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II 
 
GHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN 
 
GHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN 
 
 1859-1883 
 
 BY 
 
 MASANOBU ISHIZAKA 
 
 // 
 
 //ERSITY I 
 
 Dissertation submitted to the Board of University Studies of the Johns 
 
 Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements 
 
 for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 1895 
 
XT' 
 
 u^ 
 
60NTBNTS 
 
 PAGB 
 
 Introduction 9 
 
 Chapter I— Opening of the Door to the Grospel 13 
 
 Chapter II — Breaking up of the Barriera 18 
 
 Chapter III — Indirect Obstacles to the Spread of Christianity. .24 
 
 Chapter IV — Progress of the Work 27 
 
 Chapter V — Rise of the Nationalistic Church 33 
 
 Vita 36 
 
 155567 
 
^ 
 
VERSITY 
 
 or 
 
 CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Christianization of Japan does not simply mean a con- 
 version of heathens, nor an uplifting of the ignorant to a 
 higher enjoyment of civilized life as is often supposed by the 
 American public ; but it involves a far wider question. It is, 
 in short, an attempt to reconstruct the Oriental idea upon 
 the basis of the Occidental principle, or to implant the seeds 
 of Christian truth into already cultivated and fertilized 
 soil, or, in other words, it is another crusade of the western 
 nations against the Asiatic nations in a different form and 
 from different motives. 
 
 The struggle between the Orient and the Occident is 
 nothing new. For centuries the East and West regarded 
 each other as irreconcilable enemies, and the borders of Eu- 
 rope were a permanent battlefield between these two antag- 
 onistic forces. While they were thus struggling with each 
 other there sprang up two distinct civilizations, each differ- 
 ing diametrically from the other. One, starting from the 
 valleys of the Nile and the Euphrates, went westward 
 through Europe and America and developed into the Chris- 
 tian religion. The other, rising at the foot of the Hima- 
 laya, moved eastward to the extremity of Asia and appeared 
 in Buddhism and Confucianism. The one characterizes a 
 free state ; the other, an absolute monarchy. One is a posi- 
 tive principle; the other^ a negative principle. These two 
 diametrically opposed principles, the twins of the world's 
 history, which fought for their supremacy for so many 
 centuries without ever coming to peaceful terms, happen to 
 meet again in Japan today after each has completed its 
 civilization in its own direction. What will be the outcome 
 of this second meeting? Will it be the renewal of the old 
 endless struggle? Can the East and the West never be 
 
10 Christianity in Japan 
 
 brought together under one common feeling of brother- 
 hood? If this world was made by more than one creator, 
 if Christ's gospel is intended for only one race of people, 
 if the sensibilities of the Orientals and the Occidentals are so 
 constructed that they cannot share the same feeling in 
 religion as well as in other matters, then this pessimistic 
 view might be true. But as we believe in one God and one 
 truth for all people, and as there is strong evidence gathered 
 from different missionary fields that all ipen are capable of 
 enjoying the same feeling in matters of religion, we have 
 good reason to believe that this second meeting is the be- 
 ginning of the breaking up of the barriers which have so 
 sharply separated the East from the West, — the first step 
 towards the reunion of the sons of Adam into one house- 
 hold before the family altar of Jehovah after many centuries 
 of separation. 
 
 This anticipaton does not seem to be Utopian. Already 
 it is confirmed by encouraging signs. The world has under- 
 gone a great change since the two rival powers so merci- 
 lessly contested on the boundaries of Europe. Bitter feelings 
 of enmity are fast fading away and a general friendly inter- 
 course is more and more prevailing all over the world. 
 Merchants of London and New York can invest their money 
 in the markets of Yokohama and Shanghai today without 
 exposing it to much danger while the educational institu- 
 tions of Europe and America have among their alumni stu- 
 dents of the far East. Such prevalence of general friendly 
 feeling never existed before in the history of the world. 
 
 At this favorable time, these two opposing principles 
 meet in that enterprising country^ Japan, where every con- 
 dition for such an undertaking is most favorable — the coun- 
 try, whose gate is wide open to any form of faith ; the coun- 
 try, where each one can speak for his own religion and 
 criticize that of another with perfect freedom and where 
 the leading men are very little prejudiced from narrow 
 dogmatisms and intolerable theology. 
 
 The great obstacles to the formation of the universal 
 
Introduction 11 
 
 kingdom of Jehovah on earth have been thus far the absence 
 of an impartial nation, which would serve as an arbitrator, 
 and the lack of mutual knowledge, together with narrowness 
 of mind, and prejudice. The Western people regarded 
 everything outside themselves as "barbarism" ; and those of 
 the East, in turn, boasted of their own civilization as the 
 only genuine one, each knowing in truth very little of the 
 other. This fact was well illustrated by an incident in the 
 Religious Congress in Chicago, when that great Hindoo 
 Buddhist, Dharmapala, asked the audience how many of 
 them had ever read the life of Buddha. To this question 
 only five or six hands were timidly raised in response out 
 of that large body of so-called scholars and doctors of re- 
 ligion. From this we can judge the ignorance in regard 
 to other religions on the part of the common people, who, 
 nevertheless, do not hesitate to denounce everything for- 
 eign. But, in Japan, the people are comparatively free from 
 such an egotistic exclusiveness, and they have more im- 
 partial and rational views in matters of religion. 
 
 Taking now all these conditions into consideration 
 Japan seems destined to be the special agent to accom- 
 plish something never favorably attempted before, — the 
 breaking down of old prejudices and the fulfilling of the 
 great plan of the Almighty to bring together the whole 
 world into one common feeling of brotherhood and estab- 
 lish a pure and simple Christianity devoid of western super- 
 stitions and narrow dogmatisms. Japanese Christians them- 
 selves seem to be conscious of this great responsibility, for 
 their whole attitude is turning more and more toward this 
 direction. This is shown in their repeated attempts for 
 church union, and the simplification of church creeds; in 
 their aversion to the sectarian idea and narrow theology 
 and in their careful separation of pure Christianity from 
 Americanism and Europeanism. 
 
