Baháʼí Faith in Japan
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The Baháʼí Faith in Japan begins after a few mentions of the country by
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian: ‎, 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás ( fa, عباس), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh and served as head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 until 1921. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was later canonized as the ...
first in 1875. Japanese contact with the religion came from the West when was living in
Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the isla ...
, Hawaii in 1902 converted; the second being . In 1914 two Baháʼís, George Jacob Augur and Agnes Alexander, and their families, pioneered to Japan. Alexander would live some 31 years off and on in Japan until 1967 when she left for the last time. The first Baháʼí convert on Japanese soil was in 1915. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá undertook several trips in 1911-1912 and met Japanese travelers in Western cities, in Paris, London,(trans. by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab.) and New York. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá met Fujita in Chicago and Yamamoto in San Francisco. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá wrote a series of letters, or tablets, in 1916-1917 compiled together in the book titled ''
Tablets of the Divine Plan The ''Tablets of the Divine Plan'' collectively refers to 14 letters ( tablets) written between March 1916 and March 1917 by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to Baháʼís in the United States and Canada. Included in multiple books, the first five tablets were ...
'' but which was not presented in the United States until 1919. Fujita would serve between the World Wars first in the household of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and then of Shoghi Effendi. In 1932 the first Baháʼí
Local Spiritual Assembly Spiritual Assembly is a term given by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to refer to elected councils that govern the Baháʼí Faith. Because the Baháʼí Faith has no clergy, they carry out the affairs of the community. In addition to existing at the local level ...
was elected in Tokyo and reelected in 1933. In all of Japan there were 19 Baháʼís. In 1937 Alexander went on
Baháʼí pilgrimage A Baháʼí pilgrimage currently consists of visiting the holy places in Haifa, Acre, Israel, Acre, and Mansion of Bahjí, Bahjí at the Baháʼí World Centre in Northwest Israel. Baháʼí Faith, Baháʼís do not have access to other places de ...
to return years later. In 1938 Fujita was excused from his services in Haifa out of fears for his safety during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
and returned to Japan until 1956. In 1942, back in the United States, the Yamamoto family lived at a relocation camp during the war. Baháʼí Americans associated with the American Occupation Forces reconnected the Japanese Baháʼí community — Michael Jamir found Fujita by 1946 and Robert Imagire helped re-elect the assembly in Tokyo in 1948. In 1963 the statistics of Baháʼí communities showed 13 assemblies and other smaller groups. In 1968 Japanese Baháʼís began to travel outside Japan. In 1971 the first residents of Okinawa converted to the religion. In 1991 the community organized an affiliate of the Association for Baháʼí Studies in Japan which has since held annual conferences, published newsletters, and published and coordinated academic work across affiliates.Yerrinbool Report on Scholarship 1999
Affiliate Associations for Baháʼí Studies-Japan
The
Association of Religion Data Archives The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. One of the primary goals of the archive is to democratize access to academic information on religion by making th ...
(relying on
World Christian Encyclopedia ''World Christian Encyclopedia'' is a reference work, with its third edition published by Edinburgh University Press in November 2019. The ''WCE'' is known for providing membership statistics for major world religions and Christian denominatio ...
) estimated some 15650 Baháʼís in 2005 while the
CIA World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is available ...
estimated about 12000 Japanese Baháʼís in 2006.


Early period

The first mention of Japan in
Baháʼí literature Baháʼí literature covers a variety of topics and forms, including scripture and inspiration, interpretation, history and biography, introduction and study materials, and apologia. Sometimes considerable overlap between these forms can be ob ...
is with the Secret of Divine Civilization written by
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian: ‎, 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás ( fa, عباس), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh and served as head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 until 1921. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was later canonized as the ...
in 1875. It was written to try to enlighten
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. It says:
…the government of Japan was in the beginning subject to and under the protection of China, and that now for some years, Japan has opened its eyes and adopted the techniques of contemporary progress and civilization, promoting sciences and industries of use to the public, and striving to the utmost of their power and competence until public opinion was focused on reform. This government has currently advanced to such a point that, although its population is only one-sixth, or even one-tenth, that of China, it has recently challenged the latter government, and China has finally been forced to come to terms. Observe carefully how education and the arts of civilization bring honor, prosperity, independence and freedom to a government and its people.


