Upon appointment at the 2012 Kyodan General Assembly, I was installed as the general secretary and began working at the office. However, my position as senior pastor of Tokyo Yamate Church will continue until Easter Sunday of 2013, so I have the dual responsibilities of local church pastor and Kyodan general secretary. I am experiencing the busiest season of my life due to this situation. I am either at the Kyodan office or at the church. As for my private life, whenever I am through for the day at either job, I just return home to take a bath, eat a meal, and go straight to bed.
Let me tell you about Tokyo Yamate Church. Tokyo Yamate Church stands in the midst of what is called “youth town,” where it is said that 400,000 people walk by everyday. The church facility can accommodate about 800 people, but in 2010 we crammed in 900 participants at the celebration of the 150th anniversary of Protestant Christian mission in Japan.
As I look back over my 18 years of pastoral experience here, I must speak about mission–the spreading of the gospel in this country. It is not an exaggeration to say that every minute it is possible to count at least 20 people in front of our church, walking along the street famous as the site of the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (Nihon Hoso Kyokai [NHK]) studios, so it is a very lively place. However, these are just people passing by, and almost no one comes into the church.
The church is open for Bible-reading gatherings three times on weekdays. We post posters for the gatherings and even stand on the street to invite people in, but as this has nothing to do with their purpose for being there—to shop or to attend an NHK event or a sporting event at nearby Yoyogi Olympic Center—we stand there in vain.
This may sound like mere complaining, but it is reality. It is even worse when the Christmas sales begin. From the end of October, huge evergreen trees are brought in from somewhere and Christmas music played that is much more beautiful and attractive than we, as a church, can perform.
Originally, the privilege of celebrating Christmas belonged to the Christian churches, so it is disturbing to see the proud faces of those people who usurp the beauty of Christmas for their own business ends. I, on the other hand, as a pastor, have been preoccupied with such thoughts as: “Will that high school student receive baptism this year?” and “Can the people who are elderly and have to travel for one-and-a half to two hours by train and bus make it to church on Christmas Sunday?”
Japanese Christians represent 0.7 percent of the total population and only maintain church membership after baptism for an average of one year and seven months.
Why is this so? Can we thus no longer expectantly to find sincere seekers after Christ? No. We should not grow weary. An evangelist will persevere. (Tr. BN)
—Nagasaki Tetsuo, general secretary
総幹事室より
自己紹介
第三八回教団総会で指名された後、直ちに西早稲田の教団事 務所 で総 幹事 として就任し、業務を始めた。
だが、これはこれまでの東京山手教会牧師のまま、二〇一 三年 イ－ スタ －三月三一日までの任期が続いている関係で、
ということで、只今わたしは教会にいない時は教団にいる し、 その 逆で もあってこの過酷な日程にはこれまで体験しなかった超多忙中とい
では自分の生活はと言えば、この二つから解放されて家に 帰る こと が出 来るのは、ただ風呂に入って食事をし、
ところで、東京山手教会のことを言うと、此処は連日四〇 万人 の集 散は あるという通称「若者の町」
此処での一八年の牧師生活を振り返ってどうしても語らな けれ ば済 まな い問題はと言えば、やはり「伝道」のことだ。
確かに、連日分刻み最低二〇人は通るだろうと思われる教 会の 前の ＮＨＫ通りは、何時もその変のお祭り騒ぎである。しかし、
一週間の内、主日礼拝は除いてわたしは夜昼三回は、聖書 を読 む集 会を 続けている。その度にその集会の案内板は表通りに出す、
しかし、それは彼らの目的のデパ－ト・ショッピングか ＮＨＫ のイ ベン トか代々木オリンピックセンタ－のゲ－
なんだか泣きごとに聞こえるだろうが、この現実に更に輪を かけ て教 会の 神経を逆撫でするのが「クリスマスセ－ル」だ。彼らは、
もともとクリスマスの特許は教会の所有権のものでしょ う。そ の最 も教 会の大切の上張りだけをはぎ取るようにして、
だが、牧師としてわたしはその年クリスマスにあの高校生 は洗 礼を ウケ ラレルノカ。
教会人は今、日本人口の０・７パ－セント、洗礼後教会滞留時間平
（長崎哲夫総幹事）
by Sakata Masao, president
Doremus School
Junior High School, Senior High School
James H. Ballagh, a missionary who arrived in Kanagawa in November 1861, lived there for seven years and noticed that mixed-race children of Japanese women and foreign men were despised and discriminated against in their communities. He saw that they were homeless and begging in the streets. He earnestly appealed to Christian organizations in the United States to send women missionaries to care for these children and to provide education, particularly for the girls.
