The MISSION JAPAN HAKODATE lOSAKi NAGASAKI KYUSHU^ FORMOSA HOKKAIDO OR YEZO ■vr.' '’*vS , Vv - ^ ■ ■ V' ' =•< omro HIKOKU The Methodist Episcopal Church Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Columbia University Libraries https://archive.org/details/japanmissionofOOmorg REV. ROBERT SAMUEL MACLAY, D.D. THE JAPAN MISSION OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH EDITED BY Charles H. Morgan. Published by the OPEN DOOR EMERGENCY COMMISSION OF THE Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church 150 Fifth Avenue, New York Price, Ten Cents T he Kev. Rohekt Samuel Maclay, D.D., holds, among the foremost missionary leaders of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the distinction of being an active agent in the beginnings, of our mission m ork in the three important fields of China, Japan and Korea. With the remarkable record of twenty-five years in the early, formative period of the China Mission, the advocacy and then, for fifteen years, the superintendency of the Japan Mission, and the earliest Protestant missionary exploration of Korea, and oversight of the planting of our mis- sion in the Hermit Nation, he completed his long public career by guiding the interests of the Maclay School of Theology, San Fernandino, California, as dean, from 1888, when he retired from service in Japan, to 1893. He is permitted to see the wide Oriental territory which formed the theater of his labors become the present strategic center of world politics and history, and to know that to him was given a principal part in projecting into it the de- cisive Christian factor. Grateful acknowledgment is made of the valuable service rendered by the following persons in the preparation of this booklet: Country and People, pages 7-11. Rev. Rufus B. Peery, Ph.D., Saga, Japan. Systems of Native Religion, pages 11-17. Rev. Sidney L. Gulick, D.D., Matsuyama, Japan. Modern Christian Missions, pages 17-2.5. Rev. Otis Cary, Kyoto, Japan. The Methodist Episcopal Mission, pages 2.5-45. Rev. David S. Spencer, Tokyo, Japan. Outstanding Facts, 46-51. Miss Jennie S. Vail, Tokyo, Japan. Twentieth Century Union Evangelistic Move- ment, pages 51-55. Rev. Julius Soper, D.U., Tokyo, Japan. Japan’s Appeal to the Christian Church, pages 55-59. Mr. Verling W. Helm, Tokyo, Japan. FUJIYAMA FROM TAGANOURA JAPAN MISSION COUNTRY AND PEOPLE Japan is a beautiful land. High and rugged mountain ranges, quaintly terraced hills, tranquil lakes deep bays and island-dotted seas give to the landscape a rare attractive ness. Fine old crazy pines, delicate filmy Natural Beauty cherry blossoms, stately chrysanthemums, of Japan and gorgeous lotus flowers meet the eye everywhere and captivate by their charm. Few countries have been more highly endowed with natural beauty than has Japan. The climate is also kind and congenial, being for the most part balmy and mild. Passing through so many degrees of latitude Japan naturally presents a variety of climate. In the extreme north the summers are cool and bracing, and Climate the rigid winters wrap everything in a heavy mantle of snow and ice ; but in the southern ex- tremity there is little snow and the winters are mild, w'hile the summers are damp and hot. In general the climate is temperate, differing but little from that of the Gulf States. But the excessive humidity in the atmosphere, and the pro- portionally small amount of ozone and eli-ctricity make it enervating and depressing to the foreigner, especially during the late spring and summer months. The rainfall is heavy, and particularly so at the rainy season in June, when it rains almost constantly for three weeks. The climate is favorable to agricultural pursuits. The soil is fertile, yielding fine crops of rice, wheat, bar- ley, oats, beans and other p' oducts. A variety of good fruits and vegetables is also produced. Some of the land has been brought to a high state of cultivation, and Farm Products two crops are generally raised in a year on and Agriculture the same piece of ground. Japanese fields are cut up into siiiall plots like our vegetable gardens, and they look very dirt'erent from the broad cultivated fields of the West. Little* rivulets are made to flow around through them and by these they are well irrigated. Al- though the Japanese are good farmers, their agricultural implements are extremely crude. Plowing is done with one horse and a little wooden plow with an iron tip ; and the cultivating is mostly done by hand, with a heavy, awkward hoe. Grain is reaped with the sickle and thrashed by hand. Steam i;)lows, mowers, hinders, thra.shing machines and other western inn)lements have not yet been dreamed of by Jap- ane.se farmers MISSION DAY SCHOOL, FUKAGAWA, TOKYO The chief contributions of Japan to the world’s markets are tea, silk, rice and camphor. The rice is of fine (quality and commands a good price. The silk is inferior to that of Sjiain, France or Italy or even to that of China, Exports and but brings Japan a large income. Good tea is Imports grown here, but it seems to be losing some of its 8 popularity in the West, because the greedy merchants have been sending abroad a bad quality. The largest and best part of the world’s camphor supply is made in Japan. This country also exports cotton cloths, matches and various articles of small merchandise in large quantities to China and Korea. The imports exceed the ex:ports, but this is neces.sarily so at this stage of the nation’s progress. The material expressions of civilization are to be found everywhere in this land. A tolerably good railway system traverses the country from end to end and from sea to sea ; and one can go almost anywliere by train com- Public fortably, cheaply and in reasonable time. The Improvements post and telegraph systems are quite efficient, and Schools so that one can send letters and telegrams quickly to every village and town in the empire. There is also direct telegraphic communication with Europe and America, even from the interior towns. In the large cities manufacturing houses with their tall chimneys are visible on every hand and all kinds of industries are being rapidly developed. One can go nowhere without finding good schoolhouses, with the cute little Japanese children swarming around them like bees. Primary schools are to be seen in every village and hamlet, while the larger towns have academies, and agricultural, industiial, normal and other schools. There are also five government colleges and two good universities. If one leaves out of account moral and religious instruction, the educational system in vogue is an excellent one. There are few private schools except mission schools Although she commands a large i^lace in the world's at- tention, Japan is a small country Her area is only 161,198 square mde.s — just about equal to that of Cali- Area of the fornia or somewhat larger than Great Britain. Island Empire Japan is an island empire, being composed of five large islands and countless small ones. The Japanese are a cheerful race, fond of bright fiowers, gay scenes and light amu-sements. In general, they are kind and friendly in their attitude toward foreigners and are 9 a pleasant people to live among. The youth study well at school and readily imbibe all kinds of learning. In the col- leges of the West they easily maintain their places by the side of our own students. Japanese men succeed Qualities of well in the learned professions and scientists the People and specialists of all kinds are becoming numerous. The people are able to assimilate everything readily because the Japanese mind is naturally open and receptive to new ideas, no matter whence they come. It is generally believed that the Japanese mind is lacking in originality and inventive power, but is strong in ability for imitation and adaptation. The abundant life and energy of these peoi^le in compari- son with Their Force, other Ambition Eastern and Number races is one of the things that im- presses the traveler- most forcibly. They are up and doing, moving about with alacrity, trying every new thing — in short, they are a wide-awake, enterprising people. They have an inordinate amount of ambition, not only to do what other men have done, but even to surpass them and set the pace for them. The Jajjanese are a vigorous, irrolific race and the popu- lation of the country is rapidly increasing. The empire numbers (1903) about forty-nine million souls. Physically they are inferior to the races of the West, being smaller and possessed of less power of endur- Physically Small ance. But better food and careful bodily But Hardy training will largely correct this. The well- , JAPANESE SOLDIERS, FORMOSA 10 drilled and well-fed little Japanese soldier was able to do about as much work in the recent campaign in China as his far more robust Western allies. SYSTEMS OF NATIVE RELIGION Japan gives the double impression of being both rehgious and irreligious She has 56,334 officially registered Shinto temples, 134,305 Shinto shrines, 71,831 greater Buddhist temples and monasteries, and 36,499 lesser Evidences of ones Festivals are frequent and popular. General Religious Pilgrims are incredibly numerous; five Spirit hundred thousand are said to visit Ise, and nine hundred thousand Kompira each year. Mendicant pilgrims abound on every famous circuit. Every house has its god or Buddha shelf. Family religion is more visible in Japan than in America or England. Gods are conceived to exist by the myriad and for every conceivable purpose; not only are there gods for farmers, for travelers, for children, for soldiers, and for mothers, but aLso for robbers, for immoral women, and even for the dramshop. On the other hand, in conversing with the people on religious matters one is impressed with the widespread ignorance of what their religions teach. This is true even of the priests. The average missionary Yet Marked Re- knows more of the teachings of the re- ligious Ignorance ligions of Japan, and can give a more and Doubt intelligible account of them than the average Japanese. The educated scoff at religion, while the uneducated are dominated by it chiefly as a social habit handed down from antiquity. Broadly speaking Japan has three religions — Shintoism, Buddhism and Confucianism. “Shinto,” “The Way,” or “The doctrine of the gods,” is the aboriginal religion of Japan. This is a combination of nature and ancestor worship, and is of course polytheistic. The gods Three Main number eight hundred myriads according to the Religions common statement, the vast majority of them 11 being, however, unknown beyo2id the immediate vicinity of their particular temples. Sliinto has no idols. Wor- ship is directed to the spirits of nature or to an- Shintoism cestors, who are supposed