Rev. John Gage Waller (26 January 1863 – 22 March 1945) was a minister of the Anglican Church of Canada who was active in the central region of Japan, Chubu, in particular in Nagano Prefecture on behalf of the

Anglican Church in Japan The ''Nippon Sei Ko Kai'' ( ja, 日本聖公会, translit=Nippon Seikōkai, lit=Japanese Holy Catholic Church), abbreviated as NSKK, sometimes referred to in English as the Anglican Episcopal Church in Japan, is the national Christian church rep ...

. Waller was born on a farm in southern

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

in 1863. He studied at

Trinity College, Toronto Trinity College (occasionally referred to as The University of Trinity College) is a college federated with the University of Toronto, founded in 1851 by Bishop John Strachan. Strachan originally intended Trinity as a university of strong Angl ...

and was deputy pastor of St. Anne's Church in Canada. He became a deacon in 1887 and a priest in 1888. In 1890, Waller arrived in Japan as a missionary with his wife, Lydia Susan, of the Anglican Church of Canada first working in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

and later in Fukushima Prefecture. In 1892, Waller arrived in Nagano where he established churches in

Nagano City is the capital and largest city of Nagano Prefecture, located in the Nagano Basin (Zenkoji Daira) in the central Chūbu region of Japan. Nagano is categorized as a core city of Japan. Nagano City is the highest prefectural capital in Japan, wi ...

in 1898, Mt. Inari ( Chikuma) in 1931, Ueda,

Iiyama is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 20,118 in 7372 households, and a population density of 99 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It markets itself as "Japan's Hometown" and is ...

, and in Takada (

Jōetsu, Niigata is a city located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 189,430, in 76,461 households with a population density of 190 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Jōetsu borders the Sea of Japan and ...

). Waller established a neonatal clinic in Nagano and a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

for

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

patients in Obuse, Nagano. The hospital in Obuse, New Life Hospital, is the largest hospital in Obuse today. The church in Nagano City, the Nagano Holy Saviour's Church, was nationally registered as an important tangible cultural property in 2006. The Canadian Anglican missionary work in Japan was unknown to most Canadians. In 1912, Waller wrote: Waller and his wife had five children born in Japan, Justin Benjamin, John Charles, George Awdry, Wilfred, and a daughter, Kiku. His wife, Lydia, died in Japan on January 9, 1938. At the beginning of the Pacific War, Waller was interned in the compound of the

Canadian Academy Canadian Academy (CA; カナディアン・アカデミー ''Kanadian Akademii''), founded in 1913, is an independent pre-K – grade 12 international school in Kobe, Japan. The day and boarding school consists of an elementary school, middle schoo ...

in Kobe, and then repatriated to Canada in 1942. At that time, a daughter and one of his sons, Wilfred, were living in England, and another son was a prisoner of the Japanese after the fall of Singapore. Waller suffered a stroke in 1943 and died in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...

in 1945.

Other media

A book written in Japanese, ''Waller, His Life and Family'' (ウォーラー司祭　その生涯と家庭, Uo-ra- shisai, sono shōgai to katei) by Kobayashi Shirou (小林史郎) was published in 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waller, J. G. Anglican missionaries in Japan Canadian Anglican missionaries Trinity College (Canada) alumni 1863 births 1945 deaths Canadian expatriates in Japan Anglicanism in Japan