The Women’s Union Missionary Society of America for Heathen Lands (WUMS), a mission to women by women, responded to his appeal and sent three missionaries to Japan. When asked what made them decide to go to Japan, Mary Pruyn said she had felt a calling from Jesus; Louise Pierson quoted the Bible verse “If I must die for doing it, I will die” (Esther 4:16); and Julia Crosby decided that she would devote herself “with all her heart and all her soul” to the mission given by God.
These women missionaries landed in Yokohama and stayed at a hotel in Yamate while they searched for a place to live. Since they could not find anything suitable, they rented the house owned by James Ballagh at 48 Bluff, Yamate. Thus, the “American Mission Home” was officially opened on Aug. 28, 1871.
Mary Pruyn, aged 51, was the leader and supervised their home and school as an administrator. Julia Crosby, aged 38, was the treasurer and a teacher. Louise Pierson, aged 39, was the principal and a teacher. Thus by sharing the mission work, they collaborated in making a good home for these children.
However, not many children came to their home. They wondered what caused this and finally got the answer. Christianity was prohibited in Japan at that time in 1871. The warning “Christianity Strictly Prohibited” was posted on every government bulletin board (kosatsu sho) all over the country. It was not surprising that few Japanese children took the risk of coming to see them.
In October 1871, Nakamura Masanao, a scholar of the Chinese classics, stayed at the Mission Home. He saw the three women taking care of the young children with a kind of firm discipline and love that he had never seen before among Japanese people. Moved by the stories they told, he wrote Japan’s first recruitment advertisement for admission to their Home and introduced it to the public. The advertisement said: “This Mission Home was established by the WUMS, and three American women teachers will provide care for your children, regardless of their race by birth. You can choose either commuting or boarding. Children under three years of age are not accepted, but those without mothers are exempted from this rule. The cost for boarding and tuition is 10 to 15 dollars and 4 dollars for those who commute. A good education is provided by these kind women, and the children are brought up with deep love. They will be better raised there than if brought up in your own home.”
In 1872, because of the increase in the number of children, the women started to search for a larger house and more land. They finally found the house at 212 Bluff in Yamate, one of the most scenic sites in Yokohama. It was a corner lot, with the large house owned by Samuel Robbins Brown to the northwest, a cliff to the west, and Japanese people living below. The three missionaries had good insight for the future and worked to obtain this land with strong determination. They started to construct the school buildings, one after another, on this spacious lot. This is where Yokohama Kyoritsu Gakuen stands today.
The population of Yokohama had increased to 60,000 by this time, with many newcomers from abroad. Many merchants in Yokohama were very progressive in their thinking and recognized the need for girls’ education, especially to learn English. The aim of the three missionaries, who came to Japan to educate Japanese girls, met the need of the time, and the number of applicants quickly grew.
The three teachers did their best to give the Japanese girls a new kind of education and to transmit Western civilization through teaching English. For those who entered, their teachers provided a liberal atmosphere, a well-regulated life, Western manners, and the high morality of Christian faith, all of which they had never known or experienced before. A spirit of independence was nurtured in their minds without their being conscious of it.
The formal name for the Mission Home used to be Nihon Fujo Eigakko (Japanese Women’s English School), but later, around 1875, the name was changed to Kyoritsu Jogakko (Kyoritsu Girls’ School). Kyoritsu (literally, “standing together”) means “union,” and this school has been an interdenominational Christian school up to the present. It has had a good reputation for English and music education since the days of its founding.
Kaisei Dendo Jogakko (Kaisei Women’s Mission School), later called Kyoritsu Women’s Theological Seminary, was founded by the WUMS in 1881 on the same lot as the Mission Home, and it was the seminary for so-called “Bible women” in Japan.
Though Louise Pierson asked for permission to resign from the position as principal in order to devote herself to the seminary work, an appropriate person could not be found to take over, so she continued to do both. It was obvious that her personality and her passionate desire for her mission made it possible to establish Kaisei Women’s Bible Training School and to establish mission bases. In 1891, (Meiji 24), Harriet I. Bruckhart became the principal, and Louise Pierson began working solely for the seminary. She worked harder than ever in raising and supporting the Bible women. Thus, the seminary became more blessed than ever.
