakan a Methodist Mission, to which is attached a large Sunday school. NAGASAKI. Nagasaki was the place where the Christians made their last visible efforts in the seventeenth century to uphold the Cross in Japan ; it was fitting that there, 200 years later, Christianity should first be preached once again. The Rev. C. M. Williams and the Rev. J. Liggins, of the American Episcopal Church, were the first mis- sionaries in modern times to arrive in Japan. They came to Nagasaki in 1858, immediately after Lord Elgin's treaty secured liberty for foreigners to reside at the treaty ports. But the American Civil war, which fol- lowed soon after, crippled the early efforts of the Ameri- can Mission. Some of its members were compelled to return to America, and the Church Missionary Society of the Enghsh Church was appealed to by them to take up the work. The C.M.S. were unable at the time to respond. In 1869, however, in consequence of an anonymous donation, the C.M.S. were enabled to begin work in Japan. The Rev. George Ensor, who came out in'^that year, took up his residence in Nagasaki, where^the American Episcopal Mission was still located. Christianity was still proscribed, and neither public no CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN preaching nor teaching was as yet permissible. The missionaries could only receive the visits of adventurous inquirers who at dead of night might steal their way into their houses to learn about the religion of the foreigners. Numbers did so come ; day by day the house would be thronged with Japanese visitors, all curious to know something about England, her science and art and progress, but most of all about her rehgion. Neither Government surveillance, nor the severe persecution a few months later of hundreds of the Roman Catholic native Christians deterred them from facing the danger of inquiry, and many subsequently were baptized. Mr. Ensor was obliged to return home after four years. Meanwhile the Rev. H. Burnside joined him in 1871, and taking advantage of the growing toleration, was able to work more openly. In his work he was aided by his catechist, a convert from Buddhism and formerly a member of the Russo-Greek Church. A Mission church was erected on a site secured for the Mission on the little islet of Deshima, and close to the bridge which leads to the native town. Deshima, during the past two centuries, had been the only settlement allowed to the Dutch traders in the Empire. Before the completion of the church Mr. Burnside was forced by ill-health to leave Japan. The Rev. H. Evington (afterwards Bishop) superintended the Mission for a few months, until the arrival of the Rev. Herbert Maundrell in July, 1875. Deshima was the place where in the seventeenth century suspected Christians were ordered to trample upon a cross which was laid upon the ground. Hence a church raising that sign on high, erected on the very place of such profanation, was of special significance. In 1875 Mr. Maundrell opened a class at Nagasaki for the training of native agents. After nine years it was closed in 1886 ; the divinity school at Osaka being CHURCH WORK AT "TREATY PORTS" iii found to provide sufficient accommodation for the training of C.M.S. native candidates for Holy Orders. By the close of 1878 the baptized numbered nearly fifty ; a Sunday school and a girls' day-school had been begun in a house built for the purpose on Deshima. The day-school was eventually closed, but a girls' boarding school has for the last twenty-five years done good work. In 1882 the Rev. A. B. Hutchinson took the place of the Rev. W. Andrews, who was transferred to Hakko- date. For the next few years there arose much open opposition. The defection also occurred of two or three of the leading members of the Church inKiiishiu. On the other hand, considerable progress was achieved. 1884 was marked by the opening of a new Mission-room in the native town. It was the first instance of a Chris- tian Mission-room being erected. Three years later a book shop was opened in the heart of the town, and as a depot of the British and Foreign Bible Society, became a fresh centre for evangelistic work. A further development took place in 1890, when the church on the island of Deshima was removed into the city. There are now within the native town both the church for the members' worship and the Mission's preaching-station for unbelievers. An account is given elsewhere of the Society's centres in other towns of Kiushiu. All these were at one time out-stations of Nagasaki, and have now become separate centres with out-stations of their own. At present the out-stations of Nagasaki are at Sasebo, the famous naval station of Kiiishiu, and at Shimabara, where, during the persecutions of the Christians in the seventeenth century, the last stand was made by them in the old castle of the town. It was upon the fall of this castle that so many of them are said to have been ruthlessly put to death by the enraged victors. CHAPTER X C.M.S. Work Hiroshima — Fukuoka and Kokura districts — Kumamoto. Hiroshima is a city lying on the mainland between Kobe and Shimonoseki, and is beautifully situated upon the shores of the Inland Sea. The hills behind protect it from the north : in front opens out one of the most lovely of the larger bays that deeply indent the coast- line. The islands in the bay break up the water into intricate channels, but beyond, the generally smooth surface of the Inland Sea is covered with fishing boats and steamers. The sacred isle of Miyajima, famous for its temple and its Torii projecting from the land into the sea, lies in the bay to the right. The surroundings of Hiroshima form a strange setting for a town and district that combines the work of Newcastle, with its Armstrong dockyards, with that of Woolwich, with its gun-factories and its college for military training. During the war with China, 1894-5, Hiroshima was made a base of the military operations ; the headquarters of the army were there, and in the old castle of its former Daimyo lived the Emperor himself, in order that he might be nearer the scene of action. Then, as also during the last war, sounds of preparation filled the air — soldiers were to be seen hurrying in all directions, the drill -ground was full of artillery and other implements U2 C.M.S. WORK 113 of war, and temples were converted into storehouses for grain. In 1892 the C.M.S. transferred the Rev. D. T. Terata, a Japanese deacon, from Gifu to form a new centre of Church hfe in Hiroshima, a great city of 115,000 inhabitants. Before this, the American Missions (Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopal and Congregational) had begun work here. Hiroshima was a stirring place during the war with China. On every hand the Genevan Red Cross, embla- zoned on the arms of non-Christian soldiers and nurses and on the flags waving over Buddhist temples that were being used as hospitals, seemed to proclaim already the sovereignty of the Cross. In the army itself, among doctors, nurses, officers and privates, there were at Hiroshima alone 100 baptized Christians. The Govern- ment allowed eight representatives of various Christian denominations to accompany the troops ; of these eight the Rev. D. T. Terata was one. During his two months' absence at the front he was well received wherever he went, and afterwards several who had first heard the Gospel on this campaign found their way to the Hiroshima preaching-place when they returned, and there received further instruction. Mean- while at Hiroshima, all through the war, there were opportunities for work among the thousands of soldiers and coolies who were waiting at this military base for the summons to the front. The Christians at Hiroshima, both workers and converts, worked with enthusiasm, and Church work at this centre became surely estab- lished. In 1896 two C.M.S. ladies settled in the city. Shortly after Mr. Terata was chosen as the first missionary of the Sei Kokwai to be sent to Formosa, and for a time the little band of workers felt their efforts greatly retarded by his absence. A larger preaching-place I 114 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN was acquired at this time in a better position, and a small reading-room for soldiers was opened, to which men came for recreation and study. Addresses were given there on Sunday afternoons by Mr. Williams and his catechist, and a good many non-commissioned officers attended the lessons which were given on the Bible. Visits to the military and naval hospitals were continued. Groups of men would gather round " to hear the story of the Life of Christ, in order, * from beginning to end,' they said," as it was related very simply by the aid of a series of small pictures. Out of this hospital work, too, came corres- pondence with the soldiers who had been sent to Formosa. Nor was work among the women and children neglected. The two Sunday schools held weekly for children progressed so well that at the second Christ- mas entertainment over eighty children were present, together with many parents. These children were taught simple short prayers for morning and evening use, and answers to questions given in the actual words of Scripture. In addition to these schools, a Bible -class for boys, mostly from one particular school, was formed. At their school they were called " Christians " in derision, and most of them did not hesitate to accept the name, and some later on were baptized. Beyond the town evangelistic work was carried on in several villages. At some places opposition was met with, and it was found that ladies were listened to better and their audiences were larger when they went alone. Men would often come to the women's meetings, and would criticize probably the curious ways of the foreigner. But scoffers sometimes stayed to inquire, and at one place a Bi])lc-class among men was started, and so much interest was aroused that on an interval in C.M.S. WORK 115 the work occurring, letters came to beg that the ladies would quickly visit them once more, " as they were waiting for their teaching ! " Within recent years in Japan the prices of all articles have advanced and wages have doubled, but the pay of the smaller officers and policemen in the Government service has not risen in proportion. Rice, the staple food of the people, was in 1897 selling at four times the price of twenty years before. Again, heavy taxation, to meet the cost of the up-to-date armaments, has weighed severely on all. Speaking of the general con- dition of unrest and transition, Mr. WiUiams wrote : " How to graft new systems on to the old, how to enjoy constitutional ideals without giving up the figment of the Emperor's divinity, how to have the results of Christianity without Christianity itself : these are some questions which give food for reflection to the more thoughtful Japanese." In 1902 the little body of Christians were formed into a partly self-supporting Mission Church {" Korin " or " Advent " Church), with a church committee ; and when thirteen adult members of the congregation left the town there still remained a considerable number. Weekly meetings for Christian women were being held in their different houses and were well attended. ^lonthly meetings were also held of the Women's Benevolent Society, by whose knitting and other charitable work funds were raised for the Christian Blind School at Gifu, for the " Nippon Sei Kokwai " Mission in Formosa, for the supply of Christian books to a large convict prison, and for other deserving needs. There were also ladies' meetings for non-Christian women and girls, Bible classes for students at the higher normal school, and evangelistic work at the naval establishments at Kure and Etajima, and in the various villages of the neighbourhood. ii6 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN Since 1901 there has been no resident clergyman, but the clergy from Fukuyama, Okayama, or Kobe have visited the little church monthly for the administration of the Sacraments. The weekly and Sunday services and the evangelistic work have been in charge of the catechist, Mr. Kawada, assisted by the lady missionaries and their Japanese helpers. Some idea of the work carried on by the English lady missionaries, with the aid of their Japanese women helpers, may be formed from the following summary written in 1904. In addition to the work among women and children, ten or eleven classes a week are held for men, and for older and younger boys of varied positions and schools in the town. Teachers of the boys' primary school, of the higher normal school, bank officials, young military officers, attend some of the classes. Students of the higher normal school attend others ; these are men who, for the most part, have been Government school teachers, and are now preparing for positions as schoolmasters. The classes are in some cases wholly for Bible instruction ; in other cases an English lesson is given as well. Boys from the Government middle school and from the com- mercial school are among those who attend the Bible- classes given for the younger boys. Since January, 1904, Christian work at Hiroshima has been still further developed. Both during the earlier time of mobilization for the war and afterwards, when the hospitals were being filled as fast as they could be built, the military authorities permitted Christian work to be carried on, and, as elsewhere, the missionaries worked heartily with the many Japanese associations for providing comforts for soldiers at the war, and relief for their families at home. During the time of waiting, while the troops were quartered in the city and villages around for days or LITTLE BUDDHIST PLANTING PRAYERS FOR SOLDIERS IN THE GRASS Nikko, 1904. C.M.S. WORK 117 weeks, the missionaries were engaged in distributing the Gospels, pubhshed separately by the Bible Society. Gifts of these booklets were made to nearly every soldier on his leaving Hiroshima. Together with these books was added a leaflet, explaining briefly what they were, and ending with a soldier's prayer adapted from one authorized by Lord Roberts for use in South Africa. Magic lantern meetings and preachings were also arranged, and two special meetings were held, at which a number of men attended ; " they were paraded outside the gate and marched in in strict order, and behaved perfectly." A few views, military pictures, illustrations of the Life of Christ and His teaching were shown. The captain in command of the men came himself the second night, and afterwards sent the lady missionary a " hand- some buff Cochin cock and hen in a basket coop, as a token of appreciation." The priests of a temple at Hiroshima were so well disposed to Christian work among the soldiers that they helped to distribute the literature provided. At the hospitals, of which the larger take in over 1,000 men. Miss Bosanquet was allowed — having for some years had the entree of the military school at Kure — to visit freely and to distribute as much Chris- tian literature as she would. Picture-books and tracts were accepted gladly. A great variety of literature was needed to meet the demand of so many sick and wounded. Convalescents were drafted off as quickly as possible, and new invalids took their place ; those " necessarily detained ... for a long time . . . become like old friends and read book after book." Among them were some of the victims of the Russian attack on the Sado Maru transport, another was one of the ten sur- vivors from the ill-fated transport, the Hitachi Maru. Wounded men were to be seen reading a New Testa- ment or a little Gospel given to them before the war. ii8 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN Those who had heard previously of Christianity, or had been to a Christian school, welcomed warmly a Chris- tian visitor and Christian books. One soldier, who fell before the nets at Nanshan, had first heard the truth in Hiroshima a few weeks before. He was much helped by a Christian comrade who was afterwards in hospital there. This man was with him just before he died, and was able to hear from him his last confession of faith and peace, and to comfort him with words quoted from Psalm xxiii. Despite necessary overwork and strain during those months of war time, the Christian workers were glad to be in Hiroshima at the Army Hospitals, to see the patient heroes bearing their suHerings so cheerfully, and so eager for something comforting to read or to hear. FUKUOKA AND KOKURA, C.M.S. CENTRES IN KIUSHltJ. Fukuoka is a seaport town, eighty miles from Nagasaki. The business quarter and port itself (Hakata) is only separated by the river Nakagawa from the old feudal town, but the contrast is striking between the busy and crowded port and the quieter and more dignified Fukuoka proper, the quarter of the official residents and people of the Samurai class. As a Mission station, Fukuoka was for many years worked from Nagasaki. In 1888 the Rev. A. B. Hutchinson went to reside there, as missionary-in -charge of the north-western district of Kiushiu. With the coast as base line his sphere of work lay in a semi-circle around, with a radius of some forty miles. Until 1894 the rigorous enforcement of passport regulations hampered his efforts, but the new treaty of that year increased the possibiHties of itinera- ting. Meanwhile a church at Fukuoka had been built, and in 1891 fifteen candidates received confirmation. The C.M.S. WORK iig Mission was joined by two lady workers, who helped to carry on work among the women and in three Sunday- schools. Ignorance and Buddhist opposition retarded the work at times. At other times, when Christianity was in good report throughout Japan, there were large accessions of adherents, who afterwards withdrew. The congregation at Fukuoka became self-supporting about igoo, and sent, with other Christians of the Fukuoka and Kokura districts, a generous contribu- tion to the famine sufferers in India. Where respon- sibility for the needs of strangers is thus strongly felt, it may be assumed that Christianity is firmly planted. The district, the centre of which is Kokura, is in the heart of the coal-mining region of northern Kiushiii. Moji, the new port opposite to Shimonoseki, is eight miles away. Its prosperity dates from 1891, when it WcLS selected as the northern terminus of the Kiushiu railway. The work lies amongst the officials of the port, the railway and their work-people, and among the superintendents of the mines. As yet the miners them- selves have not been reached. The evangelization of these business men and busy officials is specially difficult. They are more intelli- gent than the average men in the provinces ; but apart from the fact that they have little leisure for outside interests, their social conditions make it hard for them to lead a life consistent with a belief in Christianity. The public opinion of their class has no restraining in- fluence for them in view of the social and business temp- tations which they have to face. The lady missionaries attached to the staff have of recent years carried on encouraging work among the women and children throughout the Kokura district. At Wakamatsu, five miles from Kokura, especially, the nucleus of a fresh congregation has been formed. Itinerating work has been carried on by rail in many towns and villages on 120 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN the Kiushiu line. Everywhere progress, if slow, is real, and gives evidence of spiritual advance. The children are the great hope of the future. Education on a broad but secular basis is being given to all. But this educa- tion needs sadly the Christian leaven to make them grow into worthy men and women. The war brought new and arduous duties to the mis- sionaries in the district. At Kokura great opportunities were given for Christian work among the troops who were mobilizing for the seat of war, and later among the thousands of sick and wounded who passed through the large hospitals near Kokura as they were drafted back from the front. The three hospitals, erected on admirable sanitary lines, were capable of holding each some 1,500 to 2,000 men. About 30 doctors, 200 men nurses, and 80 to 100 women nurses were employed. Missionary efforts to reach the soldiers were made as at the other mihtary centres. Large distributions of the Scriptures were made to the regiments before they entrained. This was in some intances done on the parade ground by command of the staff-officers, at whose office the literature had been deposited. In the hospitals at Kokura there were frequent openings for visiting the sick. The head of the hospital especially desired the catechist's visits, as Buddhists visited the patients freely, and he wished the Christians to do the same. The ladies of the Church Missions in Kokura sub- sequently went regularly to take flowers and literature, and sing hymns, and catechists, missionaries and others were allowed to preach in the wards and to hold short services for convalescent soldiers. Not only among the soldiers was work done, but among nurses, ward officials, and heads of the wards inquirers were found, and requests for baptism were made. The soldiers passed through before definite results could be ascertained, but among them, too, striking proofs were C.M.S. WORK 121 afforded as to the reality of the impressions produced. Some of the men told other soldiers on leaving the hos- pital, and persuaded them to visit the missionary. KUMAMOTO IN KIUSHIU Kumamoto is due east of Nagasaki and eight or nine miles inland from the east coast of the Shimabara Gulf. It is the gamson town for the southern portion of the Empire and the chief town in Kiushiii. Its importance as a missionary centre cannot be overrated. The Rev. H. Maundrell paid a first visit to Kumamoto in 1876, in company with Bishop Burdon. The Gospel had been first preached there a few years previously by a Captain Janes, an American engaged by Government as a foreign teacher in the garrison academy. Through his efforts many of the younger men had been drawn to Christianity, and a few had been baptized. Later, in 1879, in consequence of some evangelistic work carried on by two Nagasaki students, one of them was appointed by the C.M.S. to reside as catechist, and to commence systematic work. At first this met with favour, but during the early eighties the Mission encountered much