to be capable of giving direct and material help. It depends not upon creed or conduct but upon worship. Shinto, being the religion of iirimitive Japan, was wholly objective and artless. The people felt themselves in direct, constant and cordial relations with the gods, who lived among them, protecting them from danger, A Simple Primi- providing five Faith them with nourish/ ment and assuring them .success. Conduct, how- ever, was wholly regulated by custom, ajiart from creed or doctrine ; hence, Shinto had no moral law, and failed to discover sin. It necessarily had no doc / trine of salvation, nor any teaching as to a future life of blessedness or of mis/ ery, thus having no power to elevate the people. It has no unfulfilled social ideal, no ambition, no mis- sionary motive, no teach- ing tending to produce personal or social progress. It recognizes no other i^eople, and furnishes no standard for their treatment. Shinto is thu| quite inadecpiate for the new conditions of life upon which the nation has suddenly entered, with its international relations and world-wide intercour.se. “The most important religions aspect of Shinto to-day is its deification of the emperor. The strength of m/dern ^ Shinto as a religion is in its doctrine of the divine descent of SHINTO PRIEST AND SON Sacred dog, 350 years old. 12 View of the the imperial house. But here, too, is its weakness; Emperor for in proportion as the science of antliropology destroys this belief, Shinto as a religion will be wholly routed.” Buddhism first came over from Korea in 534 a. d., but not until Kobo Daishi, 774-834, introduced the principle that Shinto deities were incarnations of Buddhist objects of worship did the new rel^ion spread widely among Buddhism the people. By this step Buddhism was adapted to ■ Modified Japan, while Shinto was recognized as a true re- ligion. The two religions thus became fused and for many centuries their distinctions were utterly forgotten. Buddhism has two types -^popular Buddhism and esoteric Buddhism. Po2iular Buddhism is grossly polytlieistic and exceedingly idolatrous. Its deities are natural gods, ances- / tors and illustrious men, but chiefly personifications /\ Its Popu- of various abstract qualities. Popular Buddhism ' lar F orm is amazingly like the more degraded forms of Roman -/ Catholicism, depending upon materiali.stic inter- pretations of heaven and hell, reso|,ting to magic and pious frauds, conceiving sin and salvation entirely apart from character, and making use of a gorgeous ritual, the rosary, repetitious i^rayers and a dead language. Esoteric or p)hilosophical Buddhism is knowu to relatively few, and these chiefly priests. Its ess^ce is a Panthl^ism which denies the real existence of anything except the absolute. The ul^mate reality of being is un- its Esoteric conscious, unreasoning, unfeeling, will-le.ss. Its Phase chief characteristic is necessary law. The abso- lute being is called Hotoke ; salvation consists in completely losing one’s .separate identity and becoming one with Hotoke. Buddhism developed civilization, it is true, by introducing art, architecture, literature and meditation, but, in profior- tion as it flourished and civilization developed. Its Results luxury and pessimism arose, weakening the middle classes and undermining the social sanctions of the state. Confucianism came early to Japan but had relatively little influence until the seventeenth century. Chinese Con- fucianism may not deserve to be called a religion. But in the hands of the moral teachers of old Japan and Confucianism as practiced by the noUer Samurai it became Yielding the transfoimed into an ethical religion known as Bushido Faith Bushido, the Way of a Warrior. Its central principle was loyalty. Obedience of the infe- rior to the superior was the key-word. As thus adapted to Japan Confucianism differs from its Chinese aspect in the heroic military spirit that per- vades the whole, in exalting loyalty over filial piety and in ascribing to loyalty and filial piety a religious auihority. Bushido produced many noble characters whom the nation now delights to honor. But for the severe tiaining re- ceived by her ruling classes under the guidance of Bushido Japan could not to-day have taken her place so easily and, on the whole, so successfully among the civilized nations of the earth. This system built up again the sanctions for family and social life, stating in detail the duties of each class and individual. Bushido restored to the practical life of the na- tion those choice idealizing spirits whom Bud- Its Strength dhism had for centuries been drawing off to the and Weakness mountains, to Japan’s incalculable injury. It sought to establish the practical life of the state and of the family on the firm foundation of character and knowledge. But Busliido had no systematic propa- ganda, no missionary zeal ; it had no worship for the supreme BUDDHIST PAGODA AND CHERRY BLOSSOMS, NIKKO being. It bad uo church, no priesthood, no organism . 1 1 was a system of thought, a philosophy of life, a religious ethic, but not truly nor completely a religion. Hence, its complete collapse on the advent of Occidentalism. An impor- tant tenet of Bushido, as of Confucianism, was to let the gods severely alone. It contained no doctrine of salvation for tlie sorrowing and self-condemned. It was a system of stern polit ical morality and of personal stoicism ; it was thus unfitted to reacli and uplift the sinning, downcast and helpless masses. Is Japan now a Shinto, a Confucian, or a Buddhist Present state ? Is any one native religion alone, or are all Religion these religions combined, sufficient for the moral and religious needs of Japan, as she enters on the inter- national period of her life ? Buddhism is clearly out of the race. Philosophic Bud- dhism, being extreme individualism, has no social ideal or motive ; it can teach no social virtue and hold out no incen- tive to social action. So far as popular Buddhism Buddhism has social ideals and motives it has acquired them Inadequate from Shinto and has in this respect abandoned its central principle. So far then as popular Buddhism controls the present social order and the destinies of the people, Japan is a Shinto, not a Buddhist, state. Confucianism or Bushido is likewise out of the race. It was a thoroughgoing military system ; it exalted the mili- tary virtues. Manhood as such has no rights. It scorned industrialism and commercialism. Representa- Confucianism tive government by the people and for the peo- Outgrown pie is utterly alien to its thought. Popular education was inconceivable, unnecessary, and even absurd. “ The people ai’e to be ruled, not instructed,” was a well-known proverb among the rulers. Bushido necessarily and completely collapsed on the introduction of western thought and methods of government, education, commerce and popular rights. New Japan is clearly not a Confucian state. With much plausibility may Shinto be urged as the dominant religious factor of New Japan. The unifying 15 Shinto’s Claim political force of the modern era is, as we have Considered already seen, reverence for the emperor as the living descendant of the gods. From this view- point Japan is clearly a Shinto state. But it may be questioned whether this imperial apotheo- sis is in reality the root principle of the civilization and energy and structural forms of Japan’s new social order. From the viewpoint of the writer, Chri^tianity, Christianity rather than any of tlie older religions, is giving Inspiring the to Japan her fundamental intellectual, political, N evr Order moral and relig'ous conceptions and practices. A constitution and representcative government, popular education, a civil code guaranteeing to every man, regardless of his social rank, perfect freedom of belief and thought; the wide abandonment of the hereditary principle, the exaltation of commerce and industry — these are con- ceptions and practices wholly alien to the old religions. They are, furtliermore, universally accepted in New Japan. We must, then, ask ourselves whence Japan secured these new conceptions and practices. Japan secured them by wholesale adoption of western civilization. And a candid examination of western history shows that The Root in the West has them to-day as a result of nine- Christian Views teen centuries of Christian teaching and ex- perience. They all have their root in the Christian view of God as Father and men as His children and consequently as brethren. The pi oblem now confronting Japan is whether she can work successfully the institutions of a Christian social order without adopting consciously and whole-heartedly the Christian religion with its personal God, it.s Full Acceptance saving, because divine, Christ, and its teach- of Christianity ing Church. Christians are stoutly maintain Necessary ing that Japan s new civilization wdll make shipwreck unless she becomes thoroughly Christian. The old religions cannot furnish the ideals needed, nor do they have the moral motive essential to the production of sterling character among the masses. Japan 16 must therefore become Christian or abandon her new social order. And such is the actual trend of events. MODERN CHRISTIAN MISSIONS Fifty years ago it was impossible for missionaries to enter Japan. The very name of Christianity was hated. The won- derful work commenced three centuries before by Xavier had been terminated by bitter persecutions in whicli The Period myriads of Roman Catholics lost their lives. Stei’ii of Waiting measures were adopted for ferreting out any wlio might be secret adherents of the liated religion. In every town was posted a notice declaring that tlie evil sect known as Christianity was strictly i^rohibited and that rewards would be given to any who gave infor- Japan mation against its followers. Householders were Closed to required to obtain each year from the Buddhist Christianity jiriests a certificate that no member of the family DECREE AGAINST CHRISTIANITY The above copy of the decree of the Japanese Government against Chris- tianity was originally written on a wooden board. This is the translation; ORDER Hitherto the Christian Religion has been forbidden, and the order must be strictly kept ! The corrupt religion is strictly forbidden ! ! Done in the .3d month of the 4th [yearj of Kyo (March, 18681. By order of the Imigami Prefecture. . 