Later, in 1907, Kaisei Dendo Jogakko (Kaisei Women’s Bible Training School) changed its name to Kyoritsu Joshi Shingakko (Kyoritsu Women’s Theological Seminary). In 1943, it was united with Nihon Joshi Shingakko. This seminary sent out quite a few women preachers in Japan. Kyoritsu Jyoshi Shingakko reopened after World War II, and it is succeeded by the current Tokyo Christian University, which is now located in Chiba.
(Tr.KY)
横浜共立学園と三人の女性宣教師
メリー・P・ プライン（Mary.P.Pruyn,Mrs.）
ルイーズ・H・ ピアソン（Louise.H.Pierson,Mrs.）
ジュリア・N・ クロスビー（Julia.Neilson.Crosby,
1861年11月、 神 奈川 に上陸した宣教師ジェームズ・H・バラ は、７ 年間の横浜生活をする中で、
その要請に応じたのがWUMS（The Woman’s Union Missionary Society of America for Heathen Lands 米国婦人一致外 国伝 道協会・女性 のための女性のミッション）であり、
プラインは「キリストが私を呼んでいる（召命＝calling）
（旧約聖書エステル記４章１６節）、クロスビーは「全 身全霊を注いで、主が命じられた仕事（使命＝mission）に
横浜に到着した三人は、と りあ えず 山手 のホテルで準備をすることにした。三人は家探しをしていたが、
リーダーのプラインは五一 歳、 総理 とし て、経営と塾舎の取り締まりをする。クロスビーは三八歳、
しかし、開設してもしばら くの 間は 日本 の少女はほとんど来なかったが、
1871年10月、 当 時の 漢学者・文学博士として有名な中村正直（敬宇）が、ミッション・
正直は、
『この教授所は米国婦人伝道 会社 が 作った もので、三人の米国人女教師が、日本人、
1872年、生徒数が増加したため、
当時外国人の多い港町横浜の人口は六万人余に増え、
プラインらは、英語教育を 通し て伝 道 し、日本の女性たちに新しい文明、
ミッション・ホームの日本の正式な名称は「日本婦女英学校」
日本におけるバイブルウーマンの養成機関の草分けの一つはWUM
ピアソンは伝道の働きに専心するため共立女学校校長を辞任した い旨 を申 し出 ていたが、
その後1907年に偕成伝道女学校を共立女子神学校と改称し、
文責：横浜共立学園 学園長 坂田雅雄
by Chibana Sugako, missionary
Methodist Church of Bolivia
La Gloria Church, Santa Cruz
e 2012, I was appointed to La Gloria Church in Bolivia. The land of Bolivia is about three times the size of Japan. The church is located in an Okinawan immigrants’ community in Santa Cruz, the second largest city after La Paz. This community was established by people who had migrated from Okinawa, Japan during the period of 1954 to1964 and carved out an area of the jungle by overcoming many difficulties. Today such infrastructure as electricity, water, and gas has been developed, so we feel no inconvenience in our daily lives.
The Okinawan immigrants’ community has three districts, with a total of over 800 native Japanese and descendents of Japanese, about 500 of whom live in District One. Many of these Japanese-Bolivians have been successful in agriculture and ranching, et cetera, and have become wealthy land-owners.
Our church, located in the first Okinawan immigrants’ community, was pioneered by Pastor Yamahata Katsumi and his wife Yoshie. It started as a church school worship service with 26 pupils in December 1959. The following month, adults began attending as well, and the church has continued to this day.
I have the privilege of serving with Pastor Okuma Reiko, who has ministered for the past 30 years in this region. At present 15 to 25 persons gather, including children, and we all worship together from 9:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. In addition, we have prayer meetings every Wednesday afternoon and Thursday evening and a house meeting on the last Saturday of every month. Likewise, we visit the sick and the homes of non-believers and engage in literature evangelism as opportunities arise.
I have experienced many blessings during the six months since I arrived, one of which is that a member who had left the church several years ago has returned. We are all very pleased and give thanks to the Lord for that.
Our church has been in existence since the early days of the founding of this community. Pastor Yamahata and his wife began a program of Japanese-language education in January 1960, and this was later developed into a Methodist school from kindergarten through high school, with instruction in Spanish offered during the morning and in Japanese during the afternoon. The school existed in this form until it was transferred to the Japan Association of Bolivia in 1987. La Gloria Kindergarten, however, remained under the management of the church until April 2012.