opposition. However, this hostility did not last long, partly because the advanced Liberal party in the town, though making no profession of Christianity, determined to put down the intolerant opposition as inimical to their policy of progress. Thus, wrote Mr. Maundrell, the tables were turned. " Last year it was our lecture- room which was decried and stoned ; this year the persons who then stoned us and tried to suppress the preaching have themselves been stoned and their meetings attempted to be suppressed, because they are regarded as obstructionists ! " During these early years of the Mission the Rev. A. B. Hutchinson paid annual visits. In spite of occasional difficulties the work at Kumamoto went steadily forward, 122 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN and its influence began to extend to the whole sur- rounding neighbourhood. The Rev. J. B. Brandram, with his sister, who had re-enforced the Society's Mis- sion at Nagasaki in 1884, paid lengthened visits, and in 1887 took up their permanent residence at Kumamoto. Early in 1891 the Kumamoto staff were joined by two ladies, who assisted greatly in the work. Since 1898 this Church has supported its own pastor, the Rev. K. Nakamura. In 1900, after sixteen years of Mission work, Mr. Brandram died at sea on his way to Hongkong, whither he had gone to recuperate. During the last few years the classes for English and Bible study have been largely attended by officials, professional and business men in the town ; the lady missionary and her Bible-woman have held meetings for women and girls which, together with Christian in- struction, have been gladly welcomed. Work in the Town — The City Church. — The Christians at Kumamoto from an early date made great efforts to become a self-supporting community. In 1887 they built both a church and a school, and within ten years they raised the requisite sum for the appointment of a native pastor. The Rev. K. Nakamura, ordained deacon in 1898 to serve in their church, has now become the priest-in-charge. This native Christian congrega- tion has gone on steadily increasing, now averaging some fifty at the public services. During the last year alone twenty-seven have been baptized, and ten men and four women confirmed. The Sunday schools attached are carried on by Eng- lish lady missionaries and their Japanese helpers. One school is for Christians ; and two, which are largely attended, are for non-Christian children ; there is also a Bible -class for young girls, the daughters of the more influential people in the city. Though these may not C.M.S. WORK 123 as yet be willing for their children to adopt the new faith, they have recognized that its influence makes for good. It augurs well when the classes which, as the result of secular education, might be inclined to hold aloof from any new religion, are seen to welcome it as good teaching for their children. The city church has a Japanese pastor and is becoming entirely self-supporting. It has for the last few years set free the C.M.S. missionaries and funds for increased evangelistic effort both within and beyond the city. Evangelistic work is carried on at two preaching-places in the town at the " Dendokwai," or preaching-place, in Takenuchi, where regular Sunday and week-day services are held, together with a Sunday-school for the Christians, and another for the non- Christians. At Shimmachi, in quite another part of the town, there is rented a house for preaching, which lies just off the main thoroughfare of that large business quarter. After closing hours large audiences of men engaged in the shops close at hand are attracted, and it may be hoped that the Shimmachi " Dendokwai " will prove another centre of evangelistic work in Kumamoto. Out-station Work. — Beyond the city, out-stations have sprung up in the country round, and Christian influence has begun to be felt in the surrounding neighbourhood. Preaching and visiting have been conducted for some years at Yamaga, Oshima and Takase. The out-station work from Kumamoto stretclifes across the intervening low-lying rice fields far into the heart of the mountainous districts of the still active volcano, Aso San. The rivers Shirakawa and Tsuboi wind across this plain, and along them extends the city Kumamoto, crowned by its famous castle and backed on the west by the wooded slopes of Kimbo San ; while to the east the eye is carried over clusters of thatched 124 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN roofs and pine trees, which denote towns or villages, on to the distant hills. In the villages among those hills, twenty to thirty miles away, live a few families of isolated Christians, and many another whose loneliness appeals to our sympathy, who is as yet only an inquirer. These are anxious to learn more of that wonderful story which has brought a strange new meaning into their lives, but they have to await patiently from month to month the visits of itinerating missionaries or catechists. S^ X 6 ^ 3 ^ CHAPTER XI The Lepers at Kuiniamoto, its Church and Hos- pital Leprosy in Japan, and the Kumamoto leper hospital — Some of the patients — Scenes witnessed at the Ilommyoji Temple — " Afternoon chapel " at the Hospital. The leper hospital at Kumamoto, which was opened in 1895, is one of three in Japan which are entirely free to the patients. The other two are both on the main- land ; one, near Tokyo, is maintained by the " Edin- burgh Mission to Lepers," and the other, which is near to Gotemba, Shidzuoka Ken (in a province adjacent to the far-famed Fuji-San) is a branch of the work of the Roman Catholic Mission to Japan. Within the empire there are approximately 200,000 lepers, and no class is free from the taint. When it appears in a family the victim is hidden away from the outside world, if means of concealment are available ; or he may be given a lump sum of money down and requested to obliterate himself from among his relatives. Money will procure these castaways temporary relief from the quacks who abound with fahacious cures, and from the numerous paying estabhshments and notable hot springs of Kusatsu and elsewhere. These remedies at least mitigate to some extent the tortures of leprosy, but when the money is gone the case of the leper becomes 126 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN one of blank despair. Christ alone brought hope to the leper ; it is His religion alone, even among this philanthropic and kindly people, that brings gratuitous aid to the leper. The leper hospital of Kumamoto is maintained en- tirely by private subscription, raised either in Japan or in England. It costs £400 to maintain forty-two lepers. It owes its inception to the scenes at the Hommyoji temple, where lepers congregate, witnessed by a lady missionary many years ago when she was working under the C.M.S. in Kumamoto. Upon in- quiry she found that there was absolutely no resource for any one without means, and this determined her to make an effort. Land was bought and a small hospital built in Japanese style. Until 1900 it was connected with the work of the C.M.S. , inasmuch as the ladies who had charge of it were members of that society. But since then it has been an entirely separate part of the work of the Church in Japan, the ladies in charge of it having resigned from the C.M.S. They are assisted in the work of the leper hospital by a resident surgeon, Dr. Miyake, and an assistant, two Japanese nurses (one of whom had a son for a long time an inmate of the hospital), and by a Council of Japanese and Enghsh friends. The Rev. K. Nakamura, of the city Church, is the chaplain. The patients, twenty-four in 1897 (of whom ten were Christians), have by now increased to forty-two, thirty-one being Christians and twenty-six communicants. The inmates are under no external obligation to profess the Christian rehgion, but, for the most part, the alleviation from pain and the fresh hope in life held out to them tend to produce a conviction and a gratitude akin to that felt of old by the Samaritan leper who " returned to give glory to God." The situation of the hospital is excellent. It has four acres of land on the outside of the town, and is KUMAMOTO: CHURCH AND HOSPITAL 127 situated on rising ground, with an extensive outlook over the surrounding country. Behind it rises a sheltering hiUside of pine woods and cedars, and there is space for garden flowers and plants. The buildings, in Japanese style, are built in detached blocks, according to the new hospital methods ; there are two blocks for men and one for women. Each block consists of a row of four rooms opening upon verandahs. Raised, like all Japanese houses, two or three feet above the ground, with two walls and sliding paper doors on opposite sides, these rooms are dry, open to the air and sun-hght, and are easily kept ventilated. A new block has recently been built containing an infec- tion-ward and bath-room, a room for those who are seriously ill or dying, and a room attached for their friends to stay in, should they come, as they some- times do, at the end ; also quarters for the two nurses. Within the first seven years of its establishment the hospital returned to their homes two or three of the patients able to earn a livelihood, to support their rela- tions, and with the prospect of many years of usefulness. Patients come to the hospital from all parts of Japan, In the prefecture of Kumamoto itself leprosy is more prevalent than in any other part of Japan. For the most part the inmates are people of respectable position, brought to poverty through their disease. Those accus- tomed all their lives to beg by the wayside prefer to be out- patients (at the dispensary attached to the hospital, or at a second dispensary established near to the Hommyoji temple), in order that they may be free to spend their gains at night in drinking and dissipation in their leper lodging-houses. Dirt, carelessness, intermarriage, im- morality, all promote the extension of leprosy, which has become a physical and moral curse to this country. With sufficient segregation it is possible to give com- parative relief from the pain, and the restoration of 128 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN self-respect to the sufferers. Until the time arrives that the Imperial Government takes up the question as a national measure, it is the duty of Christians to do all they can by private efforts to assuage the misery of the lepers. A few scenes at the leper hospital may be contrasted with the others at the leper temple, or on almost any road-side of the district. One patient had been born of poor parents and had supported himself for some years by his talents as a painter. His case was already sad through being from birth deaf and dumb. When, while he was a teacher in a Deaf and Dumb Institute at Nagasaki, the first symptoms of leprosy showed themselves, he was but twenty-two years of age. With no intimate friend, and lacking courage to tell a doctor, he waited for nearly a year in silence, in fear and anxiety ; then the disease declared itself unmistakably, and he resigned his post. His worst fears were realized when the doctor he con- sulted admntted that his illness would be of long dura- tion, though he did not say from what he was suffering. The silent confirmation seemed to him a blow greater than he could bear. He tried again and again without success to take his life, but was at length induced by a friend to try once more to earn a livelihood by painting. For three years, while the disease had not as yet dis- figured his face, he travelled throughout the country, maintaining himself by his realistic sketches of land- scape and animal painting. Between three and four years ago he came across a missionary in Idzumo, and from him he learnt of the Saviour Who had mercy upon lepers. He was baptized in Idzumo, and afterwards, the disease becoming worse, he went to the hospitals at Osaka and Kyoto seeking relief and spending his store of money, but getting no better. At length, hidden away in the back room of a distant connexion at his DEAF AND DUMB ARTIST In-patient of the Leper Hospital at Kumamoto THREE LITTLE PATIENTS IN THE KUMAMOTO LEPER HOSPITAL KUMAMOTO : CHURCH AND HOSPITAL 129 native place, almost destitute, and no longer able to maintain himself, a Christian friend heard of his miser- able condition, and through his and another friend's instrumentality he was brought down to the Kumamoto hospital. His feelings are best described in his own words : " My heart is overflowing with joy and thank- fulness to God for His mercy in bringing me here, and to His children for their kindness to me." Three of the inmates of the hospital are children of seven to eleven years old. They are members of leper families, some of whom were inmates of the hospital before them. As yet the disease has made little way with them. They are well cared for and are the delight of the nurses and the other patients. These help to teach the children, and their own lives are made the brighter by the occupation it gives, and by the children's presence. Some of the patients are pitiful to see ; their faces are distorted or their limbs terribly maimed, but one and all put the visitor to shame by their patient bearing, their cheerfulness, and their making the best of what seems unendurable suffering. They take an interest in life, and learn new occupations ; one man has in- vented for himself a clever contrivance for his shrivelled leg that can enable him to walk once more, and even to deceive the casual observer. A C.M.S. missionary at Kokura wrote in 1898 : " To go from this scene of dirt and misery (at the Hommyoji temple) to the clean, quiet rooms and sunny gardens of the hospital and witness the looks of thankful resignation, nay, cheerfulness, on the poor lepers' faces, can only be compared to the change described by Dante in his transit upwards from the infernal regions to the quiet resting-place before entering Paradise." The scene at the Hommyoji temple needs to be seen in contrast with that in the hospital, in order to realize K 130 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN better the alleviation which has been brought to the suffer- ings of the lepers. The Hommyoji temple stands about two miles from the city, high up the wooded slopes of the hill-side. It is the shrine of the famous Japanese general and invader of Korea, Kato Kiyomasa, who was 300 years ago feudal lord of Kumamoto. It is said that he was a leper and was cured by the prayers of the Hokke sect of Buddhists. Hence lepers from all parts of Japan come to visit and pray at his shrine, and the beggars, who are nearly all lepers, by the wayside and those thronging the temple steps, reap a rich harvest of alms ; for the giving of alms is supposed to procure remission of sins. At a flight of ancient stone steps were crouched groups of lepers begging and praying. With faces swollen and disfigured, with eyes bloodshot, and often sightless, their maimed limbs showing terrible open sores or decaying stumps, they appeal to the charity of all less miserable than themselves. Even the better- off leper coming with offering and prayers to Kato Kiyomasa's shrine will fling a coin and add a prayer that he may not one day be reduced to the same plight. Above is the shrine with its attendant build- ings ; a drum beats from time to time, and a wailing chant is constantly heard whilst some with rosaries and up-lifted hands and faces pray earnestly for mercy. The lepers are regarded as outcasts, and the shame caused to the family is concealed as long as possible. In the case of many to be seen at the temple all self- respect has vanished ; the money given by relations or friends is gone ; the handful of coppers gained by begging may provide food, a lodging in the foul dens kept and resorted to by lepers, and enough of " sake " to drown the torturing misery which in many cases ends in starvation or suicide. Let us contrast this scene with that at the usual Sunday afternoon service in the hospital, KUMAMOTO : CHURCH AND HOSPITAL 131 All the lepers able to attend divine service are seated in orderly rows upon their cushions. It is a large room of thirty to forty mats, one side of which opens on to the verandah and garden. The visitors sit within the Communion rails beside the organist, and enter by the sliding doors behind the Communion Table. No one who is not a leper ever goes beyond the rails : from them the chaplain gives instruction, reads the service, and administers the sacraments. For the use of the lepers a separate Communion cup and paten of pure silver has been given by a friend in memory of her son, a young officer, who died in India of fever. As the visitor sits listening to the singing, so bright and earnest, hearing the same words of Scripture that bring their message of peace and healing to all hearts alike, the contrast between this scene and that at the leper temple is realized. At the Hommyoji temple the lepers were looked on as the world's outcasts ; here they were united in the worship of the one God and Saviour of men. Here in this quiet chapel were to be seen lepers with their wounds dressed and their sufferings alleviated, and with self-respect and even quiet gladness restored to them. CHAPTER XII The Missions of the Canadian Church in Japan Introductory Note — The "Canadian Church Missionary Society" (C.C.M.S.) at Nagoya, Gifu, and at Toyohashi. In 1902 the General Synod of the Episcopal Church in the Dominion of Canada formed a Missionary Society for home and foreign Missions. Since then those Missions of the Canadian Church which formerly re- ceived grants-in-aid from the S.P.G. have ceased to be affiliated with the parent Society, and are self- supporting and independent branches of the " Mis- sionary Society of the Canadian Church," or M.S.C.C. On the other hand, the Canadian section of the C.M.S. or C.C.M.S., though recognized as part of the " General Missionary Society " of the Church in Canada, has not changed its relation to the C.M.S. in England, in regard to organization. Though financially self-supporting, its funds still form part of the Church Missionary Society's accounts. In the diocese of South Tokyo, the two Canadian Missions are both at work. There is the " Canadian Church Missionary Society " (C.C.M.S.), which founded the ** Sei Kokwai " Missions at Nagoya, Gifu, and Toyohashi, working in affiliation with the C.M.S. organization and under its direction ; and in the same diocese, in the Shinshu and Echigo provinces, there is the " Missionary Society of the Canadian Church " 133 CANADIAN CHURCH MISSIONS IN JAPAN 133 (M.S.C.C.), which supports its Missions under the direct superintendence of the bishop. The " Canadian Church Missionary Society " (C.C.M.S.) in the Aichi and Gifu Provinces. — The Mission work of the Canadian Church in these provinces was begun in 1888 by the " Wychffe Mission," an organi- zation supported by past and present students of Wychffe CoUege, Toronto. The Mission began its work at Nagoya, the Rev. J. C. and Mrs. Robinson being the first foreign missionaries sent out by the Church of England in Canada. They found on their arrival five members of the Sei Kokwai living in the city, but this little band became dispersed within the first six months, and without an interpreter or assistance of any kind the missionaries had to commence at the very beginning. The first converts (four adults and a child) were bap- tized on Christmas Day, 1889, having been taught with the assistance of a Methodist Christian, who kindly offered to act as interpreter. During the next ten years the Mission was strengthened by the arrival of three Canadian clergy and six lady missionaries. In 1896 the Wychffe College Mission became merged in the recently formed Canadian Church Missionary Association of the C.M.S., one of the Canadian mis- sionaries was appointed to the C.M.S. station of Giftc, where work had already been carried on for several years. The same year a new C.M.S. station was established at Toyohashi, forty-five miles east of Nagoya. With the exception of two C.M.S. ladies working at the Gifu station, the work of the Church in these two large provinces of 2 J millions is in the hands of Canadian missionaries. Nagoya, the fourth city in Japan as regards popula- tion, is situated 235 miles west of Tokyo and 94 miles east of Kyoto. As a manufacturing centre, and a large railway terminus and junction, it is becoming increas- 134 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN ingly important. It is the chief market for the richly laden rice-fields of the surrounding plain, which is one of the largest, most fruitful, and densely populated in the whole of Japan. The part of it which is known as Owari, of which the city is almost the centre, has a population of over 870,000 living on 619 square miles. When the new railway line from Nagoya, which is shortly to be completed, opens up the resources of Shinshu and other provinces of the central interior, it will also become the chief distributing centre for the silk and other produce of those districts. Nagoya is also important as one of the principal garrison towns of the country, the residence of the Governor of the province, and the seat of the adminis- trative council. The city closely resembles Tokyo in one particular at least, the site of either place having been chosen on account of the strategic advantages of its position about the end of the sixteenth century. By the building of its famous and beautiful castle (now an Imperial palace), which is surmounted by its pair of golden dolphins valued at £18,000, as a palace for a son of the first Shogun, Nagoya became a place of im- portance, and has continued, like Tokyo, to grow and prosper ever since. It also possesses in the eastern Hongwanji the largest temple in Japan, and ranks next to Kyoto as a centre of Buddhist influence. Until recently the people of Nagoya had the reputation of being peculiarly bigoted and for showing a great hostility to Christianity. This hostility has been partly due to a fear of endangering their commercial success. The people of Nagoya are a community of shop-keepers. They have been unwilling to have dealings with any who might hinder them in this engrossing pursuit, and have felt indignant with all who welcomed the preaching and teaching of Christianity, as being likely to retard