 But here the question may arise, are the native Chris- 
 tians able to solve such a great problem? To answer this 
 question, the editor of the "Church at Home and Abroad,'^ 
 
12 Christianity in Japan 
 
 says "No other mission field in the world displays so much 
 intellectual vigor, and offers so serious challenge to im- 
 posed dogma as Japan. At the latest anniversary of the 
 Church Missionary Society, the Archbishop of Canterbury 
 made the point in words as follows : 'Well, then, there is 
 Japan. Here again, we see that we are on the eve of a dis- 
 cussion which may remind us forcibly of the theological dis- 
 cussion of the second, third^ and fourth centuries. The 
 Japanese are a philosophically minded people, an extremely 
 independent people, an original people. They are not con- 
 tent to accept without question the results of disputes in the 
 West, etc' " ^ President Kozaki ^ also says on this 
 point: "Christianity in Japan has already reached a stage 
 that no other missionary fields have ever attained. Their 
 native Christians not only take a part in all discussions, but 
 they are in fact leading all kinds of discussions, theological 
 as well as practical. They are leading not only in all kinds 
 of Christian work, literary, evangelistic, educational, and 
 charitable^ but they are also leading Christian thought in 
 Japan. 
 
 Such being the situation the growth and development 
 of Japanese Christianity is of profound interest not only to 
 the Japanese and their friends, but to all who are earnestly 
 praying for and seeking after the coming and the establish- 
 ment of the universal kingdom of God and His righteous- 
 ness on earth. 
 
 * The "Church at Home and Abroad," Sept., 1891. 
 'Kozaki's address in the Congress of Religions in Chicago. 
 
^' 
 
 ijnwit 
 
 CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 OPENING OF THE DOOR. 
 
 The news of the glorious success of Commodore Perry 
 in his famous mission to Japan aroused great enthusiasm 
 among Christians in America, and the question of sending 
 out missionaries to this newly-opened country, for the salva- 
 tion of which they had been praying for a long time, was 
 earnestly discussed. But this enthusiasm was soon turned 
 into disappointment temporarily when it was learned that 
 Perry's treaty did not secure to the Americans the right of 
 a permanent residence nor the exercise of religious freedom. 
 As long as this right was not secured no Christian missionary 
 could establish a station upon the land, for the Christian 
 religion had hot been tolerated in Japan for many centuries 
 because of a peculiarly strong prejudice which had a long 
 history behind it. 
 
 The story of the Catholic mission in Japan, how it was 
 introduced and how it was expelled, is a familiar one. Suf- 
 fice it to state here that the general hatred to the "evil sect" 
 and its final expulsion originated in the fear, well grounded 
 or not, that the Spanish government would, in combination 
 with the Christians, form a conspiracy. 
 
 After this event, the strictest and most far-reaching 
 system of inquisition was introduced by the government in 
 order to extirpate every particle of this faith from the 
 soil.^ In the first place, every citizen was required to send 
 
 'For details, see Mr. Okada's scholarly articles in the Shiggakai 
 Zasshi (Historical Magazine), April, 1891-Jan., 1892. 
 
14 Christianity in Japan 
 
 in to the government a certificate by which the Buddhist 
 priest guaranteed ''The said person was not a Christian, but 
 belonged to his parish." This was a well-devised policy on 
 the part of the government to make the inquisition thorough, 
 for the Buddhist priests were the strongest rivals of the 
 Christians, and consequently the most zealous crusaders, 
 who showed no mercy to a suspected person. This law was 
 applied to all persons alike, but there was another which 
 was applied only to those who newly renounced the Chris- 
 tian faith. It was called "Efumi," or trampHng upon the 
 picture. By it, a person who had repented, was required 
 to trample under foot the image of the Virgin Mary, or the 
 picture of the crucifixion to show his sincerity in denounc- 
 ing his old faith. 
 
 Two kinds of oaths were taken, — one to the Japanese 
 deities, and the other to the Christian or ''barbarian" God. 
 The former was for the Buddhist believers, and the latter for 
 the adjurers from the Christian faith to test whether they 
 still had any reverence for their old God. 
 
 All books which had any reference either directly or 
 indirectly to the Christian religion or any literature which 
 contained even a single word relating to God, Christ, etc.,. 
 were prohibited from circulation under strict censorial au- 
 thority. These and other prohibitory laws were issued one 
 after another and "a system of rules for the regulation of 
 this inquiry was drawn up in which the minutest details re- 
 . garding the search after Christians and missionaries, their 
 arrest, imprisonment were carefully entered." * They 
 were not dead letters, but were practically executed with 
 zeal. 
 
 The next step the government took was the closing up 
 of seaports. As long as the foreigners were permitted to 
 reside among the people and intermingle with them, it was 
 impossible to root out the Christian faith. Hence, all for- 
 
 * Gubbin's Review of the introduction of Christianity into China 
 and Japan, Transactions of Asiatic Society of Japan, Vol. VI., p. 35 
 
Opening of the Door 15 
 
 eigners, Christians or not, were ordered to leave the coun- 
 try except a Hmited number of Dutch, who, for the services 
 rendered to the government were permitted to remain on' a 
 small island of¥ Nagasaki, called Dejima. The conditions on 
 which this favor was granted were: "They shall not hold 
 any communication with the 'kirishitan' sect, nor bring any 
 missionaries into the country, but will communicate every 
 year any information concerning the 'kirishitan' sect, which 
 it may be desirable for his highness to hear."'' 
 
 Thus Japan cut off the friendly relation with the West- 
 ern peoples and became a thoroughly isolated nation. Now, 
 it seems unnatural that such an adventurous and progressive 
 people living so close to the continent should have re- 
 mained isolated for so long a time. But this seeming un- 
 naturalness shows the intense hatred of the people toward 
 the Christian religion. 
 
