CO c > U3: < OU_1 64583 >m OSMANIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Call N This book should be returned on or before I he date last marked below. Japanese Women Speak MISS MICHI KAWAI Japanese Women Speak A Message from the Christian Women of Japan to the Christian Women of America By MICHI KAWAI > OCHIMI KUBUSHIRO apanese atti^ J j \ 1934 BOStON, MASSACHUSETTS CENTRAL COMMITTEE ON THE UNITED STUDY OF FOREIGN MISSIONS COPYRIGHT 1934 BY THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE ON THE UNITED STUDY OF FOREIGN MISSIONS BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 6 Copy 0768H 1 Mr 40 PRINTED BY THE VERMONT PRINTING COMPANY, BRATTLEBORO MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Contents PAGE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xiii FOREWORD xv PREFACE xvii CHAPTER I THE CHURCH AT WORK STREET PREACHING 1 WHAT is EVANGELISTIC WORK ? 3 WHY SOME JAPANESE CHRISTIANS ARE STILL INDIVIDUAL- v ISTIC 6 WOMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS WITHIN THE CHURCHES 7 Congregational. Mrs. Hasegawa 8 Methodist. Miss Furuta 9 The Church of Christ in Japan. Mrs. Uemura 12 Baptist. Miss Ishthara 15 Episcopal. Mrs. Sekiya 17 Lutheran. Mrs. Yonemura 19 Evangelical. Mrs. Toku Hirase 22 MINIATURE STREET THEATRE FOR BIBLE STORIES. Miss Imai 23 WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL PRAYER MEETING 26 EVANGELISTIC AND INTERDENOMINATIONAL CONFERENCES 27 INTERDENOMINATIONAL FORCES 28 National Christian Council and Kingdom of God Movement 29 Japanese Overseas Mission Work 31 vii CHAPTER II NEW OPPORTUNITIES INTRODUCTION 34 GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION 35 THE INTELLECTUALLY UNREACHED 36 SOCIAL DISSATISFACTION 38 THE PRINTED PAGE 39 PROFESSIONAL DISTRIBUTION 41 Students and Teachers 41 The Doctors and Nurses 42 Police 43 Shopboys 44 RACIALLY 45 Ainu (Hokkaido) 45 Seiban (Formosa) 46 Suiheisha 47 The Upper Classes 48 RECENT WORK AMONG FARMERS 49 Farmers' Evangelistic Schools 50 Girls' Societies 51 Fishermen 53 WORK AMONG THE FACTORIES 54 WORK AMONG THE MANCHUKUO PEOPLE 56 Federation of Manchukuo Women's Leagues 57 MISSIONARIES STILL NEEDED 57 viii CHAPTER III ADVANCE IN EDUCATION INTRODUCTION 60 COMPULSORY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 62 Necessity for Christian Elementary Schools 63 "Illegal" Children and Mrs. Ninomiya's Work 66 GIRLS' HIGH SCHOOLS 67 Place of Christian Girls' High Schools under Mis- sion Boards 67 Christian Girls' Schools Started by Japanese Women 70 A Beloved Principal. Miss Yoshi Kajiro 71 Physical Education. Miss Tokuyo Nikaido 73 The Household Science College. Mrs. Sumi Ohye 74 The Garden School of Freedom. Mrs. Moto Hani 76 Keisen Fountain of Blessing School. Miss Michi Kawai - 79 COLLEGES 81 Kobe College 82 Tsuda College 84 Doshisha College 86 Woman's Christian College 88 WOMEN PRINCIPALS 91 PLEA FOR CO-OPERATION 93 ix CHAPTER IV BUILDING THE NEW JAPAN HISTORICAL SETTING OF SOCIAL WORK 95 SOCIAL PROJECTS 97 Care of Orphans 97 Deaf- Oral Work 99 Christian Settlements 101 Care of Sailors 102 SOCIAL AGENCIES 104 TheW.C.T.U. 104 TheY.W.CA. 105 The Salvation Army 106 SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 106 Prohibition 106 Abolition of Licensed Vice 111 Progress in Sex Education 114 HISTORICAL SETTING OF POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC LIFE 115 Economic Changes 117 Christian Women and Economic Life 119 Christian Editors 123 POLITICAL MOVEMENTS 124 Woman Suffrage 125 The Movement in Recent Years 1 29 CHAPTER V WOMEN AT HOME INTRODUCTION 132 HOMES OF CABINET MEMBERS 133 Madame Saito 133 Countess Uchida 1 34 Madame Takahashi 135 Madame Nagai 136 Madame Goto 1 37 BEHIND THEIR HUSBANDS 1 39 Mrs. Kagawa 139 Mrs. Iwahashi 141 WIVES AND WIDOWS WITH CAREERS 143 Mrs. Nomura 143 Dr. Takeuchi 145 Mrs. Tamaru 149 Mrs. Kawakami 151 THE POWER OF PRAYER 1 54 Mrs. Goto 154 xi CHAPTER VI PEACE AND INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP A BEAUTIFUL NUN 1 60 JAPAN AND AMERICA CLASPING HANDS 162 INTERNATIONAL GIFTS AT THE TIME OF THE EARTH- QUAKE 164 ARE JAPANESE CHRISTIANS COWARDS ? 1 66 WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL PRAYER DAY 171 WOMEN'S PEACE GROUPS 175 International Friendship Section of the Y. W. C. A. 175 Peace Section of the W. C. T U. 176 Women's Section of the Japanese International Association 177 Women's Peace Association 178 A Peace Letter 180 ST. LUKE'S INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CENTER 181 HOMES FOR FOREIGN STUDENTS 182 A FRIEND OF KOREAN GIRLS AND WOMEN 183 MESSAGE OF LOVE 185 APPENDIX 191 BIBLIOGRAPHY 195 INDEX 199 xii List of Illustrations FACING PAGE Miss Michi Kawai Frontispiece Officers of the Woman's Organization of the Kumiai (Congregational) Churches of Japan 12 Searle Chapel, Kobe College, Dedicated in October, 1933 13 Meiji Gakuin Social Center at Ozaki 44 Women Working in Rice Fields 45 Woman's Christian College, Tokyo 76 Kaikwa Kindergarten, Osaka 77 Street Scene in the Slums of Osaka 108 Japanese Women Preparing Posters in a Political Cam- paign 109 "Don't sell, don't soil your vote" Miss F. Ichikawa in center with scarf Baby Day in the Clinic at St. Luke's Hospital, Tokyo 140 A Garden in a Private Home, Tokyo 141 Bishop Perry and Madam Toda Shaking Hands, etc. 172 Winners of Peace Contest Essays and Class of 1933 173 xiii fr lt is mine to put -forth every effort in sowing seed: But I commit the success or -failure to God." JAPANESE POEM. XIV Foreword IT is with deep thanksgiving that Central Com- mittee presents this its thirty-fourth volume. All the previous books issued by Central Committee have been written by missionaries or travellers to the various countries, but "Japanese Women Speak" has been written by an internationally known Christian woman of Japan, Miss Michi Kawai, who has asso- ciated with her Mrs. Ochimi Kubushiro as co-author. In finally accepting the invitation of Central Commit- tee to write this message from the Christian women of Japan to the Christian women of America Miss Kawai cabled ' 'Humbly accept/' Miss Michi Kawai is known today as "the greatest woman leader in Japan/ 1 She was born and lived until about twelve years of age in the province of Ise. After moving to Hokkaido her father became a Christian and was baptized with all his family. For forty generations the family had belonged to the Shinto priesthood. After finishing at the Hokusei Girls* School at Sap- poro Miss Kawai taught until she won a scholarship for Bryn Mawr College in America. In Sapporo she met Dr. and Mrs. Nitobe and they became lifelong friends. After graduating from the Bryn Mawr College she returned to Japan and taught English in Miss Tsuda's school. She was in great demand in the educational world, but after several years of consideration accepted the position of General Secretary of the Japanese Na- tional Y. W. C. A. After twenty years of outstanding XV JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK service in the Y. W. C. A. she resigned to undertake educational work again, founding the "Fountain of Blessing School/' which is described in the third chap- ter of this book. Miss Kawai has travelled widely in Europe, in the United States and Canada and in Siberia and Man- churia during the World War. She is not only an out- standing leader in Japan, constantly in demand as a speaker, but is "Japan's most international woman." Her personality is very charming with magnetic power, and deep spirituality. She is a member of the Church of Christ in Japan and works most faithfully for it. Her spirit is shown in the following statement from her pen: "In spite of the sweeping changes of that destructive, natu- ralistic, agnostic, laissez-faire tendency, there are some who are beginning to get tired of terrestrial savour, and are asking for something which is a purifying power. They need Jesus Christ. .... And it seems our struggles are increasing all the time, which shows that we are in the right place at the right time." It is the earnest hope and prayer of Central Com- mittee that this book may help to bind together in greater love and mutual understanding the Christian women of Japan and of America as together they work to bring the Kingdom of God on earth. THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE ON THE UNITED STUDY OF FOREIGN MISSIONS Miss GERTRUDE SCHULTZ, Chairman MRS. CHARLES P. WILES, Secretary Miss A. G. BAILEY, Treasurer Miss OLIVIA H. LAWRENCE MRS. FREDERICK G. PLATT Miss SUSAN C. LODGE MRS. LESLIE E. SWAIN Miss MARGARET I. MARSTON MRS. EDWIN W. LENTZ xvi Preface AUDDEN call or an unexpected task rouses one from mental and spiritual lethargy. A letter from the Central Committee on the United Study of Foreign Missions asking me to write a study book on Japan bombed my citadel of humble routine. My first reaction was utter amazement. How could the Committee, without any knowledge of my small ability and present circumstances, entrust me with such an all-important task! They knew nothing, I argued to myself, about my having started a girls' high school in the suburbs of Tokyo a few years before, which was taking all my time and energy. Besides, the international storm of 1932, with Japan at its center, checked the natural outflow of free expression for fear of misunderstanding even among Christian peo- ples. These and other reasons caused me to send a let- ter of regret to the Committee. A very kind and under- standing answer at once came to me, urging me to assume this responsibility for the sake of His Kingdom. In a small measure I could understand how saints and prophets felt when the call came to them while they were tilling the soil or shepherding the sheep. God uses the weakest and the humblest as His witnesses and co-workers. While pondering over the matter, some good tidings came to me which made me decide to accept the work, though with much hesitation. Mrs. xvii JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK Bertha Brown Lambert, a classmate at Bryn Mawr College and a dear friend of mine, was to visit me for several months. With her help I might be able to pro- duce something acceptable to readers abroad. If the book was to be worthy of publication much time and study should be given to it. This was difficult for me with my heavy school burdens, so I solved the problem most happily by deciding to share the re- sponsibility with one who is recognized as an author- ity on Japanese women. Mrs. Ochimi Kubushiro grad- uated at Joshi Gakuin, a girls' school in Tokyo, and then went to California, where her father had been called to be a Christian pastor among Japanese resi- dents. She studied some years at the Pacific Theological Seminary, where she met her future husband. The young couple returned to Japan, and Mr. Kubushiro was made pastor of a church. His untimely death stirred the young widow to give herself entirely to the progress of women. She was a delegate to the Jerusa- lem Conference in 1928, and is now on the executive committee of the National Christian Council. She is the life and soul of the purity movement of the whole country, and is respected by both Christian and non- Christian leaders. She has travelled all over the world to study movements among women. Could anyone be better qualified to write the chapter on woman's social, economic and political life? With her keen observa- xviii PREFACE tion and wide outlook, she writes also the chapter on unoccupied fields. The Committee asked the writers to confine them- selves chiefly to the activities of Japanese Christian women. But it is impossible to give a clear-cut picture without introducing some of those workers from other lands whose sacrificial service in Christian love has re- sulted in producing and influencing the women lead- ers of this land. Very grateful thanks should go to Dr. Spencer Ken- nard and to Mrs. Lambert for their untiring assistance in correcting and typing the manuscript. There are some phrases and quotations in my writing whose authors have slipped my memory, and of them I ask their generous permission and forgiveness. The book does not by any means cover the whole range of Japanese Christian women. It is partial and defective, but it will be allowed to have its place if it makes even a few examine whether the criticisms in recent years against any Christian work at home or abroad are not the result of prejudice or presumption. May it also spur them to consider whether words of God sown in a good soil ever fail to become dynamic in the regeneration of a national life. For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: xix JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isaiah 55; 10, 11. MICHI KAWAI, July 31, 1933. XX CHAPTER I The Church at Work "o close thy friendly roof, so near the spring That though not yet dull winter hath gone hence, The wind that bloweth o'er our parting fence From thee to me the first gay flow'rs doth bring." THE POET FUKAYABU. From "Japanese Poetry 1 ' by Basil Hall Chamberlain. Street Preaching AYONE who likes hot springs should come to live in Japan. From the Northern Island, Hokkaido, down to the Southern Island, Kyushiu, the country is dotted with them. An Ameri- can college friend wanted to see the people enjoying the hot springs as they lay buried in the sand along the shore in Beppu, Kyushiu, and so several of us arrived there on April 1, 1933. The city was celebrating Hot Spring Day. Groups in fantastic robes and with made-up faces were marching and dancing along the streets which were thronged with visitors attracted by the gala occasion. We drifted along with the crowd enjoying the sights. In the evening the gaiety was in- creased by open-air theatres, whose extravagant farces drew roars of laughter from the wandering audience. 2 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK Moving along in leisurely fashion with carefree aban- don, suddenly we saw in a dark corner a small group with a few dim lanterns who were being earnestly ad- dressed by a woman. "An open-air meeting of the Salvation Army/' I thought, as with a prayer for them in my heart I guided my friends to another street. Here we saw a similar group holding a service by lantern- light in a dim corner. We stopped to listen, and be- hold, it was not the Salvation Army but followers of j*enrikyo who were preaching, pleading with the casual audience to accept their belief and be saved; and was not the speaker on the low box again a woman ? What a strong plea she made, using her own conversion as illustration. Another woman took her place, whose dignified poise and logical address deliv- ered in a clear voice left no room for adverse criticism. Several women, all dressed in black with hakama (pleated skirt) like the Salvation Army women, went about the listening group quietly handing out leaflets. Men of the faith stood there simply as lantern bearers; the speaking, distribution of leaflets and invitation to the crowd were done by women. Were they not steal- ing the Christian methods of propaganda? Where were the Christians and what were they doing on that gay evening? It is against a background such as this that Christian- ity comes with its challenge. THE CHURCH AT WORK 3 What Is Evangelistic Work? The writer once had a peculiar experience in a certain woman's college in the eastern part of the United States. She was asked to speak to a small group of women professors and students about Christian progress in Japan. Her remarks called forth a sur- prised, almost sarcastic, expression from the group. "Do your Christians still resort to evangelistic work?" said one in a pitying tone. "Yes, indeed. Evangelistic work is one of the most important factors in the church there." "Well, perhaps your understanding of the term and ours are different. In old days we used to hear a lot about it, but it became old-fashioned," she explained as she saw my bewilderment; and the others seemed to add, "You poor thing, why do you cling to an ob- solete method?" Some of them left the room, as if to say that they were not interested in such a primitive project as evangelistic work in a heathen land. To those rational, intellectual college people, the words "Cross," "conversion," and "salvation" had lost their essential meaning; they sounded foolish to ears ready to listen to Humanism, Hellenism or Commu- nism. This cold attitude toward mission work at large was not confined to any college group in America at that time; it was general, and it seemed to show that the barometer of their religious life was very low. Today, however, it is hoped that a plea for evangelism 4 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK will receive more sympathetic response at a time when, to quote a recent journal, "the people of the United States are turning to the Church after the wild years of the profligate era/' Be that as it may, Rev. Akira Ebisawa of the National Christian Council well ex- pressed it when he said, "For us, reticent Japanese, there is always an urgent need to encourage preach- ing." Again, hear Dr. Kagawa in his criticism of some Christians "who paid much attention to academic education but seem to have forgotten that evangelism is an important variety of social adult education and of religious education. Tent meetings, street preaching, are also social education. Foolish as this sort of evan- gelism may appear, it has wonderful results in the Orient. This is one of the ways by which Christianity spreads into all the world." The term "evangelism" in Japan is applied not only to big outdoor meetings. Under this head come all sorts of meetings, in homes, church buildings, schools, fac- tories, theatres, boats and shops anywhere where the Gospel is presented to non-Christians with the message of Jesus Christ. Methods may vary according to age and race, but the essential message is Jesus Christ all over the world. Reread, every Christian of the West, the tenth chapter of Romans from the eleventh verse, and meditate upon the power of the Gospel in your life, in your environment, in your country, and in the world at large. Or rather, think what it would mean to you THE CHURCH AT WORK 5 to be without Christ individually and corporately, na- tionally and internationally. What would have been the destiny of Japan had the Western material and in- tellectual civilization alone been imported, without the message of the Cross and salvation brought by those brave heroes of the Gospel? The urgency of evangelism is just as strong now, or stronger, when the country is thrown into a turmoil of political, economic, military and international entanglement. The word hijoji, meaning "an extraordinary period/' is on every- one's lips. The tide of Communism rises high, mostly among the student class. The Government tries hard to stamp out this movement, but mere suppression with no spiritual outlook makes its efforts fruitless. It only inflames the reactionary Right Wing, or conservative nationalism, to an onslaught on the Left Wing; and the latter on its part tries to avenge itself upon the social structure by direct action. The middle section of society stands aghast, powerless in the face of hopeless gloom and misery which envelop the whole country. This is the time of all times when all Christians of this country are privileged to say aloud, "Silver and gold have I none; but what I have, that give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." (Acts 3: 6.) Every Christian woman should be like that Samaritan woman by the well who said to her neighbors, "Come and see a man Is not this the Christ?" Indeed there are many Dorcases, Lydias and Priscillas whose JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK courage, loyalty and sacrifices have enriched and are enriching the Japanese church. Why Some Japanese Christians Are Still Individualistic Japanese Christians are often criticized for indiffer- ence toward the social Gospel and for a tendency to emphasize personal conversion, personal salvation and personal sanctification, thus narrowing the out- look of Christian life. This is a just criticism of many churches and individuals. But may we not say that it was the method of the Apostolic age? Was not this the way by which the so-called Christian lands trav- elled to the modern church life ? One must not build a tower without a firm foundation. Let us remind our- selves that only in 1859 did Protestant missionaries arrive; these were the six famous pioneers, Brown, Simmons, Liggins, Hepburn, Williams and Verbeck. It was in 1872 that the first Protestant church was estab- lished, and the next year the public notices forbidding Christianity were removed. During the past sixty years seeds have been planted here and there; they have just begun to sprout, showing their tender green with the promise of a good harvest in time. Therefore, here in Japan Christianity is still largely a matter of teaching given to individuals one by one; it takes time for this teaching to grow into a dynamic force in individuals as well as in the corporate church. THE CHURCH AT WORK 7 Women's Organizations Within the Churches It is more true than ever before that it is Japanese Christian women who expend time and effort for in- dividual visits to inquirers. It is mostly girls and women who give daily service to Bible schools, and to sea- sonal free kindergartens and day nurseries for peasant families in times of rice planting and harvest. Our women workers these days are highly trained. The standard of the Bible schools and the women's theo- logical seminaries is so high that only those who are well qualified for college education may enter. Al- though the number of these seminaries and students is small, the influence which they exert upon non- Christian communities is incalculable. In 1930 there were ten theological schools for women with an en- rolment of 223, employing 39 Japanese and 15 foreign teachers. Apart from these specialists who are work- ing directly in churches and mission stations, let us not forget that among the thousands who are added to the church and the thousands more who graduate yearly from Christian schools, there are many women whose lives are living sermons to their surroundings. The courage, loyalty and sacrifice of women such as these have enriched the Japanese church. These women have banded together into societies for spreading the Gospel. Let us briefly review their activities in the larger denominations. 8 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK CONGREGATIONAL WOMEN'S MISSION SOCIETY In October, 1906, there was a special meeting for women in the Kobe Congregational Church, held jointly with the twenty-second annual assembly of that denomination. At this meeting the women present organized the Japanese Congregational Women's Mis- sion Society. Ever since it has supported many perma- nent settled preachers, as well as visiting evangelists who have gone all over Japan, Formosa and Korea. During her presidency, Miss Tsune Watanabe, an early graduate of Kobe College, was sent to visit the Jap- anese scattered in the United States. The society helps small churches not yet financially independent, and also supports several theological students. For the defi- nite purpose of training women workers, the sum of 10,000* is being raised, of which more than half is now in the treasurer's hands. At the annual conven- tion in 1932, Mrs. Chiyo Kozaki of Tokyo was elected president, and Mrs. Kane Matsuno of Osaka as secre- tary. Mrs. Kozaki and her husband, Dr. Kodo Kozaki, one of Japan's leading Congregational pastors, in the same year celebrated their golden wedding. Mrs. Hatsune Hasegawa There was once a cartoon in a Congregational peri- odical of a woman playing the organ before a church congregation, while in the next room a baby was crying, * The Japanese yen, designated before the figure, is worth $0.49846 gold in normal times. THE CHURCH AT WORK 9 and the rice was scorching in another room. A second cartoon showed a woman preaching from the pulpit and a baby crawling up the platform. Mrs. Hatsune Hasegawa had drawn these pictures of herself. She is a wife, mother, teacher and preacher. Her husband is pastor of a Congregational church in Kobe. Educated mostly in Government schools, she graduated from the Woman's Higher Normal College, and went through much mental and spiritual struggle before she became a thorough Christian. She teaches in Kobe College, but is better known as a church worker than as a school teacher. Her husband is often absent from home, confi- dent that his wife can take the pulpit while he is gone. Because of her early experiences she can put the truths of Christianity forcibly and convincingly to those young people who are vacillating in their belief. Friends often wonder how she can do so much: She addresses meetings, both secular and religious; she gives talks to parents' associations; she helps her hus- band in his pastoral work; she has many hours of teach- ing in Kobe College. Mrs. Hasegawa typifies many talented women in our Christian communities. As the years pass, her gifts and knowledge will be used most advantageously for the common work of His vineyard. METHODIST WOMEN'S WORK DEPARTMENT The Japanese Christian Year Book of 1932 gives the names of 127 Japanese women working in the 10 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK Methodist Church. Some of them are doubtless doing social work at the same time, but that one and all take the responsibility for some direct evangelistic work goes without saying. This Church leads in Christian social service, such as settlement work, care for the blind and orphans, day nurseries, kindergartens for every social class, night schools, etc. These trained women work in the double capacity of teacher and evangelist. In 1920 the two Women's Mission Socie- ties, one in the east and one in the west of Japan, united into one body, which was recognized as a separate women's organization within the Church. During the thirteen years of the existence of this society there was not one paid worker. Officers and committee mem- bers were volunteers who gladly gave time, strength and money for the noble cause. They spent over 10,000 to help church work in Saghalien, Manchuria, Formosa and the Loo Choo Islands, and to raise pen- sions for retired women workers and scholarships for women theological students. In 1931 three women delegates from this Mission Society presented to the Methodist Assembly a pro- posal to establish a Woman's Work Department, which was unanimously approved. The next year Miss Tomi Furuta was elected superintendent of this depart- ment, and the Mission Society became one of its activities. THE CHURCH AT WORK 11 Miss Tomi Furuta The best-known woman in the Methodist Christian community is Miss Tomi Furuta. She took a higher course at the Aoyama School in Tokyo, and then went to the United States for further study. Since her return she has been connected with evangelistic work of the Methodist body. Her thirty years of faithful, unswerv- ing devotion to the Church have inspired many of the younger generation to follow her footsteps. Her exam- ple draws a large number of women students to the Theological School in Aoyama. Miss Furuta is a remarkable speaker, who can bring home the direct message of the Gospel to any kind of audience. Her conviction, earnestness and sincerity never fail. In Christian conferences and meetings for girls and women, her name appears often as one of the chief speakers. She is active in Christian social work as well, to which she gives time and thought as board member or officer. At the annual meeting of the Meth- odist Assembly in 1932 she was appointed superintend- ent of the Women's Work Department of the Church. Under her wise leadership, the Interdenominational Women's Prayer Union of Tokyo and Yokohama is increasing in strength and scope. In addition to this busy public life, Miss Furuta has been caring for her invalid sister all these years. She is a good nurse, a good cook and a good mother to the helpless sister. Her sweet, benignant face never betrays the burden of pri- 12 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK vate life. She lives what she preaches. Many inviting positions have been offered to her, but she never wavers from the course she took many years ago. No wonder that the women of her own Church love her; in 1932 they held a celebration to show their warm appreciation of her thirty years of church work. WOMEN'S MISSION SOCIETY OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN JAPAN (PRESBYTERIAN AND REFORMED) In April, 1913, there was a devotional meeting of family groups at the late Mr. Uemura's church at which some women members, who had been thinking of that faithful band of women who served Jesus Christ on earth, proposed the formation of a society to spread the Gospel. The idea met with a hearty response, and the Women's Mission Society of the Church of Christ in Japan was organized. Until her death in 1931, the president was Mrs. Tatsu Watanabe, wife of the fa- mous Christian judge. During the first year of its existence, the society sent a woman evangelist to her native province, Sado, where she promptly started work. Later she went to Formosa to visit Japanese Christian families and girls' Government schools. She was assisted by another woman worker, who held evangelistic meetings throughout the island. This worker, the following year, was sent with Pastor Uemura to Korea to help the Japanese churches, and also to open the way for Chris- O CD w u U H O M ffj O w K H PH O H < N 2 O H b O r 5 THE CHURCH AT WORK 13 tian fellowship with Korean women. Thus the work of the society grew year by year until in 1933 it was sup- porting four mission stations with a preacher or min- ister at each. In addition, they have seasonal activities, and hold devotional conferences of a few days for family groups They are also helping with dormitories for Formosan men and women students who are in Tokyo. The whole body of this denomination rejoices over the progress of this society and expects a larger scope of service year by year. Mrs. Tamaki Kawado Uemura Everyone who has studied something about the Protestant movement in Japan knows that Dr. S. R. Brown, one of the first seven pioneer missionaries, came to Japan in 1859 and gathered together a handful of promising young men who became the leaders of the Presbyterian Church. Of these men, Mr. Masahisa Uemura, who was baptized in 1873, became the most prominent Christian pastor not only in that denomina- tion but in the entire Protestant Church. His second daughter, Tamaki Uemura, received her bachelor's degree at Wellesley College in 1915, and on her re- turn married a promising Christian engineer, Mr. Kawado, who was an elder of her father's church and superintendent of its Sunday school. A daughter was born to them, and while she was almost a baby the father died of cancer of the brain. 14 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK Mrs. Kawado, who afterward took her father's name, Uemura, left her little daughter to her mother's care and went abroad to study in 1925, receiving her Bachelor of Divinity degree at New College, Edin- burgh, after three years of hard study. She visited sev- eral cities in Europe, studying different church activi- ties, and returned to Japan in 1929 to start an inde- pendent center for her own work. Her mother lived only two months after her return, and passed away with the satisfaction of handing the little granddaugh- ter safely over to her mother. Mrs. Uemura, as we should now call her, opened a preaching place at her own home. She has a congre- gation of fifty or sixty every Sunday morning, mostly young people. If one realizes that there are many churches of years' standing numbering less than forty, one can see that the growth of her congregation has been surprisingly rapid. The place is already too small and they are planning to enlarge the building; they are trying to raise the necessary funds by prayer and in- dividual endeavor, without depending on entertain- ments and committees, which often hinder the work of the Holy Spirit. Mrs. Uemura has many calls from all over Japan, as well as from Korea, Formosa and Manchuria, wherever Japanese Christians are scat- tered, and her visits cause spiritual awakening in a remarkable measure. She has a chair in the Presbyterian Theological School in Tokyo and also teaches at the THE CHURCH AT WORK 15 Women's Christian College. Her inheritance, her edu- cation and scholarship, and her embodiment of the Christian faith command the respect of men and women, Christian and non-Christian alike. She is now a licensed preacher, and soon she will become the first ordained woman minister in Japan, a worthy heir of her great father. BAPTIST WOMEN'S DEPARTMENT The year 1933 was the sixtieth anniversary of Baptist work in Japan. At the General Assembly of the Baptist Church in May, the Women's Department was organ- ized as one of the seven departments which cover the whole activity of the Baptist movement. Its chairman is Miss Chiyo Yamada, who is now giving her whole time to the Church after having retired as dean of the Baptist girls' school in Yokohama. Her educational experience, her tireless efforts for evangelistic work, and her ability in conducting large gatherings distin- guish her as a leader anywhere. Miss Kishi Abe, the prominent woman evangelist, is secretary. This Woman's Department is the clearing house for all women's work in the Church, and functions smoothly in co-operation with the other six departments. Its main object is to help with the general finances, but particularly to aid the Women's Bible Training School. In this denomination there are twelve senior Japanese 16 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK women workers, and also a number of younger women assisting missionaries. Miss Kiku Ishihara Of all the Christian educational activities, the one unanimously welcomed by society is the Christian kindergarten. The first kindergarten started in Japan was a Christian one. Children's songs were introduced and composed by Christian teachers. Although at pres- ent there are many secular kindergartens, they cannot surpass those undertaken by Christian agencies. There are ten well-known Christian training schools and 327 Christian kindergartens with 16,580 children (1931). These schools are supervised and supported by differ- ent mission boards. The Baptist mission, feeling that the time had come for the leadership to be transferred to the Japanese, handed over their training school to Miss Kiku Ishihara. Miss Ishihara received her first kindergarten train- ing from Mrs. Henry W. Topping, one of the earliest kindergarten specialists in Japan. Later she went to America to get further training, and after her return she gave her untiring service to the promotion of chil- dren's education. Thus Miss Ishihara was well pre- pared to assume her present important position. It is said that her heroic self-sacrifice as she has devoted her- self to the school through years of handicaps saved it from being given up entirely. She became the head of THE CHURCH AT WORK 17 the school, and has graduated fully equipped teachers, who are doing remarkable Christian work through the children of all classes of society. Her school building in Koishikawa, Tokyo, had become too small for the work. Her friends both here and in America rendered her willing help because of her capability and personal- ity, so that the building was enlarged in 1931 for both her school and kindergarten. Hers is a case of beautiful co-operation between foreign and Japanese workers. EPISCOPAL WOMEN'S AUXILIARY Every large denomination in Japan has a woman's organization in each local church, all of which are united in one large group. In the Episcopal Church the Woman's Auxiliary is a union of thirteen local branches, each with several local groups; the total membership is 3,400 (1932). Miss Uta Hayashi, an indefatigable leader, is the national president. These women help with the evangelistic work of the church. Their special responsibility is the support of workers in Formosa and the Saghalien peninsula, and the rais- ing of money to buy land for the building of preaching places. They hold bazaars, and encourage their mem- bers to keep a collection box at home, and to observe daily a period of silent prayer for their work. Seventy- one women are working in churches with clergymen or missionaries, and these women also strengthen the lo- cal branches of the Women's Auxiliary by their visits. 