the progress of their city and district. But signs have CANADIAN CHURCH MISSIONS IN JAPAN 135 not been wanting of late to show that a change of atti- tude is being brought about in the Nagoya district, and a respectful hearing is generally given to the Gospel message. The change which has taken place in other districts as well as here is in part due to the disrepute into which Buddhism has fallen. The scandalous mis- appropriation of large sums of money by the Abbots of one of the largest Buddhist sects, and the unseemly disputes between Nagoya and Kyoto, the rival claimants for the custodianship of Buddha's bones, which were presented to the Buddhists of Japan by the King of Siam, has done much to shake the confidence of the people of this district. The Church began its Mission work sixteen years ago in the western section of the city, situated on low ground and separated from the main part by a canal. This district has a population of 40,000, and until the last few years had no other Christian Mission work in it. The prospects were bright at first, but before long bitter opposition set in. For many years the work was sadly hindered and the congregation of St. James' remained small, even after the spiritual outlook at Nagoya became generally more encouraging. Two years ago the C.M.S. Mission-room was made into a temporary church (St. John's), the congregation becoming responsible for the rent. There became then two distinct Church congre- gations at Nagoya with an aggregate membership of about eighty. After various difficulties had been overcome St. John's Church obtained a home of its own. Land was bought and a two-storeyed building was erected, containing class-rooms with a parsonage beneath and a church-hall with chancel and vestry in the upper storey. With its open timbered roof and ecclesi- astical appearance, it will be a more suitable building 136 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN than was the httle temporary Mission-room church, besides being much larger. In addition to the two churches, there is the central Mission-hall on Hommachi, one of the two most im- portant streets in Nagoya. If forms a good evangelistic centre for the preachings, which are held several nights a week. Being near to the barracks, the audience is generally half composed of soldiers on their way back to quarters. The war has not emptied the hall on preach- ing night, but has rather provided more listeners. During the days of mobilization, when night after night regiments would be entrained for the front, the Mission- hall was full of people waiting to stream out at intervals and to cheer the soldiers as they marched along the streets. On they would come, marching cheerily after their bugles, and people all along the streets as they passed would sing out ** Banzai, banzai, banzai." When a company or regiment had gone, a hymn would bring in another congregation, to turn out shortly, as had the earlier one, in order to speed the departing troops. Such interruptions did not allow of attentive listeners, though they increased their number. The war has not, on the whole, interrupted the regular evangelistic work. Not only have there been more listeners, but there have been more earnest, and a larger number of inquirers. Scan- dalous reports spread about in the spring by the ill- disposed that Christians were as bad as the Russians, and that their friends were spies, created pain and mis- understanding for a time. But when the scandal went so far as to implicate leading professional men and officers of high rank, it collapsed from its very absurdity. On the other hand, the good folks at Nagoya have seen Christianity illustrated by works of charity and good- will towards their brave soldiers. Throughout the country, and nowhere more than at Nagoya, Christians and non-Christians alike contributed cheerfully both CANADIAN CHURCH MISSIONS IN JAPAN 137 work and money. The war drew together the hearts of behevers and unbeUevers ; it helped in the provinces, as at Nagoya, to break down the prejudices of old customs, of superstition, and the dislike for the foreigner which had interfered with the effects of Chris- tian teaching. So far were the Christians from being regarded as Russian spies, that the general in command of the Nagoya garrison gave permission for Christian work to be carried on in the barracks. For this purpose the Christian missionaries of the town divided the barracks amongst them, the engineers and artillery being assigned to the Sei Kokwai. On the parade ground, when the men were off guard duty, Mr. Hamilton and his catechist had as many as 200 at a time drawn up in a hollow square for a half-hour of Christian talk, followed by a distribution of Gospels and tracts to those who wished to read. When the hospitals became full of wounded men who came back from the front — and none but the convalescent got as far back as Nagoya — Christian ladies obtained permission to pay them weekly visits in the wards. Kindly words were spoken, and copies of the Gospels, Christian papers and other illustrated papers were distributed. Once a week a special meeting was allowed, when hymns were sung and short addresses were given. The war did not stop the usual work of Sunday-school teaching, house-to-house visiting, and the various classes for Bible lessons, and Church instruction, which were carried on by the foreign missionaries, the cate- chists, and the bible- women. Sewing and knitting meetings in aid of the armies in the field took the place of cooking lessons and helped to draw both Christian and non-Christian together on a friendly footing, and to widen the circle of Christian influence. Much of the cordiality shown by the garrison officials to the mis- 138 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN sionaries of late has been due to the indirect influence of such social meetings, and of the classes for Bible study and for English which have been held from time to time. One work which has long been carried on by one of the lady missionaries has done much to bring the mothers and children together, viz. kindergarten class, which she holds in her house for twenty or thirty little boys and girls, several mornings in the week. They are very shy when they see a visitor, but the happy marching and singing altogether, and the laughter and play in between whiles, testify to the success of the class. An institution for the training of another class of children is the Y or din, which in Nagoya means " Home for young and old." It was started after the earth- quake of 1891 to provide a home for a few aged and friendless people who were left destitute and homeless. Thirteen old men and women were admitted, and funds proving more than sufficient to provide these with a permanent home, a few children left destitute by the same cause were taken in until they could be sent to some other institution. Later on, it was realized how many children there are in Japan who, for want of a helping hand, drift into the ranks of the beggars and thieves, and it was decided that the Home should divide its help between the old and the young. About twenty boys live in the Home and learn a useful trade, such as porcelain painting, the famed industry of the town and neighbourhood. The bad influence of their former surroundings occasionally gives cause for anxiety, and at one time, four or five years ago, there was trouble through discontent and opposition to authority. In Japan it is not an uncommon occurrence for school boys to go out on strike because of dissatisfac- tion with a teacher. Sometimes they secure the dis- charge of the objectionable teacher. With the boys at the Home the matter was gone into carefully. Kind- CANADIAN CHURCH MISSIONS IN JAPAN 139 ness and firmness combined brought most of them round to a better frame of mind, but of two or three an example by expulsion had to be made. The last reports show satisfactory progress among the boys, for which the Home now practically exists, there being but six old people left out of the original number. The country work around Nagoya and the fresh work started about a year ago in another district of the city near St. James' Church are generally encouraging. The chief out-stations of Nagoya (Inuyama, Ichinomiya, and Tsushima) are towns which owe their prosperity to the possession of celebrated temples. For many years it has been difficult to gain a foothold for Christianity in these places. But during the last few years some men of influence living in these towns have invited the missionaries to hold meetings in their houses, whilst the Buddhist priests, whose opposition was formerly bitter, have now little success in the holding of opposi- tion meetings. Gifu, in the province of Mino, is the capital of the prefecture of Gifu. It is an important town, about twenty miles north of Nagoya, and lies at the foot of the southern slopes of the mountains, which shield it from the north. From a conical fir-clad hill, close to the town, a view can be obtained of the mountain heights of the Hida ranges which hem in Shinshu and Hida, and render these provinces of Central Japan in- accessible from the south. Gifu itself is noted for its silk crepe, which is made from the admixture of the silk of the silkworm, which is produced in large quantities in the neighbourhood. The glittering threads of this silk, which take the dyes in a less degree than that of the ordinary silkworm, are introduced to form the pattern. Another industry of the town is paper ; its paper lanterns, and its manufacture of small paper pictures of flowers and birds, dyed upon transparent 140 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN tissue-paper sheets, being especially popular. These httle pictures are often works of art, and are used in the paper d'oyleys, which are fashionable in European restaurants, or for the decoration of any superfluous panes of glass in the Europeanized shoji of a Japanese house. From the succession of terrible earthquakes which occurred in 1891, and devastated a large area of the Main Island, Gifu and the surrounding district suffered most severely. Throughout Japan ove 22,000 persons were killed or injured and a milhon and a half were rendered homeless. Gifu itself and some of the neighbouring towns were almost entirely destroyed by either the shock or the consequent fires which broke out. Three years before this disaster a Church Mission had been started in Gifu by the Rev. E. F. Chappell, who was at that time unconnected with any society ; in 1890 he was accepted by the C.M.S. as a missionary in " local connexion " and the town thus became one of their stations. He was on an itinerating tour when the catastrophe happened, and returned to find Gifu in flames, but his wife and family and nearly all the native Christians had escaped injury. The building used for a church was destroyed, but the Mission-house had stood the shock. He organized a rehef fund for the sufferers, and subsequently opened an orphanage for the children of those who were killed. Assistance came also from the missionaries at Osaka, who gave aid in nursing and caring for the sufferers at Ogaki, Imao and other places in the near neighbourhood. These proofs of love and sympathy, shown alike by native and foreign Christians, did much to break down prejudice and to incline the hearts of the people towards Christianity. Since then the work has gone on, with steady progress, after a period of decline following upon that outburst of gratitude and interest. Each year gives more reason for CANADIAN CHURCH MISSIONS IN JAPAN 141 hopefulness. At Gifu the Church congregation numbers about seventy members, and, besides their evangehstic work in the town, the Society's missionary, the Rev. A. Lea, now in charge, assisted by his catechists and the C.M.S. lady missionaries attached to the sta- tion, do an increasing amount of country work. Their itinerating lies throughout the towns and villages of the great plain which spreads to the south of Gifu in the form of a fan. Within a radius of twenty miles, and with Ogaki, Imao, Jaike, and Kano for the chief out- stations of the Mission, preaching, Bible-classes, and meetings for women and children are regularly carried on throughout the year. The missionary-in-charge writes of the pleasure of bicycling over the level country roads, or along the raised embankments at their sides, with a beautiful avenue of pines on the one hand and a river alive with small craft on the other, and withal the mountains never out of sight. In Gifu itself the missionaries have to get into touch with the students of the town. In English classes for boys and young men, while unable to teach Christian doctrine directly, they have introduced Christian thought and teaching to their consideration by talks and dis- cussion upon foreign customs and history. For two years or more a Home was provided for ex- prisoners. Between thirty-five and forty men were taken from the doors of the prison upon their release, and under the guarantee of police surveillance, were given a home and occupation until employment could be found for them. The results gained were on the whole encouraging. Another special work for the rescue of women from the evil life of the Yoshiwara has been carried on the past year or two. The few already reclaimed are now leading respectable lives, and the police give willing aid in this work. The Gifti Church School for the Blind has a 142 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN special interest. The missionary-in-charge writes concerning it, in 1903 : — " It is not generally known that in the empire which boasts the name of the ' Land of the Rising Sun ' there are no less than 50,000 persons who never see that sun — a vast multitude to whom the beauties of light and shadow, colour and form have absolutely no meaning. A brief residence in the country is sufficient to familiarize one with the notes of the two -piped whistle and the prolonged, plaintive cry, " A m' ma ! ' ; heard till midnight in the streets of the towns of Japan. Lamps and electric light have done much to transform and relieve the gloom of the thoroughfares, but the dark, narrow streets, the endless line of low eaves and here and there the rayless light of a chochin (paper lantern) creeping across the street, are still characteristic of the towns of the interior, and show that mediaeval Japan has not yet completely passed away. Add to this the blind sham- pooer making his nightly round, uttering his melan- choly] ' A m' ma ! ' and you have a picture unutterably weird, inexpressibly sad. The condition under which these vast numbers live, their employ- ments and means of livelihood and the attitude of society towards them cannot be matters of indifference to those for whom the * brotherhood of man ' has any meaning. " About 2 per cent, of the blind of Japan gain a live- lihood by music ; the remaining 98 per cent, sustain themselves almost entirely as amma (shampooers, practicers of a kind of massage). One might be in- clined to think that the introduction of Western civiliz- ation would tend to better the condition of these un- fortunates ; but the exact reverse is the case. The * amma ' of olden days was the successful competitor of the physician, whose place in part he filled. But the introduction of medical science has robbed the ' amma ' COUNTRY WALK NEAR IKAN CANADIAN CHURCH MISSIONS IN JAPAN 143 of his means of livelihood. From birth handicapped in the struggle for hfe, he has of late been compelled to contend in unequal combat with the scientifically trained physician. The result is that the vast majority of the 50,000 blind of Japan are threatened with desti- tution. " The only solution of the problem seems to be in the possibility of their obtaining a knowledge of scien- tific massage. But a consideration of ways and means shows that the difficulties are at present insuperable. The Educational Department, which has wrought such wonders in Japanese general education, is still fully occupied in attempting to perfect its system through- out the country. It seems to have neither time nor means to take up the question of the education of the blind. There is one institution in Tokyo, assisted to a limited extent by the Government, and another in Kyoto, assisted by the city and also a few small private institutions in other parts of Japan. But the number of students in all probabihty does not exceed 300. Apart from the Gifu Blind School and two other Chris- tian institutions of limited means and capacity, there are no organizations which offer to assist the blind that are too poor to support themselves during a course of training. " The Gifu Blind School had its foundation in work begun by the Rev. A. F. Chappell soon after the great earthquake of 1891. A building was first erected and lent free of charge to a committee of blind men, who used it as a school, clubroom, etc., under the supervision of Mr. Chappell. In 1894 the institution was changed into a bhnd school pure and simple, under the principal- ship of Mr. J. K. Mori, a Gifu catechist who lost his own sight under distressing circumstances The buildings purchased in 1897 were remodelled and extended during the year 1900. These changes, to- 144 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN gether with the wiping out of the debt incurred in the enlargement of the premises, were due to the exertions of Rev. H. J. Hamilton, who, until recently, was in charge of the C.M.S. work in Gifu Ken. In spite of the smallness of the amount collected for the work, the school was brought to a high state of efficiency, and in point of management and economy leaves nothing to be desired. " Since the organization of the work as a school about fifty students have entered, male and female students in the proportion of four to one. " The institution is steadily gaining recognition as an efficient school, capable of doing thorough and success- ful work in this branch of education. During the year just ended a number of invitations from the various Educational Societies of Gifu and the neighbouring prefectures have been received by the principal, and opportunities given to explain the methods and principles of the school. Whenever possible these invitations have been accepted, the principal taking with him a number of pupils as practical illustrations of the training given in the institution. In every case the faciUty of the students in reading, writing, calculation on the abacus and the extent to which the inconveniences of blindness may be reduced by training have excited general admiration and aroused interest in the work. " It must be remembered, however, that the fact of the school's being a Christian institution has hindered to a considerable extent the financial support of those who are not in sympathy with Christianity. However, during the years 1902-3, the Japanese contributions rose to nearly 500 yen, which is treble the amount subscribed in any previous year. This amount was contributed mainly with a view to the purchase of new apparatus and improvement of the premises. " The school is doing its work quietly and thoroughly, o 3 H ^ J "S Oh o § O W S H ^ (X! ■^ ^ 03 Q ^ <5 << _2 tt^ Oj H B s H p b£ 2 a -^ D S£ Z .