Firsts

Baháʼís moved across Asia from the turn of the century. Baháʼís were in
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...
in 1902,
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
by 1944,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...
and
Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...
in 1923, and
Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
in 1953. However, for the Japanese contact with the religion came from the West.
Kanichi Yamamoto Kanichi Yamamoto (1879–1961) was the first Japanese Baháʼí. He joined the religion in 1902. Some of his children also decided to join the Baháʼí Faith. Of Yamamoto, who heard of the Baháʼí Faith in Honolulu, ʻAbdu'l-Baha said, "thou ...
was living in
Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the isla ...
, Hawaii in 1902 where a Baháʼí, Elizabeth Muther, introduced him to the religion. Yamamoto wrote a letter to
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian: ‎, 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás ( fa, عباس), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh and served as head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 until 1921. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was later canonized as the ...
and enters the history books as the first Japanese Baháʼí — the second and third being
Saichiro Fujita , a native of Yamaguchi Prefecture, was the second Japanese to become a member of the Baháʼí Faith from Japan. He was also distinguished by serving for many years at the Baháʼí World Centre through many of the heads of the religion from the ti ...
and Kenzo Torikai. The first Baháʼís to visit Japan were Mason Remey and Howard C. Struve on December 27, 1909 who addressed an audience at a Tokyo
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
.
D. T. Suzuki , self-rendered in 1894 as "Daisetz", was a Japanese-American Buddhist monk, essayist, philosopher, religious scholar, translator, and writer. He was a scholar and author of books and essays on Buddhism, Zen and Shin that were instrumental in s ...
's wife, Beatrice, had multiple contacts with the Baháʼís both in America and in Japan and was for a time considered a Baháʼí.
Bernard Leach Bernard Howell Leach (5 January 1887 – 6 May 1979), was a British studio potter and art teacher. He is regarded as the "Father of British studio pottery". Biography Early years (Japan) Leach was born in Hong Kong. His mother Eleanor (née ...
lived in Japan from 1909-1920 working on the
Mingei The concept of , variously translated into English as " folk craft", "folk art" or "popular art", was developed from the mid-1920s in Japan by a philosopher and aesthete, Yanagi Sōetsu (1889–1961), together with a group of craftsmen, including ...
arts and converted to the religion in 1940. Leach received awards for his continued work in Japanese folk arts in the 1960s and 70s. A few other Baháʼís traveled through Japan in 1911 and 1914. But in 1914 two Baháʼís, George Jacob Augur and Agnes Alexander, and their families, pioneered to Japan. Alexander would live some 31 years off and on in Japan until 1967 when she left for the last time and much of her work would be through
Esperantist An Esperantist ( eo, esperantisto) is a person who speaks, reads or writes Esperanto. According to the Declaration of Boulogne, a document agreed upon at the first World Esperanto Congress in 1905, an Esperantist is someone who speaks Esperant ...
s and connections with the blind community of Japan. Meetings for the public were set up and talks and interviews were given including to
Esperantist An Esperantist ( eo, esperantisto) is a person who speaks, reads or writes Esperanto. According to the Declaration of Boulogne, a document agreed upon at the first World Esperanto Congress in 1905, an Esperantist is someone who speaks Esperant ...
audiences. The first Baháʼí convert on Japanese soil was Kikutaro Fukuta in 1915, followed by the blind Russian youth Vasily Eroshenko who later drifted to communism. Also in 1915,
Martha Root Martha Louise Root (August 10, 1872 – September 28, 1939) was an American traveling teacher of the Baháʼí Faith in the early 20th century. From the declaration of her belief in 1909 until her death thirty years later, she went around the ...
arrived for the first time in Japan and Tokujiro Torii converted to the religion. Torrii later served as president of the Japanese Blind Association and received an Imperial Citation, the Medal of the Third Order, for his work on behalf of the blind. Cities where Baháʼís traveled in this early phase include
Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whi ...
,
Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...
,
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
,
Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui ...
and this period also saw the first observances of the Baháʼí Holy Days of Naw Ruz and the Declaration of the Báb. In the spring of 1916 Fukuta and Eroshenko made the first contributions towards raising the first
Baháʼí House of Worship A Baháʼí House of Worship or Baháʼí temple is a place of worship of the Baháʼí Faith. It is also referred to by the name ''Mashriqu'l-Adhkár'', which is Arabic for "Dawning-place of the remembrance of God". Baháʼí Houses of Worship ...
being raised in Wilmette, Illinois, USA. In the summer of 1916 Eroshenko took a copy of
Some Answered Questions ''Some Answered Questions'' (abbreviated SAQ; Persian version: ''Mufáviḍát-i-‘Abdu'l-Bahá'') is a compilation of table talks of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá that were collected by Laura Clifford Barney between 1904 and 1906 across several pilgrimages. ...
with him when he traveled to
Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
and
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
. The first Japanese woman to convert to the religion was Yuri Mochizuki in 1919. Shortly before the death of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in 1921, Alexander and Oh Sang Sun made a trip from Japan to Korea, then under Japanese rule, for the first entry of the religion in that country. Alexander also spent time with
Shibusawa Eiichi was a Japanese industrialist widely known today as the "father of Japanese capitalism". He spearheaded the introduction of Western capitalism to Japan after the Meiji Restoration. He introduced many economic reforms including use of double- ...
. Elsewhere Fujita served as a secretary to
Bahíyyih Khánum Bahíyyih Khánum (1846 – July 15, 1932) was the only daughter of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, and Ásíyih Khánum. She was born in 1846 with the given name Fatimih Sultan, and was entitled "Varaqiy-i-'Ulyá" or "Greate ...
in communicating the death of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in late 1921. At a time when women speaking in public was rare, two women, a Miss Mochizuki and Haruko Mori, spoke at the memorial service of the death of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá held in Japan.


