was a
Japanese author
This is an alphabetical list of writers who are Japanese, or are famous for having written in the Japanese language.
Writers are listed by the native order of Japanese names, family name followed by given name to ensure consistency although some ...
,
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...
evangelist, and the founder of the
Nonchurch Movement (
Mukyōkai The is an indigenous Japanese Christian movement which was founded by Uchimura Kanzō in 1901. Many of his disciples have likewise been well-known intellectual figures. Today it is believed that 35,000 people belong to the movement in Japan, Taiwan ...
) of
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...
in the
Meiji and
Taishō period Japan. He is often considered to be the most well-known Japanese pre-
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 ...
pacifist.
Early life
Uchimura was born in
Edo
Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...
, and exhibited a talent for languages from a very early age; he started to study the
English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to t ...
at the age of 11. At age 13 he entered a foreign language school to continue to study English, and planned to pursue a government job. In 1877, he gained admission to the
Sapporo Agricultural College
was a school in Sapporo, Hokkaidō established in September 1875 for the purpose of educating students in the agriculture industry.
History
The first president of the college was Zusho Hirotake.
Dr. William Smith Clark, a graduate of Amhe ...
(present-day
Hokkaido University
, or , is a Japanese national university in Sapporo, Hokkaido. It was the fifth Imperial University in Japan, which were established to be the nation's finest institutions of higher education or research. Hokkaido University is considered ...
), where English was the main language of instruction.
Prior to Uchimura's arrival,
William S. Clark
William Smith Clark (July 31, 1826 – March 9, 1886) was an American professor of chemistry, botany and zoology, a colonel during the American Civil War, and a leader in agricultural education. Raised and schooled in Easthampton, Massachuse ...
, a graduate as well as the president of
Amherst College, had spent the year assisting the Japanese government in establishing the college. While his primary role was to teach agricultural technology, Clark was a committed lay Christian
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
who introduced his students to the Christian faith through
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts o ...
classes. All of his students converted and signed the "Covenant of Believers in Jesus", committing themselves to continue studying the Bible and to do their best to live moral lives. Clark returned to 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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
after one year, but Uchimura felt his influence through the small Covenant group that was left behind. Under considerable pressure from his ''
senpai'' (先輩, a term for strongly-influential senior peers), Uchimura signed the Covenant during his first year at the College at the age of 16 and went on to receive
baptism
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
from a
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...
missionary in 1878.
Dissatisfaction with the mission church, however, led Uchimura and his Japanese supporters to establish an independent church in
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 ci ...
. This experiment turned out to be a precursor to what is now called the
Nonchurch Movement. Through Clark's teaching and example, this small group believed that they could practice and live an authentic life of faith without depending on a religious institution or a professional
clergy
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the t ...
.
He was a close friend of
P. Y. Saeki
Yoshiro Saeki ( ja, 佐伯好郎; September 15, 1871 – June 26, 1965) was a Japanese scholar of religion, law, and the English language. Peter Saeki is his Christian name. He is known for his theories about Nestorianism and Jewish culture in Ja ...
, an
Anglican Christian, but their relationship turned sour later.
Overseas career

Uchimura departed for 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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
following a brief and unhappy first marriage in 1884. He was first befriended by Wister Morris and his wife, a
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
couple, who helped him find employment at
Elwyn Institutes Elwyn Inc. is a care facility in Elwyn, Pennsylvania, in Middletown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania for mentally disabled individuals as well as those with age-related mental disabilities. Established in 1852, it provides education, rehabi ...
as a caregiver shortly after his arrival in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...
. The Quaker faith and
pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaig ...
made a lasting impression upon Uchimura. He and his Sapporo friend
Nitobe Inazō
was a Japanese author, educator, agricultural economist, diplomat, politician, and Protestant Christian during the late Meiji era.
Early life
Nitobe was born in Morioka, Mutsu Province (present-day Iwate Prefecture). His father Nitobe Jūjir� ...
were influential in the establishment of the
Friends School
Friends schools are institutions that provide an education based on the beliefs and testimonies of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). This article is a list of schools currently or historically associated with the Society of Friends, reg ...
in Tokyo as a result of his sojourning in the Philadelphia area.
Following eight months of stressful work in
Elwyn, Uchimura resigned and traveled through
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian province ...
, entering
Amherst College in September 1885.