^ a J5 C < "m o _: H i2 z 3 ijj ^ w a a -T 2i OT [-( O >^ a « H P^ [_, H ffi z o CANADIAN CHURCH MISSIONS IN JAPAN 145 loyal to the principles on which it was founded. It has gained the confidence of all who have come into contact with it, and its graduates going into various parts have, we believe, become little centres of influence for good, and are thereby justifying the time and money spent on their behalf." Toyohashi is a thriving garrison town of 18,000 in- habitants situated on the shores of an inner reach of Owari Bay, about forty-five miles south-east of Nagoya, and on the main railroad between that city and the capital. With its numerous villages it has a population of about 200,000, all of which are within easy reach of Toyohashi. Work was begun here by the C.M.S. in 1896, when the Rev. J. M. Baldwin, formerly of the Canadian Wycliffe Hall Mission at Nagoya, was appointed to take charge of this new station. Before this the Greek Church had had a Mission at Toyohashi for many years, and the Roman Catholics, and also the Methodists were re- presented, but of Sei Kokwai Christians there were but two or three members, visited by the clergy from Nagoya. The people, being less bigoted than at Nagoya, were more approachable, and the difficulty has been the lack of missionaries rather than any op- position to Christian teaching. From the first Mr. Baldwin received a welcome assistance from the Crown Prosecutor (or " Kenji ") of the town, himself a Methodist ; and a house to serve as preaching-place and catechist's house was soon secured. The preaching-house then became a centre of influence. Men of all classes, officers, doctors, and government officials, came to listen ; some stayed, and afterwards returned as inquirers. Before long a night- school was started for the study of English and the Bible, and, as at other places, the study of the Bible for its own sake created the chief interest amongst the L 146 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN students. By classes, earnest preaching and constant house-to-house visiting, a httle congregation of Sei Kokwai Christians was built up, until in 1903, after seven years' work, the Church members numbered forty- five, of whom thirty-four were communicants. In 1901 a lady missionary from Canada working in local connexion with the C.M.S., came to reinforce the Mission. The work in Toyohashi itself, in neighbouring towns, and in the scattered villages around, has gone on with increasing encouragement each year. One or two anecdotes will serve to illustrate the way in which the work has spread. About two years ago a little boy, not yet in his teens, rang at the lady missionary's house and sent in his card. In doubt whether it might be an officer or a policeman, she invited the visitor to enter, and a small boy of eleven made his appearance with all the cere- monious bows of a senior ! He asked very politely if English lessons were given, and it was arranged for him that if he came to Sunday-school on Sunday after- noons, he should be taught English as well. Little S proved to be one of the brightest boys of the class. He was living with his old grandmother, and his next request was that the missionary would call on her ; this led to his grandmother coming to a women's meet- ing, and as her little grandson gave her no peace unless she was always punctual, however dark the night, or bad the roads, the old lady had to be there. Then the boy, or the little missionary as he was called, collected his friends in the neighbourhood and induced them to come to school with him. As many as ten or twelve of these boys came regularly. A year elapsed, and grandmother and grandson both became cate- c humens, and were prepared for Holy Baptism together. After this he went to his grandmother's room and took the images of the Buddha from the " Kamidama," or CANADIAN CHURCH MISSIONS IN JAPAN 147 god-shelf, saying as he took them away to the kitchen, " Grandmother, you worship the One True God now ; you must throw these away." Later, when they had received baptism, these gods, who had been worshipped so many years, were taken into the yard and burnt. Thus a little boy's enthusiasm, pluck, and faith were the means of bringing others to hear the truth, and of breaking down superstitious reverence for idols. The missionary has been this last year to their house to prepare them for their confirmation, the old woman, who had been guided to the truth after a lifetime, and the young boy, entering upon the threshold of his man- hood and eager to share his happiness with his play- mates. For at these preparation lessons our little missionary has gathered around him his friends, that they too may listen and learn. Another story may be told of Mrs. S in reference to a village about ten miles away. She was the wife of the headman of the village and came often to the evangelistic meetings when staying at Toyohashi. In time she became a catechumen, and later was baptized. But this did not content her ; on her return to her own village, where there was not a single Christian, by her prayers and by the force of her example and loving persuasion, she induced first her husband, and then her children and friends, to inquire and eventually to receive Holy Baptism. Now both husband and wife are communicants, and, through her instrumentality, a centre for a future congregation of Church members has been formed. Work in the town. — ^The work in the town is princi- pally among women and children. For these there are meetings on different afternoons for women and ladies, with individual visiting, and for the children and girls there are Sunday-schools and classes for Bible and Prayer-Book instruction. The Sunday-school classes, 148 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN for boys and girls together, are not large, but by their regular attendance and their knowledge of the Bible, the children give great encouragement to their teachers. The women's meetings are of various kinds, some being for Christians, with a consecutive course of Bible in- struction, while others are social weekly and monthly gatherings of different ladies with whom the lady missionary may be acquainted, and who will listen to a little talk upon a portion of Scripture. To classes such as these come the wives of doctors, army officers, and officials. Many are earnest inquirers ; and at those classes where definite Christian instruction is given, it is evident that the study of the Bible attracts them the most. But the same obstacles stand in the way of further spiritual advance for these ladies at Toyohashi as elsewhere in the provinces. While in the capital Christian teaching has to contend with the shallow curiosity that will follow anything new for a time, though the heart of the hearer remain untouched, in provincial towns the difficulties are even greater. Conservative ideas retain their influence longer in these towns, and even when faith affects the heart, the fear that Christianity will block the way to social success prevents its confession. Four ladies of the official class of Toyohashi once said to a lady missionary, " Though we believe Christianity to be true, our husbands forbid us to become Christians." Classes for men and boys are held by the missionaries and the catechist, for Biblical and Church teaching, both in Japanese and in English, which are attended by business and professional men and by students at the schools. At one class for boys of the " Shogakko " (primary school), given in English, the native missionary took a course on General Gordon as the type of a noble Christian life. The principal of the primary school is a member of the Sei Kokwai and has given permission CANADIAN CHURCH MISSIONS IN JAPAN 149 for Bible classes to be held for his boys out of school hours. Four of the students have become Christians from these classes, two of whom are now Sunday-school teachers and are working very earnestly, and already six boys (in 1904) had become inquirers. Work in the country round. — Away from Toyohashi, the Tokaido railway runs westward towards Kobe and Osaka, and inland to the north-east a branch line is being extended for twenty miles or more. Both lines are laid over the fiat country which separates the coast from the distant and encircling hills. Scattered over the rice-grown plain are towns and little villages, and their connecting roads of pack-horse tracks run up into the passes of the mountains, that are ten to thirty miles inland. The chain of mountains, seen from the railroad between Toyohashi and Gifu, seem to guard the interior of the country all along the way. In some places their spurs run down close to the shore ; in other places the mountains retreat. Those towns and villages near to Toyohashi which are on the main and branch railways (such as Futagawa, Toyokawa, Shin-shiro and Ichinomiya) can be easily reached by the missionaries, and in spite of much local superstition and consequent ignorance, evangelistic work is progressing. The same may be said of other places which can only be reached on foot or by bicycle, but the distances, and in bad weather the impossible roads, interrupt the work not a little. Ono and Nori- moto are twenty- three miles from Toyohashi on the Toyokawa river. The missionaries' visit to these villages six years ago found a ready welcome, and the missionary bicycle and magic-lantern are now well known ; sometimes the missionaries go farther up the river to Kawai, a little town in the hills, and there preach either in the open air or in a room lent for the occasion. 150 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN At Toyokawa, five miles on the branch Hne from Toyo- hashi, is a celebrated temple to Inari, where the fox is worshipped according to local superstition. Inari re- presents more correctly the goddess of rice, but the foxes are her guardians, whose images may often be seen standing in her temples. This place is one of the most idolatrous places in Japan ; it is crowded with worshippers from all parts of the country, and special trains are run to Toyokawa from Toyohashi at the festival seasons, although at other times the temple is neglected. Enough has been said to show that in many villages the people have been found eager to learn ; houses are open to the missionary, and inquirers are waiting for teachers to explain to them the wonderful story which they now have heard. Although Christians of several denominations are working in and near Toyohashi there is little overlapping, and in most of the out-stations there are none but the Sei Kokwai missionaries. In this district there is work enough for at least two or three additional missionaries. Those on the spot feel that for one fresh house they enter they are leaving two in which are men and women desirous of hearing the G ospel. CHAPTER XIII The Missions of the Canadian Church in Japan (continued) The " Missionary Society of the Church of England in Canada " (M.S.C.C.) at Nagano and at Matsumoto. The district called *' Shinsetsu " includes the field of work set apart for the Missions of the " Canadian Board," as the M.S.C.C. is usually termed. The railroad northward from Tokyo, after branching off from the main line to Hokkaido, runs across the in- land plains and climbs the mountains of Shinshu by means of a pass and tunnels, to the highlands of Karui- zawa. From there the line descends gradually to Nagano, the capital of the province of Shinshu, and a celebrated Buddhist centre. The prosperity of this town of 36,000 inhabitants is due to its trade in woven goods and agricultural implements and to the fame of its temple. It is beautifully situated at the foot of lofty mountains. The temple of Zenkoji carries its history back to the days of ancient relations with Korea, when from Korea Japan received her religion and her culture. In the temple is said to be preserved the golden images of Amida and his followers, Kwannon and Daiseishi, made by Shaka Muni himself, and brought nearly one thousand years later as a present from the Korean Emperor to the Mikado in a.d. 552, on the first intro- duction of Buddhism into Japan. 152 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN The reliquary or shrine certainly dates as far back as the fourteenth century, and the buildings of the main temple, which was founded in a.d. 670, are at least 200 years old. War, pillage, and fire have left their marks, yet the Zenkoji temple retains much of its former grandeur in the spaciousness of its courts, the elaborate carving of its gateways, and the magnificence of its votive lanterns, sculptured animals, and shrines ; and to-day its retinue of attendant priests and nuns, together with the thronging crowds of pilgrims, illustrate the hold that Buddhism still has on the hearts, if not on the minds, of the people. The same students of the schools and colleges of Tokyo who are studying in term-time the various branches of Western science, go in the summer vacation on pilgrimages to the shrines of Ise, of Kompira, of Nagano, or to other sacred resorts. It may be true that they go more for sight-seeing than for worship, and that the old religion has ceased to be a matter of conscience ; but they have not yet cast it altogether away. For the country farmers and tradesmen, for the peasants in every province of Japan — to whom the new civilization from the West is only known by strange and novel modes of lighting and locomotion — the temples of their forefathers, the festivals and the legends of days gone by, are still a living force, and receive as heretofore their veneration, their offerings, and their credulity. To this centre of Buddhist worship, in 1892, came the Rev. J.G. and Mrs. Waller^ to endeavour to open 1 The Rev. J. G. Waller had arrived in Japan two years previously as the first missionary on foreign service sent by the Canadian Church in its corporate capacity. He and Mrs. Waller were first stationed at Fukushima, 166 miles north of Tokyo, but on the division of the American and English Episcopal Missions into missionary jurisdictions, they were transferred from Fukushima to Nagano, and so continued to be within the jurisdiction of Bishop Bickersteth. CANADIAN CHURCH MISSIONS IN JAPAN 153 out a fresh sphere for the Church's influence. For over two years they encountered strong opposition from the Buddhist priests and others who derived their HveH- hood from the fame of their great temple. Mobs, headed by priests in disguise, interrupted and disturbed the missionary meetings, tore down their signboards, and attempted by various devices to drive the mis- sionaries away. GraduaUy, however, the Mission won its way to respect from the more open-minded of the people, and to an attitude of acquiescence from others. The late Archdeacon Shaw reported in 1896 a kindly feeling on the part of the official and educated classes towards the missionaries. Now, in place of impromptu meetings, often rudely disturbed, the Christians worship in a sub- stantially built church, built brick by brick by Mr. Waller and his little band of helpers. At the mis- sionary hospital dispensary may be seen every day men and women, Buddhist nuns among them, applying for medical relief. Instead of defaced Christian sign- boards there can be observed in the Buddhist temple precincts a notice board with its English translation as corrected by their referee, Mr. Waller, the missionary class- teacher in the Town " Chu-Gakko," or Middle School. Nor have work and progress been confined to the town of Nagano. Within two or three years Mr. and Mrs. Waller, with their catechists and Bible-women, com- menced work in the surrounding villages and smaller towns. At Christmas of 1896 thirteen adults were baptized, and about this time it was feared that too many out-stations might be taken on. Work in the Town. — In 1894 a dispensary and nurses' training-home was started, and successfully carried on for six years by a lady from Canada, whose health afterwards broke down and necessitated her return 154 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN home. Since then the dispensary has been worked for the Mission by successive Japanese doctors, and by nurses receiving their training. In nearly every case the nurses and doctors have been Christians. Funds contributed in Canada made it possible in 1897 to secure for the training-home and dispensary new and larger quarters well situated in the centre of the city. Here, besides the medical work, the Mission has held regular weekly meetings for catechumens and Christians. At these addresses and instruction with magic lantern are given. At the meetings for non- Christian audiences, the evangelistic preaching is generally well attended. On Sunday evenings also a special service is conducted suitable for " inquirers," to which patients come on the invitation of doctor or nurse. During the hard winters which are frequently experienced, the dispensary becomes a rice-kitcjien. In the winter of 1898, in particular, the large amounts of relief given to the poor deserving persons sought out by the catechists, and not on the missionary's sick list, was thankfully appreciated. The money for this purpose was granted by the " Women's Auxiliary " in Canada. This dispensary and nurses' training-school exerts an influence both on the nurses themselves and through- out the district. The present head-nurse of St. Luke's, and another at the Red Cross Hospital, both in Tokyo, received their original training in this institution ; others, now in private practice or in their own home, have benefited largely from the training which they have received here. The return of the lady missionary (Miss Smith) to Canada was a great loss to Nagano, and a foreign resident evangelistic worker at the Home is badly needed to assist in the supervision of the nurses, and to accompany them on their rounds of medical and evangelistic visits in the town and neighbouring villages. In many other ways the work among women at CANADIAN CHURCH MISSIONS IN JAPAN 155 Nagano has progressed. A '' women's meeting " of over twenty Christian mem.bers was begun in 1896, and has been a source of encouragement by promoting interest and mutual friendship between neighbours. It was estabhshed as a branch of " the Women's AuxiUary to the Canadian Church Mission in Nagano," and with it was associated a " Dorcas Guild," which is employed in knitting, embroidery, and sewing. Later on, from this Christian " Fujinkwai," grew a Jizenkwai, or benevolent society, consisting of both Christian and non-Christian ladies, and numbering thirty members. Friendly relations were established with several new families ; the Church-members were brought into con- tact with many ladies whom difference of religion might have kept apart ; and unbelievers were led to give up some of their prejudices against foreigners and Chris- tianity. English classes have been held for the teachers and students of the Girls' Normal and High Schools, and these too have opened up intercourse between the Mission and the townspeople. The Church of the Saviour. — The Nagano Mission has possessed from early days a building suitable for Divine worship. This church, which was begun in 1897, was opened in May, 1898. It was consecrated by Bishop Awdry, then recently appointed Bishop of South Tokyo in succession to the late Bishop Bickersteth, under whom the work had been commenced. The church is of red brick, pointed in stone, and is 54 feet long by 26 feet broad. It is one of the few Christian buildings built of stone in the country. The windows, of plain lancet form, and the chancel pillar shafts are in white sandstone with simple mouldings of " Early English " character. The general fittings of this little church — its lectern, reading-desk, etc., all carefully chosen and in harmony with the whole, give an air of quiet dignity which is very 156 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN helpful to the worshippers, whether missionary or con- vert. For the missionaries, their church is a haven of rest to the eye and the mind, in the midst of the noisy life of this busy town. It is sometimes said that the converts, recoiling from the heathen symbolism and overloaded richness of the temples, might prefer a church of the plainest description. It may, however, be urged that the preaching-room, with its secular adjuncts and week-day uses, cannot promote feelings of devotion, and that the Mission which saves its funds in the matter of church adornment may be losing oppor- tunities for instilling a sense of reverence into its con- verts when in the House of God. On the occasion of a Christian funeral non-Christians sometimes attend from curiosity or interest. Their behaviour shows a great lack of reverence and solemnity, but the service of Christian hope and faith, held in the peaceful church, may have power to influence their thoughts. If the missionary's words, heard once, sometimes brings forth fruit, may not the beauty and restfulness of the Christian's church — the reverence as well as the heartiness of his devotions — prove an evangelistic force as fruitful in results ? Later Progress of the Mission. — In 1898, after nearly eight years' service in Japan, Mr. Waller and his family sailed to Canada for their well-earned furlough, and their departure from Nagano drew from all classes a notable demonstration of goodwill. It was m strange contrast with their early experience of the town's hostility, and was specially gratifying because of the share taken by the non-Christian part of the com- munity. During their absence the work continued without interruption. The work of the dispensary and the training of nurses went on extending and met with increased recognition from the official classes. During a bad epidemic of dysentery one of the nurses CANADIAN CHURCH MISSIONS IN JAPAN 157 was sent to Inariyama (a neighbouring town) to take charge of the Infectious Hospital ; the town authorities showed their appreciation of her services by giving a present of 80 yen (£8) to the Nagano dispensary. The nursing of the poor in their own homes and the taking entire charge of serious cases in private famihes were now undertaken by the nurses attached to the dis- pensary. Since 1902 a hospital has been built by the " Women's Auxiliary " of Canada, as a thank-offering, but for the present the building is used as the mis- sionary's residence, and for classes and meetings, the hospital scheme being in abeyance until the arrival of further helpers. Some of the classes are held for the students of the Middle School (" Chu-Gakko ") of the province which is at Nagano. Since his return from furlough, in 1900, Mr.iWaller has been welcomed there as English master ; and though Christian instruction can only be given to the boys out of school hours, his indirect influence is great, and the fact of his being on the school staff pro- motes a good understanding between the Christians and the Government authorities. The school sports bear witness alike to the athletic powers, health and good tone of the boys. Their drill is particularly good, and is done with admirable precision in movement and voice. Matsitmoto, in Shinshu, was, until 1902, when the railway reached it from Tokyo, one of the most inacces- sible Mission stations in the South Tokyo diocese. The town is situated in the midst of a wide, fertile plain, which is well watered by the river Saigawa and surrounded on all sides by the lofty mountains of Shinshu. It is a centre of the silk industry of the pro- vince. Apart from its trade and its beauty of situa- tion, the town lacks interest. Its former daim^^o's castle, towering up storey above storey, still remains in 158 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN the midst of the town, but otherwise there is Httle variety in the hne of house roofs. The absence of temples is noticeable, for although Nagano, only a day distant, is famous as a centre of Buddhist worship, that religion has never succeeded in gaining a hold on the people of Matsumoto. But if Christian work in Matsumoto has not had to contend with the opposing force of Buddhism it has had dilficulties of other kinds. Shut off, as it was till recently, from much contact with foreigners, its people regarded them and Christianity with distrust and dislike. If Buddhist temples are scarce in the neighbourhood, heathen shrines and sacred places of primitive and grossly superstitious cults abound ; on the other hand, modern manufac- tures flourish side by side with old-established indus- tries. The town has its banks, its police and law- courts, its primary and middle schools, and neither peasants nor the classes above them are held back by any religious faith strong enough to enforce a high morality. Among the peasantry there is nonmorality rather than immorality. Of the classes above, it may be said that [their ideals of social morality have not as yet advanced beyond the standards of the ancient days. Consequently one meets, with evidences of intellectual progress, such as twentieth-century school- buildings fitted up with the latest educational require- ments within sight of the symbols of faiths belonging to a primeval past. The Missionary Society of the Church in Canada commenced work in Matsumoto in 1893-4 ; the Rev. M. Kakuzen, ordained deacon at Toronto, being the first missionary, and the station being superintended from Nagano. A year or two later the Rev. F. W. Kennedy came to live in Matsumoto as priest-in-charge. After five years' work at Matsumoto Mr. Kakuzen was appointed to