 Such being the circumstances, had Commodore Perry 
 ever attempted to obtain religious toleration, or even made 
 the slightest allusion to it, he would not have succeeded in 
 that memorable mission, or at least, he could not have 
 opened the country without bloodshed. Sagacious as he was 
 he well knew that this was the most delicate question with 
 the Japanese government and so he carefully limited the 
 sphere of his negotiation to the commercial matters, believ- 
 ing that 'Tf," to use his own words, *'one were prosecuted 
 to a favorable result, the door would then be opened for 
 success in the other." Perry's prediction was right. After 
 his departure the appearance of many foreign fleets, the 
 repeated warnings of the Dutch, the news of the Opium 
 War in China, a better knowledge of the Western people, 
 these and other forces combined, gradually convinced the 
 government of the necessity of giving further concessions 
 to the foreign powers. In 1858, Townsend Harris, the 
 United States Counsel General, succeeded in making a new 
 and more favorable treaty by which the Americans secured 
 
 ° Trans, of Asiatic Society, Vol. VI., p. 53. 
 
16 Christianity in Japan 
 
 the right of residence and Hberty of worship within their 
 own settlements. Thus, the prayers of earnest Christians in 
 America were finally answered. Thus, the door was opened 
 again for the gospel in the fulfillment of the promise "Knock 
 and it shall be opened unto you." 
 
 Upon the receipt of these glad tidings the missionary 
 societies of the United States entered into the actual work 
 at once and sent out missionaries to the field. The first regu- 
 larly appointed missionary who appeared on Japanese soil 
 was Rev. J. Liggins, of the Protestant Episcopal Church of 
 America who came to Nagasaki on May 2, 1859.^ He 
 was soon followed by Rev. C. M. Williams of the same 
 church. This was the first permanent Protestant mission 
 established in this empire.'^ Before the close of the same 
 year there were represented three churches of the United 
 States, namely, the Episcopalian, Presbyterian, and the Re- 
 formed, in the persons of Revs. J. Liggins, C. M. Williams, 
 J. C. Hepburn, S. R. Brown, G. F. Verbeck, and Dr. D. B. 
 Simmons. But the prospect was very discouraging. At the 
 time of their arrival, the old ordinance against Christianity 
 was still in full force and "missionaries soon found that they 
 were regarded with great suspicion, and closely watched, 
 and all intercourse with them was conducted with strict sur- 
 veillance." When they wished to learn the native language 
 "no teacher could be obtained at Kanagawa until March, 
 i860, and then only a spy in the employment of the gov- 
 
 'Rev. J. Goble, of the Baptist Free Mission Society, who arrived 
 as a missionary in i860, had once before been in Japan in 1853-54, 
 but at that time he did not come as a missionary, but as one of the 
 marines belonging to the fleet of Commodore Perry. Hence, he 
 cannot claim the honor of being the first arrived missionary. 
 
 ^ In the islands of Loo Choo some British naval officers estab- 
 lished a Loo Choo Naval Mission some years before the arrival of 
 Perry, and Dr. Bettelheim and Mr. Moreton preached to the natives 
 for some time ; but this was only temporary. It was entirely aban- 
 doned a few years later. See Hawks' Perry's Expedition, pp. 258, 
 572. 
 
Opening of the Door 17 
 
 ernment." In short, the missionaries ''were regarded as 
 persons who had come to seduce the mass of the people from 
 their loyalty to the 'God country,' and corrupt their morals 
 generally."^ 
 
 It was about this time that one of the foremost states- 
 men, Mr. Kido, defined a missionary as "a man who is sent 
 to Japan to teach the Japanese to break the laws of their 
 country."^ 
 
 In such a state of affairs the propagation of the Gospel 
 was, of course, hopeless. Mr. Williams' letter of June i8, 
 1861, illustrates the situation of the time, when he said 
 "There is no proper missionary work to report. It may 
 appear singular that so little has been accomplished, but the 
 peculiar difficulties of our situation — the antecedents of 
 Christianity in Japan^ the jealousy of government, the 
 sweeping clause in the treaty, that 'Americans shall not do 
 anything calculated to excite religious animosity,' the rami- 
 fications of the system of espionage, reaching everywhere, 
 alike the cottage of the poor, and the 'forbidden inclosure' 
 ^^ of the 'son of Heaven' ^^ should all be kept in mind. 
 When all these things are fully comprehended, it will be seen 
 that great caution is necessary. A false step may be fatal, 
 and surround us with such a host of spies, that intercourse 
 with the people will be virtually cut off." 
 
 ^ Proceedings of the Osaka Conference, pp. 30, 31. 
 
 ® Adams' History of Japan, Vol. II., p. 146. 
 
 ^° The Imperial Palace was so called. 
 
 " The Mikado was considered the direct descendant of gods. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 BREAKING UP OF THE BARRIERS. 
 
 Obstacles so numerous and systematic to the advance- 
 ment of Christianity seem at first sight to be almost uncon- 
 querable. Indeed, among some Christian communities in 
 the United States the discouragement became so intense 
 at one time that serious doubts were entertained as to the 
 expediency of having sent out missionaries to a country but 
 partially opened.^ But a careful survey of the real nature 
 of the obstacles will soon convince us that they were not so 
 formidable as they seemed. The Japanese, as a nation, are 
 comparatively free from religious fanaticism.^ They did not 
 hate Christianity because it was a religion. In other words, 
 it was not religious fanaticism, but political expediency 
 which made them regard Christianity as a national enemy.^ 
 This fact was clearly observed as early as 1854 by the 
 chaplain of Perry's fleet. Rev. Mr. Jones, whose statement 
 sounded prophetic. He said, in answer to the question as to 
 the prospect of presenting Christianity to the Japanese 
 "Apart from governmental influences I think there would 
 be no great difficulty in introducing Christianity. * * * 
 I performed funeral services on shore four times; once at 
 Yokohama, twice at Hakodate, and once at Simoda ; in every 
 instance in the presence of Japanese, and in most, when 
 
 * See Proc, of the Osaka Conference, p. 36. 
 
 ' In an address, inviting the united prayers of the Christians 
 at home, the pioneer missionaries of the Church Missionary Society 
 said in 1866: "Contrary to the general expectation, it has been 
 found that the Japanese generally do not entertain a feeling of 
 hostility to foreigners, nor are they bigoted in religion. They even 
 pride themselves upon being less stiff." 
 
 * See Adams' History of Japan, Vol. II., 146. 
 