18 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK Mrs. Kinu Sekiya Mrs. Sekiya, whose husband is Vice-minister of the Imperial Household, has always worked for the needy and suffering, but perhaps her chief interests are the leper hospital at Kusatsu, which was started and car- ried on by an English missionary, Miss Cornwall- Leigh, and the Garden Home for tubercular girls in Tokyo, started by Miss M. Tapson. For them she collects large funds from her wealthy friends whom she has edu- cated in the way of giving. Once when she was invited to a dinner party Mrs. Sekiya handed the hostess five hundred yen for Miss Tapson's work, the Garden Home, and one thousand yen for Miss Cornwall- Leigh's leper hospital, saying that it was given anony- mously by one of her friends. These are Episcopal charities and Mrs. Sekiya is a devout member of the Episcopal Church. She is the mother of a gifted son. After graduation at the Tokyo Imperial University he went to Oxford to study. With his high social and intellectual connec- tions, he had every prospect on his return of a fine official position, but much to the surprise and disap- proval of his friends he expressed a desire to be a Chris- tian clergyman. Before going abroad the young man used to invite to his home university students and friends with whom he would hold a Bible class and have serious discussions of life problems. During his absence at Oxford his mother kept up this work with THE CHURCH AT WORK 19 the students. Now mother and son have opened a dormitory for bright boys, as a private undertaking, putting their whole energy into this project. In the Spring of 1933, eight of these boys took the univer- sity examinations, and all passed with little difficulty. This is a splendid record, since only about one in a hundred is able to pass these difficult tests. Mrs. Sekiya and her son have great hopes for these coming young men who with their brilliant mentality should climb high in the spiritual plane. They are praying that there will be a new Christian social order when these youths come to hold the helm of New Japan. LUTHERAN Until about five years ago the activities of women in the United Lutheran Church in Japan were confined to the local societies, known as Fujin Kai. They had no special connection one with the other, and no common objective or task. Prayer was always emphasized, and the Fujin Kai became a praying band of women, and thus their hearts were being prepared for the time when they should hear the call to enter into a broader service. That a general organization of all the Lutheran societies might open the way for this service did not seem to occur to them. But slight unrest led certain missionary women and nationals to come together in conference to plan some forward step and to seek a way for developing leaders. These conferences re- 20 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK suited in the appointment of a committee to prepare suitable programs for the monthly meetings. They also brought to the minds of the Japanese the need for better co-operation and for taking the leadership them- selves. Therefore, it became apparent that a convention of Lutheran women was the need of the hour. It must be remembered that the membership of the entire Lutheran Church of Japan was not over 3,500, and that there were only nineteen women's societies at that time. But that number included women of ability, consecra- tion and a broadening vision. So that, even at the first convention, which was held at Kumamoto in the Spring of 1928, it was apparent that Japanese Lutheran women were ready to fall in line with the thousands of women of other countries to work for the bringing in of Christ's Kingdom on earth. Mrs. Koto Yonemura The beginnings of such an organization generally center around one individual who not only has the ability but is willing to risk taking the lead even in the face of possible failure. Such a leader was found in Mrs. Koto Yonemura, a woman of rare consecra- tion combined with open-mindedness and a desire to be used of her Master even to the point of great sacri- fice. From the very first session, when Mrs. Yonemura stood before this little group of about forty women, with her open Bible in hand, her personality so inspired THE CHURCH AT WORK 21 them that they were ready to follow her lead, and to answer with whole-heartedness when she challenged them in the words that became the keynote of the con- vention, 'The Master is come and calleth for thee." After the convention was over Mrs. Yonemura said, "It seems strange that my humble person must be the president of this organization. Always in my life I have not liked leadership. And fortunately I have always seemed to find my work in humble places, in the many small ways that a pastor's wife finds to help her hus- band. And now it is very confusing to my mind that it has fallen to my lot to accept leadership. But in spite of that feeling I hear a definite call to attempt this difficult thing. And I do it through no power of my own but simply by clinging to the hand of my Saviour. Prayer is all that will carry me through/' And the prayer-life of this splendid woman doubtless furnished much of the strength on which this little organization of women got through its first few difficult years. Quite naturally, in the hearts of a praying group of women, thank offering would early find its place. The following instance will show how truly the real mean- ing of thank offering was observed by them. At the third convention, held in Hakata in October, 1930, it was proposed by one woman that part of the thank- offering money be used for local church expenses. There was a quick protest on the part of a number of women, and out of the discussion that followed it was 22 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK whole-heartedly decided to divide the money, using half for further evangelism in Japan, and the other half to be divided between China and Russia. To the two countries which are Japan's present enemies! Surely much may be expected from this noble group of women who have so early learned the power of prayer, of thank offering and of faithful service to the Master. EVANGELICAL WOMEN'S MISSION SOCIETY Although the Japan Evangelical Church is one of the small denominations in this country, its women's mission society is comparatively well organized. This society is a branch of the Central Evangelical Woman's Mission Society, whose headquarters are in the United States. The Japanese branch was organized in 1918 by Miss Susan Bauernfeind and her co-worker, Miss Sho Tayama. Miss Bauernf eind's long years of work in the Bible school of her church and in a home for orphans, together with her general evangelical work, bring her the honor and respect due her as a great senior mis- sionary. The membership of this mission society is 398 (1933), scattered in 31 places. Its aim is to help raise funds for general mission work by fees and thank offerings. Once a year at its general meeting the mem- bers come together for Christian fellowship and for business. The president is Mrs. Toku Hirase, one of this denomination's younger leaders. In 1931, this small society bravelv aided in building a church in THE CHURCH AT WORK 23 Chiba (two hours from Tokyo) by contributing 3,500. The next year, when the depression in the United States seriously crippled the treasury of their Church, this Japanese woman's society worked to raise part of the support of their twenty-five women church workers. The women's activity of this denomination is char- acteristic of the other small denominations in Japan. However small and weak they may be, their women are trained to share the responsibility for general mis- sion work. Miniature Street Theatre for Bible Stories Every country has its special street show for the amusement of street urchins, something after the order of Punch and Judy or miniature painted theatre scenes accompanied by story-telling. In Japan the latter kind has never lost its popularity since feudal days. It was the only public show in the old days that children of the poor could enjoy. The scenes are often gruesome and demoralizing. In recent years the martial spirit has been inculcated in children through war pictures. The show can be arranged on a small stand and easily carried into alleys and by-ways where hundreds of children and the unemployed find time hanging heavy. The story-tellers easily make a living by selling cheap candy to the children who are attracted by the show. It is said that in Tokyo as many as 800,000 children daily 24 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK see these outdoor shows, at which three thousand story-tellers are busy. Mr. Omori, an old Christian in Numazu near Mount Fuji, thought of using this paper theatre for the pur- pose of evangelism. He went to his pastor and Chris- tian teachers to learn how to make pictures of Bible stories attractive to street children. The creation, Adam and Eve, the story of Moses, the life of Joseph, David and Goliath, the story of Jesus, and the journeys of the teacher Paul were illustrated with beauty and charm, so different from the blood-thirsty pictures of other show- men. Mr. Omori's candy was very cheap and his stories were beautifully told ; in a short time he became so pop- ular that even adults gathered with the children. The other story-tellers, afraid of losing their business, tried to intimidate the old man. "Your chief aim," said Grandfather Omori, "is to sell candy, while mine is to teach Jesus/' He is still giving his peculiar show. Miss Yone Imai also hit upon the idea of using the miniature street theatre for gospel work in a crowded downtown Tokyo ward, Fukagawa. She had helped Dr. Kagawa with his settlement work before she went to the United States to study religious education and social work. On her return she started a little center in this poor, congested Fukagawa section. Fukagawa is almost synonymous with squalor and unhealthiness. After a heavy rainfall parts of it are always flooded. Here Miss Imai, single-handed, started her Christian THE CHURCH AT WORK 25 teaching. Her little house is open for Sunday services, Sunday school, evening classes and employment bu- reau, but her strongest point is religious education. She feels that more emphasis should be put on direct preaching and that social work should follow it. One of her activities is the miniature street theatre. It was some time before anyone paid attention to her show; on the contrary, she was ridiculed for it, and children did not care for the new stories of a repentant son, a kind neighbor, a faithful daughter-in-law or a widow's mite. They were too foreign and too feminine for those street children, whose heroes were the blood- thirsty generals and ruffians of war, and detective stories. Besides, had anyone ever seen a woman carry on this business without selling sweets ? She went on calmly regardless of cold criticism and unpopularity, until curiosity and interest got the better of them, and now they swarm around her and beg for the theatre even when she is occupied otherwise. So self-effacing is Miss Imai that her name and work are little known even among the Christians of the capi- tal. When asked how the work was supported, her answer was, "By miracles/' It is an experiment, she says, and too young to talk about. With her education and wide experience, she has deliberately chosen to live and work among the submerged class of society. She seeks to transform their lives, not by social work first, but by personal evangelism. 26 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK Women's International Prayer Meeting The reader may wonder whether there is in Japan any interdenominational woman's church organiza- tion. There is; it is not a national one, however, but a series of local unions, and these unions are rallying forces for rising above denominationalism. For forty years the Tokyo and Yokohama Interdenominational Women's Prayer Meeting has been convened twice a year. It was started when there were only seven churches in Tokyo; Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe have a similar union. The Women's International Prayer Day was inaugurated in March, 1930. The fourth an- nual meeting, on March 3, 1933, at the Union Church in Tokyo, was the occasion for consolidating a united will to peace among the one hundred and seventy women who attended. These represented Japan, Can- ada, England and the United States, and almost all of the Protestant denominations in Yokohama and Tokyo. No other women's meeting has ever shown such a united desire for world peace as was expressed on that day. A fuller account is given in the chapter on Peace and International Friendship. Here is a be- ginning of church union work among women, and the beginning is a good one. A large field of service awaits interdenominational co-operation. The Kingdom of God Movement is an example of what can be accom- plished. THE CHURCH AT WORK 27 Evangelistic and Interdenominational Conferences Of its many diverse lines of service, the Y. W. C. A.'s yearly summer conferences and camps are perhaps the greatest factor in the direct evangelism of girls of every class, students, business girls, factory workers and daughters at home. It is therefore well to touch briefly upon the religious side of this movement here. The twenty-eighth summer conference, held at Gotemba at the foot of Mount Fuji, closed on August 1, 1933. The origin of these conferences was the visit of a Japanese student, then in an American woman's col- lege, to a Silver Bay conference of the Y. W. C. A. She caught the spirit of that gathering of college students, and when she returned to Japan she burned with the desire that the same sort of work on a small scale might be started in her own land. Providentially she met the late Dr. Caroline Macdonald at Silver Bay and again in Japan when Dr. Macdonald came to organize the Association here. At once a friendship was formed, and together they planned the first summer conference in the Aoyama Methodist School in 1906. It was the first inter-school gathering of girls of every sort, Chris- tian and non-Christian. Ever since then one or two con- ferences have been held every year. These early con- ferences were, for the young movement, both the source of inspiration and the first tangible product. They are the power house that sends out strong reli- gious impulses to individual girls and to schools. 28 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK As the years passed, conferences were held for busi- ness girls and for those who stay at home. In 1922 a large tract of land at Gotemba at the foot of Mount Fuji was purchased by the gift of Y. W. C. A. girls in the United States who had assembled one summer at their own conferences. Here permanent buildings were erected in 1924. The Association originated the idea of camps for girls in Japan, and each large local Associa- tion has now its own camp site where different types of girls meet for needed rest and recreation, as well as Christian teaching. Many call the conference grounds their spiritual birthplace. A secretary who once visited Japanese families along the Pacific coast was greatly surprised to find that many women who had settled there had attended these conferences in their school days. A few years ago the National Board started another summer conference in the Kyushiu district (the southern island), since girls here find Gotemba too distant. It is impossible to measure the lasting effect of Christian education given to Christian and non-Christian girls through these religious gather- ings of the Y. W. C. A. Interdenominational Forces It is always an unwise policy to force leadership upon an immature person. Similarly, it is unwise to force any young church to undertake a large social THE CHURCH AT WORK 29 program while its small congregation is yet young in the faith and Christian living. As has already been said, some churches are so busy assimilating their members that they have no energy and means to spare for any wide co-operative program. On the other hand, many Christians are continually driven by a divine discontent with themselves; they have emerged from the first period of church education and are ready to interpret the doctrine in terms of the life of the nation and the world. Their number is increasing. They are always zealous supporters of great interdenominational pro- grams. Hence the necessity of one co-operative body for the entire Christian force of the land. THE NATIONAL CHRISTIAN COUNCIL AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD MOVEMENT Thus the National Christian Council of Japan, com- posed of practically all the Protestant churches and Christian agencies, was organized in 1924. It acts as a clearing house for its forty-five member bodies; it fosters the spirit of interdenominational co-operation and encourages united aggressive action. Two or three women are elected to the board every year. In 1928, under the unifying influence of this N. C. C, there was a joint nation-wide evangelistic campaign, which touched 91 cities and resulted in 9,500 inquirers and converts, out of the 230,000 addressed. Dr. Ka- gawa gave more time to this campaign than any other 30 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK leader. His vision of "A Million Souls for Christ" fired the imagination of Christians and they generously sup- ported the movement with prayer and money. In the midst of this wide program, Dr. John R. Mott visited Japan, bringing the message and resolutions of the Jerusalem Conference of 1928. He invited the national Christian leaders to two conferences, to discuss ways and means. Dr. Kagawa offered to continue working for the nation-wide campaign for three more years. A special committee, jointly with the f 'Kagawa Co- operators," became sponsor to the campaign, which was called the "Kingdom of God Movement/' The first period of the campaign closed in November, 1932. There had been held over four thousand meetings, at which some two thousand preachers and teachers had participated, with total audiences of nearly a million persons. During this time there were several general conferences for Christians and special group meetings for school principals, as well as lectures and discus- sions on economic and industrial problems with visit- ing foreign Christian leaders, and experiments in rural schools. The second period of the Kingdom of God Move- ment is now under way, and it is to last one more year, with the chief emphasis on rural evangelism. The movement seeks to take up the unoccupied fields one by one under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and to mobilize all Christians in this endeavor. THE CHURCH AT WORK 31 JAPANESE OVERSEAS MISSION WORK Our large Christian churches, either individually or co-operatively, are now giving attention to overseas mission work for Japanese scattered abroad, and for the peoples who have a special relationship to Japan Formosans, Koreans, Manchurians and South Sea Islanders. Government statistics show that at the end of 1932 there were 760,000 Japanese in foreign coun- tries; the principal countries in which they live are: United States 199,128 Peru 20,535 Hawaii 120,908 Philippine Islands 19,572 Brazil 116,647 Straits Settlements 6,833 China 54,965 Dutch East Indies 6,369 Canada 20,989 Mexico 5,832 The overseas work done by Japanese Christians is yet in its infancy. According to the 1933 report of Mr. Makoto Kobayashi, officer of this special work, there are in Korea, Formosa, Manchuria and Saghalien, a total of 136 churches organized by six denominations in Japan, the Church of Christ in Japan, Congrega- tional, Methodist, Episcopal, Holiness and Salvation Army. The work in China, Brazil, Peru, the Philippines and the South Sea Islands is very urgent, and the Over- seas Mission Society is now endeavoring to rouse the interest of Christians throughout Japan in these new fields of service. The work in the mandated South Sea Islands was formerly done by a German mission, but 32 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK since the World War it has been taken over by the mission board of the Japanese Congregational Church, which is responsible for 38 native evangelists and 35 congregations with a membership of nearly 7,000. The larger city congregations take the most inter- est in this work, and girls and women of these churches are active in raising money for its support. In the Fall of 1932 at the Canadian girls' school in Tokyo (Toyo Eiwa) , a pageant was staged entitled, "The Cross Bear- ers," its author and director being one of their teachers, Mrs. Sumi Imai. Through this they realized a sub- stantial sum for foreign mission work, but more than this was the lasting impression of what it meant to be a follower of Christ. So far women have undertaken evangelistic work only within Japan. The day is not far off, however, when the rapid growth of our foreign missions will be calling for their investment of life as well. Miss Azuma Moriya, the outstanding Christian tem- perance worker, visited one of the Panope Islands in the South Sea, and with the permission of their parents brought back with her two native girls. Under her guardianship they went to a Japanese elementary school, graduating after four years. They returned to their island home and began to teach their own sisters not only the three R's but sewing, cooking, etc. Today they are the two outstanding young women in that island, doing a great service for their own people. Miss THE CHURCH AT WORK 33 Moriya called them her daughters in the South Sea Islands. They are naturally very grateful for their op- portunities in Tokyo of coming into contact with many girls and women doing good work in different lines. If our women cannot cross the waters to become missionaries, they can follow Miss Moriya's example and bring into their homes young people of other races, to be trained for work in their own countries. What they can do now is to pray and give for the overseas work, and in so doing the time will soon come when Japan can send abroad her ambassadresses to work hand in hand with sisters of other climes and tradi- tions, all harmoniously and sacrificingly, for the One who died and rose to save and quicken all nations upon the earth to be worthy children of one God, the Father. CHAPTER II JSfew Opportunities The lark sings through the long spring day, But never enough for its heart content. THE POET BASTRO. IN the Spring of 1928 when the International Mis- sionary Council was held at Jerusalem, the writer of this chapter was appointed as one of the dele- gates from Japan. At that time each country sent up its reports, together with the results of the investigations on the different questions sent out previously to each country to study. The great difference in the compara- tive number of Christians in each country made a strong and startling impression on her mind. Japan had, roughly speaking, 300,000 baptized Christians, includ- ing infants, of Catholic and Protestant denominations. As she remembers the proportions presented, it was somewhat as follows: One-fourth of the population of America and one out of two in England were Protes- tant church members, while in the Scandinavian coun- tries and Finland, counting children, ninety-eight out of one hundred were recorded as Christians. She knew that most of the American and European coun- tries were called Christian nations but the comparison proved a startling revelation. 34 NEW OPPORTUNITIES 35 Three hundred thousand Christians out of a total population of 66,000,000 in Japan proper constitute only one Christian to every two hundred inhabitants. Thus, each Japanese Christian, even a child, is respon- sible for two hundred non-Christians. When you say one in two hundred it does not sound appalling, but when you stop to consider how the population of Japan is steadily increasing by a million a year, and then notice this small group of Christians adding to their numbers only ten or fifteen thousand a year, you realize that numerically Christianity is not much more than holding its own. Thus a vast and rapidly growing field remains untouched. Geographic Distribution Omitting newly acquired protectorates, we have 11,500 cities and villages among which there are 112 cities with a population of over 30,000. In all of these cities, Christian work is being carried on. Of the 1,700 towns which have a population of less than 30,000, an even half have had Christian work introduced. But when it comes to the villages, out of 9,737 communi- ties, many of them with populations of several thou- sand persons, there are but 610 with regular Christian work, leaving 83% untouched. Compared to the non-Christian religions, our forces seem very inconsiderable. As against the 70,000 Bud- 36 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK dhist temples and some 100,000 monks and priests, Christian churches and preaching places number a scant 2,000, with several often served by a single Chris- tian worker. Large areas approximating 85% of the communities of Japan have no Christian work, and those that are occupied, in nearly all cases, are but very inadequately reached. Thus it is apparent that considered in these terms of population and geography an immense amount of work remains to be done for which the Japanese church is quite inadequate. The Intellectually Unreached Christianity is essentially the creating of a new mind set. A person may be reformed as to this habit and that, but he is not a Christian in the true sense of the word until his mental activity has been recreated. This is the business of the Christian school. That such a large proportion of women whose hus- bands occupy leading positions have graduated from Christian schools, is witness to the way the education fostered by missions is influencing the whole nation. The Government had failed till recent years to see the need for education of women beyond elementary grades, and so Christianity seized its opportunity to meet their need. Even yet, aside from two higher nor- mal schools and the national conservatory of music, there is no college education for girls in Japan aside NEW OPPORTUNITIES 37 from Christian schools and other private institutions. The influence of such schools has been like the great oaks, that growing upon the hillsides drop their acorns down the slopes, and from these seeds sprout new trees. To provide really Christian education remains an urgent challenge to Christian forces. Christian ideals in education are found to run quite counter to those generally prevalent in non-Christian schools. Japan's scholars will vie with those of any other countries with their stores of knowledge. And yet with all this form of modernity, the mental life of Japan today is for the most part loyalty to authoritative teaching instead of loyalty to the truth itself, an effort to do the proper thing instead of to do what seems reasonable. Life be- comes an endless acting out of a drama instead of being lived as an expression of one's own self. Christian education more than any other means brings salvation from this artificiality. It teaches the importance of personality. If conducted aright, its instruction is throughout one of personal discovery instead of imbibing infallible knowledge. Schools like these build true womanhood as God intended it to be, set free to think, and to be oneself, and to know that joy that comes alone to one who fellowships with Truth. 38 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK Social Dissatisfaction At present we have a tendency towards terrorism, to either the "Left" or the "Right" wing. One is called "White ' and the other is called "Red." The "Red," as is universally known, is the Communistic one. To the amazement of the sober public, we have hundreds of the best and most promising students in the higher schools such as colleges and universities going into the Communistic movement thinking that this is the only way at present to save the people who are stricken by economic pressure and unemployment. The Gov- ernment is determined to crush this movement and yet from time to time we see that many of the young men and women of the best type are still drawn in this direction. Then, on the other hand, we have "White Terror- ism." Of this we had a concrete example in the May 15, 1932, incident. Eleven young army officers and ten young navy officers, together with several members of "The Blood Brotherhood," an association composed of young farmers, formed a secret "patriotic" band. With a desire to foment a revolution, they cruelly assassinated the Premier. Dressed in the uniform of service to their country they wilfully broke its laws. No matter whether they belonged to the "left" or the "right" wing, so long as they lived under and pledged allegiance to a country NEW OPPORTUNITIES 39 where a constitution, law and order do exist, they can- not be allowed to inflict such rules of terrorism. At the same time, the leaders of the people must show the right path through which these headstrong, idealistic young spirits can proceed by constitutional methods, for we cannot and must not ignore them. Christians in Japan stand in a position to show the nation a clear and definite path of duty according to the principles by which Christ would have them led under such conditions. Consciously or unconsciously the public of Japan today is looking to the Christians for aid in solving the social dilemma as dissatisfaction and disorder arise. And the Christians, not only of Japan, but all over the world, have a heavy responsibil- ity on their shoulders to offer a Christian solution to this problem. By the Printed Page When it comes to use of the printed page, one senses something of the vitality of Christianity as com- pared to the non-Christian faiths. Out of a total of 1,153 titles published in 1931 dealing with religious subjects, the Christian books numbered approximately 250, or over 20% of the total. Yet, as noted, Christians number only one-half of 1% of the population. Thus, such a figure would indicate that Christians had shown forty times the relative energy of non-Christian forces 40 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK in the production of books. The book with the largest circulation last year was Kagawa's "A Grain of Wheat," which ran through 161 printings and has also been filmed. As to periodicals, out of 9,386, not including dailies, those devoted to the Christian religion number 260. This activity in Christian periodicals shows even more vitality than in the case of the books, when it is recalled that all types of publication are included, and also that besides those which are printed by presses, nearly every church tends to issue its own local magazine, either monthly or weekly, by use of a multigraph. The Christian magazines that enjoy the largest circulation are the "Kingdom of God Weekly," a magazine pub- lished by the Salvation Army, a temperance monthly, and "The Christian Graphic." These average a circu- lation of 10,000 to 50,000. Periodicals have an advan- tage over books for fostering the Christian life, in that they provide a measure of continuity. Some of the most splendid of all opportunities can be found within this type of evangelism through the medium of the printed page. Every Christian school ought to have one worker, either Japanese or foreign, assigned to such literature evangelism among students and alumni and those who in any way come in contact with the school. NEW OPPORTUNITIES 41 Professional Distribution STUDENTS AND TEACHERS Although religious education of any kind has been barred from the public schools for a long time, the necessity of religious education is beginning to be strongly felt and the doors of the elementary schools are slowly opening to religion. Christian teachers and pastors, Buddhist priests and teachers of the Shinto sect are visiting primary schools of Tokyo one after the other, giving religious talks according to their faith. Among the middle school teachers this tendency is also remarkable. Formerly it was absolutely impossi- ble for any Christian teacher to be invited to give lec- tures from a Christian standpoint, but now many Chris- tian speakers are welcomed in the public high schools and even in normal schools. A few years ago the prin- cipals of the girls* high schools met at their annual conference and in the course of their discussions they came to the conclusion that they must give some kind of religious teaching to their students. They had been forced to admit that education alone does not produce a great people or fine citizens, and that some sort of steadying, uplifting influence is necessary. However, these educators are mostly non-religious people and they do not know what to give their students. Besides, the constitution provides for religious freedom and the choice of a religion must be left to youth itself. 42 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK So you see, although the resolution was passed by the principals' conference and a general feeling has been awakened for the need of religion, it is another mat- ter as to what religion the youth of Japan shall take. Which religion will they choose? In this field we see a great unoccupied area and one of tremendous im- portance to the forces of Christianity. THE DOCTORS AND NURSES Among the doctors and nurses it is hard to get exact statistics of Christians, but recent estimates show that among the 6,000 men and women doctors in Tokyo there are about 500 Christians. In the early part of the Meiji Era there were some medical missionaries and, in consequence, a certain number of nurses were trained by Christians. But the rapid growth of the medical practice and nurses' training courses con- ducted by the Government left little space for any Christian medical schools or nurses' training homes. All the same, there is a great need for the spirit of Christianity among nurses and doctors. Such hospitals as St. Luke's conducted by the Episcopal Church are meeting an urgent need. Lately, hospitals conducted on the Christian co-operative system under the leader- ship of people like Dr. Kagawa have been started in several places and the movement is gaining in spite of the opposition of practitioners. If this movement grows, it will give necessary help to those who need NEW OPPORTUNITIES 43 it at most reasonable rates, and we hope that those villages where thousands still live without any com- munity or village doctors will be helped. One con- cretely useful work being done in this field is, for example, that of Mr. M. Sugiyama, one of the right- hand men of Dr. Kagawa, who visits villages as a dentist and in this way prepares the path for gospel meetings. Here we have a great unoccupied field. POLICE We often hear that the Japanese policemen rank high for their efficiency and honesty. They cannot be bribed. However, on their small incomes it is hard for them to maintain such a standard of living as would befit the rather important station which a Japanese policeman feels that he holds and which the public recognizes. In this connection a very interesting piece of work was started about three years ago by a daughter of a chief of police from southern Japan, Mrs. Toyo Honda. Knowing intimately the needs and privations of the families of policemen, she longed to do some- thing to help them. It was while she was working with the W. C. T. U. in Tokyo that she was able to arouse the interest of Mrs. Adachi, wife of the Home Minister at that time, and also the Commissioner of the Police Bureau of Japan. With their aid she procured a house and began work among the families of the policemen. 