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CHAPTER THREE Growing Missions in Japan, Taiwan, and Korea The years from 1889 to 1905 saw considerable growth in British missions in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. This missionary expansion took place despite both domestic and international political crises which caused Japanese attitudes to the West to fluctuate. During this time Japan fought two major wars, the first against China and the second against Russia. Victory in the Russo-Japanese War meant that Japan was now the greatest Asian power in East Asia and a regional great power. Furthermore, as a result of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance signed in 1902, Japan became Britain's main ally in the Far East. Yet the very rapid modernization ofJapan also posed great difficulty for the spread of Christianity. Intent on the rapid development ofJapanese industry and military capabilities in order to gain equality with the West, the Japanese government was prepared to pass strict regulations to control society in a time of dramatic change. The government was particularly concerned to maintain full control over education because it used the school system to inculcate national values among the Japanese population . Of all the Japanese Christian churches, the growth of the Nippon Seikokai was the least adversely affected by the government's new nationalistic policies toward religion. This was partially due to the affirmative attitude of British missionaries toward Japanese imperial institutions and to changes taking place within Japan. Clearly, the stock of the Nippon Seikokai also rose in Japan because of the warming of relations between Japan and Britain. It is difficult to divorce the experiences of missionaries in Japan from the general context of the growing cordiality of Anglo-Japanese relations that developed because of treaty revision and the eventual signing of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. However, external factors were not the only reasons for the growth of the Nippon Seikokai. The lack of emphasis on the development of mission schools by the British missionaries meant that they were not harmed by the government's educational initiatives. Most important, however, the formation of the Nippon Seikokai had a positive impact upon the development of interest in Britain in the Anglican missionary work in Japan. As a result of the efforts of Bishop Bickersteth, significant numbers of both male and female missionaries came out to Japan. The Salvation Army also began work in Tokyo in 1895 and was very Notes for Chapter 3 are on pp. 276-79. 59 60 THE CROSS AND THE RISING SUN active in helping to alleviate the suffering of the underprivileged in the slums of Tokyo. Nor was British missionary expansion in East Asia restricted to Japan. In 1889 Charles Corfe was consecrated the bishop of Korea and the next year began work in the peninsula. From its centre in Seoul, the EeM in Korea strove to serve Korean, British, and Japanese communities in Korea. In south Taiwan, the Scots missionaries of the English Presbyterian mission had a powerful predisposition to evangelistic work. However, until the conquest of Taiwan by Japan in 1895, English Presbyterian missionary efforts were greatly hampered by the Chinese cultural tradition of the islanders. The missionaries therefore welcomed Japanese colonial rule because they hoped that it would bring about a transformation of government and society in Taiwan, to the benefit of Christian growth. The 1890s began with great hope for the British missionary movement in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Sixteen years later that hope remained, but the experience of the intervening years showed that the difficulties in creating a bright Christian future were more profound than first thought. CHANGES AND CHALLENGES FOR THE JAPANESE CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT While the Nippon Seikokai was able to avoid most of them, the difficulties of the mainstream Japanese Christian movement during the 1890s serve to underline how distinct the Anglican church was. Further, the issues which wracked the Japan Christian movement during this period are important because they indicate a pattern of accommodation by the Japan Christian movement to the demands of the government that, 40 years later, would have disastrous results for both the Christian movement and the Western missionary movement. A year after the formation of the Nippon Seikokai, the government promulgated the Meiji Constitution of 1889, which formally granted religious toleration. Nevertheless, the Japanese government after 1889 implemented several measures that effectively challenged Christianity. The first was the act of loyalty to the emperor, which was performed daily in government schools and involved bowing to a copy of the Imperial Rescript on Education. For Japanese Christians, the problem...

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