Breaking up of the Barriers 19 
 
 large numbers were collected. They always behaved well. 
 I thus became known among the people everywhere as a 
 Christian clergyman, or, to follow their sign for designating 
 me, as a 'praying man.' Instead of this producing a shrink- 
 ing from me, as I had supposed it would, I found that I had 
 decidedly gained by it in this respect, and this among officials 
 as well as commoners. ^ ^ ^ There was no seeming 
 aversion to me because I was a minister of Christianity. The 
 government, however, beyond all doubt, is exceedingly jeal- 
 ous about our religion ; but the Japanese officials, as well as 
 the people, are so inquisitive and so observant of all that 
 comes within their reach, that doubtless, after a time, they 
 might be brought to see the difference between ourselves 
 and the Romanists."* 
 
 Thus we can see that the real nature of the obstacles 
 was accidental rather than inherent; political rather than 
 religious. Things political cannot, by their own nature, be 
 so tenacious and permanent as things religious. They are 
 subject to change according to the conditions of the times. 
 Therefore, while the hope for the success of Christianity in 
 Japan was buried in almost midnight darkness, the dawn of 
 a better time was slowly and unobservedly approaching upon 
 the missionaries from unexpected quarters, and the barriers 
 against Christianity, strong as the walls of Jericho, quietly 
 fell from within by the pressure of the necessities of the 
 time. 
 
 The forces, which brought about this innovation in the 
 public opinion, were many, but the following are the princi- 
 pal ones : 
 
 I. The bombardment of Kagoshima and Shimonoseki. 
 On the refusal of indemnity for the wrong perpetrated by the 
 retainers of the prince of Satsuma to a certain Englishman 
 named Richardson, the British warships appeared off 
 Kagoshima on the I2th of August, 1862, and bombarded the 
 city. In spite of the heroic defence of the Samurai the city 
 
 * Hawks' Ferry's Expedition, 516. 
 
20 Christianity in Japan 
 
 was reduced to ashes and the required indemnity ^ was ex- 
 torted. Shimonoseki also met with the same treatment from 
 the combined forces of the United States, England, France, 
 and Holland. These events opened the eyes of the proud 
 Samurai, who, heretofore, had thought the expulsion of the 
 "barbarians" an easy task, convinced them of the superiority 
 of the western weapons and art of war and converted them 
 into earnest advocates of the western civilization. 
 
 II. The awakening of a nationalistic spirit. Just at 
 this time great national enthusiasm was aroused among the 
 people because of the presence of so many foreign enemies. 
 As is generally the case at such a time everything foreign 
 was regarded as something unpatriotic. This sentiment be- 
 came so high that the statesmen of the time, most ridiculous 
 to say, entertained the idea of creating a purely Japanese re- 
 ligion by the hand of the government. ^Buddhism, being 
 also of foreign origin and a close ally of the Shogunate was 
 likewise despised by the patriots. Not only did it lose the 
 patronage of the government after the restoration, but was 
 finally dispossessed of that important function of giving a 
 religious certificate to every citizen, which once rendered 
 such efficient service in the detection of Christians."^ Thus, 
 the very weapons, which was intended to weaken the foreign 
 influence, strange as it may seem, struck off one of the bar- 
 riers to the spread of Christianity. 
 
 III. The thirst after the western knowledge. After 
 the country was opened to foreigners a knowledge of west- 
 ern affairs became a necessity to the statesmen. This led 
 some of the thoughtful men of the country, who, in later 
 years came to occupy the prominent places in the govern- 
 ment, to the study of the English language under the mis- 
 
 ° $500,000 from the Shogunate, and $125,000 from the Prince 
 of Satsuma. 
 
 'See the "Kokiimino Tomo" (The "Nation's Friend"), Nov. 
 3, 1893- 
 
 ^ Anecdote of Count Okuma, appeared in the "Hochi Shin- 
 bun," Sept., 1893. 
 
Breaking up of the Barriers 21 
 
 sionaries, although they regarded them as national enemies.^ 
 But the frequency of intercourse gradually cleared away the 
 mist of suspicion and finally convinced them of their errone- 
 ous conception regarding the real nature and purpose of the 
 missionaries. When these liberal men began to direct the 
 national affairs the missionaries were their confidential 
 friends and some of them were given a place in the gov- 
 ernment school.^ 
 
 IV. The relations with foreign powers. Friendly re- 
 lations with Christian nations made it necessary for the gov- 
 ernment to respect, or at least to treat their religion in a more 
 respectful way than before. The foreign representatives 
 also exerted great efforts to secure the toleration of Christi- 
 anity in Japan. When the restored Imperial government 
 issued a new edict against Christianity, which said "The 
 evil sect called Christian is strictly prohibited ; suspected 
 persons should be reported to the proper office and rewards 
 will be given"^^ and when several hundred people in a vil- 
 lage near Nagasaki, called Urakami, were arrested and im- 
 prisoned on the suspicion of embracing Christianity, the for- 
 eign representatives made a strong protest against this policy 
 as opposed to the law of comity between nations and as con- 
 
 ^ Protestanism was suspected by the people equally as much 
 as Catholicism. As late as 1868 a pamphlet entitled "Tale of Nagas- 
 aki : The Story of the Evil Sect," was published, in which the writ- 
 ers say: "Compared with the Roman Catholic religion this (Protest- 
 ant faith) is a very cunning doctrine indeed; although they try to 
 make out that there is nothing abominable in it, they are really 
 foxes of the same hole, and it is really more injurious than the 
 Roman Catholic doctrine." Adams' History of Japan. Vol. II. 
 
 ® Counts Okuma and Soyjima, the prominent statesmen of to- 
 day, studied English under Messrs. Verbeck and Williams. Through 
 Count Soyjima, M(r. Verbeck later found an appointment in Kaisei 
 Gakko, which afterwards developed into the Imperial University of 
 Japan, 
 
 ^° This edict was issued Oct. 25, 1868. 
 
22 Christianity in Japan 
 
 trary to the liberal promise made at the beginning of the new 
 administration." 
 