17 was a Christian. In many parts of the country the people were made to show by trampling on the cross their hatred of the religion that it represented. Books containing refer- ences to Christianity or even to European countries were prohibited. The Japanese were not allowed to visit foreign lands. The only Europeans allowed to trade with Japan were a few Dutch merchants who were willing to .submit to humiliating conditions. It is said that sometimes they were even forced to trample on the cross. Christians of the West longed to enter these closed doors. Roman Catholics prayed that the laud whose soil had been stained by the blood of so many martyrs might again resound with prai.se to Jesus and Mary. Prot- First estants were interested in what they heard of Attempt to the Japanese and longed to give them the Gos- Find Entrance pel. In 1844 a French priest and in 1846 a Protestant missionary took up their residence in the LooChoo Islands, which at ihat time loosely acknowl- edged their allegiance to Japan. The Prot- stant was Dr. Bel telheim, a converted Jew. He was surrounded by guards and spies who did their best to keep him from holding any communication with the peoi^le. The tracts that he distrib uted were immediately after gathered up by the officials and returned to him. Notwithstanding these difficulties he bap- tized three persons. He also prepared a Japanese translation of one of the Gospels, which was afterwards i^riuted. In China, Dr. Giitzlaff and Dr. S. Wells Williams prepareil other translations by the help of some shipwrecked Japanese sailors. An attempt was made to return these men to their native land, but they were not permitted to land and the ship that brought them was fired uiion. The Period of First Seed-Sowing, 1859-1872 In 1853 Commodore Perry with the American exjiedition reached Japan, and the next year he succeeded in negotiating a treaty. This did not give Americans iierrais- Treaties Pre- sion to reside in the country, but it was the pare the Way opening wedge. A later treaty, arranged by 18 Townsend Harris, permitted residence in certain cities after July, 1859. This treaty formed the model for those soon after made with England and other countiies. Missionaries at once made use of the new opportunities. Tlie first vvas the Rev. J. Liggins, of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States, who reached the country in May, two months before the time set by the treaty, and First Mis- who was soon joined by the Rev. C. M. (afterward sionaries Bishop) Williams. In October came J. C. Hepburn, M. D., of the American Presbyterian Board; and in November, the Revs. S. R. Brown and G. F. Verbeck and D. B. Simmons, M.D , all of the Reformed (Dutch) Church in America. Great difficulties sur- rounded the Oldening work Remembrance of political troubles that came Obstacles from the former and Aids propagation of Roman Catholi- cism made the Govern- ment fear Christianity. Its profession was still pro- hibited. Spies watched the dr. (hudo f. vekbeck movements of the mission- aries. Persons suspected of being under their influence were liable to be arrested. A difficult language had to be learned before direct instruction could be given. Yet there were some favorable circumstances. Many of the educated classes were eager to learn about western lands and their civilization. Being able to read Chinese books, they bought lai’ge numbers of those that had been prepared by mission aides in Cliina, and these contained many references to Chris tian doctrines. Many young men desired instruction in the English language. Of those who were then taught by the missionaries, a few afterwards became Christians; others, and among them some who attained positions of great in- fluence, had their prejudices allayed. After a time some of the missionaries were employed by the Government itself as teachers of English or of science. In 1864 occurred the first baptism, that of a man who had been the teacher of a missionary. Two years later there were baptized an official of high rank with First two of his relatives — their study of Christianity Baptisms having come from the desire to know the contents of a Bible which they had found floating on the water, where it had probably been dropped from some foreign ship. In 1865 it was discovered that many descendants of the Roman Catholic Christians still adhei'ed to their faith. Several thousand were arrested and banished from their homes. The representatives of foreign govern- Persecution ments at once protested against the persecution and were told by the Japanese officials: “Our Government rests upon the Shinto faith, which teaches the divinity of the Mikado. Christianity tends to dispel that belief ; hence the Government has resolved to resist its propagation as it would resist the advance of an invading army.” The persecution extended to those who were be coming interested in Christianity as taught by Protestant missionaries, and several persons were thrown into prison, where at least one of them died. Up to tlie spring of 1872 only ten converts had been baptized by the Protestant missionaries. In March of that year the rite was administered in Yokohama to nine others, who, with two previously baptized, were organ Range of ized into wliat, without taking any denomi- Early Work national name, was called “ The Church of Christ in Japan.” In addition to the Roman Catholics and Protestants, a few persons had at this time been bap- tized in connection with the Russo-Greek Churcli. 30 The Period of Rapid Growth, 1873-1889 In. 1873 the edicts against Christianity were taken down. Though the laws themselves were not repealed, it was evi- dent that the Government would not enforce them. During the new era then commencing, there was a great Eager desire to adopt western customs and ideas. Rail- Interest roads, machinery and other material products of Occidental civilization were in demand. Chris- tianity, as the religion of the West, was thought worthy of investigation. Large audiences listened to its proclamation. Young men and women flocked in increasing numbers to Christian schools. After graduation many of them be- came earnest and effective pastors or evangelists. Bibles and other Christian hooks found a ready sale. There were large accessions to the churches. Many of the local churches were self-support- ing; and there were also gen- erous contributions for evan- gelistic, educational and philanthropic purposes. The growth in all directions was so rapid that it began to be said, even by those who hated Christianity, that probably by the end of the century it would be the predominant religion of the land. The churches of America and England, encouraged by the glad news coming from Japan, sent forth new missionaries and large contributions for the enlargement of the work. It was during these years that Dr Joseph Hardy Neesima did his great work of education and evangelization, largely at Kyoto. These years were not without their trials. There were many who bitterly opposed the advance of Chri.stianity. JOSEPH hardy neesima, LL. D. (Also picture, at a later period, on the front cover.) 21 Buddhism was aroused to unwonted activity and strove to keep its followers from going over to the new faith. Those who did so met with persecution from relatives and neighbors. Many persons were held back by fear of General losing trade or official position. The movements of View the missionaries were hampered by regulations that prevented residence in the interior, except as employed by Japanese, and sometimes it was difficult to procui’e passports for travel. The high pressure at which the work was carried on and the numerous perplexities that arose in adjusting the relations between the missionaries and the Japanese Chi'is- tians caused a severe ner- vous strain that led to many failures in health. In retrospect, however, these ti ials to a great ex- tent fade from sight, while the period is remembered as one of great opportuni- ties, of rapid growth and of high hopes. The statistics of Protest- ant missions for 1888 showed 249 churches with a membership of Results 25,514, the number of adults baptized during the year covered by the reports being 6,959. The Roman Catholics reported for the same year a population of 39,298. The Russo-Greek Church at that time probably numbered not far from 16,000 believers. Our Church at Nagoya, Built in 1889 The Period of Drought, 1890-1900 The movement in favor of Christianity reached its height about 1888 or 1889 and was followed by a sudden reaction. This was in part owing to political events, especially to the 32 irritation felt by the Japanese against foreign nations because of the failure to obtain a revision of the treaties. Conservatives used the opportunity to arouse a strong nation- alistic spirit. Christianity, which had shared in Reaction, the favor shown to western ideas, now liecame Controversy, the object of bitter attacks. Peoide were less ready Decline to listen to preaching, the number of pupils in Christian schools rapidly decreased, there were fewer additions to the churches and the faith of many per- sons grew cold. Hitherto there had been but little doctrinal discussion ; but the Unitarians of America, who had re- cently entered the held, made it a large part of their work to send controversial publications to evangelists and other educated Christians. The liberal missionaries from Ger- many, though less destructive, gained considerable inhuence. Moreover, the theological discussions of Europe and America were followed with interest by those who could read English or German. The fondness of the Jajmnese for novelty, their tendency to reject supernaturalism and a desire to show their independence of the missionaries made the preachers more ready to accept and proclaim strange doctrines. Much was said about the necessity of having the churches put away dogmas and customs that had come from foreign lands in order that there might be a Japanese Christianity. Theological unrest led to spiritual decline and relaxation of evangelistic efforts. The growth of the commercial spirit also retarded the advance of the churches. Especially after the war with China, in 1894-5, there was a great expansion of trade. The thoughts of the people were not easily turned to Commercial- religious subjects. Even among the preachers ism the evil influence was felt, so that many who had been chilled by rationalism and ultra-nationalism gave up the ministry to engage in trade. Nevertheless, this period of reaction was not without some encouraging features. J'he new Constitution of 18b9 had granted religious freedom. Though the spirit of this concession was often violated, especially in military and educational circles, such infringements met with popular disapproval and at length became less frequent. During the war with China permission was given for distributing the Scriptures among soldiers, and Christian workers Brighter were allowed to accompany the army. Revised Features treaties made it possible after 1899 for mission- aries to travel and reside in any part of the empire. While the