ʻAbdu'l-Bahá meets

The Japanese Ambassador to Spain was staying in Paris when ʻAbdu'l-Bahá stayed there on his 1911 trip to the west and they met and had a prolonged conversation. In London in 1912, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá came in contact with the President of the
Japan Women's University is the oldest and largest of private Japanese women's universities. The university was established on 20 April 1901 by education reformist . The university has around 6000 students and 200 faculty. It has two campuses, named after the neighb ...
. It was this occasion that ʻAbdu'l-Bahá wrote the only prayer he wrote for the Japanese. It says:
O God! The darkness of contention, strife and warfare between the religious, the nations and the people has beclouded the horizon of Reality and hidden the heaven of Truth! The world is in need of the light of Guidance! Therefore, O God! Confer Thy favor so that the Sun of Reality may illumine the East and the West.
In New York he met several Japanese as well. On September 12, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá reached Chicago. Fujita attempted to connect with ʻAbdu'l-Bahá at Cleveland but caught up with him in Chicago. Fujita would accompany ʻAbdu'l-Bahá across many American cities including Kenosha, Wisconsin, St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, Denver and Glenwood Springs, Colorado, Salt Lake City, Utah, and San Francisco and Stanford, California - Fujita would serve between the World Wars first in the household of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and then of Shoghi Effendi. On October 22, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá reached San Francisco where he met Yamamoto who arranged for a presentation among a Japanese audience in Oakland.


ʻAbdu'l-Bahá writes to Japan and Korea

In all ʻAbdu'l-Bahá wrote 18 tablets to Japanese living in Japan, and the last one was to the Koreans dated November 5, 1921. Eighteen of the nineteen Tablets were addressed to young people, and seven of these to girls of Tokyo. It is remarkable that the only Tablets to women in Asia were to three Japanese girls: Yuri Mochizuki who received three Tablets, Haruko Mori and Mikae Komatsu, each received one, and the group of girls who were sent two Tablets. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá made mentioned especially to the blind of Japan. He addressed five Tablets to three blind men.


ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá wrote a series of letters, or tablets, to the followers of the religion in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
in 1916-1917 suggesting Baháʼís take the religion to many places; these letters were compiled together in the book titled
Tablets of the Divine Plan The ''Tablets of the Divine Plan'' collectively refers to 14 letters ( tablets) written between March 1916 and March 1917 by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to Baháʼís in the United States and Canada. Included in multiple books, the first five tablets were ...
but were delayed in being presented in the United States until 1919 — after the end of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
and the
Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case wa ...
. These tablets were translated and presented by
Mirza Ahmad Sohrab Mírzá Aḥmad Sohráb (March 21, 1890 – April 20, 1958) was a Persian-American author and Baháʼí who served as ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's secretary and interpreter from 1912 to 1919. He co-founded the New History Society and the Caravan of East an ...
on April 4, 1919, and published in ''
Star of the West ''Star of the West'' was an American merchant steamship that was launched in 1852 and scuttled by Confederate forces in 1863. In January 1861, the ship was hired by the government of the United States to transport military supplies and reinforc ...
'' magazine on December 12, 1919. One tablet says in part:
O that I could travel, even though on foot and in the utmost poverty, to these regions, and, raising the call of ''Yá Baháʼu'l-Abhá'' in cities, villages, mountains, deserts and oceans, promote the divine teachings! This, alas, I cannot do. How intensely I deplore it! Please God, ye may achieve it.… …if some teachers go to other islands and other parts, such as the continent of
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
, Tasmania, also to Japan, Asiatic Russia,
Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...
,
French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
,
Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
,
Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Com ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
,
Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
and
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...
, most great results will be forthcoming.


Growth to WW II

The Baháʼís in Japan were witness to, and participated in the relief effort of, the
1923 Great Kantō earthquake The struck the Kantō Plain on the main Japanese island of Honshū at 11:58:44 JST (02:58:44 UTC) on Saturday, September 1, 1923. Varied accounts indicate the duration of the earthquake was between four and ten minutes. Extensive firestorms an ...
. Moneys and letters of concern arrived from Baháʼís in New York, Haifa, Kenosha, Wi., Brooklyn, Chicago, Somerville, Mass., Montreal, Canada among other places spreading encouragement and reporting on or actually sending funds Baháʼís and others had marshaled for the relief effort. In 1927
Siegfried Schopflocher Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...
visited Japan and reported the religion was firmly established and progressing. In 1932 the first Baháʼí
Local Spiritual Assembly Spiritual Assembly is a term given by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to refer to elected councils that govern the Baháʼí Faith. Because the Baháʼí Faith has no clergy, they carry out the affairs of the community. In addition to existing at the local level ...
was elected in Tokyo. There was a preliminary election that corrected when Shoghi Effendi, then head of the religion, specified rules that needed to be followed for the election. The members of the community of Tokyo were (former Rev.) Sempo Ito; Yuri Mochizuki Furukawa; Otoe Murakami; Kanae Takeshita; Mr. Y. Kataoka (first name unknown); Keiji Sawada; Agnes Alexander; Antoinette Naganuma; Mr. Nakanishi (first name unknown); Hidehiko Matsuda; and Keiko Eito. The first nine names were elected to the provisional Local Spiritual Assembly but the later official election changed adding Mr. Matsuda, who took the place of Mr. Y. Kataoka, who asked to be relieved. The members included five women and two who were blind. The assembly was reelected in 1933. In all of Japan there were 19 Baháʼís. In 1916 Daiun Inouye was a young Buddhist priest when he first heard of the religion. In 1932 he translated Baháʼu'lláh and the New Era and it was printed the following year. In 1937 he resigned from the priesthood and wrote that he would be free to spend his time propagating the Baháʼí Faith. Starting in the 1920s, Alexander began various trips and coming contact with public figures in Japan and some publications reached a broader audience. In 1923 Alexander first visited Hong Kong and returned on several more over the next thirty years. Alexander also accompanied Root on one of her return trips to the area - this time on a trip to China and Alexander made contacts among the Chinese, especially from Canton and Shanghai, who visited Japan as well. In 1928 seven specially bound volumes of Baháʼí books were presented for the coronation of the emperor
Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...
and were part of his library and at the Enthronement Ceremonies of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan three foreigners were invited to speak, including Alexander as a Baháʼí representative. In 1932 Esperantist Tadashi Watanabe invited Alexander to talk about the Baháʼí Faith and Esperanto first in
Tomakomai is a city and port in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the largest city in the Iburi Subprefecture, and the fourth largest city in Hokkaido. As of 29 February 2012, it had an estimated population of 174,216, with 83,836 house ...
, and then the then-village of Yamabe, Hokkaido.