Over the years, almost all children of Japanese descent grew up being exposed to the Christian faith during their kindergarten and Methodist school days. Thus, the people in the community have no sense of incongruity with the church. The church takes the lead in the annual memorial service, with Bible reading, hymns, and prayers. And when someone in the community dies, almost all of the funeral services are held at our church. Thus, the church and the community have a deep and strong relationship.
Since my arrival, I have been making an effort to be involved in the Japanese community activities. Nevertheless, even though there has been this close relationship with the community, there are still difficult issues relating to evangelism. One is that only about five percent of the Japanese community actually come to the point of receiving baptism and becoming followers of Christ. I wish that a much larger number would commit their lives to Christ.
The second issue is that no men attend the worship service. After graduating from high school or university, young men stop attending the service. The third issue is that of language. In the Okinawan immigrants’ community, the second generation speaks in Japanese when members of the first generation are with them, but otherwise they all speak in Spanish. Among their children, there are those who do not speak Japanese at all, as it is just a foreign language to them. Presently, our services are all in Japanese, but in the near future, we need to begin offering a Spanish-language service as well. We are, as a church, searching for ways to solve these issues, and so we are praying together to find concrete solutions.
ボリビア福音 メソ ジス ト教 会
ラ・グロリア教会
「ボリビアに遣わされて」 知花スガ子
私は、２０１２年６月、ボリビアのラ・
ボリビアの国土は、日本の約三倍の広さです。
オキナワ移住地は、第１から第３移住地まであります。
当教会は、オキナワ第１移住地にあります。教会は、
教会では、３０年間この地で牧会しておられる大熊豊子（れいこ）
現在、聖日には子どもを含め、１５～２５人ほどが集い、
赴任して半年になりますが、その間たくさんの恵みがありました。
当教会は、入植当初から、地域とともに歩んで来ました。
地域の日系子弟のほとんどのが、
その他、コロニアの慰霊祭においても、当教会が、聖書朗読、
このように教会と地域は、深くかかわっております。
私も赴任以来、日系コミュニティーへの参加に心がけています。
地域と深い関わりにある教会ですが、
一つは、洗礼にまで導か れ、 キリ スト 者として歩んでおられる方々は、第１移住地の日系人の約5％ です。もっと多くの方々が洗礼へと導かれることを願っています。
二つ目は、成人男性の礼 拝出 席者 が皆 無だということです。成人男性は、高校、
三つめは、言語に関する こと で す。移 住地オキナワでは、一世の方が同席の場合には、
教会では、これらの課題 解決 に向 け て、模索しております。今後、具体的な取り組みができるよう、
by Matsudaira Mine
Sendai Kita Church, Miyagi Prefecture
Born into “Hidden Christian” Community
I was born in the village of Oyama, now a part of Oshu City in Iwate Prefecture. It is said that the village was established by a Christian samurai from the Edo period named Goto Juan. I am amazed now when I think of this mysterious connection. From the time I was a small child, I was told over and over again how a deeply respected Christian had worked hard to make sure that all farmers had equal and adequate access to water for their rice paddies. Even now, we call the dams that he constructed for that purpose “Juan Seki (dams).”
During the period when Christians experienced persecution, the villagers hid behind a facade of Buddhism, and over time, even their faith itself became almost completely buried. As a child, my one faint memory is of five or six older people in the neighborhood gathered in front of the elementary school before school started; placing a white cloth on a child’s head, they said at the end of some prayers that they had offered, “This child has received God.” I am not sure even now whether I was witnessing a baptism or a confirmation.
Loss of Family Members; Others Led to Faith
My mother and father passed away when I was still young, but I felt an even deeper sadness when my younger brother died suddenly at the age of 15, just as he was preparing to enter a high school for training teachers*. I found myself all alone. I was miserable and would not accept words of comfort from anyone. Suffering a deep sense of loss, I returned to the nursing school I had been attending at the time. I was 19 years old.
I became a nurse, and one of the last things I did while I was still single was climb Mount Hayachine with a friend from the hospital. I picked Lilies of the Valley, and remembering my brother when he was alive, I offered the flowers in his memory. I felt like I had discovered heaven when I saw the Hayachine Usuyukisou (similar to eldelweiss) growing on the mountain. I will never forget their beauty.