faith of many Christians became cold, that of others became stronger and more intelligent, as they saw how necessary it was for them to cling to a divine Saviour. GIRLS’ SCHOOL, HAKODATE, GRADUATING CLASS Christians became recognized as leaders in charitable and reformatory efforts. Even during the darkest time, the number of Christians was slowly increasing. The statistics for 1900 show 538 Protestant churches with 42,451 members. The adult baptisms for the year were 3,139. The Roman Catholics for the same year Statistical reported 54,602 adherents and the Russo-Greek Showing Church 25,994. In these numbers are included children, as is not the case with the reports of most of the Protestant bodies. •’I The Period of Fresh Promise with the New Century What is to be the designation of the new era that has just commenced with the opening century it is too early to say, but there is reason to hope that God is about ' to do great tilings I’or us which shall make iis glad. Apparently the reaction has spent its force. Tiiere is among the Chris- tians an earnest desire for enlargement. In 1901 the Japanese churches united with the missionaries in a Twentieth Cen- tury Forward Movement. Evangelistic services were held in all parts of the country. Denominational names were forgotten, as nearly all the churches united their prayers and efforts for the salvation of men. Preachi ng has become more spiritual and personal The preaching places are crowded Tracts are wide- ly distributed. The Scrip- tures are having a large sale. Thousands of persons have signed cards on which they declare their desire to receive instruction. Many have already decided to fol- low Christ. Some of them have been received into the churches. It is as yet im- possible to tell to what this work will grow ; but it is evidently the Lord’s work and it is wonderful in our eyes. May God grant that hereafter this era may be known as a Period of Blessed Fruition ! THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL MISSION The treaty negotiated by Commodore Perry between the United States and Japan was ratified in 1854. Between REV. D.IVID S. SPENCER 25 this date aud that of the beginning of the Japan Mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in the latter half of the year 1873, Methodist Episcopal Missions were founded in In- dia, Switzerland, Denmark, Bulgaria, Italy Why the Start and Mexico. Tlie older mission fields of the was Delayed Church, together with those named, were rapidl}' expanding during these two decades This will explain the lateness of the beginning of our work in Japan. The Rev. Robert Samuel Maclay, D.D. , one of our first missionaries to China. was t li e Dr. Maclay leader in Superintendent founding this mission. His attention and heart were first drawn to Japan, August 9, 1853, by Com- modore M. C. Perry, who that day returned with his squadron from Japan to Hongkong harbor and an- nounced his successful commencement of negoti- ations for opening Japan to the world. Before the de- parture of Dr. Maclay from China in 1871, the Foochow Mission forwarded to our Mis- sionary Society an appeal for the establishment of a Mission in Japan. In 1872 Dr. Maclay made strong appeals through our Church papers for funds with which to open this work, and in the following November the General Missionary Committee took the first step toward establish- ing a Mission in Japan by appropriating ^25,000 for that pur- pose. Bishop Jesse T. Peck at once appointed Dr. Four Other Maclay Superintendent of the Japan Mission, and Pioneers the Revs. John C. Davison, Julius Soper and Mer 26 riam C. Harris were aiipointed a little later. The Rev. Irvin H. Correll, originally appointed to China, and at Yokohama en route thereto, was transferred by Bishop Har- ris to this Mission. By August 8, 1873, all these missionaries with their wives, together with Bishop Harris, Dr. J ohn P. Newman and wife. Dr. Janies W. Waugh of our Indian Mis- sion, Dr. Ross C. Houghton of the Northern New Mission York Conference, and Dr. William A. Spencer of Organized the Central Illinois Conference, had reached Yoko- hama, and on that evening the Jlission was organ- ized by Bishop Harris, at the residence of Dr. Maclay, 60 Bluff, Yokohama. The Rev. Geo. Cochran, D.D., and D. MacDonald, M.D., of the Canada Methodist Mission, were present at this first meeting, and with other visiting bretli- ren spoke warm fraternal greetings. At this meeting these Methodist leaders proceeded to maji out “four old-fashioned Methodist circuits; the first and second to be called the Yokohama and Yedo (Tokyo) cir- cuits, together with other portions of the island The Field of Nippon (Hondo) on which these cities are sit- Occupied uated, as we may be able to occupy. The third to be called the Hakodate circuit, embracing the city of Hakodate and such other portions of the island of Yezo (Hokkaido), on which it is situated, as we may be able to cultivate. The fourth to be called the Nagasaki circuit, comprising the city of Nagasaki and such other portions of the island of Kyushu, on which it is situated, as we may be able to occupy.” In other words, with characteristic Methodist faith, these missionary fathers proposed to preempt for Meth- odism the three largest islands of the Japanese Empire, containing then a population of about 30,000,000, their out- side stations being 1,300 miles apart, and the extremes of territory distant from each other nearly 2,000 miles. Dr. Maclay and Mr. Correll located in Yokohama, Mr. Soper in Tokyo, Mr. Davison in Nagasaki and Mr. Harris in Hakodate, so that by the end of January, 1874, our pioneers had planted themselves in the four quarters of the empire. 27 True to their history, the noble women of our Church saw their opportunity, and the steamer of October 28th. 1874, brought Miss DoraE. Schoonmaker (now Mrs. Prof. Henry M. Soper of Chicago) as the first representative to Woman’s Japan of the Woman's Foreign Missionary So- Work Begun ciety. In November Miss Schoonmaker opened her school of a dozen boys and girls in Tokyo, and amusing and instructive stories are told of the difficulty of getting students to attend it, owing to the prejudices of the pe('ple against Christianity. Our first Methodist converts were Mr. and Mrs. Kichi, baptized by Mr. Correll in his own house, 217 Bluff, Yoko hama, October 4, 1874. The Rev. John Ing and his wife, previously engaged in our mission work in First Converts China, entered upon successful educational and Young work at Hirosaki, in the northern part of Hon Men Won do, toward the close of 1874 June 5, 1875, he baptized fourteen young men, all students ex- cept one, while eight others were preparatory candidates for baptism. On January 3, 1875, Mr. Soper baptized Mr. Sen Tsuda and wife in the missionary residence, Tsukiji, Tokyo, the first converts of our Church in the capital. On the same day he for the first time administered tlie sacra- Early Work ment of the Lord's supper in Japanese, and on the in Tokyo 17th of the same month opened services in the house of Mr. Furukawa, Kudan, Tokyo, out of which grew our prosperous Kudan Church, The Church at Mita, known as the Draper Memorial Church, is likewise the outgrowth of services begun by him at the house of Mr. Tsuda in May. The new mission residence in Tsukiji was occupied in October. Our first Church in Yokohama stood on lot 224 Bluff, and wms bought in an unfinished condition of Mr. Jonathan Goble, a Baptist missionary, the reputed inventor of the jinrikisha, and previously one of the sailors who Yokohama, came with Commodore Perry. This was also our Nagasaki, first Church in Japan, and in it two of our first Hakodate ministers, Sogo Matsumoto and Tenju Kawamura, first heard, soon after its opening, the preaching of the gospel by Dr. Maclay, and were led to Christ, though they could not understand the words of the speaker. Mat- sumoto became our first native Presiding Elder. , The Church in Nagasaki, built on tlie historic Deshima (outer island), where the government of two centuries before had hemmed in the Dutch settlement and factory, was com- pleted by the end of the year, and in Hakodate also Mr. Harris had secured a Church location and was carrying on regular services, and had bapti.sms; so that within about two years of the organization of this Mission, the Church had been securely planted in each of the stations chosen, and, spreading out from these centers, its work has gone on steadily increasing to this day. During the first period of two years of pioneer planting of the Mission the expected reinforce- ments did not come, the financial depres- sion, beginning in the United States in 1874, having hindered the enlargement of the Opening of work ; but in the period now opening the much Second Period needed help began to appear. New school en- terprises were established, publishing inter- ests began to receive attention, and touring became com- mon. The year 1875-6 is also marked by the organizing of Church classes, and the beginning of love feasts, and quar terly meetings and conferences. A prominent distinction between this and the previous period lies in the fact that this year, for the first, our Japanese pastors and teachers began to take part in the Annual Meeting, and in all our history one of our strong LADIES ENTERING A JINRIKISHA 29 Fraternal Place points has been in bringing these Japanese of Native Workers ministers into deliberations and equal ecclesiastical rights with ourselves just as fast as they were able. By so doing v\ e have avoided many of the difficulties which have rent the Missions of other denominations. In January, 1877, the new school for girls and the new church in Tsukiji w^ere occupied. Our first Methodist hymnal, translated or wadtten originally by Mr. Davison, came into ex- Expansion of istence in the Work July, and con- tained 37 hymns and doxologies, while our book now car- ries 440 numbers. The baptism by Mr. Harris, in August, of twelve students of the Agricultural Col- lege in Sapporo opened our work in that great city of the north. The Rev. John Ing, who at the request of the Mis- sion was transferred from tlie China Mission and be- came a member of the Japan Mission in 1876, con- tinued to have large suc- cess in reaching young men at Hirosaki. Under his direction five of his students came to the United States in 1877-78, to pursue courses of study at what is now DePauw Univer-ity, Indiana, the forerunners of many others who have sought in America the full equipment for their later labors in tlieir native land. The Rev. W. C. Davidson and wife joined the Mission at the end of 1877, the first regular reinforcements sent out. In the eight years before the organizing of the Mis- - . . , KEV. UIDEON F DRAPER Sion into a Conference there was a gradual increase of the force of missionaries from Amei ica, both on the part of the Parent Board and the Woman’s Foreign Blissionary Society. Among those who went out in those years and Reinforcements are still associated with the Blission, are the Gradual Revs. Gideon F. Draper, Charles Bishop and David S. Spencer,* each of whom, as presiding elder, had charge of a District in the Japan Conference in 1902. The name of the Rev. Milton S. Vail, who inau- gurated the higher educa- tional work of the Blission in 1879, should be joined with the foregoing. In the work of the Wo- man’s Foreign Blissionary Society, Miss Schoonmaker was first Additions to the reinforced Women Workers by Bliss Olive Whiting in September, 1876, and in November, 1879, by Bliss Elizabeth Russell and Bliss Jennie BI. Gheer. Others came into the field before the organ izing of the Conference, and of these there were miss eliz.