was a Japanese Christian minister. Kozaki was called one of the "Three Elders" of the Kumiai Church alongside and Ebina Danjo. He was the second president of

Doshisha University , mottoeng = Truth shall make you free , tagline = , established = Founded 1875,Chartered 1920 , vision = , type = Private , affiliation = , calendar = , endowment = €1 ...

Early life

Kozaki was born in what is now

Kumamoto is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a population of 1,461,000, ...

on May 17, 1856. He was the second son in a

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

family. He began his studies at the

Jishūkan Jishūkan was the Han school of Kumamoto, Japan existing between 1755 and 1870. It was established by Hosokawa Shigekata, the 6th Hosokawa clan daimyō of Higo Province, Kumamoto, Kumamoto, inside Kumamoto Castle and this school is known for pro ...

, then entered the in 1871. He was strongly opposed to Christianity when he entered the school, and held on to

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

. However, in 1876, he was baptized by

Leroy Lansing Janes Leroy Lansing Janes (1838–1909) was an American educator, hired by Kumamoto Domain in early Meiji period Japan. A native of Ohio, Janes was a veteran of the Civil War, where he served in the artillery with the rank of captain after graduatio ...

and joined the Kumamoto Band, but kept his Confucianist beliefs. The Kumamoto Yogakko closed that year, so Kozaki transferred to Doshisha English School, where he met

Joseph Hardy Neesima (born ; 12 February 1843 – 23 January 1890), better known by his English name Joseph Hardy Neesima, was a Japanese Protestant missionary and educator of the Meiji era who founded Doshisha English School (later Doshisha University). He ...

. He graduated in June 1879, and went to Hyuga province to do missionary work with Neesima.

Career

In October 1879, Kozaki went to

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 37.468 ...

and founded a church. In March 1880, he became the first president of the Japanese

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 ...

. In the same year he began publishing the , and later in 1883 he began publishing the . In 1886 he published his first major work, the ''Seikyo Shinron'', in which he criticized Confucianism and said that Christianity should be Japan's main religion. He also founded two new churches that year, the Reinanzaka and the Bancho Church. Kozaki married

Tsuda Sen was a politician, educator and writer in Meiji period Japan. He was one of the founders of Aoyama Gakuin university, and the father of noted author Tsuda Umeko. Biography Tsuda was born as the fourth son of a low ranking ''samurai'' of Sakura ...

's great-niece, Imamura Chiyo, in 1881. They had a son, , in 1888. In 1892 Kozaki became the president Doshisa University and of the Doshisha, which is the parent organization of all of the Doshisha schools, from Doshisha elementary to Doshisha University. In 1893, he represented

Japanese Christians Christianity in Japan is among the nation's minority religions in terms of individuals who state an explicit affiliation or faith. Between less than 1 percent and 1.5% of the population claims Christian belief or affiliation. Although formally b ...

at the

World Parliament of Religions There have been several meetings referred to as a Parliament of the World's Religions, the first being the World's Parliament of Religions of 1893, which was an attempt to create a global dialogue of faiths. The event was celebrated by another c ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. While he was in the United States he studied theology at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

for eight months. When he returned, he found a growing tension between Doshisha and the

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the largest and most imp ...

, which culminated in the Board ending their partnership with Doshisha in 1896. Kozaki took responsibility for the turmoil this caused the school, and resigned.

Tokio Yokoi Tokio Yokoi (December 3, 1857 – September 13, 1927) was a Japanese pastor, journalist, bureaucrat, and member of the Japanese House of Representatives. He was also known as Tokio Ise. Career Yokoi was born on December 3, 1857 in Higo provi ...

became the next president. Kozaki returned to his churches in Tokyo, where he continued to write, preach, and conduct missions overseas. He died of old age in

Chigasaki, Kanagawa is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 242,798 and a population density of 6800 people per km². The total area of the city is . Geography The city is located on the eastern bank of the Sagami ...

on February 26, 1938.

References

1856 births {{DEFAULTSORT:Kozaki, Hiromichi 1938 deaths Protestant theologians Presidents of universities and colleges in Japan Japanese theologians Japanese Christians Japanese Confucianists

Early life

Career

Further reading

References