be priest-in-charge of the Nagano Church CANADIAN CHURCH MISSIONS IN JAPAN 159 centre during Mr. Waller's absence on furlough. Later he went to live at Kobe to take duty in the S.P.G. Mission there, under Bishop Foss. For many years evangelistic work at Matsumoto met with slight encouragement. But the missionaries suc- ceeded gradually in conciliating public opinion. One step taken in the right direction was the missionary's entrance into what was an old, and formerly universal, organization of Japan, that of the "five house " band. According to this ancient custom, the neighbours on either side and the three houses opposite form a league for mutual help with the new resident, and the members of each band are responsible for each other to the local authorities. It is the duty of the new resident in a street to ask for the privilege of enrolment, and this the missionary did not fail to do. Bishop Awdry reported in 1899 that the progress made at Matsumoto was very marked. In that year the congregation had reached the complement of twenty communicants, which, combined with the possession of a pastor and a building, entitled its claim to be registered as a " Church." The same year, with the aid of a sub- stantial grant from the missionary society of Trinity College, Toronto, a new preaching-station was built, which could be used for a church. Preaching to un- believers and social gatherings are carried on in a large room. This room can, when desired, be made into four, by the sliding Japanese screen. At the end of the room is a raised recess of about twenty feet wide by six deep ; this forms the Sanctuary and is screened off excepting during Divine Service. The mission-room is built and furnished in Japanese fashion, with " zabuton " in place of benches or chairs ; the American organ being the only foreign piece of furniture. Although the mission-room has to serve for social as well as devotional purposes, whenever the screens are drawn back it is noticeable i6o CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN how quiet and reverent the behaviour of all becomes. Anything that makes for reverence and devotional behaviour is a gain. The congregation at Matsumoto now numbers eighty baptized members, with fifty communicants. The classes for English, which de- veloped into an English night-school, have been carried on for some years at the two mission-houses. Both teachers and students of the Middle School attend these classes, and many attend the Bible-classes in connexion with them. The principal of the school extends his co-operation, and his own son goes to both English and Bible-classes. His further appreciation of the work was shown by his asking the missionary to assist in English teaching at his school. A young men's Association has been formed on the lines of St. Andrew's brotherhood. This Association, of which the members are Christian, though the associates may be non-Christian, works in conjunction with the Women's Association, which is a branch of the Canadian " Women's Auxiliary." These two Associations have done much to break down the prejudices of the townspeople against the foreigners and their faith. The latter Association was started by the Lady Principal of St. Mary's Home, before she was obliged, through ill-health, to leave for America in 1899. She came to Matsumoto in 1894. The Home was opened with four or five girls in 1898 and was intended for the training of Japanese women for service in the Canadian Church Missions. For the five years that Miss Paterson remained in Japan the Home which she had founded did good work. On her de- parture ^ a lady from St. Hilda's Mission took charge of it, but, her health breaking down in 1901, she was obliged to leave Japan, and the work had to rest for 1 Miss Paterson has settled in San Francisco, where she has taken up work among the large colony of Japanese residing in that city. G ^ O CANADIAN CHURCH MISSIONS IN JAPAN i6i a while in abeyance. The following year it was re- opened as a Christian Home for Young Girls. It began with six pupils, who soon increased to nine ; it has now the full complement of ten girls. The course is four years. During this time the boarders in the Home go to the Government girls' schools. A fee of five yen (about los.) a year is required, and a further sum of five yen during the course. If the girls stay for two years at St. Mary's they are expected to take a further course, after that of the Government school, at St. Hilda's Divinity school in Tokyo. The time thus spent under Christian supervision should help to enable the girls to withstand the non- Christian influences of their future lives. Two pupils are now taking the Divinity course at St. Hilda's, Tokyo, preparatory to becoming Mission helpers. Another has entered the embroidery school there. Two more have been taking the medical course at St. Luke's hospital, Tsukiji, connected with the American Episcopal Mission, one of whom has already received her diploma as a fully certificated nurse. Another pupil did not complete her course at the school, but has been married to a Japanese deacon in the Osaka diocese. The Mission workers in the Sunday school and the various classes help to draw together the women of the town. By their labours. Christians and non-Christians are becoming less separated in their social relations, and much good is being done. They meet over sewing and cooking classes and, during the war, at the meet- ings of the societies started for the relief of the soldiers and their families. M CHAPTER XIV Country Work in Boshu, etc. C.M.S. Country Work in Boshu and at Yokaichiba and Choshi — The Fishing Village of Misaki. In the country the missionary can generally take a straighter road to the hearts of the people among whom he lives than is possible in the town. In the towns missionary work is for the most part indirect ; schools, hostels, hospitals usually cover the advance of Chris- tianity against the forces of heathenism. In this and the following chapters it is proposed to describe the C.M.S. evangelistic work in the country districts near Tokyo, and at Tokushima, in the Island of Shikoku ; the S.P.G. work in the Island of Awaji, lying in the Inland Sea between Shikoku and the mainland ; and the country work carried on by St. Andrew's and St. Hilda's Missions in the Chibaken, and at Hadano- machi, a town which is situated a few miles north of the Tokaido and under the shadow of Mount Oyama ; also a visit paid to the town of liyama, an out-station of the M.S.C.C. centre at Nagano. Two of the C.M.S. Tokyo centres, or rather circuits, of itinerary work, are in the Chiba prefecture, which in- cludes the peninsula that forms the eastern half of Tokyo Bay. A third centre is at the fishing village of Misaki on the southern point of the western promontory of the same bay. The southern and most inaccessible of these 162 COUNTRY WORK IN BOSHU 163 circuits in the Chiba prefecture lies among the villages of Boshu, the southern province of the three which form the modern '* ken " or prefecture. Itinerating in Boshu, — The visitor who lands at Ho jo for the purpose of visiting the Mission is met by the native catechist, a man whose energy is such that he is known as the man who can out -walk the bishop. Sunday services are held weekly for the Christians in this district, of whom there are a considerable number . Once a month one of the C.M.S. clergy from Tokyo visits Hojo and the neighbourhood for the administration of the sacraments. These monthly visits, and a visit every three or four months from a lady missionary, are the only intercourse these country Christians have with their teachers and brethren in the Faith who live beyond their immediate circle. Though they have their catechists, who teach them the rudiments of their religion, yet their isolation is great and it can well be imagined that they long for visits from foreign mis- sionaries. The village of Nemoto lies eight or nine miles south of Hojo. A few years ago, a student from Tokyo de- sired after his baptism to be trained for missionary work, but had been forced through ill-health to lay aside his plans, and to undertake the post of teacher in the primary Government school of this little fishing village. There he took his stand as a Christian, and, in spite of much opposition, used to gather the children together and tell them about the Saviour, and they re- sponded in a wonderful way to his teaching. On the occasion of our visit we made an early start in jinrickshas and took with us a lantern and slides, some large pictures, illustrating texts or representative scenes in our Lord's life, together with tracts and some copies of the Gospels written in colloquial Japanese. The way led for the first few miles among terraced hills i64 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN and across rice fields which were being harvested for the second time. We met by the wayside women and children threshing the rice stalks by pulling them, by the hand in small bundles, through a rude kind of coarse iron rake, fixed in a wooden vice a few feet from the ground. Women were to be seen reaping and threshing, pulling hand-carts laden with farm produce, or carrying heavy burdens upon the back. The men are for the most part fishermen, and were out at sea, or on the shore attending to their boats and nets. As we walked along by the shore we could see Fuji San afar off. Away to the left lay the volcanic island of Oshima. One of the boys who escorted us into the village had been baptized a short time before, being the first to confess Christianity in the village. He had encountered much ridicule and petty persecution on account of his faith. It is quite impossible to be alone and undisturbed in a Japanese house. The Japanese live their lives in cheerful, constant companionship one with another. The Nemoto children, who had been taught that they should pray to God m secret, have chosen out a quiet spot in a dried-up, shallow river-bed, which they called " Gethsemane," and there they go to pray. When their teacher left for Tokyo lately they gathered round him with tears, and all prayed for him. A visible change has taken place in the lives of some of these children. Two very poor children begged their mothers to allow them to save the fruit of a persimmon tree in their garden, that they might sell it at the village fair and send the money to help to tell others the good news. Now that their teaclier has left them for a while they meet every Sunday to read his weekly letter, and to sing the hymns which they have learnt together. COUNTRY WORK IN BOSHU 165 During our visit two meetings, one a Fujinkwai (women's meeting) and the other a lantern meeting, were held in the seldom-used Buddhist temple, hired for the occasion ! The women's meeting was remark- able for its absence of women. It was announced for two o'clock, when two women came. There came also a crowd of expectant children and a group of politely interested men. In the hope that more women might be able to leave their harvest work later on, the children's meeting was held first, at which a simple lesson was given, which was illustrated by a big picture. The children listened quietly and attentively, and afterwards sang some hymns, set to their own school tunes. About four p.m., when the second part of the meeting was held, the audience had increased to twelve men, a few big youths, and fifty children. In the evening the temple was packed with 130 to 150 young people, for a lantern meeting. It was taken by the catechist, who comes over occasionally to hold a service at the neighbouring lighthouse, where there are several Christians. All were attentive and reverent, as they saw the pictures and heard of the life of our Saviour and of some of His miracles and wonderful sayings. Among the slides were a few illustrating scenes in England. It seemed strange to look at pictures of London streets and English scenes shown on a sheet hung up inside a Buddhist temple, stranger still to hear the children sing Christian hymns so heartily, whilst close to us, behind closed doors, was the sacred shrine of the temple. The scene in that old village sanctuary was typical of the sentiments of the modern Japanese. Possessing but little faith in their old gods, they listened with interest to the foreigner's teaching concerning his own religion, but with no realization that it was in- compatible with their former faith. i66 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN Since the occasion of our visit, the villagers' com- placency towards the foreigners has aroused the Budd- hist priests out of their lethargy, and has stirred them up to counteract the evil effects of their visit. Though for years they had not troubled themselves about this village, they have recently come over from a neigh- bouring hamlet and have held rival preachings and conducted a lantern meeting of their own. At Onuki, which was the next place visited, there is a resident catechist, and the Christians of the district meet together at his house, which is their own Church property, on Sundays for a service and Bible reading. The clergy also from Tokyo come on monthly visits to celebrate the Holy Communion. Dr. Hada, one of the earliest Christian converts in Tokyo, is now living at Onuki for his health. There is another village called Nago at the other end of the bay to Hojo, where meetings are held at the house of Mrs. Okamoto, a Japanese Bible-woman. Sunday services are also held at the catechist's house. Yokaichiba, and at Choshi. — These towns in the northern province of the Chiba prefecture are the principal centres for the itinerary work of the C.M.S. missionaries in this district. The missionary circuit round by Sakura, Sawara, Choshi, and Yokaichiba, is an easier one than that in Boshu. In addition to monthly visits paid by the C.M.S. clergy from Tokyo, the lady missionary in charge of the country work goes every few weeks to help the catechist by personal talk, Bible instruction and lantern meetings. It was upon one of these rounds that we went early in December. Choshi is a large rambling town of 40,000 inhabitants, and is chiefly noted for its Japanese sauce. It has the privilege of manufacturing the supplies for the Im- perial household. The town extends for two miles along COUNTRY WORK IN BOSHU 167 the right bank of the river Tonegawa, which here flows between sharp rocks into the sea. The chief occupa- tion of its inhabitants, apart from the manufacture of sauce, is fishing. A fish resembhng a pilchard, but smaller, is caught here and all along the coast. The manufacturing and fishing quarters of the town are divided by a hill crowned with a temple which is dedi- cated to Kwannon, the goddess of mercy. It has some old and good woodwork carving. The view from the hill overlooking the older fishing-villages, across the river to the distant ocean, and inland over rice-fields and low hills, is very fine. The rough fisher- boys and school-children who crowded round seemed more boisterous and aggressive than boys and girls in Japan usually are. The people at Choshi, especially the fisherfolk, are difficult to reach, but nevertheless the work is promising ; in one year, 1901, twenty-seven adults received baptism. There is no other Church, or Mission, except the C.M.S. working in the district. A preaching-place in a good situation was secured in 1900, and the catechist is an energetic man. At Cape Inuboe, about 2 J miles from Choshi, is a well-known lighthouse situated on the first point of Japan which is seen by steamers coming from Van- couver. From this lighthouse is telegraphed the news of the steamer's arrival. This lighthouse has special interest attached to it from the missionary point of view. To quote from a report in the South Tokyo diocesan magazine, for December, 1901 : — " There are generally four or five men stationed there, and these change rather frequently, except the head men. Those who have become Christians endeavour to lead any new men who come, and God has blessed their work and testimony, so that in a little over a year nine men have been converted there. . . . The head man is most i68 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN earnest in his efforts to preach Christ. Numbers of visitors come to see the hghthouse during the summer months, and are taken up the Hghthouse in batches of eight, the others waiting till the first party has come down. He utilizes the opportunity often by speaking to those waiting about the Gospel. The men who have become Christians and have been transferred elsewhere are all doing well. Three of them are in or near Tokyo . . . one has gone to the other side of Japan." Before leaving Choshi we visited this lighthouse, that had become by one man's earnestness and faith a veri- table " preaching-station " of the Church. The cape on which the lighthouse is situated is well worth a visit on account of its magnificent view ; it stands high up on the narrow point jutting out into the Pacific, facing the ocean on three sides. The lighthouse is of the latest type and has a revolving flash-light of high power. The visitor cannot but notice the spotless cleanliness and brightness of every bit of glass and brass work. After due inspection and en- joyment of the view, we went into the head man's house, which like all official buildings was built in foreign fashion, to have tea and cakes, and to be introduced to the latest new-comer among his four assistants. All were Christians except one man, and he was already an inquirer. In the bare little office-room were four or five men, with two of their wives, a grandmother, and three or four little children, who kept running in and out of an inner passage. The men and women sat round their plain wooden table, sharing with each other Bibles and hymn books, asking questions or listening to the answers of the missionary upon the meaning of some verse, and, after a few simple prayers, singing together some of our Christian hymns. It was interesting to reflect upon the contrast between familiarity with the results of Western COUNTRY WORK IN BOSHU 169 material science — the signalling flags were in pigeon holes ranged against the wall, and their uses were proudly pointed out to us — and the ignorance on the part of the Japanese of the religion and thoughts that have been the education of the West. The joy in talking over their new-found happy faith with fellow Christians was at once striking and delightful. We went to Yokaichiba next day, but little ol the Christian work that is being carried on there was to be seen. In the evening a women's class was held in the church or preaching-place, attended by the cd-echist and ten or a dozen women with their little children. A short talk upon a portion of Scripture was given, a few hymns and prayer followed, and the little meeting broke up. The results of a meeting like this are not easy to test. Some of these women were Christians, some inquirers, some merely friends, but all had probably been attracted to Christianity by some evangelistic effort or preaching previously held in the town. By such meetings and quiet talks, and through personal visits to their homes, one and another are brought into touch with Christian friends, and become known to the missionary. It has been by such efforts that the Church's congregation in Yokaichiba has grown within a few years' time to a Church membership of over a hundred and fifty. Yokaichiba is a town of about 8,000 inhabitants, and is the government and police centre for the dis- trict. The following account relating to a special missionary effort was published in the C.M.S. Japan Quarterly for October, 1903. The tent where the meetings were held was large enough for 200 people, and its white roof and towering poles with their flags proved a notable attraction. The meetings had been well advertised beforehand in the newspapers and by circular letters sent to every house in the town. The 170 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN Mission lasted for ten days, and the results showed that many who have since professed Christianity were first aroused to interest and self- questioning by the preach- ing or by the tracts and portions of Scripture then procured and read. " Every afternoon we have had women's meetings, though they hardly conform to one's idea of an ordinary meeting, being often very informal. We go down a little before two o'clock, and always find groups of in- quirers scattered about the tent listening to the catechist. One corner is reserved for us, and presently one or two women are induced to come in and we begin to talk to them. By degrees a small crowd assembles outside, of men, women and children. We get as many of the women to come up on to the boards as we can ; but most of them are country-folk, who have come to town for shopping. As the rain comes down in torrents most days, they are often too dirty after their walk over the muddy roads to come up on to u clean matting, and so sit on the edge, while we talk as best we can to an accompaniment of men's voices, crying babies, and noisy children. These country people seem more responsive than the town people, making remarks and asking questions constantly. After listening for an hour or so, most of them begin to drop off, explaining that they have come from a place three, four or five miles away, and must get back before dark, also saying that what they have heard is indeed good news. Tracts are given to these, and others generally take their place, and so we go until 3.30, when the children, who have been playing round and making a noise ever since we came, are let in. Their meeting begins with hymns, sung heartily if not always melodiously. Some of them go to Sunday school, but a good many do not." At Yokaichiba the Sunday school children attend regularly and answer brightly, and one feature of the COUNTRY WORK IN BOSHU 171 Church at Yokaichiba is that nearly all are work- ers. A Visit to the Fishing Village of Misaki. — Misaki can be reached from Tokyo by rail or steamer to Yokosuka, and thence by a fourteen-mile ride in a rickshaw over the sands and the cultivated uplands, that command a fine view of Fuji, the Hakone and Oyama ranges, and the oppo- site shores of Tokyo Bay. Murray's Guide Book says : " The little line to Yokosuka passes through characteris- tically Japanese scenery, wooded hills rising abruptly from valleys laid out in rice-fields, with here and there a cottage or a tiny shrine half-hidden in a rustic bower." Yokosuka is famous as being the principal Government dockyard, but a few years ago it was a poor village. It has a claim on English interest, as it was here that Will Adams, the first Englishman to land upon the shores of Japan, lived and died. He was an English pilot to a Dutch fleet, and was brought in 1600 as a prisoner to leyasu. He won his favour, and was by him em- ployed as a shipbuilder, and as a kind of diplomatic agent when English and Dutch traders began to arrive. For twenty years he lived at Hemi, now a suburb of Yokosuka, and the site of the railway-station, and there he and his Japanese wife were buried. His shipbuilding at Yokosuka has developed into shipyards which com- pete with those of Newcastle and Chatham. The fourteen-mile drive from Yokosuka to Misaki carries the visitor from the surroundings of modern Japan to those of its village life as it has been from time immemorial. Yet Misaki, primitive fishing viUage as it is, is in touch with the scientific world through its marine biological laboratory, which is connected with the Science College of the Imperial University of Tokyo. In it are displayed the rich marine fauna of the httle bay, which have been obtained by dredging. 