44 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK There are 15,000 policemen in Tokyo and its vicinity for whom this home serves as a center. A day nursery for the children of policemen is conducted there, along with lectures and mothers' meetings, sewing courses, and other beneficial work. Incidentally, the words of the Gospel also reach the ears of the police through this channel. As they are men who come in constant contact with the sordid side of life, they stand in special need of religious influence. This is unique in character and is another field as yet still uncultivated. SHOPBOYS In former days most of the boys were apprenticed to certain masters for seven or ten years, then they be- came independent tradesmen. It was a hard life in which the apprentices worked long hours with prac- tically no vacations and little or no pay. This evil, often tantamount to slavery, is changing in Japan just as everything else. However, in its place has come the new evil of young people with time to call their own and some money to spend, but not knowing what to do with themselves. It is a measure of liberty for which society has left them quite unprepared. In the past, shopboys all over the land worked 363 days a year and had only two days out of the whole year which they could really consider their own, namely, New Year's day and "O-bon," the festival day for the departed souls. But recently holidays have increased until they * .. : Vrf- >'' i > .k , o H < s H z w u -< C/J O o g 2, I NEW OPPORTUNITIES 45 have as many as two or three days off duty in a month. Such days are most apt to be spent foolishly by young shopboys and girls. Many of the churches in large cities have begun to have special gatherings and meet- ings for them at such times. In this work there is a large field waiting to be studied and used. There is a great need of work in the form of mental, spiritual and physical uplift for these classes of boys and girls. To meet this need some missions have started night schools offering English and business courses, and giving them Christian teachings at the same time. In Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe and many other places these night schools helping young men and women are often of a high order. Many good business men of today have received their training in such centers. Racially AINU Racially speaking, the various peoples inhabiting these islands have been merged into a single and some- what homogeneous race with a single culture. As some- one has said, "There are nothing but Japanese in Ja- pan!" And yet, there are the Ainu people way up north in Hokkaido and the Seiban in Formosa. These are quite distinctive from the rest of the population. The Ainu are considered the aborigines of Japan. Formerly they were found all over Japan, especially in the north- ern part, but their number is constantly decreasing 46 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK through high mortality and intermarriage. There is now a law protecting them but even so their numbers have been reduced to 16,000. Among these people we have a need of proclaiming the Gospel. We have some rare instances of missionary interest in this people, notably Archdeacon Bachellor, and the churches near where they are located are trying to stretch helping hands. But in general this may be reckoned an unoccupied field. SEIBAN The Seiban are those tribes who live in the moun- tainous provinces of Formosa. Figures are vague as to their exact numbers but there must be at least a hun- dred thousand. They are said to be head hunters. Once we had a policeman sent by the Japanese Government who was very anxious to stop this custom among these people. While he was working among them, most of those whom he was able to reach followed his request and abandoned this terrible custom. But a new police- man came to one of these tribes and on one occasion aroused their anger, whereupon they stood up like one man and planned to kill him. Hearing of this, the other man deliberately changed his clothes and took the place of the man who had offended them. When the villagers obtained the head, they found that it was that of their beloved policeman! Since that time this tribe has entirely abandoned this custom. This man NEW OPPORTUNITIES 47 who gave his life was not professedly a Christian, but it was a practical exhibit of the spirit of Christ through which he taught them. For these tribes of Formosa, also, there is need of evangelistic work. THE SUIHEISHA OR OUTCASTS (ETA) Although the Japanese consider themselves a pure race, yet they have some three millions who for cen- turies have been looked down upon as outcasts. Their exact origin is not known. They live in special districts and pursue certain kinds of trades disdained by ordi- nary people such as killing dogs, or tanning hides. The revolution of the Meiji Era erased all these class distinctions in theory and they were made equal in the eyes of the law. Today they are allowed in the public schools, can enter army and navy service, and take on full responsibilities as citizens. And yet, social feel- ing is a difficult thing to blot out in one generation. The Government is doing everything it can to raise their status, but it will be some years before they are accepted as equals in all matters and the class distinc- tions of many centuries' standing are abolished. Following this Government leadership, here and there are examples of young evangelists going among the Suiheisha and preaching the Gospel. Among women we have a notable example in Michiko Miya- saki, who came as a rescued girl to the Women's Home 48 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK of the W. C. T. U. at Tokyo. After several years' stay there she became convinced that Christianity alone could give help so she asked to be sent to one of the Bible schools. After three years she volunteered to go back to her home district. Most people of this class hide their origin but this girl confessed frankly that her people belonged to this class. There, as one of them, she opened her mission station by her own ef- forts, selling medicine and other things to pay rental for the house she uses for this purpose. She carries on Sunday schools and week-day schools and is a worker most needed and loved by the children and their par- ents, and her influence is expanding daily among her people. Aside from a few examples such as hers, we must consider these several million people an unoccupied field. THE UPPER CLASSES It sounds strange to bring down the upper classes to this class where Christianity is not preached. But it is usually hard to send messengers of the Gospel to the aristocratic people. However, we have a fine ex- ample of a woman who has wisely combined work among the upper and lower classes. She is Miss Yuka Noguchi of the Futaba Kindergarten. From young womanhood she has devoted her life to the care of little children. Having been a teacher in the Peeresses' NEW OPPORTUNITIES 49 School attended by children of the nobility, she made the acquaintance of people of the upper classes. She knew that the need was not only in the homes of the upper classes but in the lowest families as well, so while she was teaching the nobility she procured a lot and by strenuous effort raised a fund and built houses to accommodate a day nursery for the poor classes of people. In the center of this nursery she had a chapel built and to this chapel she called together her former pupils, the daughters and wives of the best families in the nation. And here these women who rather avoided attending Christian churches could come and gather around their own teacher, and every time they gath- ered, they received Christian teaching as well as en- thusiasm for social work among the poorer classes of people. Miss Noguchi is not satisfied with giving regu- lar teaching alone but from time to time she provides new and good books on religion, education, and men- tal and spiritual unlift and, urging the purchase of such books, she quietly influences these upper-class women with Christian ideals. By the example they set and through their leadership in the social and political life of the nation, they constitute an important field which should be cultivated. Recent Work Among the Farmers Nearly one-half of the population of Japan works on farms. Here is the largest unreached field. Outside 50 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK of a little over 800 towns and cities, the rest are all villages, often small and remote places. Looking over all the towns and villages we find 10,000 untouched by Christianity. Since the time of the Jerusalem Conference in 1928, special interest has been turned toward rural work by the Christian workers throughout the world, especially in India, in China, and in Japan. There are pioneers in such work among the Japanese rural workers like Mr. Y. Kurihara, who has his center of work near Tokyo, and Mr. K. Abe who works in the region of Kyoto, and the Rev, Mosser Smyser who pedals his way on a bicycle preaching to a circuit of 52 villages in Akita prefecture in northern Japan. Truly, his work is like that of the saints of old. The Quakers are also carry- ing on rural gospel work in part of Ibaraki prefecture and have established several centers there. FARMERS' ^EVANGELISTIC SCHOOLS When the Kingdom of God Movement was started, the work of these men was incorporated as one of the big branches of the plan, and with the co-operation of the National Christian Council the Farmers' Evan- gelistic Schools were started with a definite plan throughout the country. These schools are conducted under the auspices of this movement by competent workers such as Dr. Kagawa, Mr. M. Sugiyama, and many others. They visit these various schools and NEW OPPORTUNITIES 51 stay for days, or weeks, or even a full month at a time, living with these young men of the country and giving them the most necessary training. In the centers where these evangelistic schools are located, we find the day nurseries which are most needed in country places at harvest time, during the silkworm-raising season, or at the rice transplanting period. Such centers can also be utilized for the education of young people in the winter seasons by conducting night schools, or provid- ing periodical lectures. This field of villages almost untouched by Christianity as yet offers a vast and fertile ground for a great work. GIRLS' SOCIETIES Another opportunity in the village districts is the well-organized system of girls' societies sponsored by the Government, which includes all the young women after they finish their compulsory education at the age of 12 or 13 until they get married, which is usually between the ages of 20 to 25. Counting the women of Japan from 15 to 25, we have about 5,000,000 or more, and among these women those who are in the country places are all organized into a large group called the Girls' Society. We have 14,232 such Girls' Societies formed at present with a membership of 1,610,438 girls. These groups come together under the county society auspices once or twice a year. Several hundred girls gather and discuss problems about raising crops, 52 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK or health, or methods of raising the best poultry, and such subjects as are of direct interest to them in their village life. Often the Government sends leaders to guide these groups of young women. It is interesting to see these hundreds of young women gathering from their village homes and bringing out practical ques- tions for public discussions. These million and a half girls hold their national conferences yearly, mostly in Tokyo. We hear from time to time of several of these women's groups passing resolutions to the effect that they will not marry men who drink. In a little village in Gumma where there are five thousand houses there is not a single house where drink is allowed, and the girls of that village stand strong in this resolution con- cerning marriage. We heard recently that in one of the most poverty- stricken villages in Yamagata prefecture the people were engaging in the traffic of their girls. This excited the feelings of the whole country. The Girls' Society of that community, thus fortified, stood up against the practice and resolved that thereafter they would not consent to send out their girls for such purposes. Even in Amakusa, a little island especially noted for its traffic of young girls, the Girls' Societies and the offi- cers in these districts are much concerned in the matter of stopping this awful custom. In old-fashioned Japa- nese homes, young women were the weakest members of the family, whose wills were easily crushed by their NEW OPPORTUNITIES 53 fathers, brothers, or sometimes even by relatives. But now these young women are finding themselves and, in united effort, are beginning to assert their rights. In spite of these splendid examples, there are multi- tudes of backward communities, especially in northern Japan, where young women are still the chattels of barter. Where they escape the fate of indenture in fac- tory or brothel, marriage in the majority of cases is but another form of servitude. These well-organized young women's societies offer a wonderful field, as yet but sparsely occupied, for sisterly fellowship and evangelism. Strengthened in Christ their members may be more able to resist the temptations and injustices to which they are now subjected. Similar societies exist for young men. FISHERMEN Japan is a nation whose wealth lies in the sea, with one of the longest coastlines in the world for a country of its size. The whole population of numerous villages devote themselves to fishing while other villages are part fishing and part agricultural. The fisherman's lot is a hard one. A sudden storm often takes heavy toll of lives. The catch usually brings but small returns, the dealers who purchase it having the fishermen at their mercy due to their lack of organization and due to the nature of their article which must be disposed of at once lest it spoil. As both nets and boats are often 54 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK the property of a local capitalist who must exact his share which often constitutes the greater part of the catch those who risk their lives get but little in return. Dr. Kagawa has been calling much attention to these fishermen lately in his writings. As yet very few Christians can be found in this class of people, prob- ably not more than 5,000 including part-time farmers. Lack of medical care among them is notorious. But few of their villages are visited either by doctors or nurses, and both consumption and trachoma abound. Christian medical work would prove a most effective means of contact in this now practically untouched field. Work Among the Factories Statistics show that there are 1,004,000 women work- ing in the factories. When we look at the fact that silkworm raising, spinning, and the manufacturing of cotton goods are the chief industries of the country, we can understand why we have so many women in the factories. Years ago when advanced machines were introduced into Japan in spinning raw silk, the mental attitude of the girls was found to have such a direct effect on the kind of thread they spun that when the manufacturers wished to produce the best kind of threads they found it necessary to have the girls con- tented with their life so they would put whole- hearted effort into their work. This is a natural law NEW OPPORTUNITIES 55 which especially applies in the production of fine silks. Yet the work multiplies with wonderful rapidity and we see there are factories numbering 62,000 today, whereas there was not a single one seventy years ago. We must realize that the proper management of these factories could not be worked out overnight to keep pace with their growth. It means that there are many, many factories built solely on the basis of money- making and profiteering. Recently the Christian community began to see the necessity of looking into these factories as an unoccu- pied field. So far we have had a few missionaries or denominations going into this work, sending their workers to the different factories on Sundays or week days whenever they were allowed, or conducting reli- gious meetings among the boys and girls of the fac- tories. There are great problems still to be solved before Christians can advance their evangelistic work in this vast field. Christian leaders must decide their stand in dealing with this present-day problem, the perplexing questions arising as a result of the machine age. In a recent meeting of the United Study Band of the National Christian Council and the Kingdom of God Movement in Tokyo this problem was brought up and was discussed to some extent but no solution was reached. We do not side with the Soviets, neither are we pro-capitalists, but as the problem stands, the Christian Church at large must lift its banner high and 56 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK clear so that the whole Christian community, as well as the nation, can know where it stands. Once deter- mined as to its stand, Christian workers can strive with a firm, clear-set purpose in this vast and troubled field. Work Among the Manchukuo People The Japanese women of Manchuria are united into one union called the Zen Man Fujin Rengo Kwai, or the Federation of Manchukuo Women's Leagues, and are carrying on a noble work. With the beginning of complications and hostilities in the Fall of 1931, the W. C T. U. had looked on ready to help. That opportunity came with the call for help in the form of a telegram from the women of Dairen and Mukden. Raising a fund of 5,000, the W. C. T. U. immediately sent Miss Hayashi and the writer to Manchukuo. There they were surprised to find the strength and organization of the Japanese women. Altogether, the union of these organizations in- cluded 120 women's groups ail working as if with one mind. Much as the women's societies of Tokyo had united during the days which followed the great earth- quake, so these women had been called together by urgent needs arising from warfare. Their first and most immediate call was for relief work, relief among the refugees, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese, as well NEW OPPORTUNITIES 57 as relief work among the soldiers. As the most imme- diate needs were gradually taken care of, the women began to see the necessity of a permanent organization to look after the welfare of the country, and the Federa- tion of the Manchukuo Women's Leagues was for- mally organized. It holds as its chief aims two things, care of the soldiers and settlement work. The women felt that the keepers of law and order, as well as their own sons and someone's else sons, should be looked after by motherly hands. They built a home for sol- diers, where homelike domestic comfort and surround- ings are given them. Next, they saw that the young people of Manchukuo must be protected and social work is being carried on. To do this work they raised a fund of 60,000 in an appeal to the whole of Man- chukuo and to all the women's organizations of Japan. Today their work is recognized not only by the Gov- ernment but by the general public. Christian women are taking prominent part in the social welfare work. Here again is a vast field newly opened to Christianity for strengthening Christian ideals and policies and opening new paths. Missionaries Still Needed When you look over all these unoccupied fields above stated, you will see that there is still a need for missionaries. Although Christianity has been intro- 58 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK duced into Japan, it is far from being a part and parcel of the life of the Japanese as yet. To many it is still a Sunday religion or something to be put on in church. It does not take a deep and important part in their lives and in their daily actions. Almost unconsciously, Bud- dhism, with its 1,400 years' background, is deeply im- bedded in the life, thought and actions of the people of the country. Christianity, introduced four hundred years ago, and Protestantism only within the last sev- enty years or so, has still far to go before it permeates the lives and hearts of the people. To make it part and parcel of the life of the nation takes time and patience, and today, just as the need of Christianity has begun to take root and grow, it is more important than ever that missionaries be sent to Japan to help our people to LIVE Christianity as well as learn Christianity. Good Christian lives of missionaries are needed in Japan as examples. The time is almost past for just pure teaching as one would teach a child in the first rudiments, and the period has come when the people need to be shown how they can apply the Christianity they have learned to life itself. In other words, we are growing up and need not only a teacher but a friend and a co-partner in working out our Christianity. There is also the danger that we will begin to form an isolated, Japanized Chris- tianity of our own without the broadening aid of Occi- dental eyes and thinking. Today, more than ever be- NEW OPPORTUNITIES 59 fore, missionaries and Christian workers are needed who can come to Japan to live with us, work with us, and set us a loving Christ-like example. More than ever before, a spirit of co-operation is needed where mis- sionaries can work shoulder to shoulder with us in our search for a national Christian living and Christian thought. CHAPTER III Advance in Education The Cherry-trees in my old home, Long despaired of, have bloomed at last. THE POET ISSA. 1813. SOME fifteen years ago the writer was waiting for a friend at a certain station with a promi- nent American missionary, Miss Nannie Gaines of Hiroshima. A group of gaily dressed dancing girls passed in front of us. Miss Games' observing eyes fol- lowed them till they disappeared in the crowd. How well do I remember her wistful expression as she said, "I wish that all the dear young girls in Japan would not hesitate to dress as gaily and brightly as those dash- ing damsels if they choose. It is a shame that the love- liest colors and most beautiful designs are used by the demi-mondaines, while the daughters of refined fam- ilies and innocent school girls are always garbed in drab colors with tiny figures or entirely plain." In former days the traditional qualities cherished by Japanese womanhood were self-effacement and resig- nation, the very opposite of self-assertion. Negative virtues were strongly enforced, while positive ones were often looked upon as even dangerous for women. The marks of high breeding were modesty and un- obtrusiveness. In those days, therefore, modest women 60 ADVANCE IN EDUCATION 6l dressed in materials of good quality but of sombre color and small figures or stripes, although the lining and undergarment might be of gorgeous colors and fantastic pattern, and this is the case with mature women today. It is not so among modern, worth-while young women, who are fully awakened to their own individuality. Their inner world, the thought world, is expressed in their dress. Today one is struck by the galaxy of colors of the average young woman's ornate clothes. No color is too bright and no figure too large for her. What is the cause of this outward change? The jazz life of the post-war West and fatalistic ideas after the earthquake of 1923 have much affected our daily life. But the present gaiety as expressed in gor- geous color and loud sound represents something more subtle and more subjective than a passing fad or an outside influence. It is the individuality of Japanese womanhood, grad- ually awakened during the Meiji Era (1868-1912), and further quickened into life in the Taisho period (1912-1926), which is now asserting itself more and more strongly in self-expression and self-expansion. This inner quickened life is ready to break the shackles of age-long convention whenever and wherever op- portunity offers, and self-adornment is only one phase of self-expression. Thus one sees on the main streets of big cities many young women conspicuously dressed in gay kimono or in short or trailing European clothes, 62 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK with their curled hair bobbed or shingled. What is responsible for this peculiar fashion ? It is the spirit of the age, an age of unrest, of insecurity and instability in all phases of life. Is it possible to clothe our young generation in drab colors either mentally or physically in this turmoil of economic fluctuation, amid the clash of old and new, the revolt against the unjust legal position of women, and imported "dangerous thought," or Communism? The economic bombs which shattered the bedrock of the family system forced women to become bread- winners independently or together with their brothers. Girls now needed a different education from their mothers. The seers of the period read the signs of the times and they agitated for the education of girls, who were to play a big part in the coming era. Conse- quently, compulsory elementary education for boys and girls alike of all classes was introduced, the period of which now covers six years. Compulsory Elementary Schools Compulsory elementary education has in sixty years reduced illiteracy among men to less than six per cent, while for women the ratio is naturally higher (no sta- tistics available). The elementary school attendance for boys and girls, however, is now about the same, so that within twenty or thirty years Japan will be an ADVANCE IN EDUCATION 63 entirely literate nation. The latest statistics (1930) show the following figures: Elementary Schools Number of schools 25,600 Number of teachers 229,000 Number of pupils 9,680,000 Yearly expenditure 329,000,000 Per capita expenditure 27 NECESSITY FOR CHRISTIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS The expenditure for elementary schools comes di- rectly from the treasuries of cities, towns and villages, and not from the national treasury. Therefore in small towns and villages it is the heaviest item of the budget. The average annual education item for cities (popula- tion 30,000 or over) is about 13%; for towns and villages (over 12,000), 47%. It is obvious that the burden of this responsibility is too heavy upon the small towns and villages, so that there has been a cry against it, and subsidies have been given by the Na- tional Government. The wonder is that the peasants, when they were already at the lowest ebb, still have managed so far to carry school expenses. This shows how deeply the necessity for education has been em- bedded throughout the whole land. These public elementary schools, often called the national education, are so well established every- where that there are very few private schools of this 64 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK grade, and of these the number undertaken by mission boards is negligible, namely five, with 692 children, according to the Christian Year Book of 1932. This is the chief reason why we hear so little of Christian women teachers engaged in these schools. Moreover, the majority of Japanese teachers, even in elementary schools, are men, a fact which seems very peculiar to the West. There are many Christian kindergartens (373, with 16,759 children), and good Christian secondary schools, but the gap between kindergarten and sec- ondary school has never been bridged. Many children, after a Christian kindergarten stage, never again come under Christian school influence. Those who attend a Christian kindergarten, and after a period at a public elementary school return to the Christian influence of a good mission secondary school, have lost several years of vital training at the most impressionable time of their lives. Many others encounter Christianity for the first time in secondary schools. How great the need therefore for more Christian elementary schools. The writer sees very clearly why certain Christian schools have dropped their elementary departments: First, prejudice against Christianity from the commu- nity, especially from parents; second, lack of Christian teachers and general equipment; third, the difficulty of conforming to the rigid Government regulations for elementary schools. These three difficulties, how- ADVANCE IN EDUCATION 65 ever, have been somewhat ameliorated recently. Our educational authorities are more sympathetic with and in some cases more lenient toward Christian edu- cation. It is therefore timely for Christians to recon- sider the whole educational world, especially the ques- tion of starting more elementary schools. Dr. Sasao of Meiji Gakuin, a well-known leader in education as well as in theology in Japan, said that if there were funds for the purpose, it was more im- portant and more efficient to establish Christian ele- mentary schools than to found a Christian university. "If a child is educated from his school age up to college in Christian schools, it matters little whether he attends a Christian university or any other, as his character is formed by that time; he may go through a period of doubt, but in nine cases out of ten he will come through safe and sound." This holds true in any Christian land. It is hard for any Japanese youth to become a Christian after entering college or university, and it is becoming still harder as the national and international life is growing more complicated day by day. We hope, therefore, to see good private elementary schools undertaken by individual Christians or by church workers. The elementary schools carried by the United Church of Canada in Tokyo, one by the Southern Methodist Board in Hiroshima, and several by Cath- olic organizations, have commanded the respect of the 66 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK public ever since they were started. Mrs. Moto Hani, among all her many different interests, has started a model primary school for children which is keenly watched by the public. (See page 76.) Some other Christian women are planning to open the same sort of schools within a year or two. Here is a big field awaiting Christian activity. "ILLEGAL" CHILDREN AND MRS. NINOMIYA'S WORK A shadow hovers over the well-organized Govern- ment school system; it is the exclusion of "illegal" children from the public school enrolment. An illegal child is one whose birth has never been registered. Japanese marriage is a legal matter; if it is not entered in a public registry office, even if it receives the sanction of parents and priests, the couple is not legally married and their children are called illegal. There are many such in the lower classes and, until they are registered, they are excluded from the public schools. A strong cry, especially on the part of women, has risen against this discrimination, which will soon result, we hope, in a favorable change in the law. These neglected children have had a strong cham- pion in Mrs. Waka Ninomiya of Yokohama, who died in 1931. Actively interested in all social movements for women and children, she had a kindergarten and also an elementary school for illegal children. She helped thousands of parents to have their children ADVANCE IN EDUCATION 67 legalized before school age, so that they could receive public education, and at the same time worked ardently to abolish this unfair law of the land. The Govern- ment recognized her forty years of service in social welfare by decorating her as a benefactress of Yoko- hama. Girls' High Schools PLACE OF CHRISTIAN GIRLS* HIGH SCHOOLS UNDER MISSION BOARDS Every book dealing with Christianity in Japan gives the major credit for girls' education to schools started by early missionaries. This historical fact never loses its value and romance. x Christians should feel honest pride in pointing out to the world that almost all the prominent girls' schools here with a history of forty or fifty years were founded by messengers of the Gospely These schools have produced a majority of the women leaders in the present Japany It is amazing to see what a large proportion of key women in any community doing worth-while work are the products of these schools, even though they may not always be professing Christians. This is due to the obvious fact that Christian schools led in girls' education, and that those who wished an all-round education found satis- faction here rather than in the secular schools, which were still in their infancy. Hereafter, however, many women leaders will come out of state or public schools, 68 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK not because Christian schools have lost their prestige, but because the public institutions can accommodate a greater number. Girls' High Schools, 1930 No. of Schools Students Graduates Public schools 940 359,300 82,700 Christian schools of the same grade under different mission boards 39 14,188 2,029 There are a few private schools started and main- tained by individual Christians, and it is a hopeful sign that their number is increasing. These schools may not all come under the category of Christian schools, but the Christian influence pervades them. Therefore, in spite of their small number, these private schools are looked up to by the community when it comes to char- acter building. Such schools stress quality rather than quantity. Moreover, many Christian teachers in public schools influence their students directly or indirectly. Many a time the writer has been asked by foreign visitors whether the time has not come when "mission schools" are no longer necessary. These people look only at the machinery of our education without fath- oming its spirit. The answer is to be found in the fact that our educational authorities, finding that the only schools which provide religious education are Chris- ADVANCE IN EDUCATION 69 tian, are urging secular schools to inculcate religious sentiment into their students. The domestic and for- eign turmoil of these recent years in Japan has at last opened the eyes of educators to the fact that intellec- tual and even moral teachings without religious train- ing make cle/er rascals rather than good citizens. This is an admitted failure on the part of our national edu- cation. Hurriedly looking around for a remedy, they discovered that the very schools which they had ill- treated because of their tenacity in clinging to their religious tenets were the ones to set the standard of good citizenship. Together with this favorable change of attitude on the part of the Government, the material side of these Christian schools has been recently much improved; the standard of buildings and equipment as well as of the teaching force has risen greatly. Therefore these schools are overcrowded with students, just as are the Government or public schools. We should like to see many more new schools established by Christian agencies. The following quotation from the report of the Japanese Joint Committee on Education is enlighten- ing: Christian Schools above Kindergarten, 1930-31 Number of schools 114 Number of students (approximately) 37,000 Number of Japanese teachers 2,253 70 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK Number of foreign teachers 356 Income from tuition 2,380,000 Appropriations from abroad (not including missionary salaries) 1,210,000 Interest from endowments 130,000 "Thus, as you see, we have about 37,000 students and an annual expenditure of 3,700,000, or about 100 per capita on the average. That this is too small goes without saying Again, the whole number of schools is listed at 114, but if the separate departments of large schools are put together, the number will be reduced to about 70, and if only cities such as Tokyo and Kyoto are counted as educational units, the num- ber will be decreased to 21. "In Japan when a town has a population of over 30,000 it ranks as a city, and of such we have 110 in all, but we have Christian schools in only one-fourth of this number, leaving three-fourths of our large cities without Christian education/' (Japan Christian Year Book, 1932.) Can anyone doubt after this the necessity of increas- ing Christian schools of all kinds in this huge popula- tion of sixty-six million (including Korea and Formosa, almost ninety million) , with a million annual increase ? CHRISTIAN GIRLS* SCHOOLS STARTED BY JAPANESE WOMEN The time has come, however, for Japanese Chris- tians to forsake the idea that anything undertaken in ADVANCE IN EDUCATION 71 the name of our Lord is to be started and supported solely by foreign missions. In former days it was necessarily so. A small Christian community without influence could not support a new enterprise. Even today, the only thing that our largest and strongest in- dependent churches can do outside of their own sup- port is to help with the direct home evangelism. An unbiased observer says that because the graduates of Christian schools usually do not become engineers, military officers, journalists or business men, few of them become men of wealth and social position. These" facts and the small number of professing Christians explain why we are still very weak financially. (See p. 148, Christian Year Book.) It will be years before a Christian church in Japan can support a school and carry on its own social work. And yet I say that the time has come for Christian individuals to launch even more deeply into special lines of service and to find financial support in large part right here at home. There are some successful beginnings of such experi- ments. A Beloved Principal: Miss Yoshi Kajiro Okayama is a southern province rich in Christian traditions. The well-known evangelist, Mr. Tsurin Kanamori, in his early Christian ministry stormed its capital with his fiery preaching; the late Mr. Jyuji Ishii, who in the eighties started the famous Okayama 72 