JAPAN
809
JAPAN
Shortly afterwards came the Presbyterians; James
CurtisHcpburn, followed by Mr. Werbeck (1861) and
Mr. Thompson (1863). They halted first at Yoko-
hama. Their religious reunions were called "prayer-
nieetiiifis" {Kitn-kwai). The first Japanese baptism
took place in lS(i4. Protestant missionaries were also
at .Nagasaki prior to the discovery of the old Christians
(1S(;,')), and to them the Christians of Urakami ad-
tlressed themselves before going to the Catholic
Church. T!ie first Japanese Protestant Church was or-
ganized in ] S72, after the last persecution, and inau-
gurated in 1X75. Untilthat time only ten baptisms had
been administered. During these early years the
work of evangelization was almost impossible, and the
time of the inissionarics was cliieflv employed in the
translation of the llolv Scriptures." That of the New
Testament was completed in 1880, and that of the Old
Testament in 1887. A number of them were also em-
ployed in teaching either in the sclmcils foumled by
themselves or as professors in the Japanese schools.
Their aim was to attack the pagan error at its very
root by means of instruction, and also to have a right
to live in the interior of the country, which was hith-
erto forbidden to foreigners. In 1S76 a kind of uni-
versity called Doshisha was founded at Kyoto, the
needeil fluids being supplied by several .\merican
missions. The intention was to form Christians who
should be solidly instructed in their religion and men
capable of embracing any career. This celebrated
school was very prosperous uniler the rector, Niijima
Jo; it had as many as 1500 students, but, having l)een
declared independent several years since, has lost
much of its importance.
An event of considerable importance in 1877 was the unioii of the hitherto divided forces of the .\mer- ican and Scotch Presbyterians; the Dutch Reformed Mission, the Presljyterian Mission, and tlie Scotch Presbyterian Mission. Their association formed the United Church of Christ in Japan (A';'/'/'"" jj.v/o Ichi Ki/dkwiii). They were afterwards joined by the Ger- man Uefiirmed Mission (1886), the vSoutli Presby- terian Mission (1887), and the Cumberland Presby- terian Missiim (1890). In a General .\ssembly held at Tokio in 1S91 the -\rticles of Faith and the constitu- tion of the new church were drawn up. Its new name was Xihon Crista Kynkwai (Church of Christ in Japan) . The chief Protestant college at Tokio belongs to this I'nited Church, and instruction is here given according to the spirit of Protestant Christian religion and morality.
During the period of religious tolerance the mis- sionaries flocked to Japan and baptisms multiplied rapidly. The desire to learn English attracted to them many young Japanese. In December, 1SX9, the total numiicr of Japanese converted to Prcjtestantisra was :!l,l.Sl ; fcjreign missionaries, 527; native ordained ministers, !:;.'>. 'I'liere were 274 churches, more than half of w lii<-li were scir-sujiporting. The contributions of .Ia[iaii('sc Cliri.stians for ISS!) amounted to 5o,503 yen. Several religious associations, especially that of Christian Youth, were flourishing.
In the above number are incluiled the Episcopalian Church of .\merica, governed for more than thirty years by Bishop Williams, and the Established Church of England, whose first bishop in Japan was Dr. Poole (1883). These two churches have agreed to work in concert and the constitution uniting them was tlrawn up in February, 1888. This was the foundation of a new churcli under the name Nihon Sei-Ko-Kwai (tlie Holy Catholic Church of Japan). Hierarchically constitute<l, it has divided all Japan, including For- mosa, into six districts; it numbers 13,384 baptized Christians; 228 foreign missionaries, clerics or laymen or women; and 295 Japanese assistants.
The following table will give an idea of the number and relative importance of the other Protestant mis- sions of all denominations at present in Japan: —
1869
1872
1876
1879
1880
188.!
ISS,"; iss,";
1SS7 1888
1889 1890 1891 1892 1892 1895 189.'> 1895 1897 1901 19ns 1905
Denomination
Kumiai Churclies
American Baptists
Bible Societies
Evangelical Association
Methodist Church
Church of Christ
German Evang. Mission
.Society of Friends
American Christian Convention.. . Women's Christian Temperance 1
Young Men's Christian Ass'n
Universalists
Scandinavian Japan .\lliancc
Evangelical Lutherans
South Baptist Convention
Hepzibah Faith Mission
Salvation Army
United Brethren in Christ
Seventh Day Adventists
Oriental Mission Society
Free Methodists
Finnish Lutheran Gospel Ass'n.
Japan
Young Women's Christian Ass'n. 'The ApostoHc Faith Movement. . Nihon Crislo Kyokwai (ITnited P:
bvterians)
Mtion SH-Ko-Kwai (United Epi;
palians)
Missionaries
These are the chief denominations. The total num-
ber of missionaries given by Protestant statistics for
1908 is 789 foreigners, including women, and 1303
Japanese, ordained or not, men or v.'omen. The num-
ber of practical church members is 57*830; not prac-
tical, 10,5.54; churches, 408; young men in the schools,
3604 ; young women, 5226; Sunday schools, 1066, with
84,160 children; pubhshing houses, 7; volumes issued
during the year, 1,974,881. The property of the dif-
ferent missions, churches, schools, etc., is valued at
3,5.36,315 yen. Contributions of Christians for 1907
equalled 274,608 yen, and the expenditure for the
Japanese churches and the work of evangelization
amounted to 448,878 yen, not including the salaries of
the missionaries and their expenses. In the above are
not included the Unitarians, who mingle with all de-
nominations; the Independent Christians, who are not
attached to any church; the ,\I(tliodist Isjiiseopalians,
who have a Japanese bislioj), the Kev. Honda; several
Japanese neo-Christian sects who are wholly indepen-
dent either in government or in doctrine. They are ec-
lectics, who aim to adapt Christianity to the ideas and
spirit of Japan, and thus to found a new and sjiecial
national religion. Up to the present time Protestantism
in Japan has been chiefly .\merican, but now it seems
about to become Japanese. According as the Japan-
ese churches become self-supporting, their tendency is
to free themselves from the authority of foreigners.
There is an evolution in religious ideas; many Chris-
tian ideas have passed into the spirit of Japan, and
many Christian works have been imitated by them,
but faitli in even the fundamental dogmas shows a
tendency to disappear.
Runiiiun Missions. — The Russian Mission, or Ortho- dox Church of Russia in Japan, dates from 1861. A hospital had previously been built at Hakodate for Russians and Japanese. A. Basilian monk, the Rev. Nicolai, was attached to it as chaplain with a church near the hospital. The hospital having been destroyed by fire, the church remained, and the Rev. Nicolai stayed, as a missionary, at Hakodate, where he baptized a number of Japanese ; this was the lieginning. In 1 870 the Russian minister to Japan obtained from the Jap-