Crisis of WW II

In 1937 Alexander went on
Baháʼí pilgrimage A Baháʼí pilgrimage currently consists of visiting the holy places in Haifa, Acre, Israel, Acre, and Mansion of Bahjí, Bahjí at the Baháʼí World Centre in Northwest Israel. Baháʼí Faith, Baháʼís do not have access to other places de ...
and, aware of the impossibility of returning to Japan during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, traveled to other countries. In 1938 Fujita was excused from his services in Haifa out of fears for his safety during the war and returned to Japan until circa 1956. In 1942 back in the United States the Yamamoto family lived at a relocation camp during the war. Two children — one from Nagasaki and one from Hiroshima — later converted to the religion and have shared their story. Baháʼí Americans associated with the American Occupation Forces reconnected the Japanese Baháʼí community: They were Michael Jamir, Lorraine Wright, and Robert Imagire. Jamir in particular undertook trips to find Torii and Fujita circa 1945–6. Imagire arrived in 1947 and was given an address where Alexander had left her printed materials. He found the only building still standing after the bombing held 200 copies of ''Baháʼu'lláh and the New Era'' in Japanese. In 1948 Imagire helped re-elect the assembly in Tokyo. While all the Japanese members were new Baháʼís and eventually drifted into inactivity, the assembly was continually re-elected and remains today. Alexander was able to return to Japan in 1950 after being sponsored by Lt. J.C. Davenport (USAF) and in 1951 four American pioneers were elected to the Tokyo Local Spiritual Assembly. The Japanese membership then was Miss Ichige, Mr. Kadota, Mr. Horioka, Miss Nakanishi, and Mr. Yoshino. The Americans were Alexander, Lane Skelton, Barbara Davenport, and Imagire. The assembly designated goal areas to take the religion — Yokohama, Sendai, Osaka, Hiroshima, and Kofu — and established eight committees with attention ranging from re-translating ''Baháʼu'lláh and the New Era'' to coordinating membership record keeping and the arrival of Persian pioneers. The Moghbel and Katirai Persian families arrived in 1953. In 1954 the community was 52 adults — 10 were Americans and 13 were Persians. Barbara Sims, one of the American pioneers, was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tokyo in 1954 and served for many years on that body and authored several books on the history of the Baháʼí Faith in Japan. The first center owned by the Baháʼí assemblies in Japan was in
Amagasaki 270px, Amagasaki Castle 270px, Aerial view of Amagasaki city center 270px, Amagasaki Station is an industrial city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 455,555 in 223812 households, and a population ...
in 1953. The Tokyo assembly bought a house; it became the second Baháʼí Center in 1954. The third one was in
Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
. In 1956 there were eight assemblies in Japan and the community had marshaled resources to publish a Japanese language Baháʼí ''Geppo'' (monthly newspaper) which was also read in Korea. In 1957 Sims was elected to the first regional National Spiritual Assembly of North East Asia, and Alexander was appointed as one of the
Hands of the Cause Hand of the Cause was a title given to prominent early members of the Baháʼí Faith, appointed for life by the religion's founders. Of the fifty individuals given the title, the last living was ʻAlí-Muhammad Varqá who died in 2007. Hands of ...
, a position which she held the rest of her lifetime.