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK Christian Orphanage; Mr. Magojiro Ohara, a Chris- tian business man who gave his big fortune for the Foundation of Social Research in Osaka, thus inspir- ing this biggest commercial city in the Orient to lead Japan in municipal social service; the world-famous Brigadier General Yamamuro of the Salvation Army, whose consecrated activity knows no barrier or bound- ary, these men are the sons of Okayama. It is no wonder that Christians there early focused attention on the education of girls. Miss Yoshi Kajiro, President of the Sanyo Girls' High School, was one of the founders of this well-known institution over forty years ago. A Mount Holyoke graduate, her continu- ous service in her local church and in her school has sent out many noble young men and women into the world. The annual gifts from the city and state testify to popular recognition of the high scholarship and ideals of the school. Many of its graduates go every year to Kobe, Kyoto or Tokyo to enter colleges. If they marry, their homes show the Christian spirit which Miss Kajiro has inculcated into every student. Seldom does one see such love and devotion toward a principal as is shown in Sanyo Girls' High School by the undergraduates and alumnae. They share the heavy responsibility of raising funds for the school by giving frequent entertainments in large cities. They have given their principal a cozy home, whither they bring their joys and woes. She is more like a mother than a ADVANCE IN EDUCATION 73 teacher. Her annual visit to the large cities where many of her graduates live is the occasion for happy reunions; each alumna tries to entertain her, and proud is she who can keep this beloved teacher a few days under her roof. Miss Kajiro stands like a tower in the midst of many secular educational agencies, not only in her own province but in the surrounding ones where there is no "mission school" for girls. Physical Education: Miss Tokuyo Nikaido In the early days Japanese Christians were prone to neglect physical training, while putting their emphasis on the spiritual and intellectual. Today all that is changed. Physical culture for girls has become an im- portant subject in all these schools, and there is keen competition in interschool contests of all kinds and among individual students. In gymnasium work it is Denmark which has set the standard, and it is but two years since a picked group of young men and women from that country came to Japan to give fuller instruc- tion in their methods of physical culture. Christian schools have stood well in such athletic activity. An Olympic swimming champion of 1932 was Miss M. Yokoto of the Doshisha Girls' School. Miss Tokuyo Nikaido is conspicuous in this new movement. She is an active church member and her Christian character is respected by all who know her. She was sent abroad by the Government to study physi- 74 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK cal culture at Kingsfield College, Kent, England, and on her return taught for a while in a Government school. From this, however, she resigned, and in 1919 she founded a college of her own, one of three in the vicinity of Tokyo established about ten years ago. At once ambitious girls flocked to her, and now there are 152 in attendance, under 24 qualified instructors. The number of graduates is 900, two-thirds of whom are athletic teachers in schools all over Japan, while 59 are directors of physical training in factories. Besides conducting her school, Miss Nikaido is vice-chairman of the Federation for Japanese Women's Sports, and is connected with all kinds of other athletic associations. She has especially come before the public of late be- cause three of her girls qualified last year for the Olympic games at Los Angeles, one of whom made the record in the shot put. In such ways Miss Nikaido is able to make her Christian influence penetrate widely. The Household Science College: Mrs. Sumi Ohye When the World's Conference of Y. W. C. A.'s met in Paris in 1906, Japan was represented by Miss Sumi Miyagawa (later Mrs. Ohye), who was studying household science in England as a Government stu- dent. She had had a high school education in a Cana- dian mission school in Tokyo, and then had gone to the Higher Normal College, where her outstanding ADVANCE IN EDUCATION 75 scholarship and personality were such that she was chosen to study abroad. After her return to Japan she was professor in the Higher Normal, where her Chris- tian influence was much felt by the young girls. For many years she longed to start a household science school of her own, in which she could apply all her knowledge and experience without restriction. Her brief years of married life strengthened her ambition, as her splendid Christian husband was in full sympathy with her and helped her plan for the future. After his death, she gave up her professorship and launched into her own work in 1925. Her college has two courses, one for those who are trained for three years and receive a full certificate as qualified high school teachers, the other a short-term one for those who are to be homemakers. All branches of household science are taught, including both Japanese and foreign sew- ing, and even the technique of the beauty parlor. From the very beginning she had several hundred girls, and today she has over a thousand. Her former students in the Normal College are now teachers or mothers occu- pying important positions, and they help her in gath- ering students from all over Japan. Her business talent and her late husband's foresighted plans, along with the support of her well-chosen staff and sympathizing friends, have built up her work year by year until already the school is recognized as one of the best of its kind. She owns a large tract of land just outside the 76 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK city proper; this is used as a farm for the school, where students go by turns every week, doing the garden work and all the canning. At the same time the place is open as a day school where girls of rural communities may receive sewing and cooking lessons. The pastor of her church is a member of the faculty, and some of the girls become Christians and unite with the church. Mrs. Ohye belongs to a big church in Tokyo, whose pastor is Mr. Tokutaro Takakura, president of the theological school founded by the late Mr. Uemura. Her work is another illustration of an independent Christian woman doing a splendid Christian work al- most single-handed. Wherever she goes as a lecturer in her profession, she never misses the chance of in- troducing religion in her speech. Her Christian influ- ence is very extensive. Since most of the girls of her school become homemakers, the leaven received from her and carried into their homes works for the abun- dant life that is promised by Christ. The Garden School of Freedom: Mrs. Moto Hani Mrs. Moto Hani is at present one of our most promi- nent wojnen in both Christian and non-Christian cir- cles. Early in her married life she began to grope into the matter of religion, approaching Christianity from the intellectual side. For years she could not accept the Saviorhood of Christ and His divinity, but when she came under the influence of Mr. Uemura, that monu- WOMAN'S CHRISTIAN COLLEGE, TOKYO Above Library Administration Building Below A erouD of students 78 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK modern auditorium was packed full long before the appointed hour. The center of the hall was occupied by the undergraduates, while one side was given to the relatives of the graduating class and the other to teachers and friends. Graduates and late comers filled the gallery. On the platform were seated Mr. and Mrs. Hani. After the chime, "Lead, Kindly Light," in from the rear came the graduating class of about forty to the music of a piano march, mounted the platform and seated themselves facing the audience. They were clothed in white foreign dresses made by themselves. The whole program was given by Mrs. Hani and the girls, much as if it were a family occasion. No erudite speech or solemn precepts were pronounced by an il- lustrious speaker, as is the custom in other schools. The whole gathering sang the school hymn, "How Firm a Foundation," and the graduating class sang a song with words from the Bible and music composed by themselves. After the exercises the guests scattered to examine the exhibition of school work. It was chiefly a record in graphic form of their daily school life health sta- tistics, school management, time and labor-saving de- vices which they had discovered, co-operative system and rural settlement work of the alumnae, dresses both foreign and Japanese, experiments in applied art, mural painting, book illustrations, musical com- positions and self-government. The school has had no ADVANCE IN EDUCATION 79 cook, no maid, no janitor, no office worker from the beginning; all the work is done by the girls. The guests, over four hundred in number, were in- vited to supper, and seated themselves at tables on the lawn and in the dining room. The whole menu was cooked by the undergraduates and served quickly without confusion. Promptly at six, all were gathered again in the auditorium, now transformed into a thea- tre. The graduating class gave Chekhov's ''Cherry Orchard," which they had studied in class with Mrs. Hani. The curtain with cherry blossom design, the costumes, lighting, stage management, everything was expertly done by the girls, while the acting showed sympathetic understanding of the play and great dra- matic ability. Here in this school is indeed the dawn of the new education. Keisen Fountain of Blessing School: Miss Michi Kawai Fountain of Blessing School is another experiment in indigenous education. The former Japanese general secretary of the National Young Women's Christian Association in 1929 started this school single-handed with ten girls in the heart of Tokyo, moving to the suburbs in 1931. She felt that the whole burden of Christian education should not be left to mission or- ganizations, that with widening opportunities more native Christian women should venture to blaze new trails. Although the school has a high school curricu- 80 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK lum, with extra courses in English, Bible, international study and horticulture, its aim is to develop into a junior college. The school emphasizes all-round Christian educa- tion. Christian living is not only taught in chapel and Bible class, but in every part of daily school life. Win- dow-cleaning is a practical lesson on the meaning of the transparency of the pure soul which sees God. Gardening is a good occasion for understanding His laws in nature. The training in discovering beauty in common objects, joy in manual labor, blessing in giv- ing, and strength in loyal co-operation, are a vital part of religious education. Thus the school tries to have its whole atmosphere charged with the Christian spirit. The girls also are well imbued with the idea of inter- national peace, so that they become the butt of severe criticism from their militaristic brothers. When nine hundred girls' high schools in Japan recently were offered opportunity to compete for prizes to be awarded by the Women's Peace Association, the girls of this school seized the opportunity and captured three out of the nine prizes. It is too early to say much about results, but there is every sign of encouragement for its future develop- ment. Its friends have asked for an elementary de- partment, and this will be added in a year or two. The purpose of the school from the beginning has been to make it a community center, so that all sorts ADVANCE IN EDUCATION 81 of social activities will have their homes there. The program includes public lectures, a library, night school, seasonal school for people in rural districts, and preparation classes for women emigrants to Man- churia and South America where Japanese more and more will be making new homes. Many are astonished at this ambitious program for a school still in its early infancy, but as it has been supported for four years by friends who have faith in its growth, will not the future be taken care of ? It has now a little over a hun- dred girls, with seven full-time teachers, nine half-time Japanese teachers and two American instructors. When the school emerges into maturity, both in years and in results, it will help Christian women more con- structively, in order that they too can venture into something big in His name without the initial back- ing of strong foreign organizations. Then the time will have come when this school can ask for a large share of co-operation with forces abroad as well as at home. Colleges The last mission study book on Japan, "The Woman and the Leaven in Japan," was written by Dr. Char- lotte B. DeForest of Kobe College just a year before the earthquake. In reading it over we are struck with the vast change that has taken place since then, even in the educational field. Kobe College itself has moved 82 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK into beautiful spacious new buildings in the suburbs of Osaka. Tsuda College is now outside of Tokyo city, surrounded by woods and mulberry and rice fields. The Woman's Union Christian College, then in its infancy, has now an assured place. The visit in April, 1933, of H. I. H. Princess Chichibu and H. H. Princess Higashi Fushimi on their fifteenth anniversary, when the Governor of Tokyo prefecture expressed his ap- preciation of the disinterested contribution of the American people to Oriental womanhood, indicates something of the change of Japanese people toward Christian education. KOBE COLLEGE Since 1875, beginning with classes in Bible, sewing and singing, till it graduated its first college class in 1892, and down to the present, Kobe College has never failed to hold up its burning torch to guide Jap- anese girls, especially those of southwestern Japan, to the path of higher education. With a great deal of sacrifice it has kept its Daigaku, or senior college de- partment, although comparatively few girls have taken advantage of it owing to its high standard and long years of study. This college led the way in house- hold science; and no other Christian school except Miyagi Girls' College in Sendai has such a fine music department. Moreover, it has the honor of being one of the three women's colleges that have been granted ADVANCE IN EDUCATION 83 the use of the term Daigaku by the Government. The other two are the Woman's Union Christian College and the Japan Women's University (the latter non- Christian, although its founder, Mr. Jinzo Naruse, had been an evangelist) . Kobe College had so outgrown its quarters that it has been obliged to move from its old historical site. The new college is the product of international co- operation. The campus is the former estate of Viscount Sakurai, lying between Osaka and Kobe, and was pur- chased in 1930 through the gift of 136,000 from the alumnae. The buildings have been erected from American gifts collected through a long period of pro- motion, from 1916 to 1929. The new campus is a hill- top of twenty-six acres commanding a sweeping view of the valley below. Here are skillfully grouped the twenty splendid new buildings, eight of concrete and twelve of frame, which are not surpassed by any other woman's educational plant in Japan. The college in all its departments has graduated 2,547 girls, and at present has seven hundred enrolled in the four de- partments, high school, junior college, senior college and music. The staff numbers 75, of which 62 are Jap- anese, 11 American, one German and one Russian. It is due to Dr. DeForest's wise administration that the large staff and the student body work most har- moniously like one family. The college owes her much for its steady progress and high standard. 84 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK It is only natural that Kobe College has exerted much influence directly on Kobe city and its neighbor- hood. Many leading Christian and non-Christian busi- ness men in that section have refined and cultured homes, so different from those of ordinary wealthy families, because their wives are graduates of the col- lege; and many alumnae members are prominent lead- ers in church, educational and social service. TSUDA COLLEGE It is rarely that a person sees the satisfactory com- pletion of such a great life work as the founding of a college. To Miss Ume Tsuda this boon was granted. She was a great pioneer in the cause of higher educa- tion. In 1900 she started an advanced English class for seven ambitious girls. From this small beginning evolved a school, which for years enjoyed the monop- oly of producing fully qualified teachers of English, the only private girls' school to whose graduates the Educational Department gave the teacher's license without further Government examination. In the great earthquake, the school buildings, two dormitories and teachers' cottages were burned down. As the school had been sustained by individual friends both in Japan and abroad, with no mission or other organization behind it, this was a great blow. The college owes everlasting gratitude to Miss Anna C Hartshorne f or her love and loyalty to Miss Tsuda and to the college. It was mainly ADVANCE IN EDUCATION 85 due to her efforts that one million yen was raised in the United States through a hastily organized commit- tee of which Mrs. Frank Vanderlip was chairman. The trustees and alumnae in Japan did a noble share toward the purchasing of the land and the endowment. Miss Tsuda, whose health had begun to fail at the time of the earthquake, had the satisfaction of visiting the fu- ture campus in a suburb of Tokyo, and of revising the plans of the magnificent school buildings and dormi- tories before she passed away in 1928. Tsuda College is unique; it is non-governmental and non-sectarian, but it is a strictly Christian college, with Miss Tsuda's indomitable spirit ever living in it, and it attracts the attention of all who are interested in modern higher education for women. Miss Ai Hoshino, an early graduate of the college, A.B., Bryn Mawr and A.M., Columbia, is a worthy successor to Miss Tsuda. As Miss Tsuda herself was chairman of the Tokyo Young Women's Christian Association in its early days, her teachers and graduates have been very closely connected with the movement. The stu- dent secretary, the Tokyo general secretary, and the Osaka general secretary, claim the college as their alma mater. This college is one of the best examples of interna- tional co-operation apart from a mission board. Miss Tsuda's personal friends in America first formed a nucleus of supporters, and now the good name of the 86 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK college draws deeper sympathy and co-operation from abroad. In the Spring of 1933 there were 333 students en- rolled, with 37 on the faculty, of whom 29 were Jap- anese, six American and two British. The 1091 gradu- ates are scattered all over the country and its colonial lands. Many of them are studying or making homes in Western lands. Wherever they are, they feel it a moral obligation as well as a great privilege to make the name of Miss Ume Tsuda forever known as the great pioneer Christian educator of Japan. DOSH1SHA COLLEGE Doshisha Girls' School in Kyoto was started in 1877, and added a college course in 1912. This college is an- other center of scholarship and spirituality in the edu- cational world. Graduates who are ambitious for fur- ther study are admitted to Doshisha University, which is primarily for men and was started by the famous Jo Niijima (better known in the United States as Joseph Hardy Neesima) in 1874. In a country where co-education is not practised outside of the elementary schools, this Christian experiment in the University is proving very satisfactory. It shows the possibility and the practicability of this system, and many institutions in the future will follow this lead. For many years Miss Michi Matsuda, A.B., Bryn Mawr, was dean of the college, retiring in 1933 at the ADVANCE IN EDUCATION 87 age limit. In a world where people are so restless and prone to change their vocation as often as possible, only those with a worthy purpose and strong faith will remain at their posts, giving their best to see their cause through and gladly sacrificing the fame and fortune which could easily have been theirs. Miss Matsuda's long unbroken devotion to the college, and her noble upright personality, combined with her scholarly mind, have added one more gem to the crown of Christian womanhood. Another name connected with Doshisha is that of Miss Mary F. Denton. Her long service in education and her international spirit have been honored within the last few years both by a decoration from the Jap- anese Government and by the doctor's degree. In 1925 the then Empress visited the Girls' College and attended chapel service. This is the only time that a Royal ruler has so honored a Christian school. The college has many friends in America, whose latest gift was the Eldredge Fowler Memorial Hall to the Girls' School, dedicated in 1932, where at last all of the thousand and more girls from the school and college can attend service at once. The college build- ings face the beautiful and extensive palace grounds of this old capital. Can we take this as the symbol that Christianity is ever loyal in guarding the most precious traditions of the land according to its Founder's word, 88 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK "I came not to destroy the law and the prophets but to fulfill"? WOMAN'S CHRISTIAN COLLEGE The Woman's Christian College of Japan was founded in the Spring of 1918 with eighty-four eager, well-prepared girls from all parts of the land. It was founded to follow out the years of work in secondary schools and to provide Christian training for the woman leadership of Japan. This college is one of the seven Union Christian Colleges of the Orient called "The seven lamps of Asia/' which were founded by the Woman's Foreign Boards of America to offer op- portunities for higher education to eastern women. Tokyo Woman's University (otherwise called The Woman's Christian College of Japan) is both an international and an interdenominational enterprise; it represents Japan, the United States and Canada, while six denominations are officially responsible for it, the Baptist, United Christian Disciples, Methodist Episcopal, Presbyterian, Reformed, and United Church of Canada. The "Christian Graphic" of June, 1933, gives special place to the college on its fifteenth anni- versary, when the alumnae gave the college 17,000 toward the endowment. "It is easy to say that the college is 'an international and an interdenominational enterprise/ but it should ADVANCE IN EDUCATION 89 be realized that it required a high sense of Christian service and a true spirit of sacrifice on the part of those who had hopes for developing the collegiate depart- ments of their own denominational schools, but who gave up all these plans to clear the ground for a union enterprise on a more adequate scale. Something of their spirit has become a part of the very structure of the college, for the students themselves have chosen for their college motto the words, SERVICE AND SACRI- FICE. " While the Woman's Christian College of Japan is the youngest of the seven union sister colleges of the Orient, it is the largest, having already an enrol- ment of approximately five hundred students, and a faculty of some sixty members. One reason for this rapid growth was the fact that conditions were more than ripe when it was founded. At that time, 1918, only a few higher normal schools and semi-collegiate institu- tions for women were in existence, and it was the first institution in Japan for women of full college grade, its senior college being of the same grade as the uni- versities for men and taking the student through the seventeenth year of education. It is therefore natural that a school like this should appeal to the young women of Japan who are looking for an advanced edu- cation. "A second reason for the growth of the college is in the leadership that has been at its head from the begin- 90 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK ning. The first president, Dr. Inazo Nitobe, and the present president, Dr. (Miss) Yasui, who also served as dean at the beginning, are both well-known educa- tors and trusted for their sterling Christian character. The faculty also strikes a very high average. "Friends of the college will be glad to know that we are gathering year by year a larger number of ex- cellently equipped Japanese women teachers from among our alumnae. Among these are Mrs. Yukie Hirano, a teacher of mathematics, who has been as- sociated with the college from its beginning; Mrs. Ko Kitamura, M.A., Columbia University; Miss Eiko Fukui, A.B., Vassar College; Miss Kimiko Ashino, Michigan University Fellowship 1931-2, and also a member of the good will mission to America in 1930; Miss Nao Miura; Miss Chieko Utsumi, Wellesley College, Physical Education; and Miss Kiku Kotsuka." The college is built in a suburb of Tokyo, within reach of city facilities, but far enough out that the stir of the metropolis is not too much felt. The campus, like all the great plain on which Tokyo stands, is domi- nated by gorgeous glimpses of Fuji, especially in the spring and fall. The buildings, chiefly in the new post- earthquake rather modernistic style, are set in such a way that none of them cuts off the mountain from the sight of any considerable section of the campus. A fine stand of old picturesque pines has been carefully ADVANCE IN EDUCATION 91 saved. Snow-capped Fuji and dark gnarled pines are typical of Japan of the ages; but modernistic build- ings and girls taking college degrees are Japan of to- day and tomorrow. It is the problem of the Christian college so to blend the two phases that the good of neither bhall be lost. Owing to lack of space this book leaves untouched other prominent Christian schools with junior or senior college departments, such as Kwassui in Naga- saki, Lambuth in Osaka and Hiroshima School, Miyagi in Sendai, and Kinjo in Nagoya, and those others which have one or two years of higher course. It glad- dens one's heart to know that in all these schools numerous Christian teachers, Japanese and foreign, are enriching the lives of students with their example of international fellowship. Women Principals One of our strongest national organizations in the realm of education is that of women teachers of ele- mentary schools. At their annual meetings they bring up many problems for solution. They sent representa- tives to the Women's Pacific Conference held in Hono- lulu in 1929 and 1931. Backed by the teachers' organi- zations, Mrs. Kyo Kiuchi was made the principal of a public elementary school. This act was almost revo- lutionary. In all Government schools, from elementary 92 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK to university, Mrs. Kiuchi is the only woman prin- cipal in the empire there are many in private schools, Christian and non-Christian and even ail the inspectors of girls' schools were men until four years ago, when three women were appointed. Thus in education woman is gradually wedging herself into a sphere which in Japan had been a man's monopoly. The situation is quite different in Christian girls' high schools; one-fourth of these have women principals, and in those where men are principals the deans or senior teachers are mostly women. When it comes to women's colleges we see more women presidents than men. In Tokyo, for example, we find: Woman's Union Christian College, Dr. (Miss) Tetsu Yasui Tsuda English College, Miss Ai Hoshino Japan Women's University,* Mrs. Hide Inoue Women's Medical,* Dr. (Mrs.) Yayoi Yoshioka Tokyo Household Science College, Mrs. Sumi Ohye Jissen, Mrs. Uta Shimoda* As soon as women become more proficient in ad- ministrative work and their scholarship becomes level through university education and otherwise reaches * Non-Christian. ADVANCE IN EDUCATION 93 that of men, Christian society is ready to hand over to them the major responsibility of education. This alone demonstrates to society at large that in the Christian community it is a matter of course for responsibility and honor to be shared equally between men and women, with mutual co-operation and respect. Plea for Co-operation The writer has given a few instances of Christian women carrying on independent Christian work side by side with well-established Christian institutions, but she asks the reader not to make the hasty conclu- sion that Japan has come to the stage where she needs no help from Christian forces abroad. Far from it; it seems to her that the Christian movement is more vital than ever before. Look at the small number of Chris- tians, more than three hundred thousand, which is one in two hundred of the population. They are continually exposed to the dangers of materialism and skepticism. Christianity is on the increase, but the increase of popu- lation is so great that this ratio of one in two hundred, Protestants and Catholics together, has hardly changed at all for several years. Therefore the untouched field will grow larger and more difficult unless help is at hand. Christians here need every encouragement and reinforcement that can be given from outside. We urge that the mission boards establish more schools and institutions in cities and country; that those which 94 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK have already attained a place in our national life be well sustained and endowed; and that generous co- operation be extended to our indigenous enterprises. Throughout Yamato May there grow abundantly That wisdom-yielding Herb which springs from secret seed, Pregnant in the heart of man. THB EMPEROR MEIJI. CHAPTER IV Building the Ityw Japan In this Spring night Of all-pervading grey, No ray of light Reveals the plum-tree's spray, But viewless to the skies Its perfumes still arise. POET SANTOMA. (1219). Historical Setting of Social Work Along as early Japanese society was under the feudal system there was no need of social work, for that society was like a mosaic and there was no change or movement. The Emperor was far above the sky in the clouds beyond the reach of ordinary life^The Shogun was the sole ruler of the country. Under him the country was divided into three hundred prefectures, and in each the lords, or daimyos, were the dominant rulers holding the power of life and death. Each family was organized like another mosaic. The eldest son inherited the family name, wealth, tra- ditions, profession, and everything. He was the head. The other sons were sent out to perpetuate the family 95 96 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK names and traditions of other families where there were no sons, or they established families of their own separately from the ancestral home. The girls were married without exception. The same custom applied in each family of the samurai, the mer- chant, the farmer, and the worker. In society thus constructed, everything was fixed, and no one had any freedom. If a member of the group consented to live according to the fixed system, he or she was sure to get food and a marriage match and in old age the care and protection needed. The family tie was strong, and beyond that there was the "Gonin Gumi" system which prevailed throughout the country. Every five families were com- bined and in each there was a leader, or representative of the group. This system was originally organized in order to root out Christians from the country, and every five families were set to watch each other so that not a single house be omitted from the search. But this system grew up to be of mutual advantage, and when there was an accident or some urgent need of help in any family, the proper authorities were notified, and help was promptly given. Thus, before the Meiji Era, the country was outwardly kept in peace and order and no social work was especially needed. Three centuries passed and the country was suddenly awakened out of its long and cherished sleep. The Meiji Era began in 1868. The caste system was broken. BUILDING THE NEW JAPAN 97 When the Shogun returned the right of government to the Emperor, all the three hundred daimyos also returned their long inherited lands and people, and the feudal system was torn up by its roots. As a result, four hundred thousand samurai, men who had hither- to known nothing but the practice of arms like the knights of old in Western countries, were suddenly turned out into the streets without any means of sup- port. Then followed a period of great and breathlessly rapid changes. Free competition began. Traveling be- came easy and open. The change of professions began. Everybody was given a chance to work, to move, to compete with anybody. The "Gonin Gumi" had fallen into decay. The family system became loose. National compulsory education began. Everything was set free and everything was unsettled. Here for the first time in national life we began to see the orphans, the aged, the maimed, and those out of work on the streets. Thus social work was born to meet this emergency. Social Projects CARE OF ORPHANS Many orphanages were started during the Meiji Era before 1900, but a particular one, the Haku Aisha, has a very interesting origin and today is flourishing as one of the biggest and best of children's charities. The founder of the Haku Aisha was a most earnest Chris- 98 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK tian young man named Katsunosuke Kobashi, from the country district of Akao. He and his brother were baptized by Dr. Williams, an Episcopal bishop. When his mother suddenly fell ill, he took his youngest brother with him and returned to Akao. There he started his Haku Aisha or "The Widely Loving So- ciety." The main purpose was to gather orphans and give them practical training for life. For three years he struggled on with broken health and finally to his youngest brother the dying man turned in an appeal for him to carry on the work. After much thought and prayer the young man reverently promised to devote his life to the unfinished work begun by his brother. Kobashi wrote to a friend of the family, Miss Uta Hayashi, then a teacher in a mission school, and asked her to come and help the boy. After a month of hard thinking she finally decided to help this dying man, so she resigned her teaching post and bade farewell to her father and mother. Then alone she hurried away to Akao to be teacher, nurse, housekeeper, mother and wife to this family. Hardly had the founder expired before trouble arose concerning the ancestral land and property with which the educator had hoped to endow and carry on the work of the Haku Alsha. After one year, ejected from the property and al- most penniless, Miss Hayashi and the boy came to Osaka as the founder had directed. With persistency and faith they struggled on till within ten years from BUILDING THE NEW JAPAN 99 their arrival they were able to build their own home on their own lot. For twelve years, with this orphan as the center, Miss Hayashi toiled as the sole supporter of the work. Then she selected a capable helpmate for this young man, and she herself left the home and travelled north and south throughout the country so- liciting aid. When she had put the work on a firm basis, with the young couple in complete charge, she with- drew from it. Taking lodgings outside, she began her own life work, the founding of the W. C. T. U. work in Osaka. An important aspect of this work became a home for women factory and office workers who came from the country districts. Osaka being the largest in- dustrial center in Japan, there was a great need for just such a home. Years passed and as a woman of seventy she was looking forward to a peaceful old age. But upon the death in 1933 of the younger Kobashi, after forty years of faithful service, the Haku Aisha again called for her aid. Sixteen hundred boys and girls had been nour- ished and sent out into the world, and at present more than three hundred babies, children and young boys and girls are living there. Miss Hayashi and her de- voted assistants are helping to make the Haku Aisha accomplish its purpose. DEAF-ORAL WORK About fifteen years ago, a childish illness cost a little American girl in Japan her hearing. Since a baby learns 100 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK to speak by hearing others, this meant that speech was gone too. Her missionary parents wasted no time in useless lamenting, but at once took steps to learn how best to train deaf children. Her mother studied in the best school in the United States for this purpose, mean- while realizing more and more how many Japanese children were suffering from the same trouble. To help one and not the other was unthinkable to this mother. The result is "Nippon Ro-wa Gakko," the Deaf -Oral School, located in a quiet and pretty suburb of Tokyo. Japanese educators had long been interested in the problem of deaf children, and a number of handicraft training schools were in existence. At present each prefecture has one. But the Deaf-Oral School is the first to train the children not simply to earn a living in the face of a handicap, but even to remove very largely any sense of handicap. Lip-reading, use of the piano and radio, when any vestige of hearing remains, rhythmic chanting, and many another aid is used to help the child forget that he is deaf, and take his place in a normal world. A toneless, painful effort at speech gives way in the cheerful atmosphere of the school to easy and natural intercourse between children.