Knapp, Arthur May, 1888 Letter by American Missionary in Yokohama Japan

Description: Letterwritten by Knapp, a pioneer Unitarian Universalist missionary in Japan shortlyafter his arrival there. “The Unitarian mission in Japan was unique in morethan one respect. It was exceptional in its origin because it was undertaken atthe invitation and upon the initiative of Japanese citizens. It was unique in its design which was not to put over a foreign form of faith but to meetJapanese scholars and religious leaders on common grounds. It had a profoundinfluence not only on the religious life of Japan but also in modifying themethods and animating the spirit of the older Christian missions.” “My Dear Dr. Stone, The above is my present address butI hope soon to be settled in Koishi-kawa Hisa-kata-machi Tokiyo, where a houseis being built for us. Of course you knew that the first thing I would do onarrival in Japan would be to inquire for a good contractor – and give a boostto the boom in real estate. The latter is one of the many evidences of thegrowth of western civilization here – and in some respects it almost surpassesthat of California. We had a charming passage, from whichstatement Mrs K vehemently dissents. The dispute between us reminds me of someof my tilts with delightful Dr. Shinn. It all depends upon the point of view.My point of view was generally the deck; hers was a bunk. Might I suggest toour general secretary that I don’t yet grudge him his theological bunk. My experience with the missionarieson board was memorable. I was told before I started that I was going to anotherworld of thought, but I found myself in one long before I reached here. T wasinterestingly painful to find these sky-pilots without exception wereabsolutely ignorant of the whole drift of modern thought – and rested as calmlyupon the theological assumptions of fifty-years ago as if no man had thoughtsor said anything meanwhile. The only sympathy I found was with the Roman Catholicpriest and that sympathy of course arose from the fact that each recognized thelogic of the other’s position. He was the only one in fact with whom discussionwas even possible. Asking one of my new-found friends here the other daywhether I was classed among the missionaries he at once answered “Oh no, you’rea Curio.” And a curio I evidently am to them – as they cannot conceive of areligious embassy without conversion as its prime object. As for the problem before me it dailygrows more interesting not to say fascinating – although I have not yet essayedthe initial requisite for solving it. I have not yet stood upon my head. That Imust eventually, in order to look at things from the Japanese point of view isalmost certain. The example I had prepared before starting from home anelaborate essay upon the “Foundations of Religion” thinking it would be a goodthing to begin with. But lo, on taking a walk this morning I came across aJapanese house in process of building and there was the roof completelyfinished before the foundation or any other part of the super structure wasbegun. What am I to do? As I don’t believe in twisting texts to suit anypurpose whatever, I must be careful not to adduce St. Paul as a “wise masterbuilder” Will the Tuesday Club be so kind as to put its spectacles on upsidedown (the way they are always worn here) and advise me in the matter? … Arthur May Knapp” Arthur May Knapp was born in Charlestown,Massachusetts. He entered Harvard as a sophomore and graduated in the class of1860. He traveled round the Horn after graduating for health reasons andreturned in time to enlist in the Forty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment duringthe Civil War. At the end of his military service, he entered Harvard DivinitySchool and graduated in 1867. He first served at the First CongregationalChurch in Providence, Rhode Island, and was ordained there January 8, 1868, andserved three years. He then took charge of the Independent CongregationalChurch in Bangor, Maine (1871-79). He then served at the First Parish Church inWatertown, Massachusetts for seven years. “Then came the exceptional opportunitythat gave unique distinction to the career of one whose life had thus far beenthat of a parish minister of excellent repute. In the last half of the nineteenthcentury, the empire of Japan had emerged from its long isolation and wasrapidly entering into relations with the western nations. Commercial andpolitical contacts led on to cultural connections. The Japanese were in themood to adopt European and American methods in business and education andmilitary preparedness. The door was opened too for Christian missionary effortsand most of the occidental churches, both Catholic and Protestant, sent theirrepresentatives to Japan and founded schools and gathered churches. Certain of the intellectual leadersof the country, including a number of young men who had studied in Europe orAmerica, were, however, eager to