 ''On the i8th of May," 1871, according to the Japan 
 Weekly Mail, ''the British Envoy^ Sir Harry S. Parkes, had 
 an audience to take leave. The Mikado, as was natural, 
 made use of the ordinary expressions of regret in the public 
 interview. Sir Harry Parkes, in reply, thanked his Majesty 
 for his gracious words. * * * xhe speech ended with 
 the usual expression of a hope that his Majesty might be 
 spared many years to conclude the reforms he had so happily 
 commenced. As a special mark of esteem the British Min- 
 ister was also invited to a private audience in one of the 
 pavilions in the park attached to the palace. Advantage was 
 taken on both sides to speak with less formality than the 
 etiquette of public audience requires. * * * He 
 (Parkes) then recommended the Mikado to place full con- 
 fidence in the foreigners in his employ, and he concluded by 
 observing that there were still two spots on the Japanese 
 escutcheon which would have to be removed before she 
 could claim to rank with civilized countries, namely, the 
 restriction of the movements of foreigners within what are 
 called the treaty limits, and the prohibition against the exer- 
 cise of the Christian religion by natives. "^- 
 
 Although these efforts of the foreign representatives 
 did not have the desired result immediately, yet the govern- 
 ment became exceedingly cautious in dealing with religious 
 affairs in the future administration, and the law became 
 practically a dead letter. 
 
 V. The return of ambassadors from abroad. A 
 special embassy composed of distinguished persons of 
 the time was sent out in 1871 to the United States, and the 
 FAiropean nations with two objects in view, viz : the revision 
 of the existing treaty, and the investigation of social and 
 
 " See Anecdote of Count Okuma in the "Hochi Shinbun, 
 Sept., 1893. 
 
 " See Adams' History of Japan, Vol. IL, 247. 
 
Breaking up of the Barriers 23 
 
 political institutions of other nations. Concerning the 
 former, the embassy was a failure, but in the latter, its suc- 
 cess cannot be overestimated. The ambassadors submitted 
 to the government an elaborate report of their observations 
 describing in the most favorable terms the social and po- 
 litical state of the western nations, and the influence of the 
 Christian religion upon society.^^ 
 
 Such a glowing account of the western people could 
 not but affect the subsequent administration of the govern- 
 ment, and this, in turn, could not but react favorably upon 
 the spread of Christianity. Indeed, while the embassy was 
 still on its way, that obnoxious law against the "evil sect" 
 was quietly removed from the public notice-board early in 
 1873, and from that time on, the exercise of Christian re- 
 ligion, though not publicly recognized by law till 1889, was 
 no more molested by the state authority. 
 
 " The Board of Foreign Missions of the Reformed Church 
 often gave assistance to many Japanese students in the United States. 
 Messrs. Iwakura and Kido, during their ambassadorial tour, made 
 an official acknowledgment to the Board of their kind assistance and 
 generous conduct, which served to cement the friendly relations of 
 the two countries more than all other influences combined. See 
 Nitobe's United States and Japan, 166. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 INDIRECT OBSTACLES TO THE SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 Now the government opposition had at last been brok- 
 en. Could then Christianity march on through the length 
 and breadth of the whole country converting the people in 
 its own way without meeting a further opposition? Far 
 from it. The removal of governmental interference only 
 brought Christianity for the first time face to face with its 
 true antagonists to begin a series of life or death struggles. 
 The first enemy which Christianity had to encounter 
 was found in the mental characteristics of the Japanese. 
 These people pK)ssess a strong taste for abstract reasoning, 
 hence are directly opposed to the simple and practical teach- 
 ings of Christianity. Close observers will easily find this 
 peculiarity even among children. *T have often been utterly 
 astounded," says Mr. Dening, ''at the logic-chopping power 
 of Japanese youth of twelve or thirteen years of age." There" 
 is no doubt that these peculiar characteristics are mainly due 
 "to the nature of the education imparted. The books which 
 infant students have been first taught to read — the Japanese 
 *Peep of Day' and 'Line Upon Line,' so to speak — have been 
 the Confucian classics. Fancy one of our infants repeating 
 after his teacher at his first lesson such sentences as the 
 following : 'What the great learning teaches, is, to illustrate 
 virtue, to renovate the people, and to rest in the highest ex- 
 cellence.' * * * 'The point where to rest being known, 
 the object of pursuit is then determined,' etc."^ It is not to 
 be wondered at that to such minds the plain account of the 
 Cross became a stumbling block. 
 
 To stimulate this speculative tendency many anti-Chris- 
 
 ^ See Mr. Dening's article on Mental Characteristics of Jap- 
 anese, Trans, of the Asiatic Soc. of Japan, Vol. XIX., Part I., p. i8. 
 
Indirect Obstacles to the Spread of Christianity 25 
 
 tian books of Europe and America, such as the works of Her- 
 bert Spencer, Huxley, Draper, Mill, Buckle, Alexander Bain, 
 Thomas Paine, Robert Ingersoll, and others were freely in- 
 troduced. Writings of this kind were exactly fitted to the 
 taste of the naturally liberal minded Japanese. They were 
 eagerly received and extensively read among the young 
 students. When, therefore, the missionaries came into con- 
 tact with the people more freely they were often placed in 
 the most embarrassing situation by their inability to give 
 satisfactory answers to the questions raised by the young 
 students concerning the apparently contracted statements 
 in the Scriptures as depicted by the sceptical writers. 
 
 Another difficulty of more complicated nature inhered 
 in the ethical idea of the Japanese. According to their con- 
 ception loyalty and filial piety are the cardinal virtues around 
 which all other virtues are grouped as subordinates. Now, 
 the seeming disregard of these duties in the Christian doc- 
 trine appeared to them detrimental to the preservation of 
 moral order of society. Therefore, many people severely 
 criticised the new faith on this point.'' 
 