\beth miss jennie still enrolled in the Blission russell m. gheer forces in 1902 Miss Russell and Bliss Gheer, and Blisses Blinnie S. Hampton, Blatilda A. Spencer and Rebecca J. Watson. The wives of the mission- aries, known as “assistant missionaries,” have also given devoted service in every part of the Blission. As Christianily became moi e wiilely known, there came invitations from prominent interior towns asking that Chris- * The references to .Mr. Spencer are added liy llie editor of the booklets. tiau work be opened in them, and from that day our Mission has never been able to keep up with the demands of the work. The visit of Bishop Wiley to our Mission in February, 1878, and for two months following was pro- Bishop Wiley’s ductive of incalculable good. He remained Influence to his death our firm friend and supporter. It was through his leadership that the theo- logical school was opened in Yokohama, and his advocacy of our work at home gave us renewed strength. The year 1879 has been called in our Mission “a year of disaster and growth.” The membership almost doubled; self-support quadrupled ; and new churches were organized in important centers. The Japan Conference The Year of Seminary was opened at 221 Bluff, Yokohama, Disaster and October 1st, and Dr. John F. Goucher gave §10,000 Growth to encourage this particular line of work, and the girls’ school in Nagasaki was opened in Decem- lier. Death first entei’ed our Mission ranks this year, in the removal of the little daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harris, then in the departure of Miss Higgins, after but eight months of service with us, and finally in the taking of Mrs. Dr. Maclay after twenty-nine years of missionary toil. Nor were these losses the only cause for sadness. On December 7th our Church and school buildings in Hakodate were destroyed by fire, and on the 26th our entire property in Tsukiji — school, church, residences — was consumed in a great conflagration which swei:)t a large section of the city. Our missionaries there lost all, and must have suffered intensely but for the kindness of friends, Japanese and foreign, who came to their immediate relief. Naturally the next year was largely spent in recovering the ground lost by these disastrous fires. Overwork broke down some of our missionaries, and though reinforcements came, they were never sufficient to meet Native Preachers the needs of the work. On August 28, Ordained 1881, Bishop Bowman ordained to the office of deacon S. Kurimura, B. Onuki, E. Aibara, K. Asuga, T. Kikuchi and S. Abe, the first natives converted 34 in our own Church to receive ordination, as tlie Rev. Y. Honda, mentioned above, was converted in the Dutch Re formed Church, and ordained by Bishop Wiley in 1878. After the year 1881 our publishing work assumed new interest, and the Berean Sunday school les- Growth of sons began to be regularly translated and Publishing Work published in Japanese, the same now being issued by our publishing house for near!}’- all the Protestant Sunday schools in Japan. GIRLS’ SEMINARY, NAGASAKI (Upper building.) Day schools now began to grow in numbers and impor- tance. Of more advanced schools, Cobleigh Seminary at Nagasaki, now called Chinzei Gakkwan, and the rebuilt girls’ school at Tsukiji were opened in 1881, Mission Schools and the new buildings for Kwasui Jo Gakko, or Girls’ Seminary, at Nagasaki, were dedi- cated May 29, 1882, when Joseph Cook delivered the address. Among the principals of the Chinzei School may be named the Revs. Carrol S. Long, William C. Kitchin, Charles 35 Chinzei Bishop, David S. Spencer, Herbert B. Johnson and Seminary Epperson R. Fulkerson. Few institutions in the Mission history of the Chui’ch have been more fruit- ful in spiritual results. The school at Hirosaki, while not officially a part of our educational plan, exerted a powerful influence in the training of Christian young men, Hirosaki through the years of service there, as teachers, of the School Rev. John Ing, Mrs. Ing, and the native principal, the Rev.Y. Honda. Not less than sixteen preachers of the gospel have gone out from Hirosaki, of whom some have been among the most valuable pastors of the Japan Mission. Through the generosity of Dr. Goucher of Baltimore plans had been made for the foundingof a Methodist College in Tokyo, and through the gift of Mrs. Philander Smith, the theological school, known as the Philander Smith The Tokyo Biblical Institute, was established. On January 1, Center 1883, the money was paid over w’hich gave us pos session of our splendid property of about twenty- five acres at Aoyama, or “Green Mountain,” the beautiful suburb of Tokyo, than which location no Mission of our Church has a better. The Theological School was removed from Yokohama and became a part of the Aoyama plant, the Training School for Bible Women taking the property thus vacated. Later the Tsukiji girls’ school was also re- moved to Aoyama, where we now have a College, a Middle School, a Theological School, a Seminary for girls, and an Industrial School for women. Among the most helpful in- structors in this educational center have Principal Teach- been the Revs. Charles Bishop, Gideon F. ers at Tokyo Draper, David S. Spencer, John O. Spencer, Herbert B. Johnson, Benjamin Chappell, and Miss Jennie S. Vail, beside a long list of native teachers, and the service of the able President, Dr. Y. Honda, begin ning in 1897. The veteran missionary, Dr. Julius Soper, as professor, and in recent years, dean of the Biblical Insti- tute. has been a constant pillar of strength. Marked success has attended the educational and train, ing work of the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society in ANQLO-JAPANKSB COLLEGE, AOYAMA, TOKYO . Miss Jennie S. Vail. 2. Dr. Jfilius Soper. 3. Prof. Saito. 4. Prof. T. Yamada. 5. Rev. Benjamin Chappell. 6. Rev. Alton M. Brooks. 7. Mrs. Brooks. 8. President Y. Honda. 9. Dr. M. Ishizaka. 10. Prof. S. Wada. 11. Dr. E. Asada. Schools in the Japan. In addition to the institutions al- Woman’s Work ready mentioned, the Caroline Wright Me- morial School at Hakodate, in the north, anti those at Nagoya in the center, and Fukuoka in the southern field, have a record of eminent efficiency. Revivals appeared in all parts of the field in 1883, and were confined to no denomination. The number of converts in Japan, in this one year alone, about equaled the entire number converted during the first twenty j'ears of First Great mission work. Wonderful demonsti'ations of Revival power were manifest. There appears no human connection between the revivals in central and those of soutliern Japan. The greatest results were in our schools. More than half our students were converted, twenty-seven in one school in one night. The spiritual uplift given to our work by this gracious revival has never lost its effect. This year also we graduated our first theological class, T. Doi, H. Hirana, T. Yamada and H. Yamaka, a Native noble quartet; and a second class of native preachers Ministry received ordination, a wonderful showing for the first ten years of mission work in a field new to Christian truth. Perhaps in no other way did the great revival of 1883-4 show its genuineness more clearly than in the strength which it at once gave to the movement toward Self-support self-support, which had already started among the churches of our Mission, and has steadily grown to the present time. These movements formed the fitting preparation for the organization of the Japan Mission into an Annual Conference in August, 1884. Including probationary Japan Conference members, the Conference had 13 foreign mis- Organized sionary members, and 19 native preachers. The Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society had 12 representatives on the field. There were 907 mem- bers of the Church, 241 probationers, and 1,203 Sunday school scholars. 38 A third period covers the history of the Mission from its organization into an Annual Conference in 1884 to the present time. The work of the first period fixed the Mis- sion’s geographical boundaries; that of the second The Third the lines of our work. The third period has been Period one of stern contest, solid if not rapid progress, and, on the whole, most remarkable results. It is a source of satisfaction that our Church has been able to contribute largely toward the salvation of the people, and the bringing about of those changes which are putting Japan more and more in line with Chidstian thought and civilized progress. CHINZF.I SEMINARY, NAGASAKI Faculty and Students, 1898. F. Principal Fulkerson. Dr. R. S. Maclay came to the United States in 1888 as a delegate to the General Conference, and after careful con- sideration decided to accept the position which was tendered him of dean of the Maclay College of Theology Dr. Maclay’s at San Fernandino, California. With deep Retirement regret he sent by letter to the Japan Conference the announcement of the conclusion of his long term of ser- vice in that field. The Conference, feeling equal sorrow at parting with one who had been so true a leader, in its resolutions reviewed the fifteen years, from Results at Close the beginning of the Mission in 1873 to the of His Superin- fifth session of the Japan Conference, August, tendency 1888, covering the period of Dr. Maclay’s work. The number of Church members was 2,854, with 849 probationers. There were 20 missionaries, 19 as- sistant missionaries, and 38 native preachers. The Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society had 12 foreign missionaries and 22 native workers. The foreign teachers numbered 16 and the native teachers 44. There were 77 Sunday schools with 4,198 scholars, and 17 high schools and other day schools with 1,798 pupils. The Mission gained 884 full members in 