Japan a cluster of islands bordering the Asian coast of the Pacific Ocean, whose history dates back to earlier than the time of Christ, now known for its rapid modernization and industrialization, was the ground for Quaker seeds to take root eighty years ago. Although we are known to Friends all over the world, on this occasion of the Friends World Conference Japanese Friends have felt it timely to prepare this brief introduction of Quakerism in Japan.
This brings us back to 1885 when the Women’s Foreign Missionary Association of Friends of Philadelphia tock the first step towards evangelism in Japan, and sent out Joseph and Sarah A. Cosand. The beginning of Quakerism in Japan was in 1886, when these Friends actually started their evangelism.
Their names together with those of Gurney and Elizabeth Binford, who came Out soon after, Gilbert and Minnie P. Bowles, who replaced the Cosands, Edith Sharpless and Esther B. Rhoads will long be remembered in the hearts of Japanese Friends. Besides these Friends, many American and British Friends came out for shorter periods of time for work other than evangelism, and lived among the Japanese people; and Japanese ministers dedicated themselves to the same cause. All these people have been a great strength in the growth of the Japanese Meeting. Their names can be recounted one by one, and our warm feeling of thankfulness towards them will remain indelible.
After going through many difficulties and digressions in its growth, in 1917 the group of Japanese Quakers was established as a Yearly Meeting and was able to stand on its own feet. However, towards the end of World War II, most of the members dispersed, many local Meetings became stagnant, and among them were some that stopped their activities altogether. It was after the end of the war, in 1947, that a re-established Japan Yearly Meeting was formed and a second start was made, with developments which have continued to this day. During these years, Friends in Philadelphia have constantly watched over the activities of Friends in Japan and have faithfully supported and encouraged Japanese Friends, who are deeply aware of this. Recently the Meeting has become less-dependent financially but in all other aspects there is a very close and unchanging relationship.
The Annual Meeting of Friends last year (1966) commemorated the 80th anniversary of Quakerism in Japan. The membership in Japan Yearly Meeting as of September 1966 numbered 266, of whom about 80% have joined since the re-establishment of the Meeting. There is no birthright membership. A system whereby people are accepted into a Wider Quaker Fellowship exists but presently this is seldom used.
Friends from abroad, while living in Japan are welcomed as sojourning members if they express their desire to be members of Japan Yearly Meeting, and they are considered as equals with the regular Japanese members.
Japan Yearly Meeting today functions with Ichiro Koizumi as the Clerk of the Meeting, his secretariat, and the 35 officers who form sub-committees responsible for Ministry, Finance, Publications, Peace and International Relations. We have no officiating minister. The system of elders overseers and ministers has been replaced by a system of sub-committees.
Last year the Annual Meeting was held on Nov. 12 and 13, in a small city, Shimotsuma, in rural Ibaraki prefecture. This year, the dates will be November 11 and 12, 1967, and the Meeting will be held in Tokyo. Generally about 100 people are present, both members and non-members. Friends from abroad are warmly welcomed. At Yearly Meeting, besides the deepening of our spiritual faith, business and social matters are also discussed. The gathering is both meaningful and pleasant. Two days are hardly enough to deal with everything in the schedule. Various ways of increasing efficiency are tried, such as sorting out and distributing matters concerning the agenda before the meeting, but the time is never enough. It has been suggested that the two-day meeting be prolonged, but at present this is difficult to carry out.
At Yearly Meeting, all of the sub-committees, ad hoc committees and Monthly Meetings present their reports. Besides these activities within the Meeting, there are other affiliated organizations reporting to Yearly Meeting. Through these reports, those attending Yearly Meeting can gain information regarding the present situation as well as the problems being faced by each group. Among the items to be discussed are, the usual nomination of officers, the approval of the budget, choosing the theme of Yearly Meeting and, last
year, besides these routine items the Japan Yearly Meeting "Queries" were selected and approved.
Japan Yearly Meeting chooses a theme focusing on some aspect of the faith and practice of the individual, the Monthly Meetings and Yearly Meeting. This sometimes grows from a Quaker sense of mission in regard to the needs of the present age, or it may result from the self-reflection of Friends themselves. In order to avoid having the theme imposed by a small group of officers, a great deal of time and thought is spent to enable it to come from the whole group. It is taken up as the theme at retreats, and is given special focus in publications. However, since the theme is not enforced upon the group, it is not unusual for a Monthly Meeting to purposely choose a separate theme for a retreat. This year it was decided to continue for another year with the theme "Peace in Asia, and the Role of Friends in Japan", and the Ministry Committee is undertaking to implement this theme among Friends.