^The young girls and boys who show the visitor around the school or serve him refreshments at some school fes- tivity ask for no special consideration excepting to be allowed to stare with bright, interested eyes full in the visitor's face when he speaks. BUILDING THE NEW JAPAN 101 The school and its work now under the direction of a Japanese board of trustees have received the keenest attention from educational authorities. Its mes- sage of hope, broadcasted by the children themselves as well as their friends over the great Tokyo radio facilities, is reaching far and wide over Japan. The founder has received signal honors; but the greatest of all is the good will and support of the hundreds of friends of the school. CHRISTIAN SETTLEMENTS Settlement work in Japan was initiated by Christiansj Today other religions and the municipalities are taking it up, till such work has become a popular activity. Among Christian projects that have given the stimu- lus to this modern settlement movement should be mentioned the one started in the slums of Tokyo by a committee of some eighty foreign and Japanese women. These women went about collecting subscrip- tions and succeeded in securing enough after much hard effort to purchase a lot in one of the poorest dis- tricts of Tokyo on which a suitable building was con- structed. Just one day before the terrible earthquake and fire of September 1, 1923, the construction was complete. Those who had toiled so hard received news that the building had been consumed to ashes before they got the notice that the house was ready to occupy. 102 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK This committee of women, however, never lost courage. At once they set to work to raise funds for a barrack to care for refugees. Finally, in November, 1929, they were able to dedicate a new building. Miss Yoshimi, who had been studying in America, moved into it, and under her able leadership, backed by the untiring assistance of the trustees, work has been car- ried on ever since. Here neighborhood children are cared for while their parents are at work, clinics pro- vide medical care, employment is given to girls and women who are out of work, and there are clubs for boys and girls after school hours. On Sunday after- noons the children gather in the Sunday school classes. Evenings, after the day's work, young men can obtain instruction at the night school. Outside the settlement a visiting nurse calls on each family, and classes in good citizenship are held for the people of the district. Settlement work in all its phases is being carried on by Christian churches and their workers all over the land as a necessary part of their work of evangelization. CARE OF SAILORS* One day late in May, 1907, a young lady was sitting in her room listening to the broken confessions of a drunken sailor. He was very earnest although he was half drunk. He confessed that whenever he landed at a port he always did so with a strong resolution to live a straight life. But every time he came to his lodgings BUILDING THE NEW JAPAN 103 he was asked by his landlady to drink sake', and his determination gave way. That young lady was Miss Kiku Totoki. Born of a samurai family, she was tfie second daughter among seven children. Her father was a most trusted vassal of his lord in Yanagawa in southern Japan in the olden days of the daimyos, and her brothers and sisters are found among the generals and wives of army officers. She herself, after graduation from school in her home province, went to Tokyo and was graduated from Joshi Gakuin, a well-known Christian school. There she received Christianity, and there her Bushido spirit was polished, trained, and Christianized. After graduation she taught school, and now she was starting in on a new work among the sailors. It was just at this time that this drunken sailor came to her. Gently she told him to come without sake' the next time. He came again, this time with a clean breath and sober face, and bringing a friend with him. Eagerly she began to impress upon him the necessity of learn- ing faith in Christ. After a while, however, the boy stopped coming. This case brought to Jier mind the necessity of keeping a Christian home for the sailors. But as a simple Bible woman she had no funds and no preparation to meet the need. Finally, the call be- came so strong that she could stay still no longer. Night after night for three days she went up into a little hill behind her home and there she prayed for divine guid- 104 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK ance. The call became definite to her so that she could not be mistaken. Drawing all the money she had saved during her life as a teacher, she rented a little house and moved into it with what meager furniture she pos- sessed. January 11, 1908, saw the beginning of her work in Kure. From that time on for twenty-five years Miss Totoki worked single-handed with only the understanding and help of her friends among the Christians. After- wards aid was given by naval officers and the general public, and even by prominent Christian naval officers like Rear Admiral Hatano. While she was carrying on this task there was no one to share the responsibility with her and she almost felt as if there were no one who could help her. "Dogyo ninin" was the phrase she often used concerning herself and her work. It means two in the company. One is herself and the other is God. When she felt that she was struggling all alone with no one to share her heavy burden, she always said, "Dogyo ninin," just as Christ said, "Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me." Social Agencies THE W. C. T. U. The W. C. T. U. is one of the oldest and also strong- est women's organizations. Since 1886 it has been lift- ing its banner aloft in the land of Japan for the cause of the three great W. P.'s, that is, world prohibition. BUILDING THE NEW JAPAN 105 world peace > and world purity. Mme. Kaji Yajima was its outstanding leader through this half century of slow but steady march. Today it has its local unions in one hundred seventy different parts of Japan. They are also leading in the woman suffrage work. The local groups ofteii produce leaders of such strength that even the Government looks to them for aid, or seeks their advice in their locality. THE Y. w. c. A. Another of the women's strong Christian societies is the Y. W. C. A. which was introduced to Japan in 1905 by Miss C. Macdonald of Canada. It is doing a splendid work in leading girls who are in student life or in business life, just as the Y. W. C. A. is doing everywhere throughout the world. Since its beginning the outstanding figures have been Miss Macdonald, Miss Michi Kawai, Miss Kaufman, Miss Kato, Miss Verry, and Miss Asai. Also many able women, foreign and Japanese, have worked in the building up of the Association. Now they have city centers in six impor- tant cities, and societies have been formed in thirty mission schools. At the present time Y. W. C. A. or- ganizations number fifty-one. There are more than a hundred teachers and secretaries, almost all of whom are Japanese. They hold summer camps at Gotemba and Nojiri, and many other localities, and gather hun- dreds of girls from all the colleges and mission schools 106 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK throughout Japan. These summer camps provide rec- reation, spiritual fellowship and mental uplift. THE SALVATION ARMY Since the Salvation Army is taking such a wonderful part in the social uplift of Japan, and many prominent women take a most active share, we cannot pass it over without brief mention. One important aspect of its work under the leadership of a woman is their train- ing school, under the care of Mrs. Sashida. Her hus- band was among the victims buried under the Salvation Army building at the time of the great earthquake. In spite of her heavy responsibility in rearing and edu- cating her children, she is filling an important post as president of the training school of the Salvation Army in which hundreds of young Christian men and women are studying to be workers in the Lord's vineyard. Social Movements PROHIBITION The prohibition movement began in Japan about fifty years ago. Among men it was started in the north under the influence of Dr. Clark, the first foreign pro- fessor at the Imperial Agricultural University of Sap- poro. But among women the first cry was raised by a group headed by the late Mme. Kaji Yajima. In her early life Mme. Yajima was married to a man named Hayashi, but, owing to his excessive drinking, BUILDING THE NEW JAPAN 107 she was obliged to leave him after ten years. At the age of forty she left everything behind and came to Tokyo to begin a new life. There she entered a training school for teachers and in 1875 became one of the first women public school teachers in Japan. Later, in 1889, Mme. Yajima was appointed principal of Joshi Gakuin, a mission school in Tokyo. As a teacher she had noticed that there were a few pupils who could not keep up with the rest of the children. Wishing to know the reason for this, she visited their homes and found that in most cases these children came from the homes of drunkards. Her own experience, first as wife and then as teacher, convinced her that strong measures should be taken in dealing with the evils of drink. Otherwise, there was no hope for the home and for the young people of the nation. In 1886 Mrs. Mary Clement Leavitt of Boston came to Japan to organize the W. C. T. U. among the Jap- anese women. Mme. Yajima was so happy to meet a messenger from America who brought glad tidings of prohibition. It was just the opportunity she awaited. At once she started with a band of women and deter- mined to organize a women's prohibition society. People were amazed, not only outsiders, but even Christian missionaries who had never seen a Japanese woman taking initiative in public life. But to her such a thing mattered not at all. She kept on, and in 1893 by the help of successive missionaries from W. C. T. U. 108 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK headquarters she built a national organization and un- furled the banner of prohibition strong and high. Later, another missionary, Miss Davis, was sent out from the world's W. C. T. U. headquarters to work among children. While she was looking for a co- worker, one day there appeared a young woman a lit- tle over twenty years old. She introduced herself and said, "I am Miss Azuma Moriya. I have heard that you are looking for a worker among children to teach the evil of alcoholic drink. I want to be that worker myself. Will you not try me?" Although at first one of them knew no Japanese and the other no English, they joined hands and for five years they worked together, trav- elled, lectured, taught singing, and held children's meetings all over Japan. When Miss Davis returned to America she was able to leave all in the hands of Miss Moriya. A campaign to reach the ten million primary school children was later entrusted to Miss Moriya. A ten-year program was adopted shortly after the great earthquake of September, 1923. During these years with an able staff she has kept on sending out educational materials, prepared new literature, and kept up the distribution so extensively that now every primary school in the empire, no matter how small, or how remote, has been visited by this educational cam- paign for prohibition.^ Meanwhile, children among whom Miss Moriya toiled were growing, and from among them she now C/5 s p ffi H w g 7) H w H C/3 APANESE WOMEN PREPARING POSTERS IN A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN "Don't sell, don't soil your vote" Miss F. Ichikawa in center with scarf BUILDING THE NEW JAPAN began to see boys and girls taking up higher studies. A Waseda University graduate, Mr. Kanji Koshio, of- fered himself as a worker for the prohibition cause in Japan, About him gathered groups of young men from different colleges and universities. When Mr. and Mrs. Mark Shaw came to Japan to work in this social line, these groups took up this work and helped it to grow. The movement increased till at present 88 colleges and universities are included in this Gakusei Haishiu Ren- mai, or the Students' Prohibition League. This year, 1933, they have made a plan to send a group of stu- dents to Manchukuo to carry the following message to the young people of that country "Let us work together to build your new country on the prohibition basis." The economic depression which has chastened the whole world is also felt even by the smallest village in the most remote part of Japan. Kawaidani, a little village in northern Japan, was having a hard time in building a new schoolhouse for its children. JQie amount of money needed was forty-five thousand yen. Now, this village was drinking sake' to the amount of nine thousand yen every year. One day the mayor of the village thought to himself, "If we villagers could only abstain from drinking sake'f or five years, we could save this needed money." He mentioned this to his village officers. Most of them willingly joined in. The 110 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK others who were already seemingly hopeless addicts to drink were purposely left alone. Finally the whole village was united in support. Then something won- derful happened! There were eight sake' dealers in this village. All of them came forward of their own accord and said, "When the whole village starts upon the new plan, of course we will join with you/' Then the drunkards who had been left out also stepped out and said, "We shall have no face if we keep on in- dulging when you are all sacrificing. So we too will give it up." Thus the whole village joined in this prohi- bition plan with a willing heart. During those five years they not only accomplished the building of the new schoolhouse, but many of the villagers even re- paired their houses or built new ones for themselves. The death rate decreased and disease diminished. So all the good that results from prohibition was experi- enced by these people. The rumor spread far and wide and now among the 12,000 cities and villages there are 17 villages which have entirely abolished liquor.,123 others have done so conditionally, and their list is daily growing. Thus economic depression of the country brought happiness to these villages! Through the medium of children's education in pro- hibition, of the college students' organized movement, and of the work among the villages, the idea of prohi- bition is beginning to grip the imagination of the nation. BUILDING THE NEW JAPAN 111 ABOLITION OF LICENSED VICE The history of prostitution as a licensed system runs back three hundred years to the rule of the Shogun lyeyasu Tokugawa, but it was only half a century ago that the abolition movement was started in Japan. Since that time we have had five distinct periods. The first step in the abolition came about in 1872 through recognition that shogi or prostitutes had essentially the status of slaves and accordingly should be set at lib- erty as such persons indentured in other occupations. The Meiji Government took a drastic measure and in October, 1872, an edict was issued abolishing the whole system. The law clearly states that the moneys loaned to the shogi ought not be demanded "because they are just like cattle and nobody can ask repayment from animals/' So they were made free by a single stroke of the Government to demand their liberty should they wish to do so. This was the first step in the abolition movement in Japan. Had it been applied we would have been spared the trouble today of fighting the vice. But a law without public understanding always floats above people's heads and fails of its object. To the second period belongs the movement of the pref ectural abolition of licensed vice. In 1900 we come to the third period. Mr. U. G. Murghy, a missionary at Nagoya in the central part of Japan, was the origi- nator of this movement. He worked among young men 112 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK there and taught a most promising Bible class. But the boys dropped off one after the other. Following their tracks he found that these boys were drawn to the quar- ters of the prostitutes. He began to fight against these houses and he went so far as to visit them house by house, urging proprietors to give up this occupation for the good of the young people. But to his earnest pleas they turned a deaf ear. He became quite discour- aged. Mrs. Murphy came to him and said, "You may not be able to abolish these houses single-handed, but you can save the girls from them." This gave Mr. Murphy a new idea. So he studied the law and finally found that all shogi were free to give up their lives of shame whenever they wished. Ever since then the Sal- vation Army has specialized in this work and thou- sands of girls have been rescued. The late Mrs. Yamamuro, wife of Brigadier General Yamamuro who heads the work of the Salvation Army in Japan, has been perhaps the most conspicuous in this movement due to her boldness in assailing the social evil. Ever since 1900 the workers of the Salva- tion Army have gone themselves into the licensed quarters and there pled with the women of these dis- tricts to demand the liberty now granted them by law. Such zeal could hardly escape the enmity of the brothel keepers, and often these workers have been in danger of their lives. Soon after this work began, Mrs. Yamamuro opened her own home to shelter these un- BUILDING THE NEW JAPAN 113 happy women. This was the beginning of the rescue home operated by the Salvation Army. The fourth period begins in 1910 at the time when the Yoshiwara of Tokyo burned down for the second time. All the Christians and many who sided with the purity cause stood up against the rebuilding of Yoshi- wara and a mass meeting was held at the Y. M. C. A. in Kanda, Tokyo. The meeting was not raided by ruffi- ans as they feared, but the Yoshiwara was built again. The defeat, however, bore fruit in the organization of the Men's Purity League which took a leading part in the educational campaign of the people. The fifth period is the present one. It started in 1916 with the establishing by the W. C. T. U. of a Purity Department. Within ten years the names of 400,000 persons had been recorded as in sympathy with the movement. At the end of this time it was resolved to enter upon a vigorous struggle, province by province, until each had taken action for abolition. The Men's Purity League and the W. C.T. U. joined hands in this final effort. The outcome was four additional prefectures taking action to abolish the system. While this movement is going on,xthe central Gov- ernment is neither deaf nor blinc^ Now they are mak- ing the matter a big issue, and since Dr. Johnson's re- port came from Geneva recently the people of the Home Department and the Foreign Department, to- 114 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK gether with the National Abolition League, the Salva- tion Army, members of both Houses of the Imperial Diet, and representatives of women's organizations, are all meeting together to deal with this vice question. Their work is based on the advice of the investigators of the League of Nations. Another sign, hopeful for the solution of the prob- lem, is that proprietors of the vice quarters themselves are coming to a consciousness that they must change their business in some way. Times are so bad and the abolition movement is so strong, that the brothel keep- ers are beginning to realize that the very foundation of their means of existence is slipping away under- neath their feet. PROGRESS IN SEX EDUCATION Sex education is a problem that rather belongs to a program of work to be done after the abolition of commercialized vice is achieved. But already this move- ment is budding and growing in a healthful condition. Mrs. Olds of Okayama, a well-known missionary in Japan, has been studying abroad on a special leave of six months. Before she left Japan she began a lecture campaign, and held gatherings of mothers, students, school teachers, professors, and even presidents of academic schools. If we can offer a well-prepared course of study from the kindergarten up to the uni- versity on the sex problem, we think we can prevail BUILDING THE NEW JAPAN 115 upon the Government to take it up into their well- organized system of education. Historical Setting of Political and Economic Life When we look back into the days of the feudal sys- tem we see that among the samurai people the women's lives were confined to their own homes. The samurai warriors were the leaders and centers of the nation, and although training for the business of life was given to women almost as strongly as to men, yet the women were strictly forbidden to push forward into any other domain but that of their homes. The best women were to say, "I being a woman know nothing about public affairs. My husband does not tell me a word about his business/' That was considered the proper attitude for a woman to assume. Of course a sensible woman knew everything that her husband was doing, or intending to do, even if he did not tell her everything. And yet, like Mary the mother of Christ, she would silently ponder over everything in her heart. That was the bearing of the right kind of a mother and wife. The merchant's wife, the artisan's wife and the farm- er's wife followed this example. However, in these three classes there was a little more freedom for women and they helped their husbands and fathers in their own trades or work. Yet their life was also 116 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK concentrated in home-making, unless they happened to be blind/ in which case they were taught massaging. Some were taught music and trained to be independent workers or teachers, while some, driven by misfortune, became nuns ^Otherwise a woman's life was universally confined to her horned/Here again neither their voice nor their power could be shown in the economic or political life of the nation. When the Meiji revolution came, it broke all these systems and made an opening for the women also to come to the service of society. It was a long painful process for women to break the social habits of centuries and feel themselves a part of society, but once broken, the life blood began to flow in their long-deadened veins. It gave women's life a new start. The first beat in this life blood was the universal com- pulsory education which was started early in the Meiji Era, and as early as 1872 we already had women public school teachers. Nearly seventy years have passed since the opening of the country and now we see women, both in the cities and in the country, waking up and marching side by side with men in professional life as well as in business life, in agriculture, in factory life, and in the trades. In every phase of life we see inde- pendent woman taking her life into her hands, cap- tain of her own craft and its destiny. Although the history of the modern economic and political life of women in Japan is rather short, if we BUILDING THE NEW JAPAN 117 look back hundreds of years beyond the opening of the country and gaze down the long stretch of history before the feudal system began, there were periods when we had women rulers, women politicians, his- torians, writers and women prominent in many phases of the life of the people. The feudal period was rather a subterranean passage in the life of the Japanese women. ECONOMIC CHANGES The statistics of the Home Department show that among the 66,000,000 people of Japan proper, almost half are in agriculture. As independent workers men surpass women by over one million, and as dependent or hired persons, women surpass men by over two mil- lion. These statistics tell exactly what part women are taking in the agricultural life of the people, besides just housekeeping and looking after their children. Twenty-five years ago when the writer as a young woman landed in America for the first time, she was struck by the fact that she found in the cities every- where women working in the railroad offices, in the post offices, in hospitals and in the schools. Everywhere and anywhere she was met by women who were taking their life of business or profession side by side with men. When she returned from America after her ten years' stay, she was surprised to find so many Japanese women taking positions in public work such as in the 118 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK capacity of telephone girls, in the railroad ticket offices, and in many other places. Another fifteen years have passed and now she finds women everywhere working in the government and newspaper offices, hospitals, schools and in many department stores, railroads and post offices and even as bus girls. They take their work calmly and their business gives them confidence and self -respect/ Statistics show that there are a million and a half^women in trade and two million and a half work- ing girlsy Raw silk and cotton cloth are two of the most im- portant exports of the country, and in either case the factory workers are chiefly women. Here again statis- tics show that the women working in the factories number 1,004,000. There are nearly 62,000 factories in Japan and in them we find mostly women from 15 to 35 years of age. The hours of work still run on an average of ten hours a day including thirty minutes or an hour off for lunch. There is also the question of fac- tory dormitories which need great reforms.* We hear of many girls being sent back to their homes ruined in health. There is a big problem in this field still to be faced. According to recent statistics (1931) those who are engaged in public hygiene work, including midwives, number 52,537 ? nurses 82,798 and physicians 48, 105^ In the profession of teaching, counting the teachers in the upper schools, middle schools, medical schools and BUILDING THE NEW JAPAN 119 many others, the number exceeds 100,OOOyThere are many women engaged in religious work not only in Christianity but in Buddhism, Shintoism and in many other sects. CHRISTIAN WOMEN AND ECONOMIC LIFE When we look at the statistics which were prepared by the National Christian Council a few years ago, the Protestant Christians number 303,308. When we look at 66,000,000, the population of Japan proper, this number sounds so small in comparison that it seems almost impossible that such a handful of Chris- tians could do anything, especially in a country where women lack managing power. But let us stop and look into each phase of life. In the country, among the nearly ten thousand vil- lages, Christian women are helping to humanize the farmers' lives by taking care of their children during busy seasons in simple day-nurseries. As we have seen, men and women work hard on the farms, especially when the rice plants are being transplanted or when the silkworms are being raised. This takes about one month each time and during that period children are often left without any care and we hear of many in- stances of accidents. While these children are in their care, the Christian workers teach them songs, show them pictures, give them talks on order and cleanli- ness and tell them about God. This day-nursery work is 120 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK needed in every part of the country. The Christians can reach the inner life of the villagers everywhere through this open door. In winter when there is more time to spare, the Christian village workers open evangelistic schools for a period of three days, ten days, or sometimes even a month. These are called Farmers' Gospel Schools. Courses are offered in Bible, church history, in agricul- tural subjects, and in explaining and impressing the need of a farmers' cooperative system in order to im- prove the conditions of rural life. This action was taken up by the National Christian Council which has strengthened its work through the five-year plan of the Kingdom of God Movement. The ordinary homes of the little merchants in the cities are the hardest spots for the Christian workers to reach. They have their old traditions and ways of life and are quite satisfied, although hard pressed by the growth of the large department stores. But most of their young people have high school training, and if fortunate enough to attend mission school, or if they can come within the reach of the churches or the Y. W. C. A., they are drawn into them and get Christianity through these channels. Throughout Japan today the Government is trying to organize girls and also women and housewives into the Joshi Seinen Dan or Girls' So- ciety and the Fujin Kwai or Women's Society. Very often the chief ideas taken up in these groups, such as BUILDING THE NEW JAPAN 121 prohibition and the purity movement, are derived from the Christians. The Y, W. C. A. looks after the girls in school life and in business and prepares them for pro- fessional careers. The Tokyo building is said to have one thousand young women going in and out daily, and that in Itself means many contacts. In the Spring of 1932 and 1933 the National Chris- tian Council had a special meeting for those who oper- ate factories in Osaka and Tokyo. There social experts, such as Dr. Kagawa and many ministers and Christian workers, met together and studied the question of the factories. Among the sixty-two thousand factories there are less than one hundred owned and run by Christians. A few Christian factories, such as the Gunze Seishi or the Yanagiwara Kojo, both located in the southern part of Japan near Osaka, are run by Christians, en- tirely on Christian principles. Gunze is acquiring world- wide fame and commercial standing as the Chris- tian spirit of its owners is shown in the material pro- duced. The raw silk from this factory stands first in the country and is recognized supreme in the export field. Many missionaries are trying to gain a foot- hold in the factories, sending their workers regularly among the boys and girls or conducting Sunday schools. In this field we have a vast stretch of work still left to do. One of the most significant Christian enterprises in the reform of industrial conditions is the Omi Mission. 122 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK Here a Christian society is being built up financed mostly by business undertakings. These enterprises in- clude the manufacture and import from America of hardware and other household equipment, an architec- tural department that has an outstanding reputation throughout the nation, and the extensive advertising and sale of a high-grade imported American salve. More than 400 persons are now affiliated in various capacities. The story of this Mission is one of the great modern romances showing what faith in God and uncompromising conviction can achieve. In the professional field we have a far stronger Chris- tian influence as Japanese Christianity had its begin- ning and its stronghold among the middle classes and in the intellectual class. As you see in the educational chapter there are over forty missionary girls' schools including four schools rated as senior or junior col- leges. The graduates of these schools and of the schools started by Japanese Christian women are now filling the homes of the intellectual middle classes. Among the doctors and nurses we count many strong Christians such as Mrs. Shigeyo Takeuchi who con- ducts her own hospital with her husband who is also a physician. In this field we have a strong Christian influence growing. Among the social workers, editors and newspaper women you will find a good many active and efficient workers. BUILDING THE NEW JAPAN 123 CHRISTIAN EDITORS Among Christian women editors the most outstand- ing is Mrs. Hani. In her early years she was a reporter for a newspaper on which her husband held a promi- nent position. Women reporters were unknown then, and she was a pioneer in her field as creator of copy for women readers. It was not long before she started a magazine devoted to useful information for wives and mothers, which she called "The Housekeeper's Friend/' At that time when our women did not know much about foreign clothing, she saw the hygienic ad- vantage of dressing children in European style. She would bravely go into foreign missionaries' homes to learn all about feeding and clothing babies and young children. She was also tireless in searching for ways and means for developing young womanhood. \Her magazine, growing in circulation and wealth of con- tent, changed its name to "The Woman's Friend,!/ as an indication that it would no longer limit itself to housekeeping subjects but would appeal to women in general. Today it is the most educational and uplifting periodical for women, with probably the third largest circulation among women's monthlies in Japan. It covers the whole field of everyday home life. Through- out there is a Christian moral tone; even its plays and novels maintain a high level in dealing with ethical and spiritual issues. The magazine is used as a textbook by a great many 124 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK women. Many have grouped together and formed readers' clubs all over the Japanese Empire. They are called Friends' Meetings and number nearly three hundred. The members study their daily problems with the magazine as a textbook, together with Mrs. Hani's books, which come out year after year. Whenever new problems arise or new ideas take shape in their minds they write to her office. Mrs. Hani also edits a children's magazine with a wide circulation. The illustrations of both periodicals are mostly drawn by girls in the art course of her school. Her achievements show what Japanese Chris- tians can do independently in undertaking big tasks. Of course, one realizes that people like Mr. and Mrs. Hani are rare in this country or elsewhere. Still, when the power of God unites with the zeal and earnestness of well-prepared Christians, nothing is impossible. Whenever pioneers undertake any big service in His name, is not a miracle always wrought before the eyes of the astonished peopled Political Movements As we have already mentioned, there was some movement from the early period for the reform of the law concerning women's status, such as in making the moral standard of women equal to that of men, or rather, to try to bring the men's standard up to the level BUILDING THE NEW JAPAN 125 of the women's. That was what Mme. Yajima asked from the Government, but this kind of work did not broaden itself into the suffrage movement. Of course, when the country was preparing to open its Diet for the first time and a constitutional monarchy was estab- lished, there were some women, such as Mrs. Shoyen Nakajima, Mrs. Toshi Fukuda and others who started a cry for women to be given political rights. But their example was just like stars on a rainy night, for there were few who could follow them. WOMAN SUFFRAGE V The suffrage movement as such was started over ten years ago by a band of women who called themselves a New Women's Society, headed by Miss Raicho Hira- tsuka. There were quite a few women who came into her band and with a free, new spirit began the move- ment to emancipate Japanese women from their old condition of subjection in many matters such as mar- riage, in business and in every phase of life. Suffrage was the outstanding aim. After a few years, as the re- sult of their earnest work, notwithstanding prejudice all around, a law was passed and the regulation pre- venting women from listening to political lectures was taken away. Although it was only a minute point gained, still it opened the door for women to enter into a sphere from which they were so far barred. That was the first victory gained in 1922. 