 The idea of death among the Japanese may be men- 
 tioned in this connection. There is a wide difference be- 
 tween the Japanese and the western people regarding the 
 conceptions of death and future life. To the western people 
 the question of future life is a very serious one and the most 
 indifferent are often bought to penitential tears by the threat- 
 ening of the final judgment. But such a question has very 
 little effect over the Japanese. Their great ambition being 
 to die bravely and honorably and leave behind them a 
 "fragrant name," it concerns them very little what they shall 
 be after death. At least they pretend to be too brave to think 
 of anything else but a glorious death. Such an act, there- 
 fore, as seeking after salvation through prayer and supplica- 
 
 ' Many books were written by the Shintoists and Confucian- 
 ists attacking Christianity on this point. Mr. Yasui's "Ben Mo" was 
 the most popular one among the students. 
 
26 Christianity in Japan 
 
 tion as taught in the Christian religion is regarded as some- 
 thing unmanly, an act of cowardice and a lack of heroic 
 spirit. This is no doubt the bequest of the feudalism which 
 highly exalted the spirit of chivalry. Closely associated 
 with this there are many noble traits which are woven into 
 the fabric of society. The most striking one is the kind dis- 
 position of the Japanese toward their inferiors and the readi- 
 ness to espouse the cause of the weak. In contrast with the 
 western idea of applying business principles. to every affair 
 of daily life, generosity forms the basis of society in Japan- 
 Disregard of this custom on the part of foreigners often cre- 
 ates great trouble. Either from the lack of knowledge, or 
 simply from mere carelessness^ or from their habit of using 
 colored domestics at home, some missionaries tried to em- 
 ploy, in the treatment of the Japanese servants, coolies and 
 day laborers, the same iron rule to which they had been ac- 
 customed. This was more than the lower classes of the 
 Japanese people, who, used to an easy service, could ordin- 
 arily bear. The result was that not only all missionaries 
 were criticized as inhuman, heartless, and cruel in direct op- 
 position to the doctrine which they preach with their mouth, 
 but their religion also was criticized as having no power 
 even over its own ministers. How lamentable that such 
 thoughtless acts of a few missionaries hindered so much the 
 cause of the religion !^ 
 
 *I purposely omitted the opposition of the Buddhist be- 
 lievers here, for the Buddhist religion was in a helpless condition 
 about this time, being crippled externally by the withdrawal of 
 governmental patronage and internally by the corruption of the 
 priests and monks. Their systematic opposition to Christianity 
 belongs to the next period. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PROGRESS OF THE WORK. 
 
 It must not^ however, be supposed that no successful 
 work has been done during all these times. Before the end 
 of 1873, beside those missions already in the field, the Bap- 
 tist Free Mission Society,^ the American Board of Com- 
 missioners for Foreign Missions, the American Baptist Mis- 
 sionary Union, the Church Missionary Society of England, 
 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, and the Canadian Methodist Church 
 entered into the country one after another and missionary 
 stations were established in Nagasaki, Kanagawa, Tokio, 
 Kobe, Osaka, and Hakodate. 
 
 In these places, dispensaries were opened, schools were 
 organized, and the Chinese Bible, and other Christian litera- 
 ture was introduced, scattered, and taught. Through these 
 means the people were gradually brought within the reach 
 of the missionaries — some prompted by selfish motives and 
 others honestly seeking after the truth. 
 
 The first fruit was gathered in by Rev. J. H. Ballagh, 
 who baptized his language teacher named Yano Riu at Yo- 
 kohama in October, 1864. Two years later Dr. Verbeck 
 baptized two men of high standing in the south of Japan. 
 The circumstances of their conversion were so remarkable 
 that it is worth while to mention them briefly. Before any 
 treaty was made with foreign powers, a British fleet entered 
 into the harbor of Nagasaki. Alarmed by the sudden ap- 
 pearance of the strange warship the government ordered the 
 neighboring daimios to send their soldiers to protect the 
 shore and at the same time to prevent the ship from com- 
 
 ^ The Baptist Free Mission trusted their work in Japan to 
 the American Baptist Missionary Union in May, 1872. 
 
28 Christianity in Japan 
 
 municating with the people. One of the commanders of the 
 army, named Wakasa, while exploring the harbor on a small 
 boat one day, found a small book floating on the water. He 
 brought it back to his camp, and, after inquiries, he was 
 told by a Dutch interpreter, that it was a Bible which 
 teaches us about God, the creator of the universe and His 
 son Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. This greatly 
 awakened Wakasa's curiosity. Having learned that there 
 was a Chinese translation of the same book in Shanghai, 
 China, he sent for it, and finally procured a copy. After 
 returning home from the service he induced four others to 
 join him in the study of the curious book. Later they found 
 a teacher in Dr. Verbeck at Nagasaki. But as they could 
 not come there in person, owing to the feudal duties, mes- 
 sengers were employed "going regularly back and forth be- 
 tween teacher and pupils, carrying inquiries and explications 
 as they came and went" for nearly three years. In 1866, 
 Wakasa and his brother Ayebe^ were at last given permis- 
 sion to leave their services for awhile. Immediately com- 
 ing to Nagasaki, they were baptized by Dr. Verbeck on the 
 day of Pentacost, May 20th.^ 
 
 The year 1872 is one of the memorable dates in the 
 history of Japanese Christianity. "In January, the mis- 
 sonaries at Yokohama and the English-speaking residents of 
 all denominations united in the observance of the Week of 
 Prayer. Some Japanese students connected with the private 
 classes taught by the missionaries were present through 
 curiosity or through a desire to please their teachers and 
 some perhaps from a true interest in Christianity. It was 
 concluded to read the Acts in course day after day, and that 
 the Japanese present might take part intelligently in the 
 service, the scripture of the day was translated extemporane- 
 ously into their language. The meetings grew in interest 
 
 ^Wakasa died in 1872; but Ayabe is still living (1895) and is 
 a faithful member of one of the churches in Tokio. 
 
 'For the minute account, see the "Gospel in all Lands," 
 Sept., 1889. 
 
