Kumamoto Band

Last updated

The Kumamoto Band was a group of Christian men educated at the Kumamoto Yogakko by Leroy Lansing Janes. Alongside the Sapporo Band and the Yokohama Band, the members of the Kumamoto Band became an influential Protestant Christian group in Meiji era Japan. [1]

Contents

History

The Kumamoto Yogakko, a school of Western studies in Kumamoto, Japan, was founded by Leroy Lansing Janes in 1871. Janes was recommended for the position by Guido Verbeck. [2] Many of the students came from former samurai families, and had entered the school in an attempt to regain their former status that was lost with the abolition of the feudal system in 1868. [3] After the students became proficient in English, Janes began teaching them about Christianity in 1874. He converted 35 students. [3] In January 1876 the students climbed to the top of Mount Hanaoka and signed the Hanaoka Pledge, a confirmation of their faith. The conversion of these students is attributed to the loss of the system of morality that was a part of the feudal system. [4]

In 1877 the school was closed by the Meiji government, and many of the students moved on to Doshisha University, where nine more students were added to the band. Many of the students went on to become missionaries and politicians. [3]

Notable members

Related Research Articles

Doshisha University Private university in Kyoto, Japan

Doshisha University, also referred to as Dodai, is a private university in Kyoto City, Japan. Doshisha University is one of the most prestigious universities in Japan today, with particularly strong influence in the Kansai region, and is considered one of the most selective private universities in Japan. The acceptance rate for the 40,924 applicants for the 2014 academic year was 35.6%, with acceptance rate in some departments under 15%. In 2013, the university was ranked fourth among Japanese private universities for "schools to which parents wish to send their child", following Waseda University, Keio University, Meiji University and eleventh for "hidden prestigious schools that you know", following Waseda University, Keio University, Meiji University and so on.

Aizu Region of Fukushima, Japan

Aizu (会津) is the westernmost of the three regions of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, the other two regions being Nakadōri in the central area of the prefecture and Hamadōri in the east. As of October 1, 2010, it had a population of 291,838. The principal city of the area is Aizuwakamatsu.

Higo Province Former province of Japan

Higo Province was an old province of Japan in the area that is today Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. It was sometimes called Hishū (肥州), with Hizen Province. Higo bordered on Chikugo, Bungo, Hyūga, Ōsumi, and Satsuma Provinces.

Joseph Hardy Neesima Japanese missionary

Niijima Jō, better known by his English name Joseph Hardy Neesima, was a Japanese Protestant missionary and educator of the Meiji era who founded Doshisha English School.

Uchida Kōsai

Count Uchida Kōsai was a statesman, diplomat and interim prime minister, active in Meiji, Taishō and Shōwa period Japan. He was also known as Uchida Yasuya.

<i>Kokugaku</i> Japanese academic movement

Kokugaku was an academic movement, a school of Japanese philology and philosophy originating during the Tokugawa period. Kokugaku scholars worked to refocus Japanese scholarship away from the then-dominant study of Chinese, Confucian, and Buddhist texts in favor of research into the early Japanese classics.

Tokutomi Sohō

Tokutomi Sohō was the pen name of a journalist and historian active from late Meiji period through mid-Shōwa period Japan. His birth name was Tokutomi Iichirō. He was the older brother of noted author Tokutomi Roka.

Christianity in Japan Overview of the role of Christianity in Japan

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. However, Christianity has played a crucial role in the shaping of Japanese identity and the relationship between religion and the state for more than four centuries. Most large Christian denominations, including Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Orthodox Christianity, are represented in Japan today.

Niijima Yae

Niijima Yae, also known as Yamamoto Yaeko, was a Japanese female warrior, nurse and scholar of the late Edo period who lived into the early Shōwa period. Skilled in gunnery, she helped defend Aizu during the Boshin War, earning her the nickname of the “Bakumatsu Joan of Arc”. Yaeko served as a nurse during the Russo-Japanese War and Sino-Japanese War, and became the first woman outside of Imperial House of Japan after the Meiji Restoration to be decorated for her service to the country.

Protestants in Japan constitute a religious minority of about 0.4% of total population or 509,668 people in number.

Shinpūren rebellion

The Shinpūren rebellion was an uprising against the Meiji government of Japan that occurred in Kumamoto on 24 October 1876.

Leroy Lansing Janes

Leroy Lansing Janes (1838–1909) was an American educator, hired by Kumamoto Domain in early Meiji period Japan.

The Shizoku was a social class in Japan composed of former samurai after the Meiji Restoration from 1869 to 1947. Shizoku was a distinct class between the kazoku and heimin (commoners) with no special class privileges, and the title was solely on the register. The Shizoku were abolished in the revised civil code in 1947 after the Japanese defeat in World War II.

Tasuku Harada

Tasuku Harada(原田 助) was a Japanese pastor and the president of Doshisha University from 1907 to 1919. Harada started the University of Hawaii's Japanese Studies department in 1922.

Tokio Yokoi Japanese Christian missionary and politician

Tokio Yokoi(横井 時雄) was a Japanese pastor, journalist, bureaucrat, and member of the Japanese House of Representatives. He was also known as Tokio Ise(伊勢 時雄).

Ebina Danjo Japanese Christian missionary and educator

Ebina Danjo was a Japanese educator and philosopher, as well as a Christian missionary and pastor. He was known for his "Shintoistic Christianity", and served as the president of Doshisha University.

Masayoshi Oshikawa Japanese Christian evangelist (1850–1928)

Masayoshi Oshikawa was a Japanese evangelist, political activist and founder and first president of Tohoku Gakuin University.

Michi Matsuda

Michi Matsuda also written as Matsuda Michi) was a Japanese educator, head of the Doshisha Women's College from 1922 to 1933.

Kozaki Hiromichi

Kozaki Hiromichi was a Japanese Christian minister. Kozaki was called one of the "Three Elders" of the Kumiai Church alongside Miyagawa Tsuneteru and Ebina Danjo. He was the second president of Doshisha University.

Kanamori Michitomo

Kanamori Michitomo(金森 通倫, October 2, 1857 – March 4, 1945) was a Japanese Christian minister. He also went under the English name Paul Kanamori and published as Kanamori Tsurin.

References

  1. Shun'ichi, Takayanagi (1966). "Review of Kumamoto bando kenkyū, Nihon protestantism no ichi genryu to tenkai, (Studies on Kumamoto Band, A Stream of Japanese Protestantism and Its Development), Institute for Humanistic Sciences, Dōshisha University". Monumenta Nipponica. 21 (3/4): 415–417. doi:10.2307/2383384. ISSN   0027-0741.
  2. Aizan, Yamaji; Squires, Graham; Ion, A. Hamish (1999), "The Pledge of Mount Hanaoka", Essays on the Modern Japanese Church, Christianity in Meiji Japan, University of Michigan Press, pp. 97–102, doi:10.3998/mpub.22854.18, ISBN   978-0-939512-93-5 , retrieved 2021-11-15
  3. 1 2 3 Scheiner, Irwin (2002). Christian Converts and Social Protests in Meiji Japan. University of Michigan Center for Japanese Studies. doi:10.3998/mpub.9340282. ISBN   978-0-472-90193-7.
  4. Notehelfer, F. G. (1971). "Review of Christian Converts and Social Protest in Meiji Japan". Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies. 31: 339–346. doi:10.2307/2718731. ISSN   0073-0548.