126 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK Meanwhile, in the course of their work, the W. C. T. U. women had come to the realization that all their efforts in behalf of prohibition, peace and purity were in vain if they did not possess the fundamental weapon with which to fight for them, the power of the ballot by which they could change the laws of the nation and take part in its welfare work. Thus the union became interested in the suffrage movement. The immediate cause for this awakening was the matter concerning the reopening of the brothel quarters in Osaka. Al- though the women had succeeded in preventing the rebuilding of former brothel quarters which had burned down, they were helpless this time in the face of a Government permit sanctioning the new brothel grounds. The women realized that only their power to vote could help at such times, and they felt this keenly for they had fought hard and desperately. Just about this time the Christian women of Japan had received an urgent invitation from the London in- ternational suffrage headquarters to attend its Inter- national Congress of Woman Suffrage to be held in Geneva, and Mrs. C. T. Gauntlett was chosen to attend. Although married to an Englishman, she is pure Jap- anese herself, so she was naturally somewhat preju- diced against the suffragists and half expected to meet many women there whom she could identify as neither males nor females. But when she reached the place and mingled with the other delegates for several BUILDING THE NEW JAPAN 127 days, consulting on matters of international impor- tance, she discovered that not only were the women there very charming, womanly women, but that suf- frage was something which the most thoughtful, conservative women of the world must stand up for and claim. Immediately upon her return, she consulted with the W. C. T. U. leaders already deeply interested in the suffrage question, and a telegram was dispatched to the international headquarters assuring them they would join the League, and that a sister organization would be formed in Japan under the leadership of Mrs. Ochimi Kubushiro. Shortly afterwards the Japanese Women's Suffrage Society was formed among the Christian women. In making their plans for working out this movement they decided that all the women of Japan should work together with no boundary of religion or sect. All the plans were made to begin the work, when the great catastrophe of September 1, 1923, crushed everything for the time being. As one looks back, one realizes that it was not this organization or that, this leader or that, important as were their individual work and efforts, which led to a real understanding of suffrage and the great work of taking active and intelligent part in fulfilling the needs of the nation. It was the terrible earthquake and fire of 1923 in Tokyo, Yokohama, and their vicinities which brought deep realization of this fact, not in theory only, 128 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK but in hard work and actual practice. With this catas- trophe the mother instinct in all women was suddenly fired to its heights and depths and women longed to do something, to feed, to clothe, to nurse, to help in the awful days following. But how? To women unused as they were to public work, it was a problem no matter how deep their desire to help. But the neces- sity was great and soon one of the women discovered that the city was calling for help in distributing milk for infants. Immediately the women gathered together, rallied aid, and began their work of helping the Gov- ernment officials to aid the stricken people. Great quan- tities of food, bedding, clothing and other necessities had been sent by kind friends from China, America, England, Australia, Canada and countless other places and the problem of distribution arose. District upon district of tents and barracks were visited by the hun- dreds of women who had volunteered to help, and a survey was made to aid in distributing necessary arti- cles. Here was no theory of women's rights or suf- frage, but hard, practical education in the duties of citizenship. No funds had been provided by the Gov- ernment for the carrying on of this work, but the women raised the money themselves. As these works continued, the women awoke to the fact that they had almost unconsciously, driven by ter- rible necessity, gathered together and formed the Tokyo Federation of Women's Societies. BUILDING THE NEW JAPAN 129 THE MOVEMENT IN RECENT YEARS In 1924 there was a great stir in the national Diet, for that year the Government was taking up the matter of the Universal Manhood Suffrage Bill giving voting powers to males over 25. This could not fail to excite the women also, and by December of that year a new suffrage organization, including active leaders from many organizations, was formed to present the woman suffrage question to the attention of the Diet and to work on a united scale for the attainment of suffrage. At present we have five distinct suffrage organizations, each of which has its membership scattered throughout the country. In the Spring of 1932 a union was formed to back these movements. In this new federation we count many powerful and influential societies such as the National Primary School Teachers' Union repre- senting about 80,000 teachers, a woman physicians' organization with a membership of over one thousand, and a midwives' association numbering 4,000 in Tokyo alone. Also such bodies as the Women's Peace So- ciety, the Union of Christian Women's Societies, and the Buddhist Women's Societies are now behind the suffrage movement. Last year there were sixteen such national societies backing the movement. Through the efforts of the five separate women's suffrage societies a thorough-going educational move- ment has been inaugurated which promises to have im- portant results in the future in getting women of the 130 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK nation ready for the day when they shall have the full rights of citizenship. So, behind their seemingly quiet exteriors, work of far-reaching character is being car- ried on. The first tide of the movement for woman suffrage was driven back, but the wave thus repulsed has bounded back to all the corners and crevices of the country among all women, high and low, educated and uneducated, in the country and in the city, and is gath- ering strength as it prepares for another onslaught. At first the movement was started and pushed by the awakened few, but today a program of education is being carried whereby all the women of the nation are being prepared for the use of the ballot and the exercise of their rights as citizens. In the educational field, through the efforts of the suffrage organizations, civics has become a compulsory course in the girls' high schools. In the villages and country districts, women have begun to take their place side by side with men in matters of agriculture and other rural affairs. In the industrial life of the nation women are taking their part in the factories, silk mills and other produc- tive works. In business life they are becoming a fac- tor where thousands and thousands of them carry on business of their own, work for public utilities, and keep abreast with men in many other capacities. In professional life, as teachers, doctors, nurses and jour- nalists they are maintaining their places on an equality BUILDING THE NEW JAPAN 131 with men. Out of 11,000,000 families in Japan, it is estimated that almost 1,000,000 are headed by women. Thus we see that bit by bit the power and activity of women in Japan are increasing, and this is gradually proving to the people the growing need of giving women a voice and a share in the affairs of the nation. So we see that the outlook of the suffrage movement in Japan is not a dark one, and that there is great hope of success in the near future. And when that time comes, the women of Japan will be ready. V CHAPTER V Women at Home "Love which is greater than oneself is like The glow-worm, A thing which is impossible to hide Even though you wrap it up/' THE POET AKAHITO. From ''Japanese Poetry" by Arthur Waley Clarendon Press, Oxford ALONG the Christian women builders of the new Japan, of diverse professions and oc- cupations, there are some whom we may term specialists in the art of home-making. The ancient Japanese ideal for women, that they be "good wives and wise mothers," is well realized in them, and Chris- tianity, directly or indirectly, has added a strength and vision to their outlook on life. Often these home- makers have also brilliant professional careers, and in both capacities they are honored and respected for ability and character. If the hand that rocks the cradle holds the destiny of a nation, how important it is to have homes Christianized, and this great responsibility rests upon women. There are so many outstanding Christian homes that the writer is at a loss to choose even from among her own limited acquaintance. The homes described in this chapter show different types of families in which the fruits of the Spirit are growing. 132 WOMEN AT HOME 133 Homes of Cabinet Members MADAME SAITO By the time this book is published, the present Cab- inet of the Japanese Government may be a thing of the past. At this very time, when the writer is trying to depict the home life of some of its members, the daily papers are vociferous with rumors of their resignation. However this may be, it should be recorded that the present premier, Premier Saito, showed sympathy and friendship to Christian leaders and missionaries while he was Governor of Korea. Madame Saito is said to have a strong bent toward Christianity. May we not surmise that Christian teaching in her youth prepared her to sustain her husband's honor and reputation through his hard Korean days and in his still harder days now as premier of the country ? Madame Saito is the proud mother of a brilliant son, and proud grandmother to his little four-year-old daughter. The newspaper illustrations show the pre- mier in his happiest mood with this little lady on his lap. Madame Saito is the moving spirit of the family. She and her husband are always together when they retire for a day or two to their cottage on the seashore. They are hardly recognizable in their plain working dress, he cutting wood, and she, with an apron over her kimono, sweeping up leaves in the garden. This taste for the simple life is one of the reasons for the nation's confidence in Premier Saito. 134 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK COUl^ESS UCHIDA Countess Uchida is the wife of another cabinet min- is/er, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. While she was p young girl, her whole family was greatly influenced by Christianity, and she had her early training in Doshisha Girls' School in Kyoto. Her strong Christian faith has carried her through a not too easy lot. She went to the United States under the chaperonage of Mr. and Mrs. Wistar Morris of Pennsylvania. After graduating at Bryn Mawr College in 1897 she re- turned to Japan and soon married Mr. Uchida. Step by step he climbed higher until he became a count. In the friendly social court of the Dowager Empress of China, or in the brilliant diplomatic circle in imperial Vienna, or again in the mysterious Russian court at St. Petersburg, Countess Uchida was as much at home as she was in the dignified yet sociable Japanese Em- bassy in Washington. Here in Japan as wife of the Foreign Minister, her sincerity and humble spirit com- mand the respect of high and low alike. Her prayer life and her Bible study are a constant surprise, especially to those who know only her life in society. Her charm- ing daughter was sent to the United States for a year. "The America I saw was very different from that peo- ple speak of," she said. "Young girls are lively and lovely. Their manners are very good. They are not frivolous, as I used to hear. They are altruistic and internationally minded. Even if they are rich, they WOMEN AT HOME 135 seem not to waste their money. Of course these peo- ple were mother's friends. Why don't our people always meet good Americans and see the good side of American life?" No prepared address delivered by a great scholar on the United States can compare with her simple remarks in giving a favorable impression of America to our people. She is one of the true mes- sengers of peace between the two countries. It is not too much to say that this is the result of the influence of her Christian mother. MADAME TAKAHASHI In 1907, when the World Christian Student Federa- tion Conference was held in Tokyo, the women dele- gates from foreign countries were entertained in dif- ferent homes of the city. One of these was that of Mrs. Takahashi, wife of the present Minister of Fi- nance. About twenty foreign ladies were invited to her home for tea one afternoon. She prepared the alcove of the room with a valuable old brass vase contain- ing some peonies. She remarked that her refreshments were not very elaborate, and that her chief feast was one for the eyes. Her guests did not realize that the stalks of early peonies cost many times more than the cakes and delicacies which were spread before them that afternoon. She dresses always in beautiful but quiet Japanese clothes, which harmonize with her sweet, subdued manner and gentle character. Once a 136 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK week her pastor comes to hold a Bible class in her home. Her health has been frail and she has been much confined to the house, but she is always ready to help when a chance offers. The public knows well that Min- ister Takahashi has a happy, united family, and he is much envied in having fine children and grandchil- dren. The latter feel so sorry whenever their grand- father becomes a Minister, because he will have no time to play with them. His amazing health in his eighties must be due largely to his happy family life. Some years ago the public was greatly surprised that one of the granddaughters was to take part in a public entertainment in Tokyo for the benefit of a certain charity. At that time a girl of her position could not show her accomplishments in public for fear of injur- ing the family prestige and inviting criticism. Thus she broke the ice for the gifted and accomplished sons and daughters of the bourgeoisie and showed them how to serve others. The influence of quiet Madame Taka- hashi on the members of her family flowers out thus before the public. MADAME NAGAI Mr. Ryutaro Nagai, Colonial Minister, is among the most progressive men of today. He started as a pro- fessor at Waseda University and in politics belonged to the Liberal Party. His popularity among students as well as among laborers and the confidence he re- WOMEN AT HOME 137 ceives from the general public proclaim his upright character. He is most sympathetic and fair toward women's work. Madame Tsugue Nagai comes from a well-known Christian family. Her father was the Rev. Miura. It was he who started the first Christian magazine for children, "Good Tidings" by name; most of the present Christians who went to Sunday school thirty or forty years ago were brought up on this paper. Needless to say, therefore, that Madame Nagai was reared in a Christian home from childhood. She gradu- ated from a Christian school in Tokyo, the Joshi Gakuin. With such a background and such a remark- able husband, one can understand her beautiful Chris- tian home. MADAME GOTO The present Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Fumio Goto, has a beautiful home. His wife is the daughter of the late Viscount Kano, whose democratic spirit and interest in rural uplift during the Meiji era are still remembered. Miss Anna West, a missionary who did much for the women of the upper classes and the Red Cross nurses, used to frequent the Kano home and held Bible classes with the household. Thus the children were influenced by Christianity. Viscountess Kano was a very progressive woman. She used to travel with her husband when he went around visiting vil- lages all over Japan. She started a woman's organiza- 138 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK tion in the rural districts of the province where her husband's family was formerly lord. All her daughters inherited their mother's practical ability and have been trained for either wealth or poverty. Viscount Kano met Mr. Goto while the latter was a student in the university, and said to himself that this young man would later make a good husband for his daughter Haruko. When the time came to arrange a marriage for her, she asked that her future husband might be a man of spirituality and of religious convic- tion. Mr. Goto qualified in every respect; and on his part he asked for no dowry, no handsome bridal prepa- ration, but that his wife would be good to his mother, willing to live a simple life, and ready to face any hard- ship together with him. Before he became Minister of Commerce, Mr. Goto held many posts in different parts of Japan. Mrs. Goto always accompanied him, was a good helpmeet, and gave time and energy to every good work that was being done in the neighborhood. The seeds sown by Miss West in the Kano home years 4go are gradually bearing fruit. Mrs. Goto's two sisters hold high positions in life. Today Madame Goto is the mother of four beautiful children, and her fine home life is a model for the girls of her station. Her brother's wife, the present Viscountess Kano, is on the board of the National Y. W. C. A. of Japan, and is chairman of the Inter- national Friendship Committee of the Association, and also vice-chairman of the Women's Peace Association. WOMEN AT HOME 139 Behind Their Husbands MRS. KAGAWA In Dr. Kagawa's "On the Death Line," a young woman is introduced toward the end of the book. She works in a printing office and comes to Dr. Kagawa's street meetings whenever she has a minute to spare. On her holidays and in the evenings after her work, she is there at his house in the slums, ready to help him care for the sick, feed hungry children and laborers, and entertain and comfort crying babies and quarreling children. This girl was drawn from life. She later became Mrs. Kagawa, so beloved by all classes. She relates her experience as follows: "There was a young man in the notorious slum dis- trict of Kobe who proclaimed the love of God on the streets, exposed to the wind and rain. Often I saw him laughed at, scorned and even kicked by the ruffians around him. It was said that he had lung trouble, and that he would give away his clothes and his money, and go hungry himself after feeding some one with his own food. It struck me as strange that those who stood up for him were all Christians. Just as a mist is cleared away by the sun, my spiritual eyes began to see very clearly this young man's courageous spirit, which made him victorious over poverty and persecution. As I was then the head of women laborers in the Kobe Printing Company, I had no time for anything extra, but during the noon rest hour I would hurry off in my 140 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK work dress to hear him preach, and in my holidays I was privileged to work with him for the poor. The more I knew this young man the better I understood the love of God working through him, till at last I was baptized by Dr. Myers, the prominent missionary and head of a theological college in Kobe/' Their married life is a beautiful Christian romance. The Kagawas lived at first in a one-roomed house right in the slums, and redoubled their service among the poor. Some years later they moved into a quieter and larger place for the sake of their child. This home was open to a group of young girls, gathered there for the first experiment in a Christian rural school. After the earthquake, Dr. Kagawa's great program for social service in Tokyo made necessary the removal of his family to a suburb of the capital. Their home is never without sick or destitute persons who come to be helped and saved physically and spiritually. Mrs. Kagawa is kindness itself to all these forlorn visitors. She is busier than before with three children and nu- merous duties as the wife of the great evangelist and Christian leader. During Dr. Kagawa's absence in his tours for the Kingdom of God Movement, she bears the heavy responsibility of his many interests, besides her major service in the women's organization and the kindergarten which are connected with the church. Dr. Kagawa is a very sick man, but he says, "I am able to go about as an ordinary person because I have WOMEN AT HOME 141 joy joy at night, joy in the daytime, and joy in prayer/' Incredible as it sounds, he has the power and strength to preach four or five times a day and such strong preaching too after a sleepless night on ac- count of his numerous maladies. In the natural order of events he would have died many years ago, but he says that a supernatural aid sustains him, so that he can work many times harder than an ordinary person. And one manifestation of this supreme aid is his re- markable wife. When the world recognizes the great- ness of this Christian figure, it should remember that behind him stands a guardian angel in the form of Mrs. Haruko Kagawa. MRS. KIYO IWAHASHI Another famous popular Christian leader is Pro- fessor Takeo Iwahashi, who always draws large audi- ences. Those who come out of curiosity to see the blind philosopher are soon compelled to listen to his spir- itual message, which rings so true that there is no room for argument. His life history is a continuous miracle. Just a few weeks before his graduation at a university he lost his sight after a few days' illness. He was barely saved from suicide by the love and devotion of his mother and sister. He was on the verge of desperation when his spiritual eyes were opened by the message: "Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of God should be made manifest in 142 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK him." From that time on he has been the instrument by which thousands have had their spiritual eyes opened by the divine healer. He studied in Edinburgh and Lon- don, and now has a chair in Kansai Gakuin, a Christian college for boys near Kobe. He writes many books and gives public lectures in order to rouse this nation to an interest in the better education of the 100,000 blind in Japan. He is also in demand all over Japan and Korea to help with evangelistic campaigns and with leaders' conferences. Wonderful as he is, he could not have attained to his present position if there had not been three women behind him, his mother, his sister, and his wife. The latter went abroad with him and waited on him so faithfully that he felt no discomfort in a foreign land and could study to his heart's content. Mrs. Iwahashi never leaves him; she reads to him, writes for him and works with him for the cause of the afflicted. They are the happy parents of two children and their home is a haven of rest to all who visit it. As a girl, Mrs. Iwahashi was greatly influenced by the teaching of a certain sect that service in the lowest menial labor is the means of true joy and peace. But the time came when she could not get what she needed from this ethical religion, so she went to a Salvation Army hospital with the double purpose of giving serv- ice and of receiving Christian teaching. A young man who died there with joy and gratitude made a deep im- WOMEN AT HOME 143 pression upon her, and at his funeral she experienced the living Christ. One day in February as she was quietly meditating on a bench in a cold deserted park, a dragon fly alighted on her hand. Thinking of St. Francis' preaching to the birds, she began preaching to the dragon fly, and ordered it to move as she directed. To her surprise it moved hither and thither according to her direction. This made another lasting impression upon her. Lastly, a severe illness tested her faith almost to the breaking point, but she came out victorious, and on her recovery she saw clearly the saviorhood of God. Her spirit of service was also Christianized, and now she is the proud wife of the famous blind philoso- pher and "typhlophile" friend of the blind. These two happy children of God are endeavoring now to start a " Lighthouse" like those which have been founded by Mrs. Winifred Holt Mather of New York. We believe it will not be long before we shall see the first " Lighthouse" in Japan. Wives and Widows with Careers MRS. MICHI NOMURA The foreigner who lands in Yokohama will notice "Samurai Shokai" (company), one of the most beau- tiful art stores in the Orient. In it he will find a very small, refined lady who speaks English well and whose sweet manners charm him at once. She is Mrs. Michi 144 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK Nomura, the wife of the proprietor. It is hard to real- ize that this lady with the sweet face is a good match for her husband, wKo is said to be the wisest, keenest and most upright business man of the city. At the time of the earthquake in 1923 they literally lost everything, but by sheer hard work and good business sense they have risen from the ashes, and the store is rapidly at- taining its former prestige. Mrs. Nomura is connected with almost every woman's activity, Christian or other- wise, in Yokohama. Her service to the city has been recognized and she was decorated by the Government in 1932. She is president of the Yokohama Y. W. C A. and vice-chairman of the National Y. W. C. A. She is also chairman of several other organizations, and to all these she gives time, money and consideration. At the same time, she is indispensable to her husband's business, and it is said that "Samurai Shokai" without Mrs. Nomura is like a flower without color and fra- grance. Toward her children Mrs. Nomura is a wise mother. One daughter was sent to America to be educated in one of the best boarding schools in New York State, and is now married to a diplomat; the second has a happy home in Hongkong; and the youngest recently married a promising young man. Her only son is a scientist and has a bright future. With all her wisdom and experience, she never pushes herself forward, and she dislikes notoriety. Honor comes to her un- WOMEN AT HOME 145 bidden, however. She is loved and respected by men and women alike, by foreigners within the gate and by her compatriots, whether Christians or non- Christians. DR. SHIGEYO TAKEUCHI The big hall of the Tokyo Women's Medical Col- lege was filled with guests, alumnae and students, waiting impatiently for the meeting to begin. Suddenly the main door opened and in came the august presi- dent, Dr. (Mrs.) Yoshioka, and Dr. (Mrs.) Shigeyo Takeuchi, leading her aged mother by the hand. It was a special celebration in honor of Dr. Takeuchi for having received the academic degree Igaku Hakase (M.D. and Ph.D.) from the Imperial University. This is the highest degree a physician can get in this country. The face of the old lady was radiant with joy and pride in the accomplishment of her daughter. It was beautiful to see mother, daughter and teacher seated together on the same platform, each represent- ing a woman's achievement in her own line. Who is this eminent woman doctor ? Some thirty years ago a Japanese girl studying at an American college used to gather every month from her fellow-students about twenty-five dollars for two brothers who were working in the Tokyo slums. One was an evangelist and the other a physician who had a free dispensary. For several years after the Japanese 146 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK girl had graduated, the college undergraduates con- tinued the support of this work. To this dispensary there used to come to help the Christian doctor a bright medical student from Dr. Yoshioka's college, Miss Ide, later Mrs. Takeuchi. Dr. Yoshioka herself is worthy of mention in the annals of Japanese womanhood. After a great struggle she became a physician and then started a medical col- lege of her own with just one student, and that student was Miss Ide. Until 1930 hers was the only place in Japan where women could study medicine; the Im- perial and private universities even now do not admit women to their medical course. In 1933 the total en- rolment of students in her college was 850. Of these 20 were Chinese women, 2 Germans, and 70 Koreans and Formosans. The whole number of graduates was 1,878; of these 27 were Chinese, 5 were Koreans and Formosans, one was Siamese. Four had received doc- tor's degrees abroad, 7 were then studying, and one practising, in Europe and America. Her graduates are scattered in Manchuria, China, Korea, Siam and the South Sea Islands. Her Christian friends are praying that some day she will follow the Chief Physician of body and soul. At Miss Ide's graduation in 1902, that unique char- acter, Marquis Okuma, was the chief speaker: "Until priests, lawyers and doctors possess noble character with high moral standing, society cannot be purified. WOMEN AT HOME 147 The present divided opinion for and against the higher education of women will be decided one way or the other by the work of women themselves during the coming twenty years/' This address was a direct chal- lenge to Miss Ide. With a heavy sense of responsibility for her own next twenty years, she felt powerless to fulfill her mission without help from a power higher than her own. She therefore went to Mr. Uemura and in due time she became a Christian and was baptized by him. After working assiduously for six years in the hospital attached to her alma mater, she opened her own clinic in a small rented house in 1913. She became a very successful doctor, and built a maternity hospital of her own in one of the densely populated sections of Yotsuya ward in Tokyo. Dr. Ide married a physician and is now Dr. Takeuchi, but the hospital is called by her maiden name, Ide Hospital. After her marriage, Dr. Takeuchi provided means and leisure for her husband to study further, and in 1927 he received the highest academic degree, Igaku Hakase. She then helped her own brother and his wife, who were also both physicians, to prepare themselves for the same high degree, and in 1933 they made a rec- ord in Japan as the first man and wife who were both physicians and both possessors of the Igaku Hakase degree. She now felt that her own turn had come. For years she had been making a survey of the physical development of women, examining about fifteen thou- 148 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK sand Japanese women, including students, teachers, telephone girls, department store workers, midwives, spinning operators, factory workers, country women, geisha, dancers, and waitresses. Her thesis on the phy- sique of Japanese women was the first of its kind in Japan and was unanimously approved by the pro- fessors' council of the Medical College of the Imperial University of Tokyo, which conferred on her the de- gree of Igaku Hakase in June, 1933. The Takeuchi home adjoins the hospital. There is a daughter of thirteen, and the old mother also lives with them. On Sunday morning the little daughter makes the rounds with a collection box. Every nurse and maid puts something in it, and the offering goes for charity. If the daughter sleeps late and someone else takes her place, the collection is small, so her mother makes her feel that this is her duty and she should sacrifice Sunday morning for the cause. So now she rises earlier on Sundays than on other days. Although Dr. Takeuchi's hospital is in a congested part of Tokyo, her mother raises spring silkworms there. Her daughter provides the mulberry leaves to enable the old lady to enjoy as a pastime the work she used to do in the country. Once the writer was shown a beautiful crepe dress, for which the doctor and her mother had raised the worms and the mother had woven the silk. WOMEN AT HOME 149 At present her attention and sympathy are chiefly directed toward the tubercular among the very poor. To help a Christian man doctor start a special hospital for them she devoted the entire summer of 1932 to gathering funds. Not one day was she absent from the hot capital, but with earnest prayer in her heart and on her lips she patiently made the rounds of possible donors. She raised the money and the hospital is an accomplished fact. A most successful Christian doctor, and a woman at that, is a visible victory of the power of God in a non-Christian land. MRS. YONE TAMARU In a very congested ward of Tokyo, where the police find most of their culprits, lives a Christian midwife. Her husband died some thirty years ago, leaving the young widow with two little girls and a boy. She learned midwifery to support her family, and through the secret prayer of a friend she was led to join the Christian church in Sendai. In connection with this church she worked among factory girls outside the city, and was visiting factories when she was dis- covered by one of the Y. W. C. A. secretaries. Coming to Tokyo, she worked under the Tokyo Association as a visiting midwife in factory districts of the city. Her vision enlarging, she started an independent work in the heart of the city's factory section. During the six- teen years since she left Sendai, she has helped about 150 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK five thousand babies into the world, and recently she averaged four hundred a year. Most of these families are poor, so that a great deal of her work is charity, without help from the city. She often gathers mothers together for lessons in hygiene and the care of babies, and she invites young girls to special Christian meet- ings. She is known as a Christian, and her fight against vice of all kinds was long and arduous, until she re- ceived the confidence of the community. Mrs. Tamaru's two daughters graduated from a mission girls' school, Soshin, in Yokohama. One of them passed the strict government examination for secondary school teachers before she married a very promising business man. This couple lived in the United States for some time. The second daughter also married a Christian business man, and the homes of both these daughters are centers of Christian influence. The son is now studying in one of the Imperial uni- versities. Mrs. Tamaru says that it is God's mercy that her children have done so well. Certainly God first gave her strength to bear the heavy responsibility of her children; and when she was free to give herself to some other work, she was led to be the mother of thousands of working women whose ignorance, super- stition and poverty keep them submerged below nor- mal living conditions. Her life is one of praise, good cheer and sunshine, which of itself is the living Gospel to the people around her. WOMEN AT HOME 151 MRS. TAKAYO KAWAKAMI Hokkaido, the Northern Island, is still considered by many insular-minded Tokyoites as a place too remote for any civilized person. Tokachi is a remote province of that northern island, and whatever happens in that far-off region matters nothing to them. But to those who by faith are given to see the invisible and hear the inaudible, Tokachi is God's field, full of possibili- ties and beauties. Mrs. Takayo Kawakami was the vessel chosen to found a much-needed home school for peasant girls in that northern district. " When I was young," she says, "I was married at the bidding of my parents. Being a farmer's daughter and with very little schooling, I was an absolute failure in my new life. I could not make men's clothes nor cook to please the family, and when asked to arrange flowers or have ceremonial tea, I was helpless. I was treated very cruelly, even having cold water poured over me in winter, which made my parents take me back home. I thought it was useless to die a dog's death where I was, and I returned with the determination not to be married whatever happened, but to try to help young girls have happy homes." She went to Tokyo, and after ten long years of pov- erty and hardship she qualified as a teacher of sewing, cooking, ceremonial tea, flower arrangement, koto (Japanese musical instrument), and even fencing everything considered essential for training girls for 152 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK married life. While in Tokyo she heard a street preacher, and from that time on she was a devout Christian. On her return to Hokkaido in 1909 she started a little school for neglected girls in the com- munity; beginning with ten, the enrolment in a few years reached eighty. The school quickly received the sympathy and co-operation of the influential people of the community, and was recognized as the Tokachi Sewing School. Girls from a distance came to live in the house with her, paying their bare living expenses. Mrs. Kawakami cared for her aged mother and a nephew who was abnormal. The latter has been her bitter cup, but she feels that he is a responsibility left by her ancestors. In her filial piety to her mother, and her consideration for her orphan nephew, she shows her girls how Christian women can be truly Japanese women in fulfilling their duty to their families. Be- cause of her wide acquaintance and sane judgment, her advice and help are sought by parents who have marriageable sons and daughters. Not only for the girls of her school but for the chil- dren of the community she started a Sunday school. It became so popular that it brought on a fierce reli- gious persecution from the Buddhists, who started a rival school, so that her school at one time was on the point of closing. During seventeen years of suffering she was able to fight the battle all alone because of her strong faith in the living God. At present her girls' WOMEN AT HOME 153 school has 180 pupils in the regular course and 30 in the special course, while the rival Buddhist institution has almost ceased to exist. Instruction is given in sew- ing, both foreign and Japanese, handicrafts, cooking, laundering, dyeing and gardening, together with ac- complishments like flower arrangement and cere- monial tea. Apart from regular school work Mrs. Kawakami once a week gives lessons in household sci- ence in Christian homes, and her graduates go into outlying towns and villages to teach country girls the essentials of daily life. There are over five hundred graduates, drawn from the upper and middle classes of the community. Some have entered higher education, and some have gone into direct Christian work. The school is maintained chiefly by the tuition, which is only 1.50 a month, with 20 sen extra for fuel in winter. Even this small sum cannot be raised by some of the students owing to the depression. There is quite a deficit every year, but somehow Mrs. Kawakami has been able to meet it by hard struggle. "I live almost a hermit's life and work like a horse/' she says. When asked concerning her chief difficulties, she said, first, libel and prejudice from Buddhists; next, obstacles to direct Christian education; and third, fuel. Her joys are the gradual increase of confidence in the school on the part of the townspeople; the Christian careers of her graduates; and their happy married life, in con- trast to her own unhappy experience. 