was a Christian minister in Hawaii. He is best known for his column in the ''
Hawaii Hochi
The ''Hawaii Hochi'' (Japanese: ''ハワイ報知'') is a six-day-a-week Japanese-language newspaper published and sold in Hawaii. The newspaper was founded in 1912 to serve the Japanese immigrant community in Hawaii. Founder Frederick Kinzabur ...
'' and the ''
Honolulu Advertiser
''The Honolulu Advertiser'' was a daily newspaper published in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the largest daily newspaper in the American state of Hawaii. It published daily with special Sunday and Int ...
'', "Today's Thought".
Early life
Osumi was born on June 15, 1905 in Kusatsu,
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 h ...
, Japan. He immigrated to Hawaii in 1918, and attended
Mid-Pacific Institute
Mid-Pacific Institute is a private, co-educational college preparatory school for grades preschool through twelve with an approximate enrollment of 1,538 students, the majority of whom are from Hawaii (although many also come from other states and ...
. He continued his education at the
University of Hawaii
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...
, where he wrote for the school newspaper, the ''
Ka Leo O Hawaii''.
He then earned a master's degree in
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
at the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
. After graduating in 1936, he returned to Hawaii and became the minister at the
Lihue
Lihue or Līhue is an unincorporated community, census-designated place (CDP) and the county seat of Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. Lihue (pronounced ) is the second largest town on the Hawaiian island of Kauai after Kapaa. As of the 2010 ...
Christian Church.
After
Pearl Harbor was attacked, Osumi was arrested and incarcerated on Sand Island, supposedly because he regularly communicated with the
Japanese Consulate in Honolulu. However, he insisted that he only wrote to them to help people with dual Japanese-American citizenship
expatriate
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
.
During the war he was incarcerated at the
Angel Island Detention Facility, the
Lordsburg Internment Camp, and
Gila River War Relocation Center
The Gila River War Relocation Center was an American concentration camp in Arizona, one of several built by the War Relocation Authority (WRA) during the Second World War for the incarceration of Japanese Americans from the West Coast. It was lo ...
, where he was reunited with his wife, Janet, and two sons.
His family had decided to join him in Gila River in order to care for him after he contracted
pleurisy
Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other sy ...
.
Post-war
The Osumi family returned to Hawaii in December 1945.
Osumi returned to the church and served at the
Waialua
Waialua () is a census-designated place and North Shore community in the Waialua District on the island of Oahu, City & County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 4,062.
Waialua was one of the ...
United Church of Christ and the
Ewa
Ewa or EWA may refer to:
Places
; Ethiopia
* Ewa (woreda)
; Nauru
* Ewa District, Nauru
; United States
* Eastern Washington, the portion of the state of Washington east of the Cascade Range
* ʻEwa Beach, Hawaii, a census-designated place
* E ...
Community Church. In 1954, he became the head minister of
Nuuanu Congregational Church.
During his tenure, the Nuuanu Congregational Church became the first church to perform Christian wedding ceremonies in Japanese for Japanese tourists.
Osumi began writing his well-known column, "Today's Thought" in 1957. "Today's Thought" was a non-denominational, inspirational column that was typically about 60 words long. He began publishing collections of them in 1966.
Osumi retired from the church in 1975, but was called back to continue ministering for another five years. He retired a second time in 1980. Osumi died on April 8, 1996.
Bibliography
*
Further reading
*
References
External links
Archival collection of papers held by the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii
1905 births
1996 deaths
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osumi, Paul
People from Hiroshima Prefecture
Japanese Christians
Japanese emigrants to the United States
20th-century Japanese writers
Japanese-American internees
Hawaii people of Japanese descent