Toyohiko Kagawa
Encyclopedia
was a Japan
ese Christian pacifist
, Christian reformer, and labour activist. Kagawa wrote, spoke, and worked at length on ways to employ Christian principles in the ordering of society and cooperative
s. His vocation to help the poor led him to live among them. He established schools, hospitals, and churches.
, Japan
to a philandering businessman and a concubine. However, both parents died while he was young. He was sent away to school, where he learned from two American missionary teachers, Drs. Harry W. Myers and Charles A. Logan, who took him into their homes.
Having learned English
from these missionaries, Kagawa converted to Christianity
after taking a Bible class in his youth, which led to him being disowned by his remaining extended family. Kagawa studied at the Tokyo Presbyterian College, and later enrolled in the Kobe Theological Seminary. While studying there, Kagawa was troubled by the seminarians' concern for technicalities of doctrine
. He believed that Christianity in action was the truth of Christian doctrines. Impatiently, he would point to the parable of the Good Samaritan. From 1914 to 1916 he studied at Princeton Theological Seminary
. In addition to theology, through the curricular exchange program with the university he also studied embryology, genetics, comparative anatomy, and paleontology while he was in Princeton.
Kagawa was arrested in Japan in 1921 and again in 1922 for his part in labour activism
during strikes. While in prison he wrote the novels Crossing the Deathline and Shooting at the Sun
. The former was a semi-autobiographical depiction of his time among Kobe's destitute. After his release, Kagawa helped organize relief work in Tokyo following the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake
and assisted in bringing about universal adult male suffrage
in 1925.
He organized the Japanese Federation of Labour
, as well as the National Anti-War League in 1928. Throughout this period, he continued to evangelize to Japan's poor and push for women's suffrage
and a peaceful foreign policy. Between 1926 and 1934, he focused his evangelical work through the Kingdom of God Movement.
In 1940, Kagawa made an apology to the Republic of China
for Japan's occupation of China, and was arrested again for this. After his release, he went back to the United States in a futile attempt to prevent war between that nation and Japan. He then returned to Japan to continue his attempts to win women's suffrage. After Japan's surrender, Kagawa was an adviser to the transitional Japanese government.
During his life, Kagawa wrote over 150 books. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature
in 1947 and 1948, and Nobel Peace Prize
in 1954 and 1955. After his death, Kagawa was awarded the second-highest honor of Japan, induction in the Order of the Sacred Treasure
. He is commemorated in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
as a renewer of society on April 23 of the same year.
unite in a 'powerful working synthesis' to provide a workable alternative to capitalism
, state socialism
, and fascism
.
He was a forerunner of modern forest farming
and an inspiration to Robert Hart
who pioneered forest gardening
in temperate climates.
on April 23.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese Christian pacifist
Christian pacifism
Christian pacifism is the theological and ethical position that any form of violence is incompatible with the Christian faith. Christian pacifists state that Jesus himself was a pacifist who taught and practiced pacifism, and that his followers must do likewise.There have been various notable...
, Christian reformer, and labour activist. Kagawa wrote, spoke, and worked at length on ways to employ Christian principles in the ordering of society and cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
s. His vocation to help the poor led him to live among them. He established schools, hospitals, and churches.
Early life
Kagawa was born in KobeKobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
to a philandering businessman and a concubine. However, both parents died while he was young. He was sent away to school, where he learned from two American missionary teachers, Drs. Harry W. Myers and Charles A. Logan, who took him into their homes.
Having learned English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
from these missionaries, Kagawa converted to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
after taking a Bible class in his youth, which led to him being disowned by his remaining extended family. Kagawa studied at the Tokyo Presbyterian College, and later enrolled in the Kobe Theological Seminary. While studying there, Kagawa was troubled by the seminarians' concern for technicalities of doctrine
Doctrine
Doctrine is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system...
. He believed that Christianity in action was the truth of Christian doctrines. Impatiently, he would point to the parable of the Good Samaritan. From 1914 to 1916 he studied at Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary is a theological seminary of the Presbyterian Church located in the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey in the United States...
. In addition to theology, through the curricular exchange program with the university he also studied embryology, genetics, comparative anatomy, and paleontology while he was in Princeton.
