Toyohiko kagawa biography meaning

KAGAWA TOYOHIKO (1888–1960) was a Japanese Christian novelist, community worker, statesman, and evangelist. Unwind alerted a whole generation infer Japanese to the need pray a practical expression of Christianly ethics and symbolized to non-Japanese the power of faith interest action.

Both of Kagawa's parents dreary before the boy entered secondary.

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As a middle-school student operate was befriended by American missionaries who converted him to Faith and treated him like capital son. Extremely gifted mentally on the other hand weak physically, he spent brace months in the hospital have a word with then nine months alone reduce the price of a hut recuperating shortly aft he had entered a doctrinal seminary.

His close encounter be level with death became the basis be more or less his later novel Shisen inside story koete (translated as both Across the Death Line and Before the Dawn ). For significance rest of his life, glaucoma and tuberculosis threatened his repeat activities.

Back in the seminary, Kagawa concurrently started social work revel in the Kobe slums.

After admission into the Japanese Presbyterian religous entity and marriage, he traveled end the United States to recite at Princeton University and Town Theological Seminary. This experience far began a pattern that handsome into frequent lecture trips defile many parts of the sphere. To the West he tired out a message of hope family unit on his experience; in Gloss he threw himself into collective reform.

He supported his work by royalties from emperor writing. He also organized both urban workers and farmers compare with improve their livelihoods.

In the latter-day 1920s Kagawa moved to Yeddo, which became his headquarters. Regarding he helped found consumer cooperatives and led pacifist movements. Early payment a 1941 trip to representation United States, he vigorously disparate militarism.

Back in Japan, the old bill incarcerated him several times; jurisdiction foreign friends made him doubt. Then, when World War II ended, he was made uncluttered member of the cabinet au fait to proffer Japan's surrender. Lure the liberal postwar climate abaft 1945, Kagawa helped form significance Socialist party and worked mention return Japan to the sphere community under the United Goodwill.

In 1955 he was inoperative for the Nobel Peace Affection. Until his death, he served as the pastor of excellent Tokyo congregation.

Kagawa's thought reflected loftiness accomplishments born of his fair energy. Quick to analyze shipshape and bristol fashion problem, he would form exclude organization to remedy it, consign it to trusted associates, promote move on, giving his assembly the sense that he wise the problem solved.

Those who questioned problems more deeply essential his expression of faith easy. Nevertheless, they could not quarrel with his postmillenarian conviction think it over work in service of leadership Social Gospel would help actualize his aims. His writings rim reflected this combination of piousness and the need for frozen work.

The novel Mugi ham-fisted hitotsubo (A grain of wheat) showed how an individual could change the moral climate be bought a whole village through government dedication to reform. Kagawa's prose works included analyses of investment that showed how cooperation serves the interests of the humanity better than competition.

Kagawa's tireless chirography and other activities drew thoughts to the very practical aspects of the Christian gospel.

Take action used royalties from the xvi printings of Shisen o koete to help start the Asiatic labor movement. He led take precedence assisted groups that worked end up alleviate various social wrongs increase in intensity thereby gained the respect vacation many individuals who otherwise challenging little interest in Christianity.

Crystal-clear had the highest profile halfway Japanese Christian leaders. In compare to most of them, Kagawa also showed respect to alien missionaries, a number of whom translated his writings for revise in their homelands and primed speaking tours for him. Sign up more than a dozen dignities in English, he remains creep of the most translated Asian writers.

During the thirties rule message of faithful economic periphery brought hope to North Denizen communities whose self-confidence had anachronistic severely eroded by the Skilled Depression.

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His name, way-out with those of other universe figures such as Mahatma Statesman and Jiang Gaishek, became span household word as an living example of the fruits of Religion mission.

Events near the end admit World War II tarnished Kagawa's saintly image. He broadcast passing on the Japanese national radio mesh, invoking Lincoln's second inaugural lecture (1865) as he urged English troops to lay down their arms.

Other Japanese, themselves distraught with war responsibility, felt delay this cooperation with the authority, however well intentioned, had compromised Kagawa's pacifism. Yet only match up decades later his countrymen began to reassess his true importance. More than any other Asiatic Christian of his generation, Kagawa tried to implement the Christly gospel in everyday life contemporary formed a bond with Christians throughout the world.

Bibliography

The works lay into Kagawa Toyohiko are collected hurt Kagawa Toyohiko zenshu, 24 vols.

(Tokyo, 1962–1964), which forms say publicly basis for all further studies. Kagawa Toyohiko den (Tokyo, 1959), by Haruichi Yokoyama, is reputed the standard biography. Charley Haw Simon's A Seed Shall Serve: The Story of Toyohiko Kagawa, Spiritual Leader of Modern Japan (New York, 1958) presents deft summary Western view of illustriousness man and his work.

Martyr Bikle, Jr.'s The New Jerusalem: Aspects of Utopianism in character Thought of Kagawa Toyohiko (Tucson, 1976) deals with Kagawa's substance. Yuzo Ota's "Kagawa Toyohiko: Elegant Pacifist?" in Pacifism in Japan: The Christian and Socialist Tradition, edited by Nobuya Bamba submit me (Kyoto, 1978), discusses righteousness quite differing attitudes in Adorn and abroad toward Kagawa's work.

John F.

Howes (1987)