While I was at nursing school, I met a person who admired Hani Motoko, the Christian founder of Jiyu Gakuen. Through her influence, I learned about daily life skills, home improvement ideas, and appropriate lifestyle. When I got married and had children (3 boys and 4 girls), I put those ideas to work in my life, using nutritious but reasonably priced materials to make snacks and recycling old clothing by making it into something different. Little by little, without even being fully aware of it, I was making Hani Motoko a part of my life, both materially and spiritually.
While we were evacuated from our town during World War II, I lost two children. My lively second son, Masaru, was in second grade when he went to gather mulberries near Kitakami River and drowned. I felt a deep emptiness in my soul. I thought my life was finished. And then, four-year-old Masashi died of illness. Hoping his cold body would come back to life, I held him in my arms all through the night until the next morning, my tears flowing constantly. But my wish did not come true.
My life was one painful experience after another. At a certain point, Millet’s painting, Angelus, became an altar for my heart. Whether my remaining children behaved well or not, I prayed together with them each day. Hope was resurrected, and my life changed so that I could once more pray for peace each evening. However, peace did not last long. At the age of 51, my husband collapsed at work with a stroke. He remained in critical condition, and I nursed him at home for 16 years, in accordance with his wishes, before he passed away.
How amazing! When I was 53, my daughter Fumie was led to faith in Christ through the Roman Catholic Church, and my grandchild also became a believer.
New Life after the Great East Japan Disaster
Two years ago, in March 2011, the great disaster occurred. It was a very difficult time, and we were told there was not enough food for everyone. All the sadness and pain I had experienced came back to me, and I thought, “Even if I live, I can never be of any use to anyone.” I overdosed on sleeping pills and tried to take my own life, but somehow my life was miraculously saved.
My heart and my body were so twisted and confused that when my daughter began to live with me after the earthquake, out of my own pain, I asked her again and again, as if blaming her, why she would not just let me die. Finally, my daughter could take it no longer, and with tears running down her face, she cried, “Okay, Mom. Why don’t we die together?” Hearing those words, I knew instantly, “I must live with all my strength. I do not want to die!” I raised my hands and screamed those words at her. We embraced and wept, and then we both laughed. That was when I knew that I must let God forgive my past and decided to live my life anew.
What a long road it has been for me. I feel now as if I had been knocking on God’s door for a hundred years. Along the way, I had turned away from God and walked the path of death, but God accepted everything about me. I am so thankful to the many people who prayed for me and supported me to get me to where I am now. (Tr. RW)
Shinto no Tomo (Believers’ Friend), October 2012 issue
________________
*Such schools existed before World War II.
Editor’s note: The author of this article turned 100 years old on Sept. 10, 2012, then died on Sept. 25, surrounded by her family.
震災の後に99歳で受洗
松平ミネ
まつだいら みね／宮城・仙台北教会員
キリシタンの里に生まれて