Post-War growth

In 1963 the statistics of Baháʼí communities showed 13 assemblies, 9 groups of Baháʼís, and 31 isolated Baháʼís. Toshio Suzuki became a Baháʼí near 1963 and would later serve on the National Spiritual Assembly of Japan and his brother, Hideya Suzuki, serve as the first Japanese Continental Counselor. In 1965 Alexander fell and broke her hip. She convalesced in Japan for two years and returned to Hawaii where she died in 1971. The first Baháʼí Cemetery — a division of a larger cemetery — was established in 1958. The first burial there was in 1964 and represented a departure from socio-Buddhist norm of cremation. In 1968 Masaaki Ushibata traveled outside Japan for Baháʼí purposes and in 1975 became the first Japanese pioneer — to the Eastern Caroline Islands. In 1969 the Japanese Baháʼís arrange for the first National Youth Conference in Jogashima. In 1971 the first residents of Okinawa converted to the religion. There were some marriages between Japanese Baháʼís and other nationalities which sometimes faced racism in Japanese society. American pioneers continued to play a role in Japan into the 1990s. In 1974 Sims was elected to the first National Spiritual Assembly of Japan, serving until 1993. Sims also had contact with
Ainu Ainu or Aynu may refer to: *Ainu people, an East Asian ethnic group of Japan and the Russian Far East *Ainu languages, a family of languages **Ainu language of Hokkaido **Kuril Ainu language, extinct language of the Kuril Islands **Sakhalin Ainu la ...
Baháʼís including notably chief Takeichi Moritake (1902–1976) and son Kazutomo Umegae (1924–1992).


Modern community

Since its inception, the religion has had involvement in
socio-economic development Socioeconomics (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their local ...
beginning by giving greater freedom to women, promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern, and that involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and clinics. The religion entered a new phase of activity when a message of the
Universal House of Justice The Universal House of Justice ( fa, بیت‌العدل اعظم) is the nine-member supreme ruling body of the Baháʼí Faith. It was envisioned by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, as an institution that could legislate ...
dated 20 October 1983 was released. Baháʼís were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the
Baháʼí teachings The Baháʼí teachings represent a considerable number of theological, ethical, social, and spiritual ideas that were established in the Baháʼí Faith by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the religion, and clarified by its successive leaders: ʻA ...
, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. The highest concentration of members can be found in Tokyo, where the "Baha'i gatherings are often multi-ethnic and internationally minded,with primary activities consisting of study groups on the faith and discussions of local and global issues." Worldwide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Baháʼí socio-economic development projects. By 1987, the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482. The modern Baháʼí community of Japan has grown and developed strength in diverse interests. The Japanese census does not have questions regarding religion however the
Association of Religion Data Archives The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. One of the primary goals of the archive is to democratize access to academic information on religion by making th ...
(relying on
World Christian Encyclopedia ''World Christian Encyclopedia'' is a reference work, with its third edition published by Edinburgh University Press in November 2019. The ''WCE'' is known for providing membership statistics for major world religions and Christian denominatio ...
) estimated some 15,700 Baháʼís in 2005 while the
CIA World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is available ...
estimated about 12,000 members in 2006. In 2005 there were 31 delegates to the National Convention to elect the National Spiritual Assembly of Japan. In 2000 Japan rose in support of a United Nations human rights resolution about concern over the Baháʼís in Iran as well as taking steps to further document conditions.United Nations Commission on Human Rights
Question of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms in any part of the world
E/CN.4/2000/L.16, 2000.


