History in Japan and Korea

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With the end of World War II, first in Europe and three months later in the Pacific by the surrender of Japan on August 15, 1945, there came a flurry of activity on the political as well as on the religious scene.

Politically, the focus of attention was the 'democratization' of Japan. Initially the U.S. military, who occupied the country from the day of its surrender, restricted all access to Japan to themselves.

Gradually, the country returned to a normal way af life, politically and economically, and the American military authorities granted permission from December 25, 1946 on, for missionaries to enter Japan. As related in a Dutch Catholic News Bulletin, Katholiek Archief, of March 28, 1947: "From then on all catholic missionaries, even those who have not yet lived there, are allowed to go to Japan, provided they sufficiently know Japanese. There is no distinction between sex or nationality. Requests for admission have to be addressed to the 'Rehabilitation Committee of the Catholic Church in Japan.' All information can be obtained from Father Bitter, S.J., Sophia University, Tokyo. (Fides)"

Meanwhile, all over the world newspapers, magazines, books were published on Japan's 'spirit', 'social structure', 'economy', and 'religion'. Christians of all denominations were getting ready to jump in as soon as the green light would be given. Protestant groups of all kinds were the first to come over and join the ones that had been there from before the war. The Catholic hierarchy did not lag far behind. Requests went out to the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith in Rome, who contacted the major superiors of the Mission Institutes, Orders and Congregations.

The feeling of euphoria was sky high, and the glowing reports of mass conversions in various missionary magazines made it appear as if the country would be Christian in a minimum of time. In the same high spirits the news of the Oblates having been assigned a mission in Japan, appeared in the A.R.O.M.1., first in French, in February 1948, and then in English in March 1948, with a letter of Fr. General Leo Deschatelets:

Although Father General is said to have resisted a good length of time, it is the persistence of Bishop Paul Yoshigoro Taguchi, ordinary of Osaka and at that time also Apostolic Administrator of Shikoku, who won his approval by complaining that no other missionary institute was willing to enter into this poor area. Until then the whole island was under the care of the Dominican Fathers, who had 'inherited' it from the French Foreign Missionaries in 1904. Father Deschatelets is reported to have said: "If no one else will go then we must".

The following month (March 1948), the A.R.O.M.I. published, both in French and in English, an extract from a letter of the Sacred Congregation of the Propaganda (Fidei) to Father General about our Japanese Mission: "The S. C. of Propaganda very gladly entrusts to your Congregation one of the 4 civil districts of the Shikoku Island, where only Dominican Fathers have been working till now. His Excellency Paul Yoshigoro Taguchi, Bishop of Osaka, Apostolic Administrator of Shikoku and the Apostolic Delegate Msgr Marella are anxious to see your valiant missionaries."

It did not take long for the Oblates to know more about their new mission. In the volume of Etudes Oblates of 1948 Fr. Eugene Marcotte, O.M.1. writes in his Chronicle of Actualities, entitled In the Land the Rising Sun: "The latest statistics from 1944 give an idea of the apostolic labor awaiting us there. Of four million inhabitants there were only 771 Catholics and 35 catechumens, that is about one Catholic or catechumen for about 5,000 non-Catholics, while the proportion for the whole of Japan is one of about 700-800. The Protestants have already about 2,000 followers.

"Several signs seem to point to a 'second Spring' of the Church in Japan... From 1941 until 1947 the number of catechumens went from 497 to 2,500 in the diocese of Tokyo; from 346 to 1,023 in the diocese of Osaka; and from 99 to 2,564 in the diocese of Nagasaki, where 8,000 of the 10,000 Catholics died under the atom bomb. Of 250,000 Christians before the war the total number has grown to 600,000, of whom 109,000 are Catholics; and the Japanese newspaper that reports these statistics foresees a number of 2,000,000 in a not too remote future."

In the A.R.O.M.I. of June 1948 we read: "H. E. Bp. (Paul Yoshigoro) Taguchi, Adm. Ap. of Shikoku, offered to the M. Rev. Fr. General his heartfelt gratitude and thanks for the kind acceptance of the Missionary Apostolate of Shikoku." He writes (April 5th, 1948): "The Prefecture of Shikoku has been very poorly cultivated up to now, from the Catholic point of view. Only about ten Spanish Dominican Fathers have been working in that large and extensive island. At present there are only about 800 Catholics out of a total population of over four million. The trial of God was severe during the war. Only one Church escaped damage either by bombs or earthquake. Now we have seven churches under consideration for construction. Four of those which had been destroyed are being rebuilt. Three are new buildings. As in other parts of Japan since the end of the war, there are many catechumens awaiting instruction in the true Faith in Shikoku ... Your Congregation has a great name for Missionary Work. Your Fathers are certainly well prepared for the Japanese Mission. As you know, the Japanese people on the whole are well educated and have a passion for reading. They have their own Oriental Culture. The younger generation have more or less adopted the Western ways of life.