Japan Yearly Meeting holds an annual lecture Meeting which is called the Nitobe Memorial Lecture. This is to commemorate the life of Inazo Nitobe, a pioneer among Japanese Quakers. These lectures were started with the aim of contributing to the growth of Quakerism in Japan. It is one of the highlights of the Annual Meeting. The lecturers have been not only Japanese Quakers, but have included Elizabeth G. Vining, Howard H. Brinton, Douglas V. Steere and Kenneth E. Boulding. There have been occasions when non-Quakers have been invited to speak. Most of the speakers prepare their lectures ahead of time, making it possible to publish these lectures in pamphlet form (in Japanese). A series of thirteen pamphlets have been published and this is also a work of the Ministry Committee.
It is not necessary to mention how important publications are in evangelism. In a religious body such as the Society of Friends, this is even more true. From the early days Qf evangelism in Japan, the Yearly Meeting has produced many publications and today this work is being handled by the Publications Committee. For example, one of the regular publications, "TOMO", is published every other month. W thin the Society "Tomo" aims at communicating information, carrying out mutual education among the membe’s, while to a wider audience it aims at spreading Quakerism. The Nitobe Memorial Lecture pamphlets have been mentioned previously. Besides these, Quaker literature in book form is published from time to time. Six different Quaker leaflets are given away free of charge. All these publications are in Japanese but are sent to Quaker libraries abroad whenever requested. The Meeting in Korea, which has recently been established, has been able to make use of these publications because the Japanese language is understood to some extent in Korea. The Ministry Committee is largely in charge of the distribution of these publications. Retreats have been held since the early days. In recent years, the Ministry Committee has sponsored a retreat once a year on a Yearly Meeting scale; and Monthly Meeting or some local Meetings jointly Hve held a number of retreats. Whether the theme of Yearly Meeting is taken up at these retreats is left to the disc:retion of the local Meetings as has already been explained. Retreats are planned when the climate is at its best, and a location which provides lodging facilities for one or two nights is chosen. Retreats aim at the deepening of spiritual life, fellowship among Friends as individuals, and the increase of communication between Monthly Meetings. More recently there has been the added joy of welcoming Friends and visitors from Friends Meetings abroad.
On the surface and in the international news, Japan is one of the few "Peaceful" nations, but Japanese Quakers are not comfortable at that. They realize the need of affirming their conviction and furthering their understanding of the problems of Peace. The Peace Committee of Yearly Meeting, while grasping the realities of the situation, should proclaim our "Peace Testimony" to those outside the Society, and carry on activities for Peace, and at the same time continuously encourage a build up from within the group. It is important for the peace committee to keep a constant line of communication between the group and the outside world. Since last year with a theme such as that mentioned previously, the Peace Committee is particularly busy. Social problems on a scale which concerns the Yearly Meeting are attended to by this committee.
Japan Yearly Meeting’s committee which relates to Friends from abroad, and serves as a window for overseas Quaker organizations is called the International Committee, the chairman of which is Yukio ne. This committee was originally organized to link Japan Yearly Meeting with— the Friends World Committee for Consultation, but year by year the exchange with overseas Friends has increased, and the contacts have been widened. The selection of those who receive Quaker scholarships from abroad is also determined by this committee. It has been one of its duties to handle the business in connection with the coming Friends World conference. The Meeting in Korea is related to Japan Yearly Meeting through the membership of one of its members in Tokyo Monthly Meeting, but at the same time Seoul Friends Meeting is an overseas meeting and therefore is the concern of the International Committee. However, all communication with the Japan Committee of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (in America), is done directly by the clerk of Yearly Meeting, adhering to the custom which has been followed during the long history of the relationship.
The young people who come to take part in the activities of each Monthly Meeting have their own "Young Friends" organization, and on a Yearly Meeting scale are known as the Japanese Young Friends. There is some variation in their numbers but at present there are between 60 and 70 Young Friends. Family members and relatives of Quakers form only a part of this group, the main body consisting of college students, high school students, and others who fit into that age group. Most of them are not regular members, but it is always hoped that new members will emerge from this group. In each area these Young Friends are active in study groups and in service projects, and it is hoped that wise leadership can be provided for them.