Julius Hawley Seelye, the president of Amherst College, became his spiritual mentor, and encouraged him to attend the
Hartford Theological Seminary
The Hartford International University for Religion and Peace (formerly Hartford Seminary) is a private theological university in Hartford, Connecticut.
History
Hartford Seminary's origins date back to 1833 when the Pastoral Union of Connectic ...
. After completing his second bachelor's degree (B.Sc.) in general science at Amherst, he enrolled in Hartford Seminary, but quit after only one semester, disappointed by theological education. He returned to Japan in 1888.
Japanese religious leader

After his return to Japan, Uchimura worked as a teacher, but was fired or forced to resign in several instances over his uncompromising position toward authorities or foreign missionary bodies that controlled the schools. The most famous such incident was his refusal to bow deeply to the portrait of
Emperor Meiji
, also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...
and the
Imperial Rescript on Education
The , or IRE for short, was signed by Emperor Meiji of Japan on 30 October 1890 to articulate government policy on the guiding principles of education on the Empire of Japan. The 315 character document was read aloud at all important school events, ...
in the formal ceremony held at the First Higher School (then preparatory division to the
Tokyo Imperial University
, abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...
). Realizing that his religious beliefs were incompatible with a teaching career, he turned to writing, becoming senior columnist for the popular newspaper, ''
Yorozu Chōhō''. Uchimura's fame as a popular writer became solid as he launched a series of sharp criticism against industrialist Ichibei Furukawa over one of modern Japan's first industrial pollution cases involving Furukawa's
Ashio Copper Mine
The was a copper mine located in the town of Ashio, Tochigi (now part of the city of Nikkō, Tochigi), in the northern Kantō region of Japan. It was the site of Japan's first major pollution disaster in the 1880s and the scene of the 1907 ...
.
Uchimura's career as a journalist was cut short as well, largely due to his pacifist views and vocal opposition against 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 ...
in his newspaper columns, which came into conflict with the paper's official editorial views. He started publishing and selling his own monthly magazine, ''Tokyo Zasshi'' (Tokyo Journal) and later ''Seisho no Kenkyu'' (Biblical Study), and supported himself by addressing weekly audiences of 500–1000 people in downtown Tokyo in lectures on the Bible. His followers came to share Uchimura's attitude that an organized church was actually a hindrance to the Christian faith, and Christian sacraments, such as
baptism
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
and
communion
Communion may refer to:
Religion
* The Eucharist (also called the Holy Communion or Lord's Supper), the Christian rite involving the eating of bread and drinking of wine, reenacting the Last Supper
**Communion (chant), the Gregorian chant that ac ...
, are not essential to salvation. Uchimura named his Christian position as "
Mukyōkai The is an indigenous Japanese Christian movement which was founded by Uchimura Kanzō in 1901. Many of his disciples have likewise been well-known intellectual figures. Today it is believed that 35,000 people belong to the movement in Japan, Taiwan ...
" or Nonchurch Movement. Uchimura's movement attracted many students in Tokyo who later became influential figures in academia, industry, and literature. His "prophetic" views on religion, science, politics, and social issues became influential beyond his small group of followers.
His writings in English include: ''Japan and the Japanese'' (1894) and ''How I became a Christian'' (1895), and reflect his struggle to develop a Japanese form of Christianity. In his lifetime, Uchimura became famous overseas. His major English-language works were translated into numerous languages. After his death, however, Uchimura's reputation grew more, as his followers produced an enormous amount of literature.
Works
*
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*
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*
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*
** Japanese/English; new English translation:
Kazuo Inamori
was a Japanese philanthropist, entrepreneur and the founder of Kyocera and KDDI. He was the chairman of Japan Airlines.
Inamori was elected as a member into the National Academy of Engineering in 2000 for innovation in ceramic materials ...
**
**
**
Notes
References
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*
*
*Hiroshi, Shibuya. 2013. ''Living for Jesus and Japan: The social and theological thought of Uchimura Kanzo.'' Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
*
*Jennings, Raymond P. 1958. ''Jesus, Japan, and Kanzo Uchimara: A Brief Study of Non-Church Movement and its Appropriateness for Japan.'' Tokyo: Christian Literature Society.
External links
*
* (brief biography with grave's pic)
Non-church Christian Home
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uchimura, Kanzo
1861 births
1930 deaths
Amherst College alumni
Christian apologists
Hartford Seminary alumni
Japanese Christian pacifists
Japanese Methodists
Japanese theologians
Japanese writers
Methodist socialists
Non-interventionism
People from Tokyo
People of Meiji-period Japan