172 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN At Misaki the Church Missionary Society has had a resident catechist for some years, but Christian work makes as yet slow progress. The occupation of the fishermen keeps them at sea for months at a time, and makes it hard to reach them on shore. CHAPTER XV Some Country Stations of the S.P.G. Mission in THE South Tokyo Diocese S.P.G. and C. M.S. Missions in the islands of Awajiand Skikoku. The following are some of the country stations founded by the S.P.G. from Tokyo : — In the Shizuoka prefecture, where work was begun in 1889, Shizuoka, Numazu, Mishima, Oyama, and Hamamatsu are separate stations, the two former possessing churches and resident priests, the others being worked by catechists only. The work in this populous district has been greatly hampered from its commencement by insufficiency of missionary workers. At Numazu and at Shizuoka the local congregations have been large enough to justify grants of £100 for each station from the Marriott bequest, whereby St. Peter's and St. John's churches have been built ; St. Peter's, Shizuoka, was consecrated in February, 1901, and St. John's, Numazu, in April of the same year. At Numazu the congregation contributed to- wards the cost of the church furniture. Here the Rev. M. H. Satake has been in charge for some years. Numazu, until recently, had a larger congregation than Shizuoka. In 1904 the figures for the numbers of Christians were respectively, Numazu 38, and Shizuoka 39- In the Kanagawa prefecture there are the country towns of Hadano and Odawara, having S.P.G. Mission 173 174 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN stations. Odawara is on the coast, just beyond the point where the Tokaido raihvay turns inland to avoid the Hakone mountains ; Hadano is situated high up among the mountains of the Oyama and Tanzawa range, and behind and above them is seen the pure white cone of Mount Fuji. Hadano is a prosperous httle town, its principal product being tobacco, although both rice and silk-worms are largely grown and bred. The people pride themselves on growing the best tobacco in Japan, and their flourishing and self-contained community- life presents many features which are elsewhere now fast passing away, but are still to be found in some of the country districts of Japan. Its people are well-to-do, and are independent for the most part of the world outside. Their families have inter-married for generations ; they look up to one or two leading men of their community, whose families have been foremost among them for many years. Fortunately for the Church's Mission to Hadano, the father of the principal tobacco merchant became a Christian when the work was begun in the earher days by the Rev. W. B. Wright. This man and his son and daughter-in-law have exercised their influence in spread- ing the Faith, and thus a congregation has been formed. Hadano is now one of the most satisfactory stations of the S.P.G. Missions outside Tokyo. In 1895 a small wooden church was built, partly by the congregation's contributions. Bishop Awdry speaks of the " bright and loyal spirit , . . and disposition to do things for themselves, yet not without looking for counsel from the Church authorities," which animates the Hadano congregation. At one time there was a sluggishness in bringing in others to share in their privileges, but now. Bishop Awdry says, " the men who first came into the fold . . . are eagerly bringing in their wives and wel- coming the poor." He attributes this better state of COUNTRY STATIONS OF THE S.P.G. 175 things partly to the energizing zeal of Miss Ballard's work amongst them since her return from fmlough in 1903. The Church was for many years in charge of the Rev. L. B. Cholmondeley, of St. Andrew's Mission. This Mission, with that of St. Hilda's, helps at present to carry on the evangelistic work of the S.P.G. in Tokyo and its country districts. In the Chiba prefecture the centres are Shimo- Fukuda, Odaki, Mobara, and Chiba, which is the capital of the prefecture and a town of 30,000 people. For many years the Society has had work in this prefecture. The C.M.S. has done much evangehstic work in many of the towns and villages of Chiba, but the S.P.G. has suffered from lack of workers in Tokyo to carry on the good work founded in years past by Archdeacon Shaw and others. The catechists in the three or four Mis- sion centres, unsupported from outside, have done little to extend the work, and have hardly kept the congregations together. Yet this is a promising field, and requires only sustained missionary effort to show abundant fruit. It is now in charge of the Rev. Abel Eijiro lida, one of the senior Japanese clergy in the diocese. Monthly visits, and at times visits of some weeks' duration, are now paid regularly by Miss Ballard. Work among the women and children is therefore being carried on more systematically ; the Christians are kept more in touch with their brethren in Tokyo, and are left less isolated. There has been also an increase of baptized and confirmed members in the little congrega- tions. Odaki is a country town, not unhke Hadano, but it does not depend on its industries but on its status as the capital of a district. It once had a castle, and the farmers, who now make up the larger part of the in- habitants of Odaki and its neighbourhood, were then the feudal retainers of its former daimyo. From these 176 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN soldier-farmers were drawn the small Christian congre- gations of the place. At Mobara also there are two or three Christian families ; what is sadly needed at both places are earnest catechists. The work of the catechists employed has so far been wanting in sustained endeavour. The church at Shimo-Fukuda is of many years' standing and has an interesting history. The work was begun there by the visits of the Rev. W. B. Wright, in 1881. Two farmers then became Christians, but for some time after little outside help came to them. How- ever, these two faithful Christians persuaded others to read the Bible, and, as a result, in 1884 more than thirty of their fellow- townsmen wrote to Tokyo requesting baptism. Thereupon the Rev. Arthur Lloyd and Mr. lida (then a catechist) visited Shimo-Fukuda, and after due instruction baptism was given to these converts in a body. They were men of influence in the place, and further converts began to come in. In 1890 a church was built, and Mr. lida was placed in charge as deacon. Mr. Moore, in his book entitled The Christian Faith in Japan, describes the congregation as simple and rough, and adds : '* There is not a villager who has not been inside the church for a service for preaching ; the Buddhist temple has fallen into decay ; and the proposal to found a Christian school, to save the young men from having to face the temptations of the capital in pursuit of educa- tion, only failed from lack of means." He goes on to relate a beautiful dream that one of the congregation, an aged Christian, had during a serious illness. In a vision he saw the courts of heaven radiant with the light of the presence of God, and^made beautiful by flowers. He recovered from his sickness, and in grati- tude for restored health, and in memory of his dream, he has since, all the year through, except during Lent, provided flowers each Sunday for the adornment of God's House. COUNTRY STATIONS OF THE S.P.G. 177 The congregation numbers now about 130 ; monthly communions are celebrated by the Rev. A. E. lida. There is also a Sunday-school and a women's meeting. The latter is better attended in the winter time, as during the summer months women and girls are busy helping the farmers in the field. At Chiba the small church is a modified Japanese house. Its matted floor, its sliding doors on two sides, its plain benches for seats, together with the altar of carved wood, give this little church a pleasing appear- ance. At Chiba the congregation is small and the Mission in this large town is only in its early days. It is true that Church work has been carried on for years, some- times by C.M.S. evangehstic preachings, and sometimes by the S.P.G. catechist or itinerating missionary from Tokyo. But until two or three years ago no regular Mission was estabhshed in the place ; now there is a resident catechist and Mr. lida spends part of every month there. There are both government, middle and normal schools at Chiba. It is the centre of the indus- tries of the prefecture, and the market -town for its farmers. It has also barracks and a large medical school. The population is increasing in numbers and in prosperity. The work in this portion of the Chiba Ken belongs properly to the S.P.G., as they began it, and from time to time have carried on work there ; but until that Society can be strengthened in Tokyo it cannot fulfil its evan- gelistic duties here. For the present, St. Hilda's Mis- sion does all it can, with its other pressing duties, to keep alive the evangelizing spirit throughout the district. One of the earliest and most important of the Kobe branch Missions is at Awaji, an island at the entrance of the Inland Sea. It is inhabited by fishermen, whose occupation renders them difficult to reach. Bishop Foss, N 178 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN as soon as he had acquired a knowledge of the language, visited every town and hamlet upon it, but at first with no definite result. His first visit, in 1878, was followed up by that of a catechist. Four baptisms were re- ported in 1884, and in 1886 there were Christians in three towns in the island, and a public Christian funeral had been held — a thing before impossible.^ Up to this date and for long afterwards the S.P.G. was the only Christian agency at work in the island. The island itself is small in comparison with Shokoku, which is close at hand and appears almost as the mainland. Awaji is some 20 to 30 miles from end to end, and perhaps 15 miles across at its broadest point. In outline its shape is somewhat that of'a pear. According to Japanese tradition Awaji was the first part of the earth created. In opening anew church in 1890 at Sumoto, its principal town, Bishop (then the Rev. H. J.) Foss named it the Church of the True Light. To-day Awaji has its Christian communities in nearly every village and hamlet. They grow steadily in numbers and in extent, but the progress would be more rapid if a missionary could be spared from Kobe to live upon the island and pay weekly instead of monthly visits to the catechists and their scattered flocks. At Sumoto +here is a girls' school housed in the beauti- ful old residence of one of Awaji's former feudal lords. It is not a Christian school, but the principal is a Chris- tian, and an earnest member of the Sumoto Church congregation. 1 This rite was accompanied by disturbance at one time in country districts, where there prevailed a misconception as to the Christians' treatment of their dead. Christian burial- grounds in the country are hard to acquire. In the case of the heathen, the dead (generally their cremated remains) are buried in the temple grounds, the grave being cared for by the sur- viving relatives. At Tokushima the Cliristians have possession of a corner of a hill-side, and there already rest in peace twelve of the little congregation. COUNTRY STATIONS OF THE S.P.G. 179 The catechist at Sumoto is the lay pastor of the " Church of the True Light." He is assisted in his work by a Bible woman, and together they carry on a regular Sunday-school and women's meeting. The little congregation numbers from forty-six to fifty men, women and children, of whom nearly half are com- municants. Kariya and Yura, small towns on the eastern coast of the islands, and north and south of Sumoto, are out-stations of this Mission ; in each there are scattered units of the Church, and to them monthly visits are paid by Mr. Kakuzen and the catechist. Tanaka, the southern Mission centre on the island, and the next village to Fukura, where the visitor stays the night before crossing by steamer to Tokushima, is a smaller station, with from twenty to thirty Church members. Of these about half are communicants. There is a little Sunday-school for the twelve Christian children and such non-Christians as^'can be persuaded to come. Bible and prayer meetings are held weekly, also a Church service and preaching for unbelievers on a Sunday; but less work is carried on here among the women than at Sumoto, as there is no Bible-woman. At Fukura there are five Christians, all men, and at Kusaka, another out-station of Tanaka, three or four more isolated Christians, all four being communicants. Mr. Kakuzen visits these outlying stations once a month. At Fukura one man who was recently confirmed is totally blind ; he and another were the only two communicants there a year ago. One of the four at Kusaka is the first convert made in that quarter of the island by Mr. Foss, whom he heard preaching in a temple twenty-six years ago. The room that has to serve as a church at Tanaka is very small. From Fukura in Awaji a small steamer runs to Muza, i8o CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN at the extreme north-east of the Island of Shikoku. Near to this port is the famous whirlpool of the Naruto Channel, which separates the two islands of Shikoku and Awaji, and connects the Inland Sea with the Pacific Ocean. The track of the steamboat is at a safe distance east- ward of this dangerous passage. In the fishing-village on the islet of Tokushima there are a very few Christians, chiefly members of one house- hold. Tokushima is three or four hours' distant from Muza. The journey is through a pleasant country, with rice and corn-fields and pine-clad hills in the near distance. Tokushima, formerly the seat of a daimyo, is now the capital of the Tokushima prefecture. It is an important place, with a population (in 1897) of 60,000, but for some years it had to be worked as an out-station from Osaka. It can be reached by steamer from Osaka, in favourable circumstances, in six or seven hours, but the passing can be unpleasantly rough owing to the cross-currents of the Kii Channel. The town stands on one of the four streams of the delta of the Yoshino river, two of which form the *' Island of Virtue " (Tokushima), from which the town takes its name. Behind the town are the mountains, and on a sohtary hill near its western suburb are the ruins of the once fortified stronghold of its feudal lord. ** Castle hill " is well wooded, and is now a public park ; and from its summit may be seen the town and its suburbs, and numerous villages, form- ing together a grand field for missionary work. Tokushima became a Church Mission station in con- sequence of a visit from the Rev. H. Evington (now Bishop), who spent a few days there in 1880 for change and rest. He was visited by some members of the Greek Church, and early in the following year one of these came to COUNTRY STATIONS OF THE S.P.G. i8i Osaka and in the name of several others requested further Christian instruction. It was determined to send a native catechist, as Mr. Evington was then leaving for England ; a house was secured in Tokushima and work there was commenced. At first there was determined opposition to Christian teaching, chiefly stirred up by the Buddhist priesthood and their followers. But by 1883 the outlook became more encouraging. The Christians were themselves earnest, regular in attending Christian worship, and showed amongst themselves love and unanimity. The preaching services were largely attended, and inquirers came forward. The following year the late Archdeacon Warren began his regular visits to Tokushima, the practical oversight of the out-stations from Osaka having devolved upon him. Four adults and three children were baptized that year, and during the next, 1885, Bishop Poole visited this new station, and held a con- firmation. A Church committee had been formed among the Christians at Tokushima ; but the three succeeding years, 1885-8, were disturbed by internal trials. In 1888 the C.M.S. Committee resolved to make Tokushima a separate station, and appointed the Rev. W. P. Buncombe, who had recently arrived from Eng- land, to be its first resident European missionary. He began by arranging a week's preaching in the theatre. This effort gave a great impetus to the work. Many fresh converts were baptized, and before long funds were raised for the erection of a church. As the little Church congregation grew in numbers and strength, opposition to its teaching became keener. At one time violence was shown : the missionary's house was stormed and the native Christians molested. On the other hand, the Christians showed in their lives spiritual growth ; four new preaching-places were opened in the i82 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN city, and several converts were baptized, one of them being a Buddhist priest. In 1891 the Tokushima Mission staff was reinforced by the arrival of several additional missionaries. It was further helped by the appointment of a native Bible-woman, who, as a Christian of ripe experience in evangelistic work at Kumamoto and at Osaka, did much to aid the growing work at Tokushima. By 1893 the foundation-stone of a new church had been laid. In the succeeding April it was dedicated by Bishop Bickersteth. During 1902-4, however, owing to the pressing needs of other centres, no resident Euro- pean clergyman could be stationed at Tokushima. Tokushima is the centre of several Mission stations, which are scattered about the plain in the lower reaches of the Yoshino river, and among the fishing villages of the north-east coasts of Shikoku. From the city three main roads branch out, and along each of them work is being done. To the north there is Muza, with its smaller out-stations of Tokushima, Do-no-ura, and Kitadomari ; to the north-west there are the centres of Kawashima and Wakimachi, from which work is carried on among smaller villages lying on either side of the river Yoshino ; to the south the catechist stationed at Tomioka has charge of work at Honjo and at outlying villages. In Tokushima and its neighbourhood there has been an advance from 129 converts in 1896 to 205 for 1903, without counting the catechumens coming forward for instruction. From all over Japan comes the appeal for more workers. Every section of society is awakening, through the needs of the present national crisis, to the necessity of rehgion as distinct from ethics. Before closing this section some mention may be made of the speical nature of the work among the women and children carried on by the ladies of this Mission. One effect of the late war has been to make the COUNTRY STATIONS OF THE S.P.G. 183 people more seriously disposed towards religion. Prac- tical help and sympathy have also done much to draw the people closer to their missionary friends. Oppo- sition is now more often confined to homes and rela- tives. Belief in Fox-possession is still held in the country districts of Japan, and the Tokushima district is one where this belief still holds sway among the women. This superstition is one of the difficulties against which the missionaries are contending. Super- stitious terrors die slowly. A weak intellect and a low state of health may account for this nervous disorder or delusion of the mind of those possessed, but the belief that an evil spirit, the " fox-spirit," possesses and rules the mind and bodies of some is still very common. The greatest hope that this belief may soon die out lies in Christian teaching for the children. The children's meetings at Tokushima, both in the town and country districts, are especially good. In two separate parts of the town from 80 to 100 children are ready to pour in each week as soon as ever the doors are opened, and in five or six other places there are good meetings. Only a small proportion are Christian children, but progress is being made, in spite of home discouragement ; and the boy or girl Christian is usually the best evangelist in any household. A Christian Service at liyama, in Shinshu. — liyama is one of the two principal out-stations attached to the Nagano centre of the " Missionary Society of the Church of England in Canada " (M.S.C.C). Work was begun here in 1896 by Mr. Waller and his staff, and already liyama has a Christian congregation of its own and forms a centre for further effort. Monthly visits are paid to this little band of Christians, both for the administration of the Holy Communion and for evan- gelistic preaching in the district. Though it is only about twenty-one miles away, as the l84 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN crow flies, the journey from Nagano occupies a consider- able time. The train goes to a place a few miles from Nagano, thence rickshaws are available for an hour's journey over rough country roads. After that, by the more leisurely and peaceful sampan, the traveller floats down the broad river Shinano-gawa to liyama. The sampan is a flat-bottomed