Progress of the Work 29 
 
 and were continued from week to week until the end of 
 February. After a week or two the Japanese for the first 
 time in the history of the nation were on their knees in a 
 Oiristian prayer meeting, entreating God with great emo- 
 tion^ with tears streaming down their faces, that He would 
 give His spirit to Japan as to the early church and to the 
 people around the apostles. These prayers were character- 
 ized by intense earnestness. Captains of men-of-war, Eng- 
 lish and American, who witnessed the scene, wrote to us, 
 'The prayers of these Japanese take the heart out of us.' A 
 missionary wrote that the intensity of feeling was such that 
 he feared often that he would faint away in the meetings. 
 Half a dozen perhaps of the Japanese thus publicly engaged 
 in prayer, but the number present was much larger. This 
 is the record of the first Japanese prayer meeting,"* 
 
 **As a direct fruit of these prayer meetings the first 
 Japanese Christian church was organized at Yokohama on 
 March lo, 1872. It consisted of nine young men who were 
 baptized on that day and two middle-aged men who had 
 been previously baptized. The members gave their church 
 the Catholic name of 'the Church of Christ in Japan,' and 
 drew up their own constitution, a simple evangelical creed, 
 together with some rules of church government, according 
 to which the government was to be in the hands of the pastor 
 and elders with the consent of the members."^ 
 
 In September of the following year there was organized 
 with eight members through the effort of Rev. D. Thomp- 
 son, of the Presbyterian church, the first Protestant church 
 in Tokio, the nucleus of the present Chin Sakaye Church. 
 The members adopted the same doctrine and church govern- 
 ment as those of the Yokohama church. 
 
 Alongside those who were directly engaged in mission- 
 ary work there were some who, though not missonaries, did 
 a noble work for the religion. In Kumamoto a group of 
 
 Proc. of the Osaka Conference, p. 52. 
 Proc. of the Osaka Conference, 53. 
 
30 Christianity in Japan 
 
 young men,^ who were destined to form the future corner- 
 stone of the Kumiai (Congregation) church, was, in the 
 midst of severe persecutions, converted in 1875 under the 
 instruction of Captain L. L. Janes, who was invited by the 
 prince of that place to teach the pupils of his school. 
 
 In Sapporo, a similar work was done by Prof. W. S. 
 Clark^ among the students of the Agricultural College and 
 one of the earliest independent churches was established 
 by the teachers and students of the college. As the work 
 was thus bcoming more and more extensive, the translation 
 of the Bible into the language became imperative. To meet 
 this demand a convention of missionaries was called at 
 Yokohama in 1872, which resulted in the appointment of a 
 Bible translation committee which practically commenced its 
 work in January, 1874. A similar committee under the 
 name of the Tokio Bible Translation Committee was also 
 formed on October 30, 1876, at Tsukiji at a meeting of the 
 missionaries of Tokio. The former committee undertook the 
 translation of the New Testament, and the latter, that of the 
 Old Testament. 
 
 "In view, however, of the number of missionaries of 
 various denominations being much increased since 1872, the 
 year of the convention, which created that committee (Yoko- 
 hama), it seemed desirable that some new measures be 
 taken and arrangements made for the furtherance of the 
 work of the Old Testament translation also."^ Accordingly, 
 a general convention of missionaries was called in Tokio on 
 the loth and 13th of May, 1878, and there was appointed a 
 
 "Afterwards they became the pupils of that inspired educator, 
 Mr. Neesima, and they are now champions of the Christian religion 
 in Japan. 
 
 'Dr. Clark came to Japan in 1876 by the invitation of govern- 
 ment to organize an agricultural college after the plan of the 
 Massachusetts Agricultural College, of which he was then president. 
 
 ' See Proc. of the Osaka Conference, 95. 
 
Progress of the Work 81 
 
 new committee,^ which represented all Protestant denomina- 
 tions in Japan, and to whose hand was to be entrusted the 
 further work of translation and revision of both Old and 
 New Testaments. By mutual consent the Yokohama and 
 Tokio Translation Committees submitted their work to this 
 newly-appointed committee, so that the translation might 
 **come forth under the authorization of all Protestant mis- 
 sionaries in this country/' though practically the same per- 
 sons continued in the work of translation, only under a 
 different name. 
 
 The New Testament^** was finally completed in 1880 
 after the labor of about five years and six months, but the 
 Old Testament was not finished till 1887. 
 
 The members of the committee, who took the most ac- 
 tive part in translation, were Doctors J. C. Hepburn, S. R. 
 Brown, D. C. Green, and R. S. Maclay among the mission- 
 aries, and Messrs. Maysuyama, Okuno, and Takahashi 
 among the native Christians.^^ Their task was an exceed- 
 ingly difficult one. "In this country^" said Dr. Hepburn, 
 senior member of the New Testament Translation Com- 
 mittee, ''where from the earliest times the Chinese language 
 and literature have had such a powerful influence upon the 
 cultivation and language of the people, it was, at the very 
 first, a matter of considerable anxiety in what literary style 
 our work should be brought out, to make it most acceptable 
 and useful. The conclusion it was desirable to arrive at, was 
 not difficult to be determined ; avoiding, on the one hand, the 
 
 " This committee was called a Permanent Committee and 
 was given power to "select a committee or committees for the trans- 
 lation, to whom they shall assign the various parts of the work, 
 and shall also appoint a General Revising Committee." 
 
 ^° The Yokohama Committee had nearly completed the 
 translation of the New Testament before it submitted its work to the 
 new committee. Only from Ephesians to the end of the book was 
 left unfinished. 
 
 " The literary merits of the translation largely belong to 
 the Japanese members. 
 
32 Christianity in Japan 
 
 quasi-Chinese style, intelligible only to the highly cultivated, 
 and, on the other hand, a vulgar colloquial, which, though 
 easily understood, might make the Scriptures contemptible, 
 we should choose that style, which, while respected even by 
 the so-called literati, was easy and intelligible to all classes. 
 We thus adhered to the vernacular or pure Japanese, a style 
 which may be called classical and in which many of the best 
 books intended for the common reader are written."^^ "That 
 they performed this task successfully is clear from the fact 
 that fifteen years of progress in Christian knowledge and 
 experience have created no demand for its revision. * * * 
 Indeed, the Japanese Bible is already exerting something of 
 the same influence over the Japanese language which 
 Luther's version has had over the German tongue."^^ 
 
 ^^ Part of Dr. Hepburn's address given at the celebration of 
 the completion of the translation of the New Testament at the Shin 
 Sakaye Church, Tokio, April 19, 1880. 
 