154 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK While the prominent leaders of the Church are awakening to the necessity of rural education, here is a woman in a far corner of Japan who has been doing this very kind of work successfully for over twenty years. Let us pray that the day will soon come when her alumnae will dot the map of Hokkaido with happy Christian homes. The Power of Prayer MRS. KIKUYO GOTO Every visitor to Japan goes to Kamakura on the sea- shore to see the famous bronze Buddha, which is con- sidered one of the most beautiful works of art in the world, but few realize that near the image is a beauti- ful Christian home where many find joy and light in this confused, woebegone world. In a small Christian church there the beaming face of Mrs. Kikuyo Goto may be seen at every Sunday service. Her bright face and her clear sweet voice reflect her real Christian ex- perience. It is hardly believable that her Christian life is less than ten years old. When asked how she came to believe in Christ, she answers that her younger sister was in St. Hilda's School in Tokyo, and through her the family became acquainted with fine Christian people. They were then living in Tokyo, and Mr. Goto was an engineer with quite a high position in a certain firm. An illness WOMEN AT HOME 155 and later the financial crash cast him into the abyss of despair. Just at this time the late Rev. Mr. Goto of Tokyo became a warm friend of the family. The clergy- man taught Mr. and Mrs. Goto to see that God had led them into this crisis in order that they could fully understand His plan for them. From that time on he taught them how to pray, and prayed for them and with them incessantly. One day he took the couple away from the city to a quiet place on the shore, and on a great rocky cliff they fasted the whole day, pray- ing to be shown what to do. For the first time, Mrs. Goto says, she and her husband really understood what is meant by Christian prayer, and ever since they have depended upon God. One room in the clergy- man's house was set aside as a prayer room. Early in the morning the couple would go there and find their beloved teacher quietly kneeling in prayer before the Cross; silently they would join him and then steal quietly away. In the evening the same thing would happen. A day came when Mr. Goto said to his wife that they would build a kind of barrack as a workshop, with the idea of starting a small machine factory. In a barren field within the city limits they erected a rough building, and posted a notice on the door that workers were needed; and there with their pastor they prayed. Sure enough, one man came, and another, and finally they had twelve employees; but they were such ugly, filthy and broken specimens of humanity that 156 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK Mrs. Goto often wondered how it was that their sincere prayer could bring such undesirable answers. Their teacher said that God had sent these men because they had prayed for them, so with absolute trust they en- gaged them all. How were orders to come? They prayed about it and almost miraculously work came little by little, till they had to add more workers and enlarge the shop. Gradually the place became known and others built their little factories in the neighbor- hood, so that at present it is one of the newer factory centers of Tokyo. At first these rough employees would cheat and steal and quarrel together, and were so unmanageable that Mr. Goto's patience was tried to the limit. Then they would go to the clergyman's prayer room and pray about it. There was one man who was especially bad. He had been attracted by the posted notice, after sev- eral other places had refused him because he had been a convict. He used to drink, and was a mischief-maker and a dare-devil, even threatening the proprietor. How often they prayed for the transformation of this er- rant man! After some months the man of his own ac- cord came to his employer, confessed his misdeeds, and prayed God for forgiveness. All the employees and their comrades began to see the spiritual power which can bring new life to the sinner. This converted man became Mr. Goto's fore- man. A few years ago, when the factory began to lose WOMEN AT HOME 157 steadily and debts began to accumulate, Mr. Goto felt that it might be God's will to stop the business; but this man insisted that the work was just started and should be kept going. Meantime he and the other men would gladly work without wages if they could only be fed. Whatever this man said, the others always agreed to, and during this time of testing all worked harder and more faithfully than before. In a few months a large order came in, which reinstated the business. Since then things have prospered, so that the Gotos now have a comfortable home in Kamakura and for a thank offering they are going to rebuild the Kamakura church. They give generously to others, saying that whatever they have is a trust from above. As Mrs. Goto tells their experience, she says: "Our Christian life has just begun. The last one to be bap- tized was my seventy-year-old father. All of us, young and old, from the youngest apprentice up, feel that we belong to one big family, and we want to have our Christian life mellowed, so that people may see that our business and our homes are founded upon a life of prayer." Limitation of space forces the writer to give only passing mention of several other women. The names of Mrs. Hana Muraoka and Mrs. Tsuchi Yamamoto should be remembered for their great contribution to Christian literature. Mrs. Muraoka's novels and maga- 158 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK zine and children's stories are always welcome to young and old. She tries to further internationalism through biographies and accounts of great Christian leaders. Her latest translation was of Honore Willsie Morrow's "Splendor of God." Her gift is a great asset to the Japanese Christian world. Many Christian women are working in the double capacity of mother and contributor to social welfare. Mrs. Suzu Takagi after strenuous effort succeeded in modifying children's underwear and school girls' clothes along the more healthful Western lines. Mrs. Tazu Sugawa uses the face powder she invented and her beauty parlor as a means of contact with non- Christian women. Mrs. Tomi Otani superintends shop girls in a department store. The influence of Christianity in the homes of this country is more far-reaching than the reader would believe. A certain old aristocratic family whose head has been lord of the district for the past six hundred years is respected even today not only for its feudal lordship but for its special intimate associations with Nichiren, the founder of the Nichiren sect of Budd- hism. Every member of the present household is a devout follower of that sect. The heir was looking for a suitable bride. To their amazement and chagrin they could not find any attractive modern girl with an all- round education who had escaped being influenced WOMEN AT HOME 159 more or less by Christianity. What a glorious eulogy of Christianity this is! We pray that many, many more homes will welcome Christ as their guest of honor, and that the voices which pray, 'Thy kingdom come," will rise more strongly from family altars. CHAPTER VI Peace and International Friendship Beneath one sun do live White, black and yellow men. THE POET SEKIFU. A Beautiful Nun IT is darkest just before the dawn," says the proverb. Dark was the time when the new Meiji Era was to be ushered in. The young emperor had emerged from the seclusion of his Kyoto palace and taken over the supreme power from the last Tokugawa Shogun. The black ships from the Western countries threatened our shores. The feudal lords were divided into the party that favored the open door and the party that was against it. Wars and rumors of wars were rampant; there were battles and quasi-battles between the op- posing parties. Highborn ladies performed heroic deeds, inspiring their humbler sisters to follow their example. Yet, like small patches of blue sky showing through dark storm clouds, there were a few clear- sighted, peace-loving women who prayed for the reconciliation of the hostile parties and for the peace of the country. The present elementary school textbooks have chosen one woman as the exponent of this spirit. She 160 PEACE AND INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP 161 was a Buddhist nun called Rengetsu, which means Lotus Moon. Born in a samurai family about one hun- dred and forty years ago, in the province of Ise, she was taught in her girlhood the Chinese classics and the art of verse-making. Not long after her marriage her husband died, leaving a little daughter, who soon fol- lowed him. Buddhism teaches that life is an illusive vision, and influenced by this teaching Rengetsu be- came a nun in order to pray for the souls of her dead. Her beauty and talent attracted many men who tried to draw her back to the mundane world, but she resisted temptation and kept herself pure and undefiled to the end. She made and sold pottery for a living, producing just enough to support herself. From her seclusion she had a clear view of the critical situation of Japan. The black ships from America with their cannon pointing landward filled the people with dread, and they cried out that the "red barbarians" were coming to annihilate their sacred country. Ren- getsu read the signs of the times too well to mistake the meaning of America's knocking at the door. Her tender heart was wrung with sorrow for those patriots who were engaged in civil war, when they should have been peacefully uniting to calm the frightened folk and plan for an orderly and prosperous new Japan. She prayed for peace and harmony within and without the country. Into her powerful verses she wove the idea that America would rain upon Japan blessings 162 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK and good will, and not enmity and destruction. The Japanese word "ame" means rain, and America repre- sents a rain of blessing. Here are two of Rengetsu's "waka" (poems of thirty-one syllables) : Furiku tomo, Haruno America, nodoka nite Yono uruoi ni, naranto suran. Refreshing is the torrent of April rain (America), Promising blessing upon the thirsty land. Kikudani mo Sodekoso nurure, michinobe ni, Sarasu shikabane, Tareno ko naram. Wet are my sleeves, Thinking of the cold bodies left on the road Someone's dear sons never to return. A woman of no rank and position, she had no way to express her ideas on public matters; but as a poet she could put her longing into verse. These poems she boldly sent to the leading lords and statesmen upon whose shoulders the destiny of Japan rested. She lived to see her desires fulfilled, dying when over eighty in the bright dawn of the Meiji period. Japan and America Clasping Hands It is a far cry from the prophetic pleadings of this farseeing nun to a dramatic incident that took place PEACE AND INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP 163 in May, 1933 an event that was symbolic of all the poetess had foreseen. In the year 1853, when Commodore Matthew C. Perry and his crew anchored in Uraga Bay near Yoko- hama, then a mere fishing village, he was met by the governor who was stationed in that region to watch the movements of the black ships. Little did either dream that these "sea monsters" were to be largely responsible for Japan's emergence into modern life. In honor of Commodore Perry's achievement, and as a lasting memorial to the good will of the United States, the Japanese Government built a mpnument at the historic spot on the little bay. In May, 1933, Madame Toda, great-granddaughter of the governor, and Bishop James DeWolf Perry, grandnephew of Commodore Perry, met at the monument and shook hands. This friendly meeting of the two members of these noted families of the East and West is symbolic of the present friendship between the two countries. From the very first the United States has been a big sister to us. There are hot-headed and narrow-minded people in any country who stir up ill feeling and discord; we are not free from them, nor is the United States. They fan the flame of national prejudice; they prophesy that this historical good will between the two countries can- not last long, and that a dreadful conflict is inevitable. Experts on international politics and economics know very well that America and Japan have every reason to 164 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK refuse even to think of mutual strife, but their voices are drowned out by vociferous nationalists, and their arguments are too intellectual to appeal to the common people. And yet, in spite of misunderstanding and prejudice, there is a strong undercurrent in Japan that earnestly desires peace and friendship with all nations of the world, and believes that Japan cannot go back to the time of feudalism by closing her doors to the rest of the world. At the same time, we Christians, from our standpoint, affirm that the friendship founded by Com- modore Perry should be augmented, the more so that the Pacific Ocean is coming to be the center of world interest. We are ever grateful to the different mission boards in America and England for sending us their great men and women as missionaries as soon as the country was opened. What would have been the condition of the present Japan without the introduction of Christian- ity? We shudder to think of it. Every Christian "for- eigner" in this land, whether missionary or otherwise, is a messenger of peace. May God grant that the Pacific Ocean shall stand for peace between Asia and America, not only in name but in spirit. International Gifts at the Time of the Earthquake Whenever we think of the dreadful earthquake of 1923, there comes an undying feeling of gratitude to PEACE AND INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP 165 the thirty countries which showed their sympathy by pouring upon this nation generous gifts in money and goods building materials, clothing and food. The United States sent us ship after ship loaded with tim- ber, portable houses, tents, furniture, food and medical supplies, and even doctors and nurses. How many temporary buildings were erected with Oregon pine! Many of us slept gratefully beneath unaccustomed tents upon comfortable army cots! Little shops blos- somed out with American brands of canned food. People were dressed in American clothes sent espe- cially from Hawaii and California; and how comical, in the midst of tragedy, were the absurd figures stalk- ing about in clothes far too long and too big, and high- heeled shoes! Millions of dollars were sent through the Red Cross, church boards, and different Christian agencies, not to mention private individuals. Every time the writer went through the awning-covered open space on Tokyo Bay, which was used as a warehouse for these supplies, she could not help weeping at the sight of the vast covered heaps, and they were only a part of the generous expression of deep sympathy from the nations of the world. This great outpouring of good will immeasurably strengthened the friendship started by Commodore Perry, which shall never be severed, in spite of occasional political earthquakes. "A friend in need is a friend indeed." Let this nation never forget the international friendship called forth 166 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK by the disaster, and let us pray that it be strengthened by Christian fellowship. Are Japanese Christians Cowards? During the recent conflict in Manchuria those peo- ple of the West who were not acquainted with a peculiar feature of Japan's system of government natu- rally wondered at the flat contradiction between the pacific assurances of the Cabinet and the aggressive operations of the forces in the field. Many of Japan's friends lost faith in her and regarded her with an un- friendly eye. Dr. James A. B. Scherer in his recent book "Japan, Whither?" has set forth this point very clearly. This peculiar feature, as expressed by a distinguished au- thority on international law quoted by Dr. Scherer, is "a division or ambiguity of responsibility as between the Government represented by the Cabinet and the military and naval authority who regard their respon- sibility as being directly to the Throne." The assur- ances given by the Cabinet to the world were in good faith, but the "power vested in a military commander in a field to act in an emergency to protect his forces and the nationals for whose safety he is responsible" demanded quick action, which was backed by the high- est military authorities, whose every move is measured by a spirit of loyalty to the Throne. We admit that this PEACE AND INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP 167 country put herself in an embarrassing situation in the eyes of the world, but, with a sympathetic understand- ing of this government system, the reader may be willing to make allowances for the discrepancies pre- sented by the news during the Sino-Japanese conflict. The student of Japan should bear in mind that the old ideas of feudalism still live subconsciously in the national life, and at a time of national crisis they rush to the surface to protect the country from outside at- tack. In olden days there was a saying, "When you see a stranger, think him a thief/' We sacrificed everything for master, family and friend, but the stranger was always suspected. Our patriotism at present is circum- scribed by this narrow idea. Our people have not ad- vanced far enough to grasp the idea of international- ism. Foreign nations are not to be trusted; they are continually looking for an opportunity to prey on us. We may have good friends among other nationalities, but it is almost impossible for us as a nation to be good friends with other nations. This is the state of mind of the majority of our peo- ple; but there is also, on the other hand, a strong cur- rent of world ideas, world co-operation, world out- look, world peace, flowing mightily and rapidly in the midst of the nation. Narrow patriotism has come to be regarded as a detriment to the progress of the country. Our present Emperor himself has often used the term, "Kyoson, kyoei," which means mutual ex- 168 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK istence and mutual prosperity, reminding the nation that we should break the crust of selfish existence, and share happiness and blessing with others. His Majesty's last rescript was a strong challenge to the nation to realize the world's social solidarity through interna- tional thinking. Without entering into a discussion of political prob- lems or explanation of the events in Manchuria and Shanghai, the writer wishes to emphasize the difficult position in which Japanese Christians, and especially Japanese women, who are promoters of international peace and harmony, have been placed. They were closely watched and severely criticized by the non- Christian elements of the country, as well as by the Christian peoples of the West. To some nationalists the term "internationalism" is synonymous with "Com- munism," and they regard Christians as dangerous and disloyal; while the peace workers and pacifists of other countries brand them as cowards, kowtowing humbly before militarism. Why could they not sacri- fice their position, even their lives, for the cause of peace? Why were they not more stirred by the senti- ment of universal brotherhood that sentiment which has become almost the passion of Anglo-Saxon Chris- tians since the World War? These criticisms and ques- tionings have driven us inward to self -analysis. It is not given to the majority of Japanese Christians to regard war as do the Quakers. For that matter, have PEACE AND INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP 169 the so-called Christian nations yet come to the Quaker belief? Nevertheless, when loyalty to a religious faith in Japan is at stake, many have willingly chosen the way to the Cross. They are willing to be disowned by family, discharged by employer, even treated as traitors by neighbors. During the Manchurian disturbance a moving picture, 'The Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan," was shown in Japan. It ran several weeks in the capital before going to the provinces. The theme of the pic- ture was the historical fact of the crucifixion of twenty- six Catholic Christians, out of the many thousands so persecuted, during the early part of the Tokugawa Shogunate. It was an opportune time to remind the nation that its people have been capable of sacrifice not only for patriotism but also for religion. These Christians crucified for the sake of Jesus Christ have carved the name of Japan in the immortal hall of Christian martyrdom. Let me give also a recent incident. In the "J a P an Advertiser" for August 3, 1933, there is a news item with the title, ' 'Dismissal of Christian Factory Work- ers Brings Strike of Operatives in Protest." In protest against alleged religious intolerance on the part of the company, 600 women employes of the Yatomi mill of the Showa Silk Reeling Company at Amagun, Aichi Prefecture, went on strike on Tuesday morning and induced operatives from other shifts to go slow in their work in sympathy. The strike arose over the dismissal of five women operatives 170 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK and Miss Tsumi Takano, head of the day shift women's dormi- tory. The six women employes refused to worship before a branch of the Daijingu Shrine recently erected in the com- pound of the factory, giving as their reason that they were Christians. In the opinion of the company, according to the Jiji, they were regarded as dangerous to the spiritual welfare of the rest of the workers and were summarily dismissed when their religious views became known. As the rest of their shift came to work yesterday morning, it was learned that the six women had been discharged and the rest of the day group immediately declared a strike in protest, demanding that they be re-instated. Are Japanese Christians cowards? Are they afraid of militarism ? Do they cling to the old, narrow-minded patriotism ? Or are they on the contrary so cosmopoli- tan that they are indifferent to national honor ? If the answer to these questions is an affirmative, it were bet- ter if Christianity were stamped out of this country. Japanese Christians are capable of martyrdom any time, but the majority of them have not come to regard war and peace in the same light as they do certain other aspects of faith in Jesus Christ. Their individ- ualistic Christianity needs time to grow into world consciousness. Is not this a universal experience ? It is not peculiar to Japanese Christians. We are not, how- ever, without those who stand firmly against war, and who work and pray for the peace of mankind. They are proclaiming that Christianity is the only power to cement true patriotism with true internationalism, be- PEACE AND INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP 171 cause the life-blood of Christianity is Jesus Christ, who by his Cross showed that love alone can save the in- dividual, the country, and the world. Women's International Prayer Day On International Prayer Day in 1933, which fell on March 3rd, the meeting was held at the Union Church in Tokyo. There were one hundred and seventy women present, representing almost all denominations in Tokyo and Yokohama. Miss Tomi Furuta presided. Let me quote from the account published in 'The Christian Graphic": CHRISTIAN WOMEN BUILDERS OF PEACE Men Make War, Women Must End War THE WORLD'S DAY OF PRAYER FOR WOMEN AS OBSERVED IN TOKYO, MARCH 3, 1933 THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY* "Today is the Doll Festival. The dolls displayed in almost every home in Japan today represent a custom which came from China, and had in it originally the meaning of sacrifice for sin. The dolls were called aganat mono (redeeming sacri- fices) and were little paper effigies burned on this day much in the way in which sin-offerings were made in ancient Israel. As religion passed from India to China and from China to us, our forbears saw that one cannot save oneself, by jiriki (self- salvation) ; and there was dimly the realization that is so won- * Address by Miss Kawai. 172 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK derfully developed in the Epistle to the Hebrews out of Israel's religious past, that a Redeemer is needed. "Now every morning I open the newspaper with apprehen- sion, postponing the dreaded moment as long as possible, be- cause of the terrible things that are happening both in our local society, in suicides and deeds of violence, and in international conflict with foreign countries. This is a terrible time for Japan. Such a period of national emergency affects people in different ways; some suffer deeply with it, while others rush madly into pleasure. We see both kinds of people today in Tokyo. In the old legend the sea king's daughters at first had no souls, but when they did at last secure them, the first thing they felt was sorrow, deep sorrow for their sins as souls had been given them. Such sorrow is right and normal, and it is right that we should now be feeling deep sorrow, as so many of us are at this time, for the sins of our beloved country. Japan can- not be saved by the sacrifice of dolls nor of sheep, but by God alone. "We have talked too much of mere morality national mo- rality ; we must press forward into religion, and attain to the salvation of Jesus Christ. Christ taught, "Your righteous- ness must be greater than that of the Pharisees," and that was his meaning, that we must have religion rather than mere morality. Christ's standard is the one we must attain to now. "It is, to be sure, not only Japan that is in the wrong now. All nations have sinned to bring about this present situation. But we must not think of the sins of other nations but repent of our own sin first. We must love our country religiously rather than morally from now on. This sin has come from our nature, and we must get our national nature transformed, changed by God. We must not think only of British imperialism in China nor of its Opium War there, nor of American imperialism in Nicaragua. We must repent and be born again. BISHOP PERRY AND MADAM TODA SHAKING HANDS IN FRONT OF THE MONUMENT TO COMMODORE PERRY From the Asahi Newspaper, Tokyo 0F Git I at of jp CLASS OF 1933 Music Department, Miyagi College, Sendai PEACE AND INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP 173 "On this Doll Festival day, let us pray in the realization that we as women have been called to be aganai mono, redeeming sacrifices, for our nation." THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH* "A young man who lives very near my home committed sui- cide the other day, being troubled by thoughts of Russian Com- munism. He had been attending church previously, but the church had had no clear message for him and so he ended his life. Where does the Christian church stand now about these two related and burning issues, (1) The economic-industrial- labor problem; and (2) The problem of Internationalism. Within a few days, on February 18th, the Woman Suffrage Party has stated their opposition to militarism boldly to the Gov- ernment, but we as Christian women are not yet able to do so, though our righteousness ought to exceed theirs, and we ought to make a stronger statement than they. "Christ has taught that we are all brothers, that God is our Father, that it is not his will that any one of these little ones (in China) should perish. We must grasp this teaching. Daily I have been praying in preparation for this prayer meeting, to know God's will for it. Today through Miss Kawai's talk and prayer I have received light. Morally speaking we cannot say Japan is all wrong, but religiously speaking we must ac- knowledge and confess we are wrong. There ought to have been some other means. We must take one step at a time, depending on God. "It is at least clear that the three hundred thousand Christians in Japan ought to speak out clearly against war. We must all be ready to sacrifice ourselves, one by one. There are some who have been saying, 'O yes, I am a Christian, but someone else * Address by Mrs. Kubushiro. 174 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK will doubtless take a stand, and I can protect myself/ We must cast away that attitudeyand each and every one of us re-study our Biblesi/and pray and agonize in prayer, seeking guidance from God as to the next steps which ought to be taken by us as Christians. \/ "The world's eyes are accusing us Japanese Christians. We are being accused both by the nationalists and by the interna- tional pacifists ; both from above and from below we are receiv- ing accusations. But this will not result in our destruction but in revival. We can no longer leave this matter to a few leaders. We must each one of us agonize in prayer until the really Chris- tian solution is given?' ' Miss Furuta, president of the Christian Women's Federation, closed her message as follows: "When through sin we spoil the plan of God for our lives, God does not cast away the sinful person or the sinning nation. God has always another plan ready. Japan may now be spoil- ing God's plan for it, but when we spoil God's plan, God provides another. We as a nation are sinning deeply now ; but God will provide another plan. We must pray with all our hearts to find it. A young boy, when he was converted, prayed: 'O Lord, manage me, for I cannot manage myself.' This is the prayer we must pray for our nation as well as for ourselves : 'O Lord, manage us, for we cannot manage ourselves.' If the na- tion has lost its soul, we who are its mothers must enable Japan to rediscover its soul, through honest, humble, loving and united prayer.^O Lord, manage our nation, for it cannot man- age itself/" ! v ,t^M , ,, Another speaker, Mrs. Sakamoto, said: "I am probably the only person present here who has actually seen fighting and suffering in the fighting area. That is the PEACE AND INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP 175 reason the Japanese in general do not hate war with China, because we have never shed blood on Japanese soil. We don't know what it means. We should realize our debt to China for all our culture, but instead we have gone to China to fight ! This is what the men have done, but we women must redeem it* God lives and works, and if we educate the young aright, a different Japan will develop.". f K, These addresses were followed by much praying. Following the meeting a cable was sent addressed to the women of China and to the women of America (see page 193) , and also a protest was made to the Radio Company for its militaristic broadcasts. Women's Peace Groups There are four Christian and non-Christian women's groups working directly for peace, each with its special program and methods of work. They co-operate when a definite task is to be accomplished for the common cause, such as getting peace signatures to be sent to a disarmament conference, public meetings on Armistice Day, or the composing of a national peace song. THE INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP SECTION OF THE Y. W. C. A. No other woman's group has so much international color. Because of the Y. W.'s world-wide connections, foreign visitors find a home and friends at the various centers. The city associations have special accommoda- tions for international friends, and are tireless in ex- tending a helping hand to the Chinese and Koreans 176 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK within their gates. The Association serves as a connect- ing link between this country and others. The Osaka Association opens its hall every Sunday for Christian services for Koreans. In the Tokyo and Yokohama As- sociations, Chinese, Korean and Japanese girls and students form real friendships among themselves. The International Friendship section is assiduous in deep- ening the spirit of peace through parties, entertain- ments, hikes, and conferences of girls from many lands. If one wants to know the whereabouts of a new woman visitor from America or Europe, she inquires at the Association information bureau; or, if she wants to go abroad, she can get help all along the line, from a lesson on foreign clothes to the application for a pass- port. The section lives up to its name, and women's peace work is strengthened by its practical service all the year round. THE PEACE SECTION OF THE W. C T. U. Miss Uta Hayashi of Osaka and Mrs. Tsune Gaunt- lett of the Tokyo W. C. T. U. will be remembered in history for their noble adventure in carrying thousands of peace signatures of women to the London Naval Conference in 1929. They were following the footsteps of the former president of the union, Mrs. Kaji Yajima, who at the age of eighty-nine went to Wash- ington in 1921 to present to President Harding ten thousand signatures of Japanese women desiring PEACE AND INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP 177 peace, and to beg him to further the success of the first Disarmament Conference. They were also instru- mental in sending women delegates from other coun- tries to London for the same purpose. In 1931, when the Manchurian trouble clouded our horizon, the women of these peace organizations once more gathered peace signatures, this time for the Dis- armament Conference at Geneva in 1932. Two hun- dred thousand signatures were a small recompense for their joint labors, but considering the situation, every name stood for a hundred in peace time. When the work was done, five women representing the organiza- tions took the signed papers to Premier Inukai. He expressed hearty appreciation of their labor, and also his great desire for the peace of the world. Within five months he was assassinated by young officers of the army and navy. THE WOMEN'S SECTION OF THE JAPANESE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION After Japan left the League of Nations, the name of the League of Nations Association in Japan was changed to Nihon Kokusai Kyokai, or Japanese In- ternational Association. It is nearly the largest peace body in the country. Its Women's Section was started in 1931, with Viscountess Motono as chairman, and prominent Tokyo women are on the board. It has done little work so far, but it was the beginning of the union 178 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK of Japanese women with men in the common bond of international peace. The nation should expect a great deal from this section. THE WOMEN'S PEACE ASSOCIATION This body began over fifteen years ago in a gathering of less than twenty women who met for the study of international affairs at Dr. Nitobe's home. Mrs. Hide Inouye, who is the president of the Women's Uni- versity of Japan, was its chairman for nearly ten years. From the very beginning it has not been a popular organization and its membership is small. The work has been carried on by volunteers, mostly very busy women with their own professional careers. For years it has given financial aid to Korean and Chinese women students in Tokyo. One activity has been the intro- ducing of foreign visitors to the famous beautiful homes of Tokyo, where objects of art are displayed and refreshments served, amid stimulating conversa- tion. In a quiet way it has asserted its existence along many lines. The board was always ready to call, in- dividually or in groups, upon Cabinet members to express their desires for peace and ask endorsement of their work. When the newspapers printed accounts of the encouragement of the martial spirit among ele- mentary school children, and of injuries to children from toy guns and war games, the members went to PEACE AND INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP 179 the authorities and begged them to curb this warlike spirit. Naturally success in eradicating such an in- trenched evil, which reaches deep into Japanese cus- tom and tradition, can only be achieved by long and patient labor. One of their chief aims is to teach the spirit of peace in the schools. For several years the Association has sponsored competitions in peace essays by high school pupils. In 1933, nine girls received prizes and several had honorable mention. It was said that all the essays were so good that the judges had a hard time to select the best. On Good Will Day, May 18, 1933, the prizes were awarded, and the best two essays were read by their writers at a public meeting.