Academics

In 1991 the community organized an affiliate of the Association for Baháʼí Studies in Japan which has since held annual conferences, published newsletters, and published and coordinated academic work across affiliates. In the 1999 ''Yerrinbool Report on Scholarship'' various Japanese academics are noted: Landegg Academy had a faculty member, Seinan Gakiun, from the University in Japan, Nozomu Sonda published a revision to an introductory book in Japanese, Mary Noguchi who chaired the 8th conference, Tsunoi Hiroshi who chaired the 2008 conference, Sandra Sims Fotos chaired several of the conferences, physicist Stephen R. Friberg, several of whom also worked on the University Club Committee. The conferences have been held in places like
Waseda University , mottoeng = Independence of scholarship , established = 21 October 1882 , type = Private , endowment = , president = Aiji Tanaka , city = Shinjuku , state = Tokyo , country = Japan , students = 47,959 , undergrad = 39,382 , postgrad ...
,
Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...
,
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
,
Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...
, Yamaguchi, and
Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...
. Several Baháʼís work with the
University of Maryland University College The University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC, formerly University of Maryland University College) is a public university in Adelphi, Maryland. It is the largest of the University System of Maryland campuses. Established in 1947, UMGC focuses on ...
in Asia (UMUC-Asia). Ruth Lattimore is the mathematics academic director living in Yokota base in Tokyo. Irene Chung is assistant to UMUC-Asia's area director for Korea and was a Continental Counselor for Korea, Japan, and Thailand. Richard Dowling is an associate professor for UMUC–Asia teaching modern American and European history living in mostly in South Korea, but with some time in Guam, Japan, and Australia. Nicholas Mayer currently serves as the Whole School Librarian at
Nagoya International School Nagoya International School (NIS) is a private non-sectarian day school in Nagoya, Japan. Instruction is in English. The co-educational school serves students in preschool through high school. Graduates earn a standard NIS diploma or an Internation ...
in Japan.


Arts

There are a number of Baháʼí artists who have done work who lived in Japan. * John Kavelin (deceased 2009) has done set design and contributed elements of sets including San Francisco Bahá´í Peace conference, 1986, the main stage of the 1992
Baháʼí World Congress The Baháʼí World Congress is a large gathering of Baháʼí Faith, Baháʼís from across the world that is called irregularly by the Universal House of Justice, the governing body of the Baháʼís. There have only been two conferences of this ...
at both the Javits Convention Center as well as several of the satellite hotel venues. * Janet Sono has acted, directed and been a playwright for a number of plays she's done in Japan. * Kathleen Hite Babb has written articles and books. ''The Persian'' is a historical fiction novel about the intellect vs. the heart in terms of empirical thought vs. faith and spiritual experience. * Barbara Casterline is a
Nihonga ''Nihonga'' (, "Japanese-style paintings") are Japanese paintings from about 1900 onwards that have been made in accordance with traditional Japanese artistic conventions, techniques and materials. While based on traditions over a thousand years ...
and Sumi-e painter. * Yuichi Hirano has done a design of the yet-to-be-built Japanese
Baháʼí House of Worship A Baháʼí House of Worship or Baháʼí temple is a place of worship of the Baháʼí Faith. It is also referred to by the name ''Mashriqu'l-Adhkár'', which is Arabic for "Dawning-place of the remembrance of God". Baháʼí Houses of Worship ...
.


Diverse involvements

Ambassador Ryozo Kato spoke on 4 September 2005 after a week-long celebration of the role played 100 years ago by a prominent US Baháʼí, Sarah Farmer, who held a conference in 1904 that closed with a program dedicated to the resolution of the
Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
by the 1905
Treaty of Portsmouth A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...
. Representatives of Japanese Baha'i Community visited the Risshō Kōsei Kai headquarters in Tokyo where the President Nichiko Niwano and the representatives spoke of the importance of interreligious cooperation. The Filipino Baháʼís hosted a regional conference in 2008 including over 300 Baháʼís from Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands, and Marshall Islands attending.


See also

* Baháʼí Faith by country *
History of Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inve ...
*
Religion in Japan Religion in Japan is manifested primarily in Shinto and in Buddhism, the two main faiths, which Japanese people often practice simultaneously. According to estimates, as many as 80% of the populace follow Shinto rituals to some degree, worshipi ...


Notes


References

* * * * * *


Further reading


Association of Baháʼí Studies:Japan
Conferences Proceedings & Publications (1991–2011)


External links


Japan Baháʼí Network
Official Webpage of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of Japan {{DEFAULTSORT:Baha'i Faith in Japan Bahá'í Faith in Japan