The Japanese language is not easy. It takes time and requires great patience. Though the new generation is learning to speak English, it is absolutely essential for priests to have a good knowledge of Japanese in order to preach and instruct. Therefore all missionaries for Japan must be patient, ready for all difficulties, and have a good intellectual formation. Before starting their apostolate it will be necessary for your Fathers to spend at least a year and a half learning that language...

"There are four civil Prefectures on the Island of Shikoku: Kochi, Tokushima, Ehime and Kagawa. I would like to entrust to your Congregation the civil Prefecture of Kochi. It is the largest Prefecture on the island, having a population of about 800,000 people. Its main cities are Kochi (150,000), Akaoka, Gomen, Susaki, Ino, Yamada and Kubokawa.

"The inhabitants are of a quiet and docile disposition and like Culture, Science and Politics. The Prefecture was the birthplace of such great men as Sakamoto Ryoma, ex-premier Hamaguchi and ex-premier Yoshida. The soil is rather fertile and the climate temperate.

"In that Prefecture there is the largest and most flourishing parish on the Island. It contains about 3OO Catholics. In Akaoka there is another parish of 2O Catholics. Before the war the Spanish Dominican Fathers had a religious parish in Kochi, where their central house was situated. This was destroyed by the air raids. In Kochi city there is a convent of Japanese nuns - the Sisters of Aishikai (Congregation of Mission Sisters of the Sacred Heart, a Japanese foundation). They are in charge of some charitable works."

On the 4th of June, 1948, this new mission was entrusted to the First (later called the Eastern) American Province, which elicited the following exhortation from Father Robbins, its Provincial: "I would direct your attention especially to paragraph 4 of the Decree concerning the administrative union of the Japanese Mission Field with the First American Province. It brings all of us face to face with the stern realities of our obligations to this new mission and to the Oblates who are to devote their lives to it. Our joy in acquiring a mission field which will undoubtedly test the bodies and try the souls of the six pioneers must endure. The first flush of our pride in the calibre of their characters and the quality of their priestliness must continue... Not one of us can allow himself the luxury of forgetting a single one of these six missionaries because they are so absolutely dependent for every necessity upon the Home Province and every member of the Province. If ever an apostolate was begun with little more than script and staff and the willingness to sacrifice everything for souls dear to Christ, this is it. In the days to come and in ever increasing degree we at Home will have the grave obligation of financing a project which with God's help will grow as does a mustard seed... More volunteers will be needed. Future apostles must be sought... We are our brothers' keepers !"

The first missionaries, Frs. Robert GILL, Leonard ROBITAILLE and Charles MCBENNETT, boarded the ALMERIA LYKES at Galveston, Texas, on All Saints Day, November I , 1948. The ship cast off the next evening, sailing into the sunset towards the Land of the Rising Sun. It docked in Kobe, Japan, at noon on November 29, 1948. After a strenuous afternoon clearing customs with the help of their interpreter, Fr. Raymond Froidevaux, M.E.P., they set off in the evening for the Bishop's residence at Nishinomiya City. There they were put up in one room on army cots. Fr. Robitaille writes in his diary: "It was bitterly cold. No heat in the house whatsoever except a tiny fireplace flame in our room... Many things struck us funny, so that we went to sleep worn out from laughter as well as fatigue. Next morning, arising about 7:OO, we nearly froze to death, so it seemed, dressing and washing. Celebrating Mass in the chapel left us with hands numb and spirits considerably less hilarious than the night before ."

From there they soon moved to Toyonaka, a suburb of Osaka, into the house which had served as the Bishop's war-time residence. Within the week they set out to visit the Kochi and Tokushima area that was to be confided to them. Father Robitaille sent a detailed report of the voyage to Missions: "On December 3, the feast of St. Francis Xavier, at the stroke of twelve noon the Akitsu-maru shoved off, saluted Kobe with a blast of her whistle, and we were on our way to Shikoku. This was to be a reconnaissance trip on which the first contingent of Oblate missionaries to Japan, Father Gill, Father McBennett and myself would look over the territory which we were soon to serve. We were accompanied by Father Francis Eikichi Tanaka, Vicar Delegate of Shikoku and pastor of the church of St.Paul Miki in Tokushima.

Five hours later we arrived at Tokushima and put up at a hotel for want of accommodation in the tiny rectory that Father Tanaka calls home. This was an experience the novelty of which one would hardly imagine.