1887-8, but showed a decrease of 108 full members in 1888-9, which reveals the line of transition to the years of relative oppo- sition to Mission work from 1889 to 1900. Yet The Check, our workers met this serious crisis arising and Slow but from the new conditions with steadfast faith Steady Gains and heroic endeavor, and every year since 1889 has, on the whole, indicated an advance, although the increase was much slower during the second fifteen years than during the first fifteen in the history of the Mission. The popular schools and organizations known as “Gospel Societies ” form a special and peculiar feature of our work in Japan during this period, They supply in large degree the helpful agencies for young men that are offered “ Gospel by the Young Men’s Christian Association, such as Societies ’’ night classes, lectures, reading room and library, brief chapel exercises, and social and evangelistic meetings. The first society was started in Tokyo in 1885, and has largely reached as students the sons and appren- tices of merchants, bank and government clerks, and other young men in business circles. A number of these are con- verted year by year, while all come under strong religious 40 influences. Other Gospel Societies have done a similar work for young men in Yokohama and Hirosaki. In 1898, at the twenty-fifth anniversary of our work in Japan, the southern portion of the Empire, including the island of Kyushu, the Loo Choo (Ryu Kyu) group and For- mosa, was constituted the territory of the South South Japan Japan Conference, which held its first session at Conference Nagasaki, March, 1899. There were 4 foreign missionaries and 17 native preachers, 8 foreign and 11 native workers in the Woman’s work, and 703 Church members and 295 probationers. Bishop Earl Cranston pre- sided, and the new Conference entered on its course with remarkably complete organization of its boards. In no part of the Empire have more rapid material devel- opments taken place than in northern Kyu- shu during re- cent years. Railways, new coal mines, iron and steel plants, great govern- nient piers, and j^ards turning out large ocean- going steam- ships have made this section of the South Japan Conference a busy hive of in- dustry. Our Churches and workers have nobly measured WOMAN WORSHIPING TREE, LOO CHOO ISLANDS II up to these conditions and opportunities. With no less alertness they have kept in view the extension of their operations through the length of the Loo Choo Islands and through Formosa, which was added to Japan’s pos- sessions at the close of her war with China. In 1903 the Rev. K. Murai began his fourth year as missionary pastor in the Loo Choo Islands, where he has labored with great zeal, and three Bible women were at work in that needy field. The publishing work of the Mission has continued to extend its range during the period now under review. In 1891 the “Gokyo” or “ Christian Advocate” was ‘ started, in the publication of which Growth of the the Mis- Publishing Work sionofthe Methodist Church of Canada, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the Methodist Protestant Church (since withdrawn), united with our Mission. With the opening of the new century the output of our Japan Mission press has shown a marked in- crease under the efficient direction of Mr. James L. Cowen, publishing agent. Better facilities are greatly needed in this work, and in 1903 the Rev. T. Ukai, then in his eighth year as the able pastor of what has become the Central Church of Tokyo, came to the United States to secure funds which would make possible the erection of a building for the Central Church and Publishing House. In the year 1886 Dr. Harris was transferred to the United States to take charge of the Japanese work on the Pacific coast, where his leadership has been most successful. In 41 43 ANGLO-JAPANESE TRAINING SCHOOL, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA Teachers and Graduating Class, J903. Dr. M. C. Harris in center. Prof. Milton S. Vail to liis left, Miss Gray to his right. 1898 he revisited Japan and was received with great honor not only by our Mission forces everywhere, but by many public men, in recognition of his distinguished services in uplifting J apan. At the close of our survey (1903) , Position of Dr. Soper remains the Nestor of the Japan Con- Pioneers ference, and Dr. Davison of the South JajDan Con - and Others ference. In the former body should be mentioned, in addition to those whose names have already appeared, as able missionaries with an extended term of service, the Rev. John W. Wailman. Presiding Elder of Ha- kodate District; the Rev. Charles W. Huett, Presiding Elder of Sapporo District, and the Rev. Joseph G. Cleveland, late Presiding Elder of Sen- dai District, who was called from labor to reward August 9, 1903; and in the latter body, the Rev. Henry B. Schwartz, Presiding Elder of the Southern District. The Presidency of Bishop David H. Moore at the ses- sions of both the Japan Con- ferences for the Work of three years, Bishop Moore 1901-3, was marked by sym- pathetic attention to the needs of the entire work, sirch as has made liis continuous service in China, Korea and Japan of great value to our missionary operations in all Eastern Asia. Chapters of tiie Epworth League began to be organized in Japan in 1891-2, and while a large number have at no time existed, the organ- ization has fully commended itself as a means of strength and usefulness among the young people of our The Epworth churches, and has received the constant ap- League proval of the missionaries and native pastors. BISHOP DAVID H. MOORK 44 The Japan Mission has, throughout its history, been active in promoting reforms, and its influence has been powerful in the organized fight against intemperance and impurity which is still going forward. Our doctrines, too, have their relation to our history. Even our co-workers in other churches have come to acknowledge our Methodist doctrines as the anchor to Jai^anese Protestant Christianity. In the great Twentieth Century Movement now in progress in Japan our men are easily leaders, and are everywhere in demand. Our forces in this “Land of the Rising Sun” clearly di.scern that the next quarter of a century will have an immeasurable imi^ortance, as they stand Reforms and face to face with the vast indifference to Future Outlook Christianity of the new Nationalism, the keen opposition of an aroused Buddhism, and the insidious attractions of Materialism. But they are encour- aged also by the l epeated waves of regenerating power that have been witnessed in the great revivals of 1884, 1888 and 1901, and in the steady progress of all the forces of a saving- gospel. What they need and grandly deserve are reinforce- ments of missionaries and money, for in saving Japan tliey are preparing tlie coming teacher and guide of all Eastern Asia. We sliould at once have ten more missionaries and money to support them. The demand for workers is very great. The nation is ripe for the gospel. Now is the time to strike. God is moving the whole people, and all classes. May our great home Church comprehend its privileges at this time and help us to save this land. The combined statistics of the two Conferences give the folhjwung results for 1902 : 20 foreign missionaries. Concluding 16 assistant missionaries, 91 native preachers, 31 Summary missionai'ies of the Woman's Board and 57 native workers, 4,367 Church members, 2,194 probation- ers, 145 Sunday schools, and 6,844 Sunday school scholars. OUTSTANDING FACTS In addition to their direct soul-saving results, the follow- ing may be noted as some of the practical outworkings of present-day missions in Japan. Triumph or the Anti Brothel Movement Rev. U. ft. Murphy, reading his daily paper for practice in colloquial Japianese, came across several accounts of girls fleeing from houses of shame only to be returned by the police. “ Wliy need this be i' " was the thought Evil Fetters w hich finally wrought itself info heroic action. Broken Only a man filled with divine love and courage could have fought to tlie bitter end the good light which has ended in such a victory — the recogni- tion on the part of the Government that tlie scarlet woman may, at w ill, go free — for up to this time she was really in a hopeless form of barbarous slavery. Though he was contin- ually hounded by an angry mob and confronted by difficulties METHODIST PUBLISHING HOUSE, TOKYO 4fi innumerable, this man, inspired by a Christlike purpose, carried his test case to the higher courts. The newspapers of the land and a pamphlet from the powerful pen of Mr. Tukuzawa appealed to the country to wipe off this gi..: antic shame. After the Department of Justice had sustained the local courts the Home Department declared that the g rls could not be detained for debt and a great victory v\ as won. But how should these poor souls know of the possibility of escape ? The Salvation Army prepared a home, then with tracts, trumpet and song marched into the very center of the sinful quarter. The outcome was more Freedom mobs and bloodshed, but the deed was done. Proclaimed The good news was passed and the more cour- ageous ones fled. One thousand tive hundred in Tokyo alone had found liberty by the end of 1900 Of the fifty-five thousand in all Japan five thousand have already abandoned this life. In the homes established those who have escaped are received and taught that they may become whiter than snow through the blood of Him who said to a like outcast, “ Go, and sin no more.” The Temperance Reform The National Temperance League with thirty auxiliaries gives promise of being one of the great moral forces of this empire. Thousands of young men have signed the pledge and a right sentiment is being created. Through Temperance the efforts of Mr. Nemoto, a most devoted Chris- Progress tian and a member of the Lower House, Parlia- ment has passed a bill making tobacco smoking on the part of minors a legal offense. Christian Literature and the Circulation OF THE Scriptures Just thirty years ago the first tracts and portions of Scripture were printed from wooden blocks with the greatest secrecy. A man and his wife were thrown into prison for having a manuscript copy of Mark in their Good possession, he to find release in death ! Only Literature tw'enty years ago the opening of a shop for the 47 sale of the Scriptures called forth violent opposition in Nagasaki. Yet such is the change in public sentiment that eiglit years ago, at the time of the Japan-China war, official permission was granted for the circulation of the Scriptures in the army and navy. In 1900 the total circulation of the Bible and portions of the Bible is reported at 137,432 copies. The Rev. S. Snyder alone