Yearly Meeting consists of six Monthly Meetings, namely Tokyo (Mita), Toyama, Shimoigusa, Mito, Osaka, Tsuchiura; Shimotsuma and Takahagi Preparatory Meetings, of which the first three are located in Tokyo. Tokyo Monthly Meeting is the largest of these Meetings with a membership of 122, (as of Sept., 1966). The Meeting House is 30 minutes by car from Haneda airport. The office and the secretary are shared by Japan Yearly Meeting. All the other Monthly Mee4ings excepting the three Monthly Meetings in Tokyo and one other in Osaka, are located in Ibaraki prefecture adjoining Tokyo. This is because in the early days of the Quaker Mission, the work was concentrated in that area. However, in this age of mobility, there are many members who are compelled to move into areas where there are no meetings, and this is a problem which we must face today.
An un-programmed Meeting for Worship is held in each Monthly Meeting, every Sunday for one hour from 10:30 a. m. There is no Minister in any Monthly Meeting but regular Ministry visits have taken place; prepared messages by certain members of the Meeting have been spoken in some Monthly Meetings; and other methods of ministry have been tried elsewhere. The need for a resident pastor or a travelling minister has been voiced, but nothing definite has come out of this concern.
The social concern of the Monthly Meetings covers both peace and social problems, which are met in one or two Monthly Meetings by the Social Order Committee which is sensitive to the existing problems, and which plans activities accordingly.
This introduction of Quakerism in Japan would not be complete without a brief explanation of the Japan Yearly Meeting’s affiliated bodies which were mentioned previously as reporting to the Annual Meeting. The following is based on reports dated September 1966.
Friends Girls’ School comes foremost, having been established in 1887, the year following the start of Quaker evangelism in Japan. Presently there are 631 students, and it is a girls’ high school on the 6 year system, aiming at a high standard of education based on the Quaker spirit. Many Quakers are on the faculty.
Next is the Friends’ Old Folks Home, "Ai-Yu-En". This was founded in 1920 in a city in Ibaraki prefecture, where it was a pioneer project. At present the average age of the inmates is 74.2 years, and 88 poverty-stricken men and women are being cared for. These two institutions, the Friends Girls’ School and the Old Folks Home, according to Japanese law are independent juridical bodies, but the majority of the members of the Board are members of Yearly Meeting and therefore closely relate these organizations to Yearly Meeting.
Different in organization from these two aforementioned bodies are Tokyo Friends Center and the Japan Unit of the American Friends Service Committee. These organizations are supported financially, and their respective personnel are appointed by Quaker bodies in the United States. They are carrying out work similar to that which is being done in many parts of the world. The administration of Friends Center s undergoing a transition in which the total responsibility is gradually being transferred from Philadelphia Yearly Meeting to Japan Yearly Meeting, and within a few years this will become a project directly managed by Japanese Friends. A group of members is thinking of taking this opportunity to re-evaluate the project, and plan an enlargement and re-building of the present Center, but this ic ea has not yet been fully discussed by all the members.
The activities of the American Friends Service Committee are expanding because of the important role that Tokyo plays in the Asian scene. Members of Japan Yearly Meeting are on tH staff, and most of the Advisory Committee who sit in counsel and give direction to the working policy of the AFSC Japan Unit are members of the Yearly Meeting. Communication between the AFSC and the Yearly Meeting exists in this relationship, and both the Yearly Meeting and the AFSC can benefit mutually if this communication can be kept up effectively.
Immediately after the end of the war the AFSC brought relief supplies to war-victims in Japan, but with the re-establishment of order this type of work was reduced and the continuing projects were put into the hands of a Japanese juridical body, known as the Japan Friends Service Committee. The officers of this juridical body are also members of Yearly Meeting. At present, two community centers are being operated in post-war housing-project areas in Tokyo.
The AFSC program includes work camps, and another devolvement took place when, with the approval of the AFSC, a group of enthusiastic campers showed a desire of forming an independent work camp organization. The result was the formation of the Friends International Workcamps which started as an independent organization in various parts of Japan, and which continued for some time as a social reform youth movement. These work camp groups are related in varying degrees with the Monthly Meetings in their respective areas, and are continuing their activities.
Added 7th Month 20, 1998
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