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CHAPTER FOUR British Missionary Life in the Japanese Empire The way in which British missionaries lived in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan greatly affected their perceptions of the people among whom they lived and their culture. Just as importantly, it also significantly influenced Japanese , Korean, and Taiwanese perceptions of them. The missionaries' lifestyle determined the pattern of their contact with the peoples of the Japanese Empire and their knowledge ofJapan and its two colonies. Certainly, on the surface, missionary society was a microcosm of British life transplanted to Japan, with few concessions to the culture and society which surrounded it. In itself this was an acknowledgment that the adoption of Japanese dress, eating habits, and housing could never alter the fact that the missionaries were still Westerners. It was also the result of missionary desire to preserve and maintain their own cultural identity despite their isolation from the regenerating stimulus of their own culture in Britain. Their way of life was also their conscious attempt to minimize the difficulties posed by an alien environment. Yet despite the difficulties posed by a foreign and difficult language, most missionaries found life in Japan and its two colonies generally pleasant. . MISSIONARY LIFE IN JAPAN In the basic characteristics of their lifestyle and the problems they faced, many missionaries had similar experiences. The differences which did exist in missionary lifestyles can be attributed to the diverse aims and emphases of the societies which supported them. The daily environment of missionaries, their friends and acquaintances, their vacations, and other aspects of their everyday lives were important influences on the conduct of their mission work. Difficulty mastering the Japanese language was common to all missionaries . By the turn of the century, missionaries spent, with the help of a tutor, at least a year in language training before taking an examination . Yet for most, Japanese remained a perpetual problem. Only a minority of missionaries were noted for their knowledge of the Japanese language; one of the most proficient was R. D. M. Shaw, the son of Archdeacon A. C. Shaw, who was brought up in Japan. This undoubtedly contributed much to his fluency in Japanese. Notes for Chapter 4 are on pp. 279-83. 89 90 THE CROSS AND THE RISING SUN Bishop Cecil Boutflower, the SPG bishop of South Tokyo between 1909 and 1920, was so frustrated with his continuing inability to speak Japanesel that, in 1920, when the SPG was considering the appointment of a replacement, the archbishop of Canterbury stated that the new bishop must be somebody with a good knowledge of Japanese.2 This was a decisive factor in Samuel Heaslett's selection. Nonetheless, an inability to speak Japanese did not necessarily create an insurmountable barrier to effective missionary work, as conversion to Christianity was not generally the result of the missionary's fluency in Japanese , but rather of intimate personal contact with the Japanese enquirer. Even though a missionary might lack an extensive knowledge ofJapanese, close contact with a Japanese enquirer was possible. The charisma of the missionary was important, as well as the impression of the missionary's personality that was given to the. Japanese enquirer. The role of English in the conversion ofJapanese enquirers should not be discounted. Many Japanese who were converted to Christianity by missionaries were first drawn to them by their desire to learn English. All Japanese Christian workers and priests who worked with missionaries had some knowledge of English. In view of the limited knowledge ofJapanese of most missionaries, it is clear that they had to rely very heavily upon their Japanese assistants. While many missionaries could speak colloquial Japanese (often of the "kitchen" variety ), it is highly doubtful whether more than a few had the conversational skill to express spontaneously and fluently the subtleties of Christian theology to a Japanese enquirer in a manner which was both easily understood and grammatically correct. It is also doubtful whether many Japanese had the patience to listen to the broken Japanese explanation of Christian theology offered by many missionaries. In view of this communication barrier, the Japanese pastor or catechist acted as a "religious comprador" between the missionary and the potential convert. Although similar language problems occurred in the other fields of the Japanese Empire and, indeed, in Mrican and Indian mission fields, in Japan the linguistic problem was far greater. Missionaries in British colonies in Mrica and India benefited from the fact that English was the language of the colonial power. In Korea and Taiwan, missionaries propagated a...

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