Activism
In 1909 Kagawa moved into a Kobe slum with the intention of acting as a missionary, social worker, and sociologist. In 1914, he went to the United States to study ways of combating the sources of poverty. In 1916 he published Researches in the Psychology of the Poor based on this experience in which he recorded many aspects of slum society that were previously unknown to middle-class Japanese. Among these were: the practices of illicit prostitution (i.e. outside of Japan's legal prostitution regime), informal marriages (which often overlapped with the previous), and even the practice of accepting money to care for children and then killing them.Kagawa was arrested in Japan in 1921 and again in 1922 for his part in labour activism
Labour movement
The term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...
during strikes. While in prison he wrote the novels Crossing the Deathline and Shooting at the Sun
Shooting at the Sun
Shooting At The Sun is the sixth studio album by British hard rock band Thunder. Released in the spring of 2003, it was their first studio release following their decision to reform in 2002 after a hiatus of more than two years...
. The former was a semi-autobiographical depiction of his time among Kobe's destitute. After his release, Kagawa helped organize relief work in Tokyo following the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake
1923 Great Kanto earthquake
The struck the Kantō plain on the Japanese main island of Honshū at 11:58:44 am JST on September 1, 1923. Varied accounts hold that the duration of the earthquake was between 4 and 10 minutes...
and assisted in bringing about universal adult male suffrage
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
in 1925.
He organized the Japanese Federation of Labour
Labor unions in Japan
Labour unions emerged in Japan in the second half of the Meiji period as the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization. Until 1945, however, the labour movement remained weak, impeded by lack of legal rights, anti-union legislation, management-organized factory councils, and political...
, as well as the National Anti-War League in 1928. Throughout this period, he continued to evangelize to Japan's poor and push for women's suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
and a peaceful foreign policy. Between 1926 and 1934, he focused his evangelical work through the Kingdom of God Movement.
In 1940, Kagawa made an apology to the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
for Japan's occupation of China, and was arrested again for this. After his release, he went back to the United States in a futile attempt to prevent war between that nation and Japan. He then returned to Japan to continue his attempts to win women's suffrage. After Japan's surrender, Kagawa was an adviser to the transitional Japanese government.
During his life, Kagawa wrote over 150 books. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature
Nobel Prize in Literature
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
in 1947 and 1948, and Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
in 1954 and 1955. After his death, Kagawa was awarded the second-highest honor of Japan, induction in the Order of the Sacred Treasure
Order of the Sacred Treasure
The is a Japanese Order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan as the Order of Meiji. It is awarded in eight classes . It is generally awarded for long and/or meritorious service and considered to be the lowest of the Japanese orders of merit...
. He is commemorated in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
as a renewer of society on April 23 of the same year.
Brotherhood economics
Kagawa's economic theory, as expressed in the book "Brotherhood Economics," advocated that the Christian Church, the cooperative movement, and the peace movementPeace movement
A peace movement is a social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war , minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or type of situation, often linked to the goal of achieving world peace...
unite in a 'powerful working synthesis' to provide a workable alternative to capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
, state socialism
State socialism
State socialism is an economic system with limited socialist characteristics, such as public ownership of major industries, remedial measures to benefit the working class, and a gradual process of developing socialism through government policy...
, and fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
.
3-D farming
In the 1930s, he addressed problems of soil erosion by persuading many of Japan's upland farmers to plant fodder trees to conserve soil, supply food and feed animals (the three "dimensions" of his system).He was a forerunner of modern forest farming
Forest farming
Forest farming is an agroforestry practice characterized by the four "I's"- Intentional, Integrated, Intensive and Interactive management of an existing forested ecosystem wherein forest health is of paramount concern. It is neither forestry nor farming in the traditional sense.Forest farming, or...
and an inspiration to Robert Hart
Robert Hart (forest gardener)
Robert Adrian de Jauralde Hart was the pioneer of forest gardening in temperate zones. He created a model forest garden from a 0.12 acre orchard on his farm.-Highwood Hill farm:...
who pioneered forest gardening
Forest gardening
Forest gardening is a food production and agroforestry system based on woodland ecosystems, incorporating fruit and nut trees, shrubs, herbs, vines and perennial vegetables which have yields directly useful to humans...
in temperate climates.
Veneration
Kagawa is honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA)Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church in the United States of America)
The veneration of saints in the Episcopal Church is a continuation of an ancient tradition from the early Church which honors important people of the Christian faith. The usage of the term "saint" is similar to Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Those in the Anglo-Catholic tradition may...
on April 23.
Famous quotes
- On the morning of 1946, at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, before Emperor Hirohito, "Whosoever will be great among you...shall be the servant of all. A ruler's sovereignty, Your Majesty, is in the hearts of the people. Only by service to others can a man, or nation, be godlike."
- "Communism's only power is to diagnose some of the ills of disordered society. It has no cure. It creates only an infantile paralysis of the social order."
- "I read in a book that a man called ChristChristChrist is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
went about doing good. It is very disconcerting to me that I am so easily satisfied with just going about."