sold over 34,603 volumes. There is an increasing demand for English MISSION SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND, HAKODATE Testaments. The Tract Society alone circulated 512,266 tracts in the year 1899. The Methodist Publishing House reports having issued five million tracts in one year. There are eighty-five Christian journals in Japan. Christian Charities Rev. Mr. Pettee says : “ We would call attention to the fact not that Christianity has established a score of orphan- ages, three blind and three leper asj^lums, three rescue 48 Effect on homes, three prison-gate missions, a score of hos the Nation pitals, six charity kindergartens, three homes for the aged, one social settlement and at least two hundred schools or classes for the poor, but that within a generation it has set the pace for all forms of practical benevolence and stirred a whole nation to take an interest in all that tends to elevate and purify society.” And still the needs are great. Dr. Taylor says : “Japan spends her treasure by the million on her army and navy that she may be classed as a military power among the nations of the earth, but compared with the A Contrast Christian nations of the world for the well-being of her sick, the insane, the blind, the deaf and dumb and the leper, she doles out by the penny.” Prisoners’ Rescue Home Mr. Hara, a gentleman of position and means, while serv- ing a term in prison on account of utterances made in a political speech to which the Government took exception, was so imf)ressed with the needs of the prisoners that The since his release he has devoted all his time and Prisoners’ means to rescue work among ex-convicts. When, Friend at the time of the Empress Dowager’s death, a hundred prisoners received a reprieve, Mr. Hara met them at the station with jinrikishas, took them to his home and cared for them until they were able to care for themselves. No wonder the mothers of these befriended ones place Mr. Hara’s photograph on their god-shelf and worship him as their sons’ only savior ! Bright Outlook for Christian Education The regulation of the Department of Education two years ago forbidding religious instruction in schools receiving Government recognition threatened to be a deathblow to our mission schools. We could hardly expect The Danger students to come to us if upon graduation most of the avenues leading to a livelihood and use- fulness were to be closed to them. We relinquished our privileges, lost a great number of students, but kept Christ. 49 FACULTY, girls’ SCHOOL, HIROSAKI The expression of public opinion was so strong that within two years of the issuing of this regulation the De- partment of Education removed the destructive stricture and Christian schools are enjoying greater privi- Decision leges than ever before. With fuller religious Reversed privileges we have the former privilege of the admission of our academic graduates to the Gov- ernment higher institutions under the same conditions as the graduates from Government academies. Our college graduates are granted without examination license to teach English in Government schools and our students are ex- empted from military conscription. According to Dr. Wainwright there are nineteen schools and colleges for young men under the various Protestant de- nominations, with a total attendance of 2,891, or an average of 150 each. Our Aoyama Academy and College had an enrollment of 191. The girls’ schools, whose Large School growth has not been interrupted by Govern- Attendance ment regulations, are enjoying the increasing 50 popularity that comes from growing public confidence. Dormitories and class rooms are full and applicants have to be turned away. From all sides we hear that the crying need of Japan, in every department, is not of men of greater mental ability, but men of stronger moral conviction. These must be reared largely in Christian institutions. The great need of all these schools is endowment. Let those blessed Need of with the fruits of their own moral integrity, a Endowment heritage of the Christian atmosphere in which they were born, endow these needy institutions, that they may offer to the youth of Japan educational ad- vantages equal to those of the Government institutions, and train them to act nobly their part in the upbuilding of the nation. The most impressive and encouraging fact of the mission work in Japan to-day is the outpouring of the Spirit in con- nection with the Twentieth Century Forward Movement, as described below. The unparalleled power in The Supreme pulpit and pew, the eagerness of all classes to Fact learn of the Crucified One, indicate the Eevealer and Executive of the Lord of Hosts. This is the crowning I'esult of a united effort on the part of His workers. TWENTIETH CENTURY UNION EVANGELISTIC MOVEMENT The Japan Evangelical Alliance devoted the opening year of the Twentieth Century to special effort for the spread of the Gospel in the empire. The name adopted for this new movement was Taikyo Dendo, “ Great Uplifting Evan- General gelization;” the watchword was, “Our Land for Plan Christ,” and the motto, “ Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord.” In October of 1900 the committee conferred with the General Conference of Foreign Missionaries, then in session in the city of Tokyo, 51 seeking its co-operation. The Conference heartily endorsed the movement, and appointed an advisory committee. Early in 1901 special union meetings were held in differ- ent parts of the empire, with more or less favorable results. Special efforts were put forth also by individual missions. Meetings were held in all the churches of the Tokyo Preliminary District of the Methodist Episcopal Church, under Meetings the leadership of the Rev. D. S. Spencer, Presiding Elder, during the first three months of the year, about 100 persons being converted. These various efforts were but the beginning, the drops before the coming showers. Commencing with the 12th of May the movement took a more definite shape, meetings, nearly all the Protestant churches uniting, were held in The Main turn in five Series sections o f Tokyo, the wards of the city be ing divided into five groups. During these seven weeks there was a remark- able outpouiing of the Divine Spirit. Nothing like it has been seen since 1888. Churches were aroused to renewed activity, the faith of the Christians was greatly quickened, and hun- dreds were led to become inquirers and seekers after the truth — not a tew making a confession of faith and joining some Christian church. During this wonderful work of grace, in Tokyo alone over five thousand became inquirers and converts. Night after night the churches were crowded, some literally packed, with earnest and intelligent listeners. All Notable the missionaries, pastors, helpers and church mem- Features bers were led to feel that nothing of a spiritual or For seven weeks a series of union LOTUS FOiND, UYENO PARK, TOKYO 52 moral nature is impossible. God became a reality as never before. The influence of these Tokyo meetings was felt in the empire, far and wide. Meetings with excellent re- sults have been held in all the large centers, and have reached out to most isolated districts. The Methodist Episcopal churches of Tokyo had a large share of the fruitage of this blessed work, there being from twenty to five hundred inquirers and converts in our seven churches. The pastors and Bible women Some of the earnestly followed up and instructed these new Fruits converts. Many of them were young men, stu- dents in government and private schools. In some sections of the city many of the settled and resident classes were reached and influenced. In one Congregational church over sixty persons from families in the vicinity were baptized and received into church fellowship. The Japanese leaders in this movement were the Rev. Messrs. Ukai (Methodist Episcopal), Tamara (Presbyterian), Nakano (Evangelical Association), Kozaki (Congregational), Honda (Methodist Episcopal), and Fukuda (Presby- The terian). A number of laymen took an active part. Leaders and added no little to the success of the movement, of whom were the Hon. Taro Ando, formerly Consul- General to Hawaii; the Hon. Sho Nemoto, member of the Lower House of the Imperial Diet, and the Hon. Mr. Kataoka, President of the Lower House. The two former are Methodists and the latter a Presbyterian. The mission- aries as a body heartily co operated with the movement, working with the Japanese brethren without thought of national distinctions. The spirit of unity and fraternity was beautifully and strikingly manifested. Denominational lines and sectarian feeling were entirely banished, this spirit of cordial unity being one of the secrets of the mighty power manifest. “ The union of the Christians in this national movement,” as one well says, “has deeply impressed the public mind The Power with the strength, unity and courage of the of Unity Christian Church, and removed many doubts.” 53 The methods of the work are full of interest. A union prayer service was held daily, in the afternoon, at which reports were given of the work the night previous. These prayer services were centers of power and seasons of Methods great blessing. At one of these services, held in the Used Ginza Methodist Episcopal Church, there were by actual count over 700 present. From these prayer services went forth bands of workers — singers, preachers and tract distributors— marching through the streets with ban- ners flying. In this work the rank and file of Christians UNION HYMN BOOK COMMITTEE Representatives of five denominations. Book to be used by all Protestants. joined — men, women and children — and especially students, both young men and women. On street corners and open spaces they sung Christian songs and proclaimed the truths of the Gospel, and invited all to come to the evening preach- ing services, distributing folders telling where these services would be held. At night in each church a sermon was preached, followed by an earnest exhortation. Then came 54 a season of prayer. An after meeting was also held, to which all interested in the Christian religion and desirous of learning about it, were cordially invited. At these after meetings inquirers and seekers were divided into small com- panies and a leader placed over each to counsel and insti'uct. The Japanese pastors di.'splayed commendable skill and a high degree of generalship in the management and conduct of meetings. Much unknown talent as leaders Japanese was brought to light and developed. This augurs Generalship well for the future of the Church in Japan— a future full of hope; for Christianity is fast be- coming indigenous. The following is a summary of the seven weeks’ work in the