Nobu Jo (城ノブ, October 18, 1872 – December 20, 1959) was a

Japanese Christian 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 ...

philanthropist, based in

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, whic ...

. She was head of the Kobe Woman's Welfare Association, and gained international attention in the 1920s for her

suicide prevention Suicide prevention is a collection of efforts to reduce the risk of suicide. Suicide is often preventable, and the efforts to prevent it may occur at the individual, relationship, community, and society level. Suicide is a serious public health ...

campaign of signage and personal intervention.

Early life

Nobu Jo was born in

Ehime prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Toku ...

on October 18, 1872. She was the daughter of a doctor. She was educated at a Christian mission school in

Matsuyama file:Matsuyama city office Ehime prefecture Japan.jpg, 270px, Matsuyama City Hall file:Ehimekencho-20040417.JPG, 270px, Ehime Prefectural Capital Building is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan ...

Career

Jo was founder and head of the Kobe Woman's Welfare Association (Kobe Fujin Dojokai). She was known for her suicide prevention campaign. Beginning in 1916 near

Suma Suma may refer to: Places * Suma, Azerbaijan, a village * Suma, East Azerbaijan, a village in Iran * Sowmaeh, Ardabil, also known as Şūmā, a village in Iran * Suma-ku, Kobe, one of nine wards of Kobe City in Japan ** Suma Station, a rai ...

, she placed large, well-lit signs in high-risk places, including train stations and bridges. The signs advised suicidal visitors to stop, to wait, and to visit Jo's home or office, if they were experiencing despair. Jo believed that many suicidal people in the city experienced stress, poor health, poverty, and social isolation, and that these underlying issues might be resolved or relieved without loss of life. She received letters thanking her for the signage, and was credited with saving thousands of lives. Jo and her organization also started a kindergarten, and assisted

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

survivors. She sheltered hundreds of women from abuse in a Kobe residence she established for the purpose, and once telling an angry man with a knife, "You may have your wife back just as soon as you become a decent man and deserve her." She helped women arrange education, employment, housing, travel, and childcare, but also offered spiritual guidance and counseling. "Her efforts are untiring, her sympathies wide, her methods effectual, as she carries on her work of saving women from suicide", declared an Australian newspaper in 1936. Her work continued through World War II and into the postwar era, even adding a retirement home for older women. Jo grew deaf with age, was injured in a fire during the war, and was described as "frail" and "lame" by visitors in her later years.

Personal life

Nobu Jo was married in 1903. She died in 1959, aged 87 years.

References

External links

A photograph of an elderly Nobu Jo with one of her signs
surrounded by younger women and children, from the Kjeld Duits Collection, MeijiShowa. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jo, Nobu 1872 births 1959 deaths Japanese Christians People from Kobe Japanese social workers Suicide prevention