discover some more appropriate and adequatespiritual impulse and motive. They found the dogmatic interpretations ofChristianity no more satisfying than their own Confucian or Shintoist orBuddhist inheritances. They had come to believe that back of the power andprosperity of the western nations there must be some special inspiration ordriving force and felt that that impulse must be somehow derived from theChristian religion. On the other hand, the irrational assertions and thesupernatural claims of orthodox Christianity left them cold. The leader of thisgroup of intellectual and spiritual adventurers was Yukichi Fukuzawa, one ofthe most influential and public-spirited citizens of Japan and the founder ofthe Keio University. Around him gathered a considerable number of scholars andprogressive publicists, and in 1886 there joined them a diplomat just returnedfrom England, Mr. Yano Fumio. In a series of articles in a leading Japanesejournal, the Hochi Shembun, he declared that he had found in England apractical and spiritual interpretation of Christianity free of superstition andunreasonable dogmas and well adapted to the needs of the Japanese people. Itwas called Unitarianism. Whereupon the group, to which had been added a recentgraduate of Harvard, the Baron Kaneko, addressed a communication to theAmerican Unitarian Association suggesting that the Association send to Japan arepresentative who would be commissioned to explain and elucidate the Unitarianhabit of mind and principles of conduct. This invitation was cordiallyreceived by the Directors of the Association, and in 1888 Mr. Knapp wascommissioned to go to Japan “to meet with, to encourage, and to cooperate withany individuals or groups of persons in Japan who might wish to know the moreadvanced thought of Christendom about the spiritual problems and interests ofman.” In fulfilling this commission Mr. Knapp enjoyed a year full ofexhilarating experiences, and he brought back such glowing reports that theDirectors of the Association acted promptly and vigorously. A band of sixpreachers and teachers was recruited and in 1889 Mr. Knapp returned to Tokyoaccompanied by the Rev. Clay MacCauley as his colleague, by Mr. Saichiro Kanda,who had been studying at the Meadville Theological School and who was to serveas secretary of the mission, and by three young professors who were to dividetheir time between the mission and teaching in the Keio University. The missionwas further reinforced by the Rev. H. W. Hawkes, who represented the BritishUnitarians. “Receive us,” wrote Mr. Knapp to his Japanese friends, “not astheological propagandists, but as messengers of the gospel of human brotherhoodin the religious life of mankind.” The mission was established, so runs therecord, “to express the sympathy of the Unitarians of America for progressivereligious movements in Japan,” and Mr. Knapp and his companions werecommissioned “not to convert, but to confer.” They said to their Japanesehosts, “Here is what we have discovered about the mysteries of life and death.Now tell us what you have discovered from your different point of view and outof your study and experience.” They sought to work not so much for theirJapanese associates as with them in the discernment of truth and the promotionof brotherhood and good will. The mission was received with greatcordiality. Large audiences listened to lectures and sermons in the chiefcities. A magazine, Rikugo Zasshi (Cosmos), was started and soon acclaimed asthe best religious paper in Japan. A noteworthy series of tracts was publishedand a school for the training of leaders was opened with seven teachers and adiligent band of pupils. Close relations were established with the facultiesand students of the Doshisha, Waseda, Keio, and Imperial Universities. Finally,a Japanese Unitarian Association was organized and in 1894 Unity Hall in theMita District of Tokyo was built to house all its activities. After getting things well startedMr. Knapp handed over the direction of the mission to his colleague, Dr.MacCauley, and to a new associate, Rev. William I. Lawrence, and returned tothe United States. For seven years he was the minister of the Unitarian Churchin Fall River, Massachusetts, but he kept in correspondence with friends inJapan and in 1900 went back to Tokyo not to resume charge of the mission but tobe the proprietor and editor of a newspaper of growing influence, the JapanAdvertiser. He also wrote a book, Feudal and Modern Japan, an authoritativeaccount of the social and political development of the Empire. In1910 Mr. Knapp finally returned to America and made his home at West Newton,Massachusetts, amid the scenes and people familiar in his youth. But hisclosing years were sad. Both his wife and his son, their only child, died, andhe was himself afflicted with crippling disease. His release from prolongedillness came on January 29, 1921.”

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