 " Gordon's An American Missionary in Japan, 197. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 RISE OF THE NATIONALISTIC CHURCH. 
 
 Although Christianity progressed considerably during 
 these periods and the number of communicants reached to 
 two thousand nine hundred and sixty-five at the end of 
 1879,^ yet it was not till the native workers became the 
 active cooperators of missionaries that efficient work was 
 done in the interior of the country, and it was not till the 
 Japanese Christians became the leaders of propagandism 
 that the Christian influence was felt among the people gen- 
 erally. This is one of the singular features of the Japanese 
 Christianity which we do not find elsewhere. The truth is 
 that in other missionary fields the intellectual equipments of 
 converts are mostly such that they naturally look up to mis- 
 sionaries as their superiors in all kinds of Christian work; 
 but, in Japan, a great majority of the converts are intelligent 
 and ambitious students who first came to the missionaries, 
 or Christian teachers, with an earnest desire of acquiring 
 western knowledge. It is not, therefore, to be wondered at 
 that they soon came to overshadow the missionaries in all de- 
 partments of work, — evangelical, literary, and educational. 
 These students were mostly men belonging to a class 
 called Samurai. Now, the men of this class possess peculiar 
 characteristics. For many centuries "they have been trained 
 to be faithful to their feudal masters even unto death. The 
 spirit of patriotism has been handed down among them from 
 generation to generation. To them honor is everything ; 
 life and prosperity are of no account. They are indeed the 
 oriental knights, the spirit of Japan, the flower of the na- 
 
 ^ Proc. of the Eleventh Annual Meeting of the Evangelical 
 'Alliance of Japan, 7. 
 
34 Christianity in Japan 
 
 tion. It was they who crushed the Shogun's despotic gov- 
 ernment and restored the reigning power to the sacred per- 
 sonage of long secluded Mikado. It was they who cast off 
 the old wornout Asiatic system and adopted the vigorous 
 form of European civilization. It was they who started 
 schools, pushed the press, cried out for personal rights, etc. 
 They are far better educated than any other class. They 
 are no longer ignorant worshippers of dumb idols. Be- 
 ing strictly trained to faithfulness to their feudal masters 
 they will be more faithful to the Master of masters if He is 
 made clearly known to them. Being middle in rank they 
 can reach both the higher and the lower. This may be the 
 very class where we may expect to find a Saul of Tarsus."^ 
 Such importance being attached to this class it is plain that 
 the success of Christanity in Japan depended largely on the 
 winning or losing of it. But very few missionaries under- 
 stood this. Even if they had they would not have been able 
 to win over the men of this class, for "with all respect for 
 the high motives which may prompt most rnissionaries to 
 enter the field, it cannot be denied that too many of them are 
 far from exemplary in their methods of work or in their in- 
 tellectual equipment. Too often, inexperienced, sanguine 
 young men go forth exuberant with the hope that with their 
 meagre store of knowledge and experience they may be able 
 to convince pagan philosophy of its errors. The result is 
 that they find their scanty college education inadequate to 
 satisfy the intellectual demands made upon them by the 
 better educated of the natives and their small spiritual ex- 
 perience insufficient to guide the more consecrated."^ 
 
 It is mainly due to the genius of J. Hardy Neesima,* 
 the first native missionary, the educator, the patriot, and the 
 reformer that the Samurai class was won over through the 
 
 ^Hardy's Life and Letters of J. H. Nessima, 170-171. 
 ^ Nitobe's United States and Japan, 130. 
 
 * For the life of this remarkable man, see Hardy's Life and 
 Letters of J. H, Neesima. 
 
Rise of the Nationalistic Church 35 
 
 instrumentality of his school,^ the first systematically or- 
 ganized Christian college worthy of the name, and later, by 
 his talented pupils, whose advent marked the dawn of a new 
 epoch in Japanese missionary history, the beginning of the 
 model church of future Japan, 
 
 It was providential that Christianity in Japan made its 
 beginning so fortunately. Had it been started from the 
 lower classes of people, who are ignorant, superstitious, and 
 consequently, dependent upon missionaries in all matters, 
 the result would have been the establishment of American 
 and European Christianity with all its evils and weaknesses. 
 Or had it been introduced by the head of the state, or by 
 the higher classes, through mere political motives, the future 
 Japanese church would have been a mere gathering place of 
 formalists and hypocrites without spirituality and regenerat- 
 ing power. But it has begun from that remarkable middle, 
 or Samurai class, which was alone able to establish a strong, 
 ideal church of Christ. Moreover, this new cTiurch received 
 for the first time, in the spring of 1883, a new experience, 
 even the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the most extraordin- 
 ary way, and the young energetic Christians, already well 
 equipped intellectually, were thus still better prepared for 
 the future great responsibility. 
 
 ° This school was boldly established in November, 1875, in 
 Kioto, which had been for a thousand years the capital of the 
 Mikado and the center of Buddhism and Shintoism, having over 
 6,000 temples and 10,000 priests. The school was very successful. 
 It has now developed into a university, having over five hundred 
 students. (1895.) 
 
 -^ or THF 
 
 'lYERSITY 
 
 or 
 
 ^ froi 
 
VITA. 
 
 Masanobu Ishizaka was born in Tokio, Japan, in 1861. 
 He received his early education in both Japanese and 
 Chinese, together with the common branches of education 
 under private teachers. Later, EngHsh was also added. In 
 1878, he entered into the Yobimon (now the Higher Middle 
 School of the Imperial University), but, in 1880, he moved 
 to the Tokio Anglo- Japanese College, which was then in 
 Yokohama, and stayed with this school till 1889, at first 
 as a pupil, afterwards as a teacher and business manager of 
 the college. In 1889, he came to Albion College, Michigan, 
 U. S. A., and received the degree of Ph. B. in 1891. Then 
 he came to Baltimore and pursued graduate courses in his- 
 tory and politics for three years. His principal subject was 
 history and his subordinate studies were political economy 
 and jurisprudence. 
 
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