city of Tokyo from May 12 to June 30, 1901. The city was divided into five districts or groups of churches, and the number of churches co operating was 51. Of Summary Japanese pastors and evangelists enlisted in the movement there were 62, and of foreign mission- aries, 12. Twenty-seven evangelistic bands were formed, with an enrollment of 360 workers. A total of 913,510 pages of printed matter was distributed in the way of hand- bills, large posters, tracts, Testaments, portions of Scripture, and song leaflets. The attendance at prayer meetings was 11,626; at preaching services, 84,247; at wayside services, 10,000 (estimated) ; or a total of 105,873. The inquirers and converts were 5,207. JAPAN’S APPEAL TO THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH A statement of Japan’s appeal to the hosts of the Chris- tian Church must include the following reasons, among others, commanding attention to her claims as a mission field: Because of the progress she has made. Fifty years ago Japan was a hermit nation sealed to the world, worn by the tread of centuries into grooves of life and thought deep as 55 Her mountain canyons; her language, literature, phil- Progress osophy and religion came from hoary China; mil- lions of her people were serfs of the soil. To-day she stands among the powers of the world, meeting them in commerce and diplomacy, rivaling them in education, sharing their victories and commanding their respect. Because of dangers resulting from her progress, her very transformation places her in the midst of giave^t un- certainties. In one short generation she has taken her place among powers which have for centuries been makers Its of the world's history in that which is best in thought Dangers and achievement. Recognized as their peer in equipment, power and ambition, she is a child in years. Unbalanced by experience, unbuttressed by precedent, unsettled in principle, if uncontrolled by reason and discretion her power may prove her doom. Conscious of the growth she has made, she is pos sessed of a consuming de- sire to scale further the heights of influence and power, and has stood ready to adopt any expediency apparently effective to this end. In turn the Her Quest leaders of Japan conceived the strength of for the Secret western nations to lie in their religions, their of Strength educational institutions, in their political insti- tutions and their militarism, and they intro- duced them all. At last the opinion maintained that the source of power lay really in commercial activity, industrial progress and accumulation of wealth. Straightway the nation plunged with feverish haste into commercialism, 56 which is to-day the prevailing and absorbing spirit. His- tory is strewn with the wrecks of civilizations attempted upon such a basis. Because of the growth of the Kingdom of God and extent of Christian influence. Possibly in no other country has the Church grown more rapidly or acquired a greater influence in one generation, and that when planted beside Marvelous , religions which for centuries had woven themselves Christian into the very fabric of national and individual Growth life. Thirty-five years ago the fir.'-t two Christians were baptized, and less than thirty years ago the first Protestant church was organized. To-day the baptized Protestant Christians number 42,000, and including the Eoman Catholic and Greek churches a total of 123,000 adher- ents. The lives of many times that number are profoundly impressed and influenced with the Gospel of Christ. Chris- tianity has obtained an influence out of all proportion to the number of its professed adherents. By recent legisla- tion this new religion enjoys equal rights and protection be- fore the law with those religions which for generations enjoyed its exclusive patronage. “The record of missions in Japan is the marvel of modern Church history.” Because of the vast unoccupied regions in the evangeli- zation of the country. Encouraging as is the growth of the Church, broad as is the influence of Christian principles, the war of conquest has only begun. The oldest Masses Yet missionaries agree that three-fourths, or Unreached 30,000,000, of the people have not yet heard of Christ. Ninety-five cities of 10,000 population and over, and large country sections, have no resident mis- sionary and many no native worker. The most conservative students of the situation declare that Buddhism is doomed in Japan, but it is evident that it will die hard. Robert Speer, in his report on his visit to Japan in 1899, said, “In no other country did Buddhist Buddhism seem to have the hold it had in Japan, and Shinto Nowhere else were there such temples, so steadily Strength thronged, so gloriously decorated, so filled with 57 idols so venerated.” There are more than twice as many Buddhist temples and almost five times as many Shinto shrines and temples as there are Protestant Christians. For every Christian there are two Buddhist priests, and for every ordained Japanese minister there are three hundred and forty -six Buddhist priests. The religions of the people are back of those evils which are imbedded in the life of the nation. The masses of the lower classes blindly follow the notoriously Blind Followers and confessedly immoral priesthood. The and Skeptics educated classes are breaking away, and many, knowing nothing better, are plunging into rationalism and skepticism. Between these two what a responsibility for the Church of Christ which bears the commission of Him who has “all power! ” Because of Japan’s infiuence in the far East. Geograph- ically she holds the key to the Orient and the isles of the Pacific. What is done in Japan will profoundly infiuence all the nations of The Leader eastern Asia. In of the Orient her schools are students from Manchuria, Korea, China, Formosa and India. When the recent war-clouds gath- ered over China her Emperor appealed to the Emperor of Japan for help against the forces of the West. Japan’s reply was, in substance, “ You must turn toward the dawn or be lost in the darkness.” To-day China welcomes with confidence the good offices of her little neighbor. Japan, unembarrassed by many of the essential differences in marquis h. ito character and thought which Leading Japanese Statesman 58 must be overcome when Occidental meets Oriental, can reach with comparative ease these eastern nations. And there is reason to believe that with the same aggressiveness which characterizes her people in other interprises the Church in Japan will, as soon as her position permits, push the conquest for the Master of these neighboring peoples. A nation plastic and responsive is receiving the impres- sions which are to mould its form and future. Japan to day presents a challenge to the Church. Recruits to The Army our mission forces are demanded, and they must of Conquest come from the ranks of the young people, where also is the larger army which must stand loyally with conse- crated means and with that mighty, irresist ible volume of prayer which will open doors of opportunity, cast down walls of opposition, equip workers for service, and bring a rich fruition. If the Church will take advantage of this oppor- tunity, it is safe to pledge Japan as “the grand- est trophy of modern mis- sions.” THE READING LESSON 59 LITERATURE Recent and attractive books descriptive of Japan and of mission work in the Island Empire are The Gist of Japan, by R. B. Peery, 51.25; Japan and its Regeneration, by Rev. Otis Caiy, paper, 35 cents, net ; cloth, 50 cents, net ; Hand book of Modern Japan, by Ernest W. Clement (1903), 51.40, net; Rambles in Japan, by Canon H. B. Tristram, 52.00, and From Far Formosa, by G. L. Mackay, 51.25. Very forceful biographies are Verbeck of Japan,* by W. E. Griffis, 51.50, and Life and Letters of Joseph Hardy Neesima, 52.00, by A. S. Hardy, or his career under the title, A Maker of Neiv Japan, by Rev. J. D. Davis, 51.00. Standard works for a deeper study of the country and people are The Mikado’s Empire. by W. E. Griffi-:, 2 vols. , 54.00, Japan, by J, J, Rein, 57.50, and Evolution of the Japanese, by S. L. Gulick, 52.00 net. These and other mission books can be obtained, through the pastor, of the Methodist Book Concern. THE OPEN DOOR SERIES. Each number of the Open Door Series of Mission Booklets is issued in a cover similar to that on this number, giving a simple outline map with the essential facts of the geography of the country so that they can be seen at a glance, and some things cliaracteristic of the land and a face typical of the people. The one on India has, as a background, the beautiful Taj Mahal; that on Korea, the queer Korean hat and the famous national emblem, which appears on all the stamps of Korea. It will be noted that the present cover has the Japan’s snow-capped Fujisan or Fujiyama, her jinrik- isha, blossoming cherry, sacred lotus, and the national flower, the chrysanthemum, while the face is that of the most eminent Christian among her sons. Dr. Joseph Hardy Neesima. Each of the booklets has an excellent and, in most cases, a specially prepared map covering the two central pages, * In Mission.ii'y Campaign Library Number Two. 60 and is rich in carefully selected illustrations. In all re- spects the contents are strictly up-to-date. The booklets, therefore, will prove of direct value to Mission Study Classes, those having charge of missionary devotional meet- ings, pastors, women’s societies, Sunday-school workers, and all who wish the most compact and latest information, accompanied by very clear maps and illustrations. Six or seven other booklets are planned to be issued, covering all the remaining fields. It should be remembered that in each booklet, ivliile oxir own missionary work is es- pecially emphasized, the country and people, the native religions, and Christian Missions in general also receive at- tention, so as to give a complete survey of the field. The uniform price of ten cents per copy, postpaid, for each of the booklets is exceedingly low, considering the high quality of matter, paper and press work. Send all orders, with remittance, to The Open Door Emergency Com- mission, 150 Fifth Avenue, New York. Now Ready. The Korea Mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church. By Rev. Henry G. Appenzeller, D.D., late Superintend- ent of the Mission. The China Mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church. By Rev. Arthur J. Bowen, Missionary, Nanking, China. The India Mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church. By Rev. Jefferson E. Scott, D.D., Presiding Elder of the A j mere District, India. The Japan Mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church. By seven eminent missionaries of Japan. . - - I j vr.’ I '' V. I . -