boat propelled by means of long heavy sweeps which men ply astern and at the bow, standing to their work somewhat after the manner of gondoliers. The boats are simple structures in which, if it be wet, the traveller is glad to crouch or lie on the matted flooring of the covered-in portion, which ex- tends nearly from end to end, in company with men smoking, wet umbrellas and the inevitable brazier and its kettle. liyama, as other towns such as Inariyama, also in the Nagano district, has had its days of bustling trade and activity cut short by the advent of the railway in the vicinity. Before then these towns had prospered exceedingly, being on the route of the packhorse traffic, by which goods were distributed throughout the country ; now, like so many of our old-fashioned market- towns at home, their trade seems to have diminished through the very means that were intended to extend it. However, liyama is still a fairly prosperous country town, and its people moderately wefl-to-do. At the roomy country inn have been held from time to time large Christian meetings, its former owner having been a Christian. At an evening meeting in the Mission- house quite 120 people will crowd in, and stand round the open doors or sliding paper windows. Some earnest Christians come in from distances of two to eight miles to take advantage of the monthly visit from their clergy. CHAPTER XVI Work amongst Police and Factory Workers Christian Work amongst the PoUce and Telegraph Clerks at Tokyo and Kumamoto — Work among Factory Girls at Osaka. The Japanese police force was largely recruited from the Samurai class, and is a liighly trained and efficient body of men. In the larger towns the Government provides schools and classes for the teaching of English and for other studies of use to them in their duties. In Japan all religions are equally tolerated. As Christian teaching in Japan has tended to make men more trust- worthy, the . Government in several departments has encouraged the educational work of the missionaries. In view of the good effect of a school for the police in Osaka, which was begun by a lady missionary under the C.M.S., the police authorities in Tokyo requested five years ago to start a similar school in Tokyo, and paid the expenses of the journey to the capital for herself and her Japanese assistant. The authorities specially asked that a teacher of English should be employed in the Tokyo school, and suggested that a Bible lesson should be given to the men. The selection of the teacher was left by them to Bishop Awdry. It was decided that this work should be undertaken by a lady who w^as formerly a missionary of the Universities' Mission to Central Africa. For the first year or so Mr. Imai also assisted in teach- i86 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN ing English, the Scripture teaching for the most part until recently being given by a Christian Japanese teacher, in Japanese. The school numbered at its commencement in 1899 from forty to fifty men ; since then they have more than doubled. At the first Christmas six policemen received Holy Baptism, and during the five years since the be- ginning of the school, forty members of the police class have been baptized. At the present time there are six men coming forward as catechumens. The work has thus made steady pro- gress. Some pupils of the earlier days have presented themselves for baptism, and of these some are already confirmed. Within the latter part of the spring of 1904 the lady missionary was asked to start similar work at the Shitaya police-station. The chief of the police there specially asked to have Bible lessons given, and offered to pay the travelling expenses out of his own pocket, so anxious was he for his men to derive the same benefit he had enjoyed as one of her former pupils. Two ex-policemen are now pupils of the theological school, Azabu, Tokyo, which is under the charge of the Rev. J. Imai. Two other Christian policemen served as soldiers during the war. One of them was baptized by his special request at Hiroshima on his way to the front. He had been the head of his (police) class, and joined the 1st Regiment of the Imperial Infantry, under General Kuroki — a regiment which won special mention for valour at the crossing of the Yalu. The other is acting as English interpreter to a war- correspondent at the front. Yet another Christian policeman was chosen interpreter to the war- correspondent of the Daily Tele- graph. Since the commencement of the Tokyo police school POLICEMEN'S BIBLE CLASS Shitaya Station 1905 By kind pennssion of G. Palmer. AMONGST POLICE AND FACTORY WORKERS 187 there have been sixty in attendance, and these, when hving within a reasonable distance of the school, are supposed to come once a week to keep up their know- ledge of English. Moreover, examinations are held twice a year to prevent the men giving up their studies, and the scale of extra pay is regulated accordingly. Though the school was closed for a short period when war was first declared, notices were soon sent round to the twenty-four police stations to select fifty new pupils, in addition to the already large number of students. To this increased number of pupils the largest available room in the Metropolitan Police Station is assigned in which to hold the classes. The ''International Christian Police Association " has its headquarters in Japan at Kumamoto. The associa- tion has a large membership, all over the country, and is aided by its periodical, which has a monthly circula- tion of 1,400 copies. Through its agency the members are encouraged to study the Christian Scriptures, and notes for their guidance are a feature of the magazine. Its issue has been attended by encouraging results in Japan, Formosa, and Korea. At Kumamoto there is an institute for the police of the city. It owns a good house, with rooms suitable for meetings and recreation. 'Here there is a monthly lecture, preceded by a prayer-meeting, for the Christian members, and there is an attendance of from fifty to seventy-five members. Classes are also held every week in the institute for educational and rehgious in- struction, at which the pastor of the " Sei Kokwai " Church assists. The classes are well attended and receive encouragement from the officials at headquarters. The policemen greatly appreciate the possession of their institute, and there are usually to be found some members chatting or reading together during their leisure hours. i88 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN The " Christian Postal and Telegraph Association " was started a year ago. The rules define its object as ** the promulgation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ among the workers in postal and telegraph and tele- phone offices, and among their families ; to promote the spiritual, social and physical welfare of the mem- bers, and to encourage them to make their homes bright, pure and happy." The report of the first year's work (1903) says that the association has grown rapidly and has over 600 members, many of whom have become earnest seekers after the Truth, and that already eight of them -have received baptism. Out of the 4,000 scattered post- offices throughout the country members have been recruited in 107 offices during the past year. Within the last two years women have begun to be employed in the post and telephone offices, and a w^omen's branch has recently been started, which numbers already thirty members. In any town where the branch has members, and missionary work is going on, the missionaries in charge are advised of their names, and they do all in their power to help on the members of the association. Evangelistic Work among the Factory Girls. — ^There are twenty cotton factories in Osaka and its suburbs, nearly all of them being on the outskirts of the city. In the smallest sixty, and in one of the largest 2,200 of the women and girls employed live within the factory walls. Besides these, many live outside at their own homes or in lodging-houses, and go daily to work. Both within the factory buildings and companies' lodging houses, the conditions of life are often unhealthy and unsatis- factory. The evils arise from the excessively long hours of work, the over-crowding, and, where the officials are careless or incompetent, the neglect of ordinary sanitary precautions. Neither government nor public opinion has as yet AMONGST POLICE AND FACTORY WORKERS 189 awakened to the necessity of special legislation for the benefit of these women. Factory work in Osaka and elsewhere is carried on by night and day shifts. There are few factories where there is no night work, the rule being that a factory hand works all day, and in alternate weeks all night. Every eight or ten days, when the shifts of work change, there is a short period during which the machinery must be cleaned and made ready for the next gang of workers. At such time there is some scant leisure, but there are no weekly holidays. Beyond the five annual national holidays in the whole year there is no variation from the monotony and toil of the weekly, or ten days shifts of day and night work. The war caused a con- siderable decrease in business, and several factories ran half time ; but this caused for many loss of employ- ment and for others extra hard work with longer hours. Special evils arise for those who have to live within the factory walls, or crowded together in the neighbour- ing lodging-houses. In some houses men and women, boys and girls all live together. The houses are com- paratively small, and the night workers sleep in the day- time in the rooms occupied at night by those working during the day. It is no wonder that the rooms are dirty and that the health of the hands suffers. They work for twelve hours at a time, and alternate weeks at night. After the working-hours are over they go to the bath, have supper, and then go to sleep. Next morning they get up before daylight. They work, eat, bathe and sleep in a crowd. Their faces are pale and their eyes weak, and they seem to be always tired. Most of the workers in these large factories are girls brought up from the country districts on a three years' contract. The agents employed to engage and fetch the girls receive a commission on each girl who is per- 192 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN younger sisters of the club members. Some of these children are those of the factory officials. Mention may be made here of a lodging-house for boys attached to one factory to which admission has been gained of late. About eighty boys live there from thirteen to twenty years of age ; they work like the girls, in relays by night and day, so that forty at a time can come to the lantern meeting, which is held two or three times a month. This is a better type of lodging-house, because there is more supervision, as it is situated within the factory walls. The man in charge gives opportunities to the visiting missionary. His daughter attends the Mission girls' school, and perhaps influences him to welcome Christian aid to keep in order, to interest and teach, what he calls his large little family. The missionaries in these factories have been doing pioneer work and claiming fresh territory for Christian teaching and influence. Prejudices have begim to be broken down ; factory officials have become awakened to the fact that some one cares for the factory hands ; the public is finding out slowly that there exists a large class in its industrial centres who are utterly uneducated, living under most unsanitary conditions, and needing legislation to protect them. The Factory Mission needs more workers and more funds. CHAPTER XVII On the Japanese Prayer-Book as compared with THE English and American Prayer-Books The comparison in this chapter of the Revised Japanese Prayer-Book (first pubhshed 1879-82) issued in Revised form in 1895, with the Enghsh and American Prayer- Books, has been taken from the papers, by the Rev. A. F. King, M.A., pubhshed in the South Tokyo diocesan magazine, 1889-1900 : — The Lectionary is framed on the basis of the Enghsh and American Prayer-Books. As in the Enghsh Book, there are no proper lessons for the forty days of Lent, but the American Book is followed with regard to the special optional lessons for the Rogation and Ember Days. Except where they are found in the English Lectionary also, there are no proper second lessons appointed for Sundays ; save that for Advent and Lent, the Sunday second lessons of the American Lectionary are set down for optional use. The Sunday first lessons foUow the plan of the English rather than that of the American Lectionary. For the daily lessons the general plan of the English and American Books is followed, but the Apocrypha finds no place in the Lectionary. Proper second lessons are appointed uniformly for all Holy Days other than Sundays. Occasionally a proper lesson is introduced which is not found in either the English or American 193 o 194 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN Book, e.g. St. Thomas' Day second morning lesson, St. John xi. 1-16 ; but generally either the American or English Book provides a precedent. The Trans- figuration has no Collect, Epistle and Gospel appointed for it, but there are proper lessons ; those for the morn- ing follow the American Book and those for the evening are Dan. x. i-ii and St. Luke ix. 28-36. The list of proper Psalms for certain days follows that found in the American Book, but the days for which none are provided in the English Book are marked with an asterisk, and the use of proper Psalms on those days is optional. A table of fifteen selections of Psalms, after the manner of that found in the American Book, is given, with permission to use any one of them instead of the ordinary Psalms of the day. Tables and Rides relating to Feasts and Fasts. — These follow the English Prayer-Book, with the one exception that the Transfiguration finds a place among the feasts. As in the American, there are no black-letter days in the Japanese Calendar.. Rules for the Shortening of Services. — These are put together in the Appendix to the Prayer-Book. They are as follows : — " I. Morning Prayer, Litany, and Holy Communion may be used separately or together. "2. When the Holy Communion immediately follows Morning Prayer, the priest may begin with the Lord's Prayer ; omit everything between the Te Deum and the Salutation (' The Lord be with you ') ; and after the Collect for grace pass on at once to the Holy Communion. (N.B. — This makes the first lesson obhgatory.) "3. Morning and Evening Prayer may be shortened as follows, but this rule does not apply to Morning Prayer on Sundays : — (a) The opening exhortation may be shortened to ' Dearly beloved brethren, I pray and beseech you," etc. ; (b) one lesson and one canticle only ON THE JAPANESE PRAYER-BOOK 195 need be used ; (c) the prayers between the third Collect and the Prayer of St. Chrysostom may be omitted. " 4. Only one Psalm need be said. "5. When Holy Communion follows another office, the Lord's Prayer may be omitted at the beginning of the Holy Communion Ofhce, if it has already been said. " 6. The Ten Commandments must be read once a month on some Sunday. Otherwise they may be omitted at discretion, and our Lord's words (as in the American Book) alone used. " 7. Holy Baptism may be used as a separate service. When used with Morning Prayer, the latter may be shortened according to Rule 3." Morning Prayer is arranged as in the American Book. The Gloria Patri need not be said at the end of each Psalm, but at the end of the whole portion used at the particular service. The concluding verse of the Benedicite is omitted. After the Creed the Lesser Litany and Lord's Prayer are omitted, but the Versicles are printed in full, both in Morning and Evening Prayer, as in the English Book. The rubric before the Versicles directing the priest to stand is omitted. But as in the Enghsh Book, there is no alternative form of Absolution, taken from the Holy Communion Ofhce, allowed. The declaratory form alone is found here. The Venite is printed in full, but with permission to omit verses 8-1 1 ; and the Benedictus is to be sung in full. The Apostles' Creed alone is printed, and there is no permission to use the Nicene Creed instead of it. The Athanasian Creed is not mentioned in the rubric before the Apostles' Creed, but is printed near the end of the Prayer-Book. The rubric preceding it there is to the effect that it should be said or sung on certain days instead of the Apostles' Creed, those days being the same as in the English rubric ; but the whole con- 196 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN eludes with the clause, " But the Minister is at hberty to use it or not at his discretion." It is rarely used in any of the Churches of the Nippon Sei Kokwai. The Emperor and the Imperial Family are prayed for in collects based upon the corresponding prayers of the English Book. The Japanese Book has also among the Versicles the petition, " O Lord, save our Emperor," in place of the Enghsh, " O Lord, save the King," and the American, " O Lord, save the State." The prayer for " all sorts and conditions of men " and the General Thanksgiving are printed, as in the American Book, in their proper place in Morning and Evening Prayer ; the latter also in the Litany, but with a rubric added (alone in the Japanese Book) making its use there optional. Evening Prayer. — ^The chief pomts of interest not before mentioned are (i) that there are (as in the Ameri- can Book) two alternative Psalms allowed in place of the Magnificat (Ps. xcviii and xcii, v. 1-4), and two in place of Nunc Dimittis (Ps. Ixvii. and ciii. v. 1-4 and 20-22) ; and (2) that the rubric after the third Collect allows the Litany to be used as at ^lorning Prayer. The Litany. — The initial rubric is simply, " To be used on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays." Chiefly to be noted are (i) that the words *' From lightning and tem- pest " are followed by " From flood, earthquake and fire " ; (2) that petitions are made for the Emperor, the Imperial family, the ministers of state and governors, for bishops, priests and deacons ; also, as in the American Book, " That it may please Thee to send forth labourers into Thy harvest " ; (3) that the Litany can be shortened by a rubric, similar to one in the American Book, allowing the omission of the whole section from " O Christ, hear us " down to " As we do put our trust in Thee." ON THE JAPANESE PRAYER-BOOK 197 Occasional Prayers and Thanksgivings. — The Japanese Prayer-Book has a number of prayers and thanksgivings for use " upon several occasions." With adaptations to suit the circumstances, it omits none of the prayers from either the American or Enghsh Books, and it in- cludes others for a person travelling — a free translation of one by Dr. Bright — for Missions, and for catechumens. The former of the two for Missions is derived from various sources, and is specially framed to include a petition for the salvation of God's ancient people to- gether with the Gentiles. The latter is based upon Bishop Cotton's prayer for the conversion of the peoples of India. The prayers for catechumens are based upon ancient prayers in St. Chrysostom's and the Clementius Litur- gies. The occasional thanksgivings are the same as in the American Book, except that the one for a child's re- covery is omitted, an alternative, " For Deliverance from great Sickness " being added from the English Book. All the occasional thanksgivings of the English Book are included. The Collects^ Epistles and Gospels. — These follow the English Book, except (i) in regard to two or three minor points of detail in the order of printing, rubrical direction, or name ; (2) that the Epistles and Gospels are not yet printed in extenso, though this is to be done when the translation has been revised ; (3) that under " Ash Wednesday " are printed the three final prayers of the Commination, '' O Lord, we beseech Thee, mercifully hear our prayers," etc., " O most mighty God and merciful Father," etc., ** Turn Thou us, O good Lord," etc., with a rubric directing that, if the whole Com- mination service be not said, these three prayers shall be said before the General Thanksgiving in the Litany. Holy Communion. — ^The chief points of interest to be noted are : — igS CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN (i) Four rubrics are prefixed, as in the English Book. The fourth runs, " The table at the Communion time shall have a fair white linen cloth upon it. The minister, standing at the north of the holy table, shall say the prayers following, the people all kneeling." The rubric thus does not prevent the eastward position, which is taken by many of the clergy. (2) Following the American Book, the Japanese Book has, in place of the collects for the King, the collect, " O Almighty Lord . . . direct, sanctify, and govern," etc., which in the English Book is printed among the occasional prayers at the end of the Holy Communion Office. (3) The omission of the Nicene Creed, or the substi- tution of the Apostles' Creed for it, is not allowed • the Japanese Book therein following the Enghsh in prefer- ence to the American Book. (4) In the Offertory Sentences, which follow the Eng- lish Book, the two from Tobit are cut out. (5) The priest may at his discretion use before the prayer for the Church, the prayers for Missions and the prayp'-^^ for catechumens, saying " Let us pray for Mis- sions," or '* Let us pray for catechumens." The bidding words before the prayer for the Church are as follows : " Let us pray for all men, and specially for the whole Church of Christ." In this prayer the sentence be- tween " godly love " and " give grace " is to this effect : " We beseech Thee to bless all who bear rule, and especially our Emperor ; and to direct all that are in authority under him, that they may impartially punish vice and honour virtue, and be a defence to Thy true religion." (6) The Exhortations : (a) The Exhortation " at the time of the celebration of the communion " is to be said at least on one Sunday of each month, (b) The Exhor- tation, ** when the minister giveth warning," printed ox THE JAPANESE PRAYER-BOOK 199 at the end of the service, is directed to be said in whole, or in part, on the previous Sunday or Holy-day, and, as in the