First a word about Tokushima, where the Oblate Fathers have been invited by the Ordinary to take over the city's lone Catholic parish. ..."

Fr. Robitaille continues: "One of the four larger cities on the island, Tokushima has a population in the neighborhood of 100,000 inhabitants. At least 90% destroyed in the last war, it is now almost entirely rebuilt. The number of Catholics is as yet small, but here too one encounters the firm conviction that henceforth the harvest will be great. On Sunday morning (5 December) Father Gill addressed the congregation, telling them how happy we were to be in their midst and of the hopes that are being entertained for the future.

"From Tokushima our itinerary took us by train to Takamatsu and thence to Kochi. Although it required more than two and a half hours to cover the forty-six miles to Takamatsu, the journey was most enjoyable. A winding route through mountains tinged with autumn color, a panorama of beautifully terraced gardens, orange trees laden with fruit -- these are some of the views that furnished a very interesting trip. During the four hours between trains in Takamatsu we met and were entertained by Father Sergio Santamaria, O.P., pastor of the local parish. There was only time to visit the premises and to note the reconstruction of church property.

"The remainder of the journey to Kochi was made for the most part after dark. The train pulled into the station shortly after ten o'clock and what a surprise to discover a welcome committee comprising two Fathers (Frs. Orenzio Perez, O.P. and Stephen Yoshio Takeda, O.P., who were stationed there) and a number of parishioners (the Aishikai Sisters and the children of the orphanage, Iocated next to the church). These good people received us very cordially and proceeded to conduct us to the Fathers' residence.

"The next three days were a continual round of greetings and exchange of visits. A visit was made to Akaoka, where Fr. Domingo Ledesma, O.P. was resident pastor. Formal calls were made on the mayor, Mr. Susumu Yamamoto, the vice-mayor, Mr. T. Suzuki, who later returned the visit on behalf of the mayor; on the President of the Prefectural Council, Mr. S. Nakayama and also on the Principal of one High School, a Mr. S. Yoshii. By all without exception we were graciously, even warmly received and promised their full cooperation in the endeavors that lie ahead.

"But it was left to our own, the Catholic people of Kochi, some three hundred in a population of approximately 120,000, to demonstrate in their own fashion, in various ways, the gladness and appreciation they felt over the arrival of the Oblate Fathers .

"Following Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament the evening of the first day, a parochial reception was held in the church. An official welcome in behalf of the parishioners was tendered by Mr. Kiyoshi Yoshimatsu, the only Catholic on the Council of the Prefectural government. Father Tanaka and Father Takeda, O.P., also spoke. Father Gill replied. Earlier in the day we had been entertained by the children of the school and orphanage. Having presented us with three gifts of flowers, fruit and a doll, they excelled themselves in an interesting concert of Japanese folklore. The Sisters, who are in charge of these institutions, are Japanese and members of the Aishikai Community. One cannot be too lavish in the praise of these good Sisters, who are waging such a courageous fight against great odds. Four of them look after a school of some two hundred children as well as an orphanage of sixty-five or more. And they are so poor. If only our people in America realized to what advantage such items as old or used clothing could be utilized over here they would save and send all they have.

"The Patronal feast day of the Oblate Fathers, December 8th, was marked by a High Mass. Father Gill officiated. It was a fitting climax to a visit that culminated in the afternoon when we were given a royal sendoff at the pier. Before describing in brief our departure, Iet it be said that we felt and owed a debt of gratitude to Father Stephen Takeda, O.P., Father Orenzio Perez, O.P., to the Sisters and in particular to Major and Mrs. C. H. Irskine for the kindness and hospitality they so readily extended to us.

"At four-thirty Wednesday afternoon we took leave of Kochi. A Iarge group of well-wishers, some of whom walked a long distance, were at the pier to see us off. Holding the multi-colored streamers thrown to and from the deck, these friendly and good people waved until we were almost out of sight. It was a touching scene and one ever to be remembered. Our ship, the Toroshiomaru, took us to Osaka overnight."

The main cities of Shikoku, Takamatsu, Tokushima, Kochi and Matsuyama had been 90% destroyed by bombings during the war. The church facilities were either leveled or in a state of bad disrepair. The ones mentioned above in Shinhonmachi and in Akaoka had escaped, but the main church in Kochi was nothing but a large heap of rubble, and in Tokushima and Takamatsu a temporary construction had been set up.

On January 14, 1949, the second group of missionaries arrived: Frs. William McLaughlin, Timothy Mulvey and Leonard Scannell. The first Oblate community in Japan was now ready to start.

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