* Then Mr. Tagawa, M.P., President of Meiji Gakuin, a Christian college and high school for boys, made an address. He said that things which men were not free to say were ex- pressed by these girls fearlessly and honestly because their hearts were pure. He encouraged them to be heralds of peace. Of the nine girls who received prizes seven were from Christian schools. These girls are true patriots; they love Japan so well that they cannot bear to have her satisfied with mediocrity, but wish her to grow nobler and more beautiful and to contribute toward human solidarity and toward God's plan. The Women's Peace Association sent several letters during the dark days of 1931-33 to Chinese women, * See page 194 for Peace Essay. 180 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK and also to women leaders of the West who were directly connected with peace movements. The follow- ing is one of them: March 16th, 1932. To the Y. W. C. A.; W. C. T. U.; Women's National Coun- cil; Women's Suffrage League, China DEAR FRIENDS: We, the members of the Women's Peace Association in Japan, are burdened with agonizing grief over the present rup- ture between your country and ours. Some of you may feel that we women here are indifferent in regard to this matter. Allow us to say, though, that it is quite the contrary to the fact. We are greatly concerned about this grievous state of affairs, and we earnestly desire to maintain the most friendly relationship between us, as we are responsible in maintaining peace over a large section of the Orient. We rejoice with you in your freedom and equality with men in every walk of life, whereas we, Japanese women, are still deprived of any political privileges, and naturally are left entirely helpless. However, we know that there is one thing we can all do, and that is to pray and work for the day soon to come when we can stand side by side for peace and good will. All kinds of rumors must be afloat in your country, as they are here, and an unthinking public is, in any country, in time of war, apt to be swayed by them. We are trying to sift the grain from the chaff, and we believe that you must be doing the same, for we know too well that no reconciliation can be brought about on the foundation of misunderstanding and misrepresentation. In so far as there is any truth in the reports of the unfortu- nate events which have occurred in your country through the PEACE AND INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP 181 faults of our people, we are ready to ask your forgiveness, and we trust that you are willing to take the same attitude toward us. When one is carried away by excitement, even the beautiful spirit of patriotism is so often marred by fanatic action, and we deeply deplore these things, because we sincerely want your friendship and co-operation in the work for peace. This message of good will is signed by sixteen women, the officers and directors of the Women's Peace Association. Eight of these are Christians. St. Luke's International Medical Center There are many monumental works of international friendship, but one which deserves special mention is St. Luke's International Medical Center in Tokyo. Dr. R. B. Teusler's untiring service for forty years finally completed this international hospital in the Spring of 1933. The total cost was nearly five million dollars, mostly gifts from the United States. The central build- ing contains wards and private rooms for nearly three hundred patients, operating, maternity and emergency suites, and kitchens. One wing is devoted to the college for nursing, and the opposite one contains the out- patient department, a diagnosis clinic and public health quarters. There are about fifty public health nurses, whose efficient service and Christian character have been well recognized by the public. "In the firm belief," says Dr. Teusler, "that the best modern clinical 182 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK medicine of today is largely in the hands, directly and indirectly, of those civilians most influenced by the growth of Christianity, emphasis has always been placed in St. Luke's on the spiritual values contained in the teaching and demonstration of the social Gospel and on international service, and this contributing in- fluence in the work will be maintained and expanded as far as possible in manning the new hospital/' Homes for Foreign Students Apart from any organization, there are several in- dividual Japanese women whose daily lives mirror the ideal of international friendship. One of these is Mrs. Ryo Maruyama, who keeps open house for Korean, Chinese, Hindu and Filipino students, and always has a number of these young men staying in her house. Once a certain girls' school in Tokyo entertained nearly forty Chinese men and women students in their garden. This happy occasion was arranged by Mr. and Mrs. Maruyama, who are continually introducing for- eign students to Japanese homes and schools. Miss Sho Hattori has had a dormitory for Chinese women stu- dents in Tokyo for over ten years. Her experience as a teacher in Manchuria some fifteen years ago and her appreciation of China and its people have made her a most valuable liaison worker between the two coun- tries. PEACE AND INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP 183 Another, Miss Shige Takenaka, has for many years borne the responsibility of the woman's page of our largest daily, the "Tokyo Asahi." Her Christian train- ing in school days gives her a distinction in character among many women reporters. She has travelled in China several times and learned to love its people by direct contact with them. One or two Chinese students always live in her home as members of the family. They bring their friends to the house as if it were their own, and Miss Takenaka treats them like sons. In 1932 one devoted student, Mr. Sing, graduated from Waseda University and returned to China, but he soon returned with a lovely bride, and now Miss Takenaka is radiant with joy to have the young couple under her roof. One seldom sees anywhere such a beautiful friendship be- tween two nationalities. Similarly, there is a small band of Japanese women who have parties or dinners once a month with their Chinese friends. They are one of the most spontaneous, carefree and congenial groups to be found anywhere. A Friend of Korean Girls and Women Space forbids mentioning many Japanese women in and out of Japan who are real builders of peace and friendship. But there is one personality who should not be buried in oblivion for the sake of the young generation to follow her. She is Miss Noe Fuchizawa, 184 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK the founder of Shukumei Girls' School in Seoul, Korea. She was born in Japan into a devout Buddhist family. When she was sixteen she began to doubt whether Buddha was a real god or not. She happened to hear an evangelist, who quoted from the Bible, 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me/' and from that time on she groped her way toward Christianity. As a nurse- maid to an American family she went for two years to the United States, where she was baptized. After her return to Japan in 1882 she went to study at Doshisha Girls' School, being then in her thirtieth year, and later she taught in several Christian schools. When her mother died her friends advised her to travel, so with- out any definite plans she went to Korea. Here she was spurred to invest her life in bringing Japanese and Korean women into a happy relationship, for which purpose she started an association at which they could meet. After much prayer and patient endeavor, she was at last able to ask the ex-Empress of Korea to be the honorary chairman. Her Majesty was gradually drawn into the work, and as her interest grew she do- nated an old house. This building was turned into a girls' school, which opened with five Korean girls. The almost insurmountable difficulties and hardships of these early days are now rewarded by the splendid Shukumei School, with four hundred Korean girls and a waiting list of many hundred every year. Of all her early difficulties, Miss Fuchizawa says that the PEACE AND INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP 185 worst was misunderstanding and misrepresentation of herself. The Koreans thought she was a spy, and the Japanese called her a mountebank. Jealousy and hatred followed her, but she went on cheerfully, leaving the result of her work to God. In all the political conflicts between Korea and Japan she experienced no antago- nism from her girls and their families. It may seem strange to outsiders that Madame Ri, and not Miss Fuchizawa, is principal of Shukumei School. Madam Ri is the wife of a high Korean official, and from the early days of the school Miss Fuchizawa asked her to be its head. The two are inseparable, and have grown old together in sharing this work. This is a beautiful example of friendship and co-operation between Japanese and Koreans. Why is it possible? Because they are truly Christians. Message of Love After all, the Christian Church is the main instru- ment for permanent peace and international co-opera- tion. The National Church Council, the National Sunday School Association, the World Alliance for In- ternational Friendship Through the Churches, the Fel- lowship of Reconciliation, and other Christian forces are strengthening the sentiment for peace through their various channels. But Christians, whether clergy- men, missionaries or laymen, all must reaffirm the 186 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK stand that they are ambassadors of God and man; and then they should pour their lives into every good work motivated by the spirit of human solidarity. Unless peace is established between God and man first, no lasting peace can exist, individually, nationally or internationally. Why are there so many broken homes which started out with every assurance of har- mony and joy? Why is there so much social unrest in times of depression as well as of prosperity? Why does each country, while showing a smiling face to its neighbors, spend the main bulk of its national budget for armed security ? Why do Communism and nation- alism bring so much hatred and destruction at their heels ? Why do social reforms, national reconstruction and international relationships, all starting with mag- nificent ideals and noble sacrifice, fall like a pack of cards? These are searching questions for all of us. Our national leaders are apt to blame so-called "im- ported dangerous though ts" for unrest and disorder. Educators blame the lack of religious training in school for the present ugly social phenomena. But they all overlook the fact that Japan has been a fertile soil for these new ideas to flourish in, and that the national religions and systems of ethics, Buddhism, Shintoism and Confucianism, are powerless to stem the tide be- cause they have no definite spiritual content, as we understand it in Christianity. In moral lessons, polite- ness may be more stressed than honesty and kindness. PEACE AND INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP 187 Politeness is the outcome of inward courtesy, but with- out kindness within we can camouflage politeness. Kindness and honesty are the fruit of spiritual teach- ing. Physical courage, again, can be taught by ethics, whereas moral courage and moral honesty can only come from spiritual discernment. The famous phrase of a Chinese sage, 'Tour seas are brothers," is also taught in Japan, but it has remained a sentiment with- out any application to our national life, like a lovely ornament on the shelf of an alcove, because there was no idea of the fatherhood of God behind it. Anyone who studies Eastern religions and ethical codes will bear me out when I say that these are ma- terialistic. What Buddhism and Shintoism call the spiritual world or the next world is merely the pro- longation of this material world. As we watch, for instance, streams of worshippers pouring into temples and shrines, bowing and praying before the images or sacred screens, we feel that they do not experience by their very worship confession or forgiveness of sin, spiritual consecration, victory over temptation, or vicarious suffering. The prayer of the common peo- ple, whether young or old, is mostly for health, long life, easy childbirth in the case of women, victory in war or prosperity in business in the case of men. Many university graduates are babes in spirituality. This does not mean, however, that we have no spiritual element in our Eastern religions and that the people are all ma- 188 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK terialistic, but that these are in such a minority that they do not leaven the whole mass. Buddhism deals much with philosophy, which is often taken for re- ligion. Philosophy cannot save sinners and recreate them into saints. Spiritual life is quickened only by the Creator and the Father of mankind. When once a man realizes that every human being is God's masterpiece, his creation, there is born self-respect within him, and his whole outlook becomes changed. He looks on others as God's greatest treasures, his children, just as he himself is. To him the command, "Love thy God," is incomplete without "Love thy neighbor as thyself." It is trite to say that the world is shrinking in one way, while in another it is expanding because of scien- tific discoveries and inventions. We welcome both evo- lution and devolution, and yet fear and mistrust among nations are ever increasing. What is the remedy for this ? Let us once more with bowed heads kneel and listen to the immortal words of the Apostle of Love, whose voice rings like a clarion note in all ages and among all nations of the world: Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear. PEACE AND INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP 189 .... If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen ? And this commandment we have from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. Love brings responsibility, love demands sacrifice. It is not an ornament; it is life. When love comes into our hearts, every thought, every word, every action becomes animated, just as the kiss of the royal prince awakened the Sleeping Beauty and roused the whole castle. Love cannot live alone; it calls for friendship and grows stronger and purer by selfless service. Where love is, peace abides, and envy, fear, hatred, war, can never come within its citadel. What a glorious privilege, you women of the West and we of the East, to follow those heroes who prayed, worked and died for "a new heaven and a new earth/' where there is no more war. CABLE MESSAGES FROM TOKYO CHRISTIAN WOMEN'S FEDERATION TO THE WOMEN OF CHINA AND AMERICA On March 3, 1933 the Tokyo Christian Women's Federation kept the Day of Prayer from ten in the morning until four in the afternoon. At the close of the day when all hearts had been fused into a burning fire of devotion to our Lord and Saviour, a message was sent by cable to Shanghai in the following words: "We, the Tokyo Christian Women's Federation, are today uniting in prayer for love, peace and good will between our countries/' The meeting also desired to send the following greet- ing to the Federation of Woman's Boards of Foreign Missions of North America: "We, the Tokyo Christian Women's Federation, meeting to pray for our country and for world peace, send to the Christian women of North America greetings in Christ. "We believe the time has come when, in order to show a united front against the forces which increase rivalry between classes and nations, and which tend to the disintegration of religion and the destruction of childhood, the Christian women of the world must draw nearer together to lift up the Cross of Jesus Christ 191 192 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK "We believe that your country and our country must endeavor to lead in bringing in a new era of understanding, sympathy and good will among the nations bordering on the Pacific. "We thank you for sending to us the Light of Jesus Christ and we look to you as to our elder sister for leadership in build- ing true Christian states seeking in all things to obey Christ's Golden Rule." Your comrades in Christ, (Signed) MICHI KAWAI (head of Girls' School) OCHIMI KUBUSHIRO (W.CT.U. President) TOMI FURUTA (President of Federation) C. TSUNE GAUNTLETT ( W.CT.U. Vice-President) EXTRACTS FROM PEACE ESSAY Awarded one of the two first prizes on Good Will Day, May 18, 1933. Written by a fifteen-year-old student in Miss Kawai's school. THE STRUGGLE FOR WORLD PEACE From the World War the nations of the world had wakened to realize that war is the supreme evil. Peace is the foundation of civilization. Without this foundation, civilization is like a precarious tower, ready to fall without provocation. We long to see Japan step forward anew to strengthen the foundation of her civilization. This first step should be her endeavor to build up peace in the Orient. Discord in the East will lead to world discord ; therefore if we want world peace we must strive for the establishment of Oriental peace. From this argument we see that good will between China and Japan is the first security of world peace. APPENDIX 193 Many Japanese are giving unalloyed devotion to bringing good will between China and Japan, yet we cannot say that we have done our utmost toward this noble work. Moreover, there are in Japan some who cannot forget the bitter experiences the country had at the time of the Sino-Japanese War; and just as any victorious nation looks down upon the vanquished, so they foolishly despire the Chinese as an inferior nation. This idea must be swept away. We cannot say that China is blameless either What does it profit when one country prospers without any contact with the rest of the world ? The meaning of prosperity becomes very clear in relation to other countries, therefore true patriots are those who love the whole world as well. It is a sad fact that this ideal is misunderstood, and that a narrow outlook is often synonymous with patriotism which regards everything in its own country as good and right and everything in other coun- tries as wrong We must be careful not to be blindly patriotic ; we must be cool and fair-minded. Many are asking continually, how can any nation contribute toward world peace ? The common answer is that world peace lies in well prepared military defense. This seems to be a great contradiction. Peace does not mean armament. Militarism may have been all right before the World War, but now when the nations are longing for peace and striving hard toward that goal, every country should share that point of view and forsake this time-honored respect for militarism. We desire true national defense through mutual trust and love of neighboring countries. Armed defense indicates suspicion toward other countries, and this is one of the great causes of war. Some would say, again, righteous war is to bring peace, but I am bold enough to say that any war sows the seeds of the next war. 194 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK Is it not a very sad thing that each country must spend an enormous sum of money on armaments when the whole world is suffering in a financial panic ? Simply for an imagined enemy, each country prepares for war, while its treasure house is empty. We have grave doubts of the diplomacy which pretends to ward off war on the one hand, and on the other secretly strengthens armaments of preparedness. What a wonderful re- sult one would see if the needlessly big armament expenses could be used for the work of peace and education and for the advance- ment of society in general. We wish to banish absolutely the idea of looking on other countries as our enemies. We wish to see the big army expenses drastically cut. What a bad influence war has upon children! Martial games and play implant the glorification of war. If women really wish world peace, they must plant the seeds of peace in the hearts of little children. We are young yet, but we ourselves should be aroused and continually sowing seeds of peace wherever we can, looking forward to the great future when there is no more war. Bibliography BIOGRAPHY KAGAWA, William Axling. Harper; 1932. A NEW ENGLANDER IN JAPAN, DANIEL CROSBY GREENE, E. B. Greene. Houghton Mifflin; 1927. REMINISCENCES OF SEVENTY YEARS, H. Kozaki. Christian Lit- erature Society of Japan; 1933. CIVILIZATION AND HISTORY REALISM IN ROMANTIC JAPAN, M. Beard. Macmillan; 1930. JAPAN IN THE WORLD OF TODAY, A. J. Brown. Revell; 1928. THE CHANGING FABRIC OF JAPAN, M. D. Kennedy. R. R. Smith; 1930. JAPAN: SOME PHASES OF HER PROBLEMS, /. O. Nitobe. Ernest Benn, London; 1931. N. Y., Scribner; 1931. ROMANCE OF JAPAN THROUGH THE AGES, /. A. B. Scherer. Doran; 1926. *A HISTORY OF THE FAR EAST IN MODERN TIMES, H. M. Vinacke. Knopf; 1928. THE CIVILIZATION OF JAPAN, /. T. 1. Bryan. N. Y., Holt; 1928. $1.00. (Home University Library.) AN OUTLINE HISTORY OF JAPAN, H. H. Gowen. N. Y., Apple- ton; 1927. $4.00. LAND OF GODS AND EARTHQUAKES, D. G. Raring. N. Y., Columbia University Press; 1929. $3.50. JAPAN IN MODERN TIMES, A. M. Young, 1912-1926. N. Y., Morrow; 1929. $3.50. THE DEVELOPMENT OF JAPAN, K. S. Latourette. Macmillan; 1931. 195 196 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK ECONOMIC *THE REVOLT OF ASIA, /. W. Hall (Upton Close). Putnam; 1927. *PROBLEMS OF THE PACIFIC, Institute of Pacific Relations; 1928. *OUR FAR EASTERN ASSIGNMENT, F. Morley. Doubleday; 1926. *WESTERN CIVILIZATION AND THE FAR EAST, S. King-Hall. Scribner; 1924. JAPAN'S ECONOMIC POSITION, /. E. Orchard. N. Y., McGraw, Hill; 1930. $5.00. JAPAN: AN ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL APPRAISAL (Inst. of Economics, Publication No. 44) , Harold Moulton and Junichi Ko. Brookings, Washington, D. C. $4.00. FOREIGN RELATIONS *THE TINDER Box OF ASIA, G. E. Sokolsky. Doubleday; 1932. *THE NEW CRISIS IN THE FAR EAST, S. H. High. Revell; 1932. *THE VERDICT OF THE LEAGUE, M. O. Hudson. World Peace Foundation; 1933. WESTERN INFLUENCES IN MODERN JAPAN ; a series of papers on Cultural Relations, /. O. Nitobe, ed. Chicago, University of Chicago Press; 1931. $4.00. WHITHER ASIA ? A STUDY OF THREE LEADERS, Kenneth Soun- ders. N. Y., Macmillan; 1933. $2.00. (Kagawa, samurai and rebel, pp. 105-204.) CONTEMPORARY THOUGHT OF JAPAN AND CHINA, K. Tsuchida. N. Y., Knopf; 1927. $2.50. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS *THE CHALLENGE OF THE EAST, G. S. Eddy. Farrar & Rinehart ; 1931. IMPERIALISM AND NATIONALISM IN THE FAR EAST, D. W. Owen. Holt; 1929. PRESENT DAY JAPAN, Y. Tsurumi. N. Y., Columbia University Press; 1927. $1.75. BIBLIOGRAPHY 197 MISSIONS THE TASK IN JAPAN, A. K. Reischauer. Revell; 1926. THE PRESS AND THE GOSPEL, W. H. Murray Walton. Student Christian Movement Press, London; 1932. HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS IN JAPAN, L. ]. Erickson. Revell ; 1929. *A WAKING WORLD, S. H. High. Abingdon; 1928. JAPAN SPEAKS FOR HERSELF, M. T. Staffer, ed. Missionary Education Movement; 1927. WOMAN AND THE LEAVEN IN JAPAN, C. B. Deforest. The Central Committee on the United Study of Foreign Missions ; 1923. THE JAPAN CHRISTIAN YEAR BOOK, 1933. SUZUKI LOOKS AT JAPAN, Willis C. Lamott. Friendship Press, New York; 1934. $1.00, cloth; 60 cents, paper. TYPHOON DAYS IN JAPAN, Robert S. Spencer. Friendship Press, New York; 1934. $1.00, cloth; 60 cents, paper. A MESSAGE FROM JAPAN TO AMERICA (Tentative title), Toyohiko Kagawa. Friendship Press, New York; 1934. CHRISTIAN EDUCATION IN JAPAN (Padelford Commission Re- port) . International Missionary Council, New York; 1932. CREATIVE FORCES IN JAPAN, Galen M. Fisher. M. E. M. and C C, New York; 1923. Cloth, 75 cents; paper, 50 cents. WORLD TIDES IN THE FAR EAST, Basil Mathews. Friendship Press, New York; 1934. Cloth, $1.00; paper, 60 cents. THE PRESS AND THE GOSPEL, W. H. Murray Walton. Student Christian Movement Press, London (Available from M. E. M.) ; 1932. THE RURAL MISSION OF THE CHURCH IN EASTERN ASIA, Ken- yon L. Butterfield. International Missionary Council, New York; 1931. SOCIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS A DAUGHTER OF THE SAMURAI, E. Sugimoto. Doubleday ; 1925. THE NEW JAPANESE WOMANHOOD, A. K. Faust. Doran; 1926. 198 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK FICTION THE WAY OF UME, E. A. Sawyer. Wm. E, Rudge; 1928. A DAUGHTER OF THE NARIKIN, E. Sugimoto. Doubleday ; 1932. THE MOTHER, Y. Tsurumi. Henkle; 1932. GENERAL NEW LIFE THROUGH GOD, Kagawa. Revell; 1931. $1.50. LOVE THE LAW OF LIFE, Kagawa, 1925. Winston; 1929. $2,00. Books marked with a star (*) contain references to the subjects indicated. Index A PAGE Abe, Mr. K. 50 Abe, Miss Kishi 15 Agriculture 117 Farmers' Gospel Schools 120 Ainu 45ff Aoyama School 11, 27 Apprentice system 44 B 46 Bachellor, Archdeacon Baptist Church Women's work in 15ff Bauernfeind, Miss Susan 22 Bible stories dramatized 24 Blind, work for 141-142 Brown, Dr. S. R. 6, 13 Bryn Mawr XV, XVIII, 85, 86, 134 Buddhism Historical importance 58 Not spiritual 186 Number of temples and priests 35, 36 Opposed to Christianity 152, 153 Work for peace 161, 162 Woman suffrage and 129 Business, women in 144 Canada 26 United Church of 65, 88 Catholic Church Schools 65 "Twenty Six Martyrs" 169 Central Committee XV China Conflict with 179ff Japanese evangelism in 22 Women's message to 191 PAGE Christian education Carried on by Japanese 70S Elementary, importance of 63-65 For girls 67, 77ff Need for extension 70 "Christian Graphic, The" 40, 88, 171 Christianity A spiritual religion 186ff History of 6, 58 Statistics of 34, 35, 119 Churches Individualism of 6 Women's organizations in, 7ff Church of Christ in Japan, The 12, 13, 31 College 8 Iff Communism 3, 5, 38, 62, 168, 173, 186 Conferences Disarmament, Geneva 177 Washington 177 Jerusalem XVIII, 30, 34, 50 London Naval 176 Pacific Women 91 Silver Bay 27 Y. W. C. A. Summer 27, 28, 105 Confucianism 186ff Congregational Church 31, 32 Women's Work in 8 Cooperation, Need for 93 Cornwall-Leigh, Miss 18 Deaf, Care of the 99ff DeForest, Dr. Charlotte B. 8 iff Demon, Miss Mary F. 87 Disciples Mission 88 Doshisha College 86ff, 134 199 200 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK E PAGE Earthquake of 1923 61, 81, 85, 90, 101, 106, 108, 127, 164 Ebisawa, Rev. Akira 4 Economic Life 115ff Editors, Christian 123, 157, 183 Education 60ff Christian (see Christian Ed- ucation) College and University 8 iff Elementary 62 Experimental 72ff High School 67, 68 Kindergarten 16, 48, 64, 66 Medical 42, 92, 145 Mission influence 36ff Need for Christian 65ff Normal 74 Physical 73ff Religious 41 Sex 114 Theological, women 7 Women principals 91 Employment of women 117-120 Episcopal Church Medical work of 42 Women's work in 17ff Eta (outcasts) 47 Evangelical Church Women's work in 22 Evangelism In Japanese churches 29, 71 Plea for 3 Rural 30, 49 Use of literature for 39-40 Value of 25 Y. W. C. A. work in 27 Factories Operated by Christians 121 Women in 54-55, 118-120 Farm life Farmers' Gospel Schools 120 Slight Christian influence 35 PAGE Federations Japanese Women's Sport 74 Women's Societies, Tokyo 128 Feudalism 95, 115, 167 Fishing industry 53-54 Foreign students in Japan 13, 182 Formosa 8, 10, 13, 14, 17, 31 Foundation of Social Research 72 Fountain of Blessing School 79ff Fuchizawa, Noe 183ff Furuta, Miss Tomi lOff, 17lff, 194 Gaines, Miss Nannie 60 Garden Home 18 Garden School for Freedom 77ff Gauntlett, Mrs. C. T. 126, 176, 194 Geneva Disarmament Conference 177 Girls' Societies 51 "Good Tidings" 137 Goto, Mrs. Haruko 138 Goto, Mrs. Kikuyo 155 Government of Japan 166 and Communism 5 "Grain of Wheat, A" 40 H Hani, Mrs. Moto 66, 76ff, 123-124 Hartshorne, Miss Anna C. 84 Hasegawa, Mrs. Hatsune 8, 9 Hayashi, Miss Uta 17, 56, 98ff, 177 Hirase, Mrs. Toku 22 Hiroshima Girls' School 91 Hokkaido 1, 45, 151 Holiness Church 31 Honda, Mrs. Toyo 43 Hoshino, Miss Ai 92 Household Science Tokachi Sewing School 151-153 Tokyo College of 74, 92 INDEX 201 I PAGE Illegitimate children 66ff Imai, Miss Yone 24-25 Individualism 6, 170 Inouye, Mrs. Hide 178 Interdenominational work National Christian Council 29 Union Christian College 88ff W. C. T. U. 104-105 Women's Prayer Union 11, 26, 171 Y. W. C. A. 27ff International Prayer Meeting 26, 171 Inukai, Premier 177 Ishihara, Mrs. Kiku 16 Iwahashi, Mrs. Kiyo 141 Japan and the U. S. 163ff Japan Christian Year Book 9, 70, 71 "Japan, Whither ?" 166 Japan Women's University 83-84, 178 Japanese in foreign countries 31 Japanese religions 186 Jerusalem Conference XVI, 30, 34 Jissen (school) 92 Joshi Gakuin (school) XVIII, 103, 107, 137 K Kagawa, Mrs. Haruko 139, 141 Kagawa, Toyohiko Evangelism 4 Family 140 Kingdom of God Movement 29, 30 Rural work 42-43, 50, 54 Settlement work 24 Kajiro, Miss Yoshi 72 Kano, Viscount and Viscountess 137 PAGE Kansai Gakuin (school) 142 Kawai, Miss Michi XVfT, 34, 56, 79, 105, 194 Kawakami, Mrs. Takayo 151 Kennard, Dr. Spencer XIX Kindergartens 16, 48 (see also Education) Kingdom of God Movement 26, 30, 50, 55, 120, 140 "Kingdom of God Weekly" 40 Kin jo (school) 91 Kiuchi, Mrs. Kyo 9lff Kobayashi, Makato 31 Kobe College 8, 9, 8 iff Korea 8, 14, 31 Christian schools in 183ff Japanese churches in 12 Women in 13 Kozaki, Mrs. Chiyo 8 Kubushiro, Mrs. Ochimi XV, XVIII, 127, 173, 194 Kurihara, Y. 50 Kwassui (school) 91 Lambert, Mrs. Bertha Brown XVIII, XIX Lambuth (school) 91 League of Nations 177 Japan quits 117 Report on social evil 113 Leavitt, Mrs. Mary C. 107 Leisure time, problems of 44-45 Leper Hospital 18 Literature, Christian 39-40, 157 London Naval Conference 176 Lutheran Church, women in 19ff M Macdonald, Dr. Caroline 27, 105 Manchukuo (see also Manchuria) Conflict in 166, 177 Japanese women in 56, 57, 81 Prohibition in 109 202 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK PAGE Manchuria Japanese Missions in 10, 14, 31 Materialism 93 Matsuda, Miss Michi 86, 87 Matsuno, Mrs. Kane 8 Medical Profession Christians in 42 St. Luke's Hospital 181 Women's Medical College 92, 145, 149 Meiji Era 42, 61, 96ff, 111, 116, 160 Meiji Gakuin 65, 179 Methodist Church Social Service of 10 Southern 65 Women in 9ff, 31, 88 Militarism 168, 175, 178, 195-6 Missions (see also Education, Evangel- ism, Medical) Continuing Need for 57, 59 History of 6 Japanese Overseas 31 Japanese Women's Miss. Soc. 8, 10, 12 Miyagi Girls' College 82, 91 Miyazaki, Miss Michiko 47 Moriya, Miss Azumi 32, 33, 108 Murphy, Mr. and Mrs. U. G. Ill Myers, Dr. 140 N Nagai, Mrs. Tsugue 136, 137 National Christian Coun- cil XVI, 4, 29, 50, 55, 119fT Neesima, Joseph Hardy 86 Nikaido, Miss Tokuyo 73ff Ninomiya, Mrs. Waka 66ff Nitobe, Dr. Inazo 90, 178 Noguchi, Miss Yuka 48, 49 Nomura, Mrs. Michi 143 Ohye, Mrs. Sumi Olds, Mrs. 74ff 114 PAGE Olympic Games 73, 74 Omi Mission 122 Ordination of Japanese women 15 Orphans, Care of 72, 97ff Outcasts 47 Overseas Mission Society 31-32 Peace 16 Iff Christian Church and 26, 185ff Organizations for 175ff Women's Peace Assoc. 80, 129, 138, 178ff Work for, in schools 194-5 Peeress' School 48 Perry, Bishop James DeWolf 163 Perry, Commodore Mat- thew C. 163 Physical Education 73fT Police 43 Politics, Women in 124ff Prayer Power of 154 Women's International Prayer Meeting 26 World Day of 171 Presbyterian Church (see also Church of Christ in Japan) Women in 12ff, 88 Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Tokyo 14 Prohibition 106ff Prostitution 1 1 1 ff Publications, Christian 39ff Quakers 50, 168 INDEX 203 R PAGE Red Cross 162 Reformed Church (see also Church of Christ in Japan) 12ff, 88 Religions of Japan 2, 35, 36, 41 Religious Education, Need for 41 (see also Christian Education) Religious Freedom 169, 170 "Rengetsu" 161, 162 Russia, Evangelism in 22 Saghalien 10, 17, 31 Sailors, Work for 102ff St. Hilda's School 154 St. Luke's International Hos- pital and Medical Center 42, 181 Saito, Mme. 133 Salvation Army Rescue work 112 Social work 106 Sanyo Girls' School 72 Schools (see Education) Seiban 45-47 Sekiya, Mrs. Kinu 18 Settlement work lOlff Sex education 114 Shanghai I68ff Shaw, Mark 109 Shintoism 186ff Shoguns, Tokugawa 111, 169 Shukumei School 184 Silk industry 51, 54 Smyser, Rev. M. 50 Social work 95ff Rural 7 Soshin (school) 150 Street theater 23 Students, foreign in Japan 182 Suffrage, woman 125ff, 173 Sugiyama, Dr. M. 43, 50 T PAGE Tagawa, Pres. D. 179 Takahashi, Mrs. 135-136 Takenaki, Miss Shige 183 Takeuchi, Dr. Shigeyo I45ff Tamaru, Mrs. Yone 149 Tapson, Miss M. 18 Tayama, Miss Sho 22 Temperance 32, 40, 52, 103ff, 121 Terrorism 38 Teusler, Dr. R. B. 181 Toda, Mme. 163 Tokugawa Shoguns 111, 169 Tokyo Imperial University 18 Topping, Mrs. Henry W. 16 Totoki, Miss Kiku 103 Toyo Eiwa (school) 32 Tsuda College 84ff, 92 Tsuda, Miss Ume 84if Tuberculosis 18, 54 U 134 Uchida, Countess Uemura, Rev. Masahisa 12, 13, 76, 77 Uemura, Mrs. Tamaki 13 Union Christian Colleges 88 Union of Christian Women's Societies 121, 174 United Church of Canada 65 United States and Japan 163 Unoccupied fields in Chris- tian work 35ff Unrest, social 38 V-W Vanderlip, Mrs. Frank 85 War, Japanese Christians and 166 Waseda University 109, 183 Washington Disarmament Conference 177 Watanabe, Mrs. Tatsu 12 204 JAPANESE WOMEN SPEAK PAGE Watanabe, Mrs. Tsune 8 Wellesley College 13, 90 "Woman and the Leaven in Japan, The" 81 Woman's Christian College, Tokyo 14, 83, 88ff Woman's Higher Normal College 9, 74 Women in Japan Church work (see also under denomina- tional headings) 7 Dress 60S Education (see Education) 60ff Employment 117-120 Home makers 132fT Number of 51 Preachers 9 Special careers of 143, 157 U. S., comparison with 26, 117 Woman's Christian Temper- ance Union Aims of 104-105 PAGE Rescue work 48 Suffrage 126 Vice 113 Work for peace 176-177 Women's Peace Association 80, 129, 138, 178ff World War 32, 168 Yojima, Mme. Kaji 106-107, 125, 176 Yamada, Miss Chiyo 15fT Yamamuro, General 72, 112 Yasui, Dr. Tetsu 90 Yonemura, Mrs. Koto 20fT Yoshioka, Dr. 146 Young Women's Christian Association Aims of 105ff Evangelistic work of 27 Influence of 120, 175-176 Summer conferences 28