American Book, omits the mention of absolution, occurring in the last sentence of the English form, (c) The third Exhortation against negligence is omitted altogether. (7) From the American Book is taken the alternative proper preface for Trinity Sunday. The Sanctus is printed as in the English Book. (8) Two alternative forms of the Prayer of Consecra- tion are given ; the first is a translation of the English Prayer of Consecration, the second of the American. The rubric leaves it quite open which shall be used, and they are equally used throughout the Church. (9) After the Lord's Prayer follow, as in the EngUsh Book, the prayers of Oblation and Thanksgiving, with permission to use either if the first (English) form of the Prayer of Consecration has been used ; but the latter only must be said when the second (American) form of that prayer has been used. (10) No permission is given to use some proper hymn " in place of the Gloria in excelsis," as in the American Book. (11) After the Blessing and the Exhortation (of " warning ") follow the five occasional Collects, as in the American Book ; the additional one in the English Book finding a place after the Commandments, as stated above. (12) The whole concludes with one rubric, viz., that directing the reverent consumption in the Church of what remains of the consecrated bread and wine ; the wording of this rubric follows the American Book. The Offices for Holy Baptism. — The following points call for notice : — (i) In the baptismal formula the translators have set themselves to convey the exact force of the Greek original, and have consequently used a circumlocution in 200 CHURCH WORK IX JAPAN their phrasing of it. The Japanese translation may be rendered into EngHsh thus : " N., I, administering baptism, admit thee into the Name," etc. (2) In the formula for hypothetical baptism an un- satisfactor}^ translation is made of the English, " If thou art not already baptized," etc., for by its wording it practicall}' re-baptizes in cases where baptism has pre- viously been received, though the evidence of it is lost. (3) The two notes at the end of the public baptism of infants in the English Book — upon infants dying baptized, and upon the use of the sign of the Cross — are omitted ; also the permission of the American Book, in all three offices, to omit the use of the sign of the Cross, together with the words " We receive this child (person)," etc., in case of scruple, is not given in the Japanese Book. As illustrating the nature of the Japanese language, Mr. King notices in passing that not a single word need be changed in the whole service (of public baptism) for either number or gender. Catechism. — The three Books are here practically the same, the only differences distinguishing the Japanese Book from the others being (i) the addition of the doxology to the Lord's Prayer ; (2) that in the answer about the inward part of the Lord's Supper, the Japanese combines the English '' verily and indeed " with the American " spiritually." Confirmation. — The Japanese Book omits the Preface, but gives the substance of it in an introductory rubric. The service in Japanese begins with the American form of presentation of the candidates, " Reverend Father in God, I present unto j'ou these children (or, these per- sons) to receive the laying on of hands " ; and then, as in the American Book, a lesson follows (Acts viii. 5-17). There is also some difference in the concluding rubrics not calling for notice. ox THE JAPANESE PRAYER-BOOK 201 Solemnization of Matrimony. — The chief pomt to be noticed in comparison of the Japanese Book with the other two Prayer-Books is that the latter part of the Enghsh Office, i.e. the Psalms, Prayers, second Bene- diction, and Exhortation, which is entirely omitted in the American Book, is made optional in the Japanese Service. It is also interesting to notice that the Japanese Book allows a marriage to be solemnized without a ring, in which case the words referring to the ring are of course directed to be omitted. Passing over rubrics as to the publication of the Banns, w'e come to the third, in which no permission is given, as in the American Book, for matrimony to be solemnized " in some proper place " instead of at church. In the Japanese Book the introductory Exhortation is printed in full, as in the English, but permission is given to omit, not only the parts omitted in the Ameri- can Book, but also the words " Signifying unto us . . . Cana of Galilee." The Lord's Prayer, placed in the iVmerican Office just before the prayer, " O Eternal God," is by a Japanese rubric directed to be used in this place if the latter part of the service is going to be omitted. Visitation of the Sick. — The Japanese Office, like the English Book, contains a form of absolution, not the same as the English, but the same as is appointed at the Hol}^ Communion, only with " thee " instead of " you " ; the preceding rubric is the same as the Eng- lish, with the addition of this sentence : *' This Absolu- tion may also be used when any penitent person who cannot find peace desires it." In the Japanese Office, either one or the other of the Psalms (Ixxi. and cxxx.) in the English and American Books can be used. Both Japanese and American Books add three prayers 202 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN to the four occasional ones of the Enghsh Ofhce : (i) For those present at the Visitation, (2) in case of sudden sickness, and (3) a thanksgiving for the beginning of a Recovery. Communion of the Sick. — This Ofhce is the same in all the Books (except that the American Book allows a shortened form for urgent cases), and both American and Japanese Books add a final rubric, allowing the Office to be used with the Collect, Epistle and Gospel for the day, with the aged or others that cannot attend the public ministration in church. Burial of the Dead. — The chief points to be noted in comparison are : — (i) In the opening rubric the Japanese Book follows the Enghsh (" any that die unbaptized "), not the American {" any unbaptized adult"). (2) In the sentence from Job the Japanese translation has " Apart from my flesh I shall see God." (3) The Japanese Office has a rubric, like the American, to allow the creed and prayers from the Prayer-Book to be used after the lesson ; the American permission for a hymn or anthem is, however, not followed. (4) The former part of the words of committal in the Japanese Office is more like those in the English ("Of His great mercy . . . our dear brother ... in sure and certain hope "), and the latter part is more like the American (" Of the Resurrection in the last day, and the life of the world to come ... at whose second coming in glorious majesty to judge the world, the earth and the sea shall give up their dead ; and the corruptible bodies of those who sleep in Him shall be changed "). (5) The Japanese Book follows the American in allowing either one of the two prayers that follow the Lord's Prayer to be omitted. In the first of these prayers they also agree in substituting after, " We ON THE JAPANESE PRAYER-BOOK 203 give Thee hearty thanks," the words " For the good examples of those Thy servants, who, having finished their course in faith, do now rest from their labom's," for those in the Enghsh Book (" For that it hath pleased Thee to deliver this our brother out of the miseries of this sinful world ") ; and also in omitting the petition in the latter Prayer-Book, " That it may please Thee of Thy gracious goodness, shortly to accomplish the number of Thine elect, and to hasten Thy kingdom." In the second prayer the English Book alone has the words, " As our hope in this our brother doth." (6) The " additional prayers " from the American Office are omitted, but that office is followed by the permission to perform part of the service which is appointed for the grave-side, i.e., all that follows the words of committal, to be said in Church, for weighty cause. Also, as in the American Book, directions are here given by a rubric for the necessary alterations of the Service for a burial at sea. (7) The Japanese Book ends with a pra^-er for the consecration of a grave in an unconsecrated cemetery, to be used before " Man that is born of a woman," etc., but the use of it is optional. The Churching of Women. — The Japanese Book follows the English exactly, except that it adopts the American rule that the offerings must be applied " to the relief of distressed women in child-bed." Hence it has not adopted the alterations and omissions of the American Book in this Office. Remaining Contents of the Japanese Book. — From this point onwards there is great variety in the contents of the three Books, the Ordinal being alone common to them all. (i) A commination is taken from the English Book. (2) The form and manner of making, ordaining, and 204 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN consecrating of Bishops, Priests and Deacons is common to English and American Books. (3) TheAthanasian Creed, which is not in the American Book. (4) Forms for the consecration of a church and the institution of a pastor are taken from the American Book. In an appendix to the Japanese Prayer-Book are con- tained : — (i) The rules for the shortening of services, which are peculiar to this Book. (2) Family prayers taken from the American Book. (3) A form of prayer for the Emperor's birthday, modelled on the English form of prayer for the King's Accession Day. (4) A form of harvest thanksgiving taken from the American Book. (5) Intercession for Missions, which are peculiar to this Book. (6) Forms for the admission and licensing of Catechu- mens. The Psalter, as also the Epistles and Gospels, are not printed in the Japanese Prayer-Book at present, but the Revised Psalter, published in recent years, has been authorized by the synod for use in churches. The Articles of Religion form no part of the Japanese Prayer-Book, but they have been provisionally ac- cepted by the Church from the time of the first general synod. Commination. — The Japanese title for this Office is merely " A Lenten Confession," and the remainder of the English title becomes in the Japanese the first rubric. An introductory rubric is added, directing that instead of the whole service the last three prayers alone (i.e. the three preceding the Benediction) may be used before the General Thanksgiving in the Litany, as ON THE JAPANESE PRAYER-BOOK 205 printed after the collect for Ash-Wednesday (see above). In the Preface, in place of " Instead whereof (until the said discipline may be restored again, which is much to be wished)," the Japanese has " Following that cus- tom/' In other respects the whole service follows the English. The Ordinal. — The following points are worthy of mention : — (i) In the latter portion of " the Preface " the American Book is followed, and instead of the age oi the candidate and his knowledge of the Latin tongue being specified, reference is made to the Canons of the Japanese Church. By those Canons the minimum age of a candidate for deacon's orders is fixed at twenty- one ; a knowledge of English, apparently in the place of Latin, is expected of him, and the knowledge of Greek and Hebrew is recommended as most desirable. (2) The office of archdeacon not being formally re- cognized in the Canons, it is simply a " priest " who presents the candidates for the diaconate and priest- hood. Again, in the consecration of bishops, as there is no archbishop in the Japanese Church, the " presiding Bishop " takes his place ; in both these points the Japanese Book finds a precedent in the American Prayer -Book. (3) There is one important difference between the English and American form of ordering of priests. The American Book supplies an alternative formula of Ordination, as follows : — " Take thou authority to execute the office of a priest in the Church of God, now committed to thee by the imposition of our hands. And be thou a faithful dispenser of the Word of God, and of His holy Sacra- ments ; In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." At the fifth general synod of the Japanese Churcli, 2o6 CHURCH WORK IN JAPAN held in Osaka in 1896, it was finally decided to have only one formula in the Japanese Book, and the formula common to the English and American Books was chosen. The difference between the two formulae may be seen from the English form subjoined : — ** Receive the Holy Ghost for the office and work of a priest in the Church of God, now committed unto thee by the imposition of our hands. Whose sins thou dost forgive, they are forgiven ; and whose sins thou dost retain, they are retained. And be thou a faithful dispenser of the Word of God, and of His holy Sacra- ments ; In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." The Form of Consecration of a Church or Chapel — An Office of Institution of Ministers into Parishes or Churches. These two offices are not found in the English Book, and are translated from the American Book. Appendix I Diocese of Hokkaido. The territory included under the title of Hokkaido, (Northern Sea gate or Road), though it contains a remnant of an aboriginal race, is comparatively modern in respect to its civil existence. It forms indeed a part of new Japan, which arose in 1868, the era of Meiji, and constitutes one of the two crown possessions or colonies as distinguished from the forty- eight prefectures or Ken. In Yezo (the very name signifies savage), of which the Diocese of Hokkaido occupies the southern half, the climate resembles that of Northern New York and Southern Canada. The natives of the Island some fifteen or seventeen thousand in number, the Ainos or Ainu (men) have long furnished an interest- ing field to the ethnological scientist, and their origin, intermediate history and kinship with the Japanese are problems yet to be solved. Their isolation, even from the natives of the Sunrise Kingdom, has rendered them far more barbaric than their neighbors, who notwithstanding the years in which they were known as the Hermit Nation, have continued to retain their adaptability, while contact from afar has from earli- est ages modified the type and elevated the race. The Ainu must indeed have remained as he was found by the Missionaries, "a, hunter and fisherman amid ignorance", but for the light that shone into their world with the advent of the Gospel. Once bitterest foes of Japan, they now form a di- vision of the Empire and during the late war, gave APPENDIX proof of their loyalty by their record for military service. These aboriginal people were first visited by the Rev. W. Deming of the C. M. S. He came from Hakodate and was followed in 1878 by the Rev. James Batchelor who became their resident mission- ary in 1882. The service rendered by Mr. Batchelor in his well-known work on the Ainu and his transla- tion into their tongue of the Bible and other Chris- tian literature, is incalculable and renders him an authority on this remote quarter of the world. There were difficulties which seemed insuperable. Their life had caused them to cling with great tenacity to tribal customs, many of them gross and brutal, but Mr. Batchelor with the aid of the Divine Light brought illumination into these dark places. It was as late as 1885 before the first baptism took place. Accord- ing to recent authorities, there are now between two and three thousand native communicants. In the Diocese of Hokkaido, Hakodate was occupied in 1874, Kushiro 1889, Sapporo 1892 and Otara 1897, and under Bishop Fyson's episcopate the work has shown great increase. As has been found, ''Where'er the foot of man has trod," in all parts of the mission field the soul is reached through the heahng of the body, and to-day many baptisms are recorded as the direct result of medical missions. With the educational institutions, schools for Ainu boys, home for girls, centres for Rescue work, Hospitals and Training Schools, instrumentalities are at work which will bring these mysterious Ainu and the whole Island of Yezo in line with the great force of Christian civilization in Japan. Appendix II Translation of the Scriptures. Before Japan had been opened Drs. Gutzlaff, Williams and Bettelheim had prepared translations of some parts of the Scriptures; but these were too imperfect to be of much use, even if it had been pos- sible to introduce them into the country. Owing to many obstacles, it was not until 1871 that any part of the Bible was printed in Japan. But it should be remembered that educated Japanese, being able to read Chinese, were able to read Chinese translations. In September, 1872, a Committee was appointed by a united conference of Protestant missionaries to prepare a translation of the whole New Testament. The different Books were published as fast as trans- lated, and the whole New Testament was completed in 1880. In this translation work Dr. J. C. Hepburn, M. D., LL. D., took part, and was assisted by his colleagues, the Rev. S. R. Brown, D.D., and the Rev. D. C. Greene, D.D. The Old Testament translation was not finished until 1887, and in that Bishop Fyson (of the C. M. S.) took part, as did the late Archdeacon Shaw, of the S. P. G. Since this date a revision of the Japanese transla- tion of the Psalms has been carried out by a Com- mittee of Sei Kokwai clergy, and has been duly au- thorized for Church use. This revised translation is considered to be particularly successful both in accurate translation and beauty of language. Appendix III STATIONS. OH > ^ Vn 1 3 . •C-n ■^ Fi s -O ^^ -a a> 61 ^6 3 rr. <^ O.N a ^ a .t o CO « 1 1 ;z; 2; :z; « CB m 13 > s • r3 O Osaka Diocese Osaka. Tokushima Hiroshima Fukuyama Hamada Matsuye Totals S. Tokyo Diocese Tokyo Nagoya Gifu Toyohahsi Totals Kiu-Shiu Diocese Nagasaki Kagoshima& Loochoo Fukuoka & Hakata. . . . Kokura Kumamoto Oito & Nobeoka Totals Hokkaido Diocese Hakodate Sapporo Otaru Kushiro Totals Grand Totals 24 31 723 234 111 123 73 384 1648 638 130 117 39 924 129 80 305 106 74 66 38 178 767 309 102 85 25 521 212 108 20 24 8 160 633 633 124 1589 226 260 37 263 432 2809 984 294 262 61 1602 170 84 262 226 207 72 79 41 112 111 123 45 25 1021 91 511 170 334 453 367 236 172 356 161 79 38 2390 163 768 190 to 99 341 120 264 84 *908 120 615 400 513 197 1648 118 5983 463 2567 732 15 954 6967 fNo returns. "Incomplete. Index American Church Mis- sions, 7, 25, 26, 38, 77, 109 Apocrypha, Omission from Lectionary of the, 31 Austen, Rev. W. T., 102 Awdry, Bp., 40, 159, 174 Azabu, St. Stephen's Church, 71 Baldwin, Rev. J. M., 145 Benson, Archp., and Bp. Bickersteth, 26, 28 Bickersteth, Bp., 20-41 Bishop, Mrs,, 81 Bonin Islands, The, 78, 105 Bosanquet, Miss, 117 Boshu, Work in, 162-172 Burden, Bp., 12, 21 Burnside, Rev. H., 110 Canadian Church Missions 65, 77, 132-161, 183 Carr, Miss, 56 Cathedral at Tokyo, The temporary, 66 Chamberlain on Japan, Mr., 9, 11 Chappell, Rev. E. F., 140 Charity Hand-working Society, 48 Chiba, 177 Cholmondeley, Rev. L. B. 64, 69, 175 Choshi, 166-169 Church Missionary Soci- ety, 7; Conference at Osaka. 25; Tokyo, 49- 61; Osaka, 84-99; Hi- roshima, etc., 112-124; Boshu, 162-172; To- kushima, 181; Police work, 185; Factory work 191 Community Missions, St. Andrew's and St. Hil- da's, 62-83 Constitution of Nippon Sei Kokwai, Canons and p 28; Dioceses, Di- vision of. 38-41 Divinity School, Osaka, 96, 97 Divorce. See Marriage laws Educational work'in To- kyo, 44 ; Osaka,* 91-98; Gifu 141-145 Ensor, Rev. G., 7, 8, 109, 110 Evington, Bp., 7, 37, 40 85, 110, 180 Exhibition in Osaka, 88 Factory girls, Work among, 188-192 Formosa, Work in, 108 Franciscans and Jesuits, Relations between, 4 French Roman Missions, 5 Foss, Bp. 8, 178 Fuk uzaua, Mr., 63, 70 Fvson, Bp., 40, 50, 51 Gemmin, Rev. W., 65, 67 71 Gifu BUnd School, 115, 139, 145 Ginza, Mission hall at, 53 Hamilton, Rev. H. J., 144 Hare, Bp., 39, 44 Hiroshima, 112-118 Hoar, Miss, 44 Hospital work, 59, 60, 117 118, 125-131 Hostels, 54-58. 68, 82 Hutchinson, Rev. A. B., 118, 121 Hda. Rev. A. E., 175, 177 livama, 183, 184 Imai, Rev. J., 68, 73, 186 Jesuit mission, The, 3 Kakuzen, Rev. M., 158, 179 Kiushiu. Work-in, 118-124 Kobe, Work at, 104-124 Kojimachi hospital, 59 Kumamoto, 121-131, 187 Kyobashi, St. Paul's, 52 Holy Cross Church, 71 Leper hospital at Kuma- moto, 125-131 Lloyd, Rev. A., 63, 70, 71 Marriage laws, Japan Church and the. 31-36 Matsumoto, 157-161 Maundrell. Rev, H., 121 McKim, Bp., 34 Misaki, 171 Mita, 70 Mizumo, Rev. J., 107 Nagano, 151-156 Nagasaki, 7, 109-111 Nakamura, Rev. K., 126 Naito, Mr., 72 Nagoya, 133-139 Nicolai, Bp.,8 Nippon Sei Kokwai, 12, 24-41, 58-61, etc. Orthodox Church Mis- sion, Russian, 8 Osaka, C. M. S. Confer- ence at, 25; C. M. S. work, 84-99 ; Work among factory girls, 188-192 Parker. Miss, 46, 107 Paterson, Miss, 160 Patrick, Rev. V. H., 53 Peacocke, Miss, 54 Peach-tree Hill Academy, 95 Peeresses' School, Tokyo, 45 Perry, Commodore, 1 Piper, Rev. J., 49-51 Plummer, Rev. F. B., 8, 105 Police and factory work, 185-192 Poole, Bp., 21, 43 Poole Memorial Girls' School, 91 Prayer Book, Revision of Japanese, 29, 193-206 Progress, Bp. Bicker- steth on Japan's. 22 Protestant Missions. 6. 11, 100 Reaction against Christi- anity, 16 Reading Society, Miss Weston's, 48 Reid, Miss 56, 57 Robinson, Rev. J. C, 138 Russian Orthodox Church 8 Seamen, Missions to, 102 Shaw, Archdeacon, 8, 27 42, 43, 72, 73 Shiba, St. Andrew's, 65 Shinagawa, St. Mary's, 73 Shinamicho, Mission room at, 72 Shinsetsu district, Work in the, 151-161 Shogunate, Decline of the 2 Society for the Propaga- tion of the Gospel, 8; Tokyo, 43-49, 65-83; Yokohama, 101; Kobe, 107 Terata, Rev. D. T., 113 Thornton, Miss, 77, 80 Tokushima, 180-183 Tokyo, 3; Work of C, M. S and S. P. G., 42-61; St. Andrew's and St. Hil- da's Community Mis- sions 62-83; Pro-Cathe- dral, 66; Police work, 185-187 Toyama hospital, The, 60 Toyohashi, 145-150 Treatise with Foreign Powers, 4 Tristam, Miss, 91 Ushigome, St. Barnabas, 69 Waller, Rev. J. G., 152, 153, 156, 157, 183 Warren, Archdeacon, 51 83,87 Weston, Miss, 45-49 Williams, Bp., 5, 7, 12, 25, 51, 109 Women's work, Tokyo, 44-49, 74-83; Kobe, 106 Nagano, 154, etc. Woodd, Rev. Basil, 65, 95 Wright, Rev. W. B., 42, 43, 69, 176 Xavier, St. Francis, 3 Yamada, Rev. P. S. 68, 97 Yokaichiba, 169 Yokahama, Work, at, 100 -111 Hokkaido, Diocese of. Appendix MAP OF JAPAN BW8533.A75 The light of Japan. Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library