【岩手県・小山村に生まれて】私は岩手県胆沢郡小山村 （現奥 州 市）に 生を受けました。この村は、江戸時代のキリシタン武士である後藤寿庵がつくったと言われています。今思えば不思議な縁に結ばれていたのだ ろうと思います、幼いころから、「農民の生活のために田畑に公平に水を分ける治水事業に尽くした偉いキリストの人がいた」と 何度 も教 わっ て育ちました（今日、「寿庵堰」と呼ばれています）。
【隠れたまま埋もれた信仰】しかしキリシタン迫害の中 で、村 人は 仏教 の下に隠れ、今は信仰も埋もれてしまいました。私の記憶にかすかに残っているのは、小学校入学前に近所の年配の方が五、六人集まってきて 頭に白い衣を被せられ、皆でお祈りした後に「この子は神さまをいただいた」と言われたことです（これがカトリックの洗礼だっ たの か堅 信礼 だったのかは定かではありません）。
【立ち上がれない悲しみ】その後父母と死別しましたが、 最も 深い 悲し みは師範学校志願直前の十五歳の弟が突然病死したことです。私は一人ぼっちになってしまいました。みじめで慰めの言葉も受け容れられず、 喪失感にさいなまれながら、通っていた看護学校に戻っていきました。十九歳のときです。
【早池峰登山で弟を偲ぶ】看護婦となり、独身最後に病院 の友 と早 池峰 登山。すずらん狩りをして在りし日の弟を偲び、花を捧げました。そのお花畑に天国のすばらしさを見つけました。早池峰うすゆき草の美しさ は忘れられません。
【自由学園・羽仁もと子を師とする人との出会い】看護学 校時 代、 学校 に羽仁もと子さんを尊敬する方がおられて、その方の影響で家庭生活の改善、生き方を学びました。それを後の結婚生活や子育て（三男四女） に生かし、安い材料で栄養のあるおやつを作ったり、古い着物を洗い張りしてねんねこや子供のセーターを編み直したりと、羽仁 もと 子さ んと 自由学園の教えを知らず知らずに物心両面で取り入れていました。
【疎開先での二人の子どもの死】戦争で疎開していたとき に二 人の 子ど もを失いました。一番やんちゃ盛りの次男優が小学校二年のときのこと、北上川に「くわごのみ」（桑の実）を取りに行くと言って出かけて溺 死したのです。私は魂の抜け殻のようになってしまいました。もう人生は終わりかと思いました。続いて四歳の公が病死しまし た。冷 たく なっ た小さな子を、もしや生き返るのではと思って朝まで泣きながら抱き続けましたが、かなわぬ望みでした。
【心の祭壇・ミレーの晩鐘】とにかく苦難の連続でした。 そん なと き、 ミレーの「晩鐘」という絵が私の心の祭壇となりました。残された子どもたち一人びとりと、良い子であったときも悪い子であったときも手を 合わせて祈るようになりました。そのおかげでやがて希望がよみがえり、夕べに平安を祈る生活が戻って来ました。
【夫の希望する介護を自宅で】しかしその平和も束の間、 今度 は夫 が五 十一歳のときに仕事先で脳梗塞に倒れて重体となってしまったのです。その後、家庭での十六年間の病床生活を経て亡くなりました。
【娘と孫が信仰に導かれる】なんと不思議なことでしょ う、そ の 間、私 が五十三歳のときに娘芙美恵がキリスト教（カトリック）に導かれ、孫も入信しました。
東日本大震災を経験して
【東日本大震災で絶望、自ら死を願う】昨年の三月、大震 災が 起こ りま した。食べるものもないと言われて困窮しました。これまでの生活の悲しみや苦しみの記憶がどっと押し寄せ、「生きていても、もう人の役に 立つことはできないのだ」との思いにとらわれました。睡眠薬を大量に飲み、自殺をはかりました。でも奇跡的に命をとりとめま し た。
【洗礼志願、新しい生命を生きさせてください】とはい え、私 の心 と体 はちぐはぐで、震災後に同居するようになった娘に、苦し紛れに「どうしてあのまま死なせてくれなかったのか」と何度も何度も責めたので す。こんな私に思いあまった娘は、「じゃあお母さん、私も一緒に死のう」と泣きながら言いました。その言葉を聞いた途端、私 は全 身で 「生 きま～す。絶対に死にたくありませ～ん」と思わず手を高く上げて叫んでいました。娘と二人で抱きあって泣き、そして笑っていました。その 時です。過去のすべてのことを神さまに赦していただいて生き直してみようとの決心がついたのは。
なんと長い旅路だったのでしょうか。百年かかって神さま の門 を叩 き続 けてきた気がします。一時は死の道に迷った罪深い私ですが、神さまはすべてを受け入れてくださいました。
多くの方々の祈りに支えられてこれまで生きてこられたことを感謝しています。
by Kawakami Naoya, senior pastor
Sendai Shimin Church, Tohoku District
Touhoku HELP* has established the Endowed Course for Practical Religious Studies at Tohoku National University with donations from the Kyodan and others to train persons of various religious backgrounds to serve as chaplains for survivors of the Great East Japan Disaster. The role of “chaplain,” as practiced in the West, does not exist in Japan. As the lack of trained people to address spiritual needs became a major issue after this disaster, Touhoku HELP set up the endowed course in cooperation with representatives of other religions in the Tohoku region to solve this problem. The details and the aims of the course are described below.
1.The Beginning
The Great East Japan Disaster took the lives of well over 10,000 people in an instant; the tsunami damaged over 500 kilometers of land along the coastline; then the nuclear accident followed. It was truly an unprecedented situation.
One positive outcome of this terrible tragedy is that representatives of many religions overcame their differences to cooperate effectively together. One reason for this was reflection on what happened during the 1995 Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in the Kobe area, where, the various religious groups worked hard to gather volunteers. However, they hid their religious affiliations because of concurrent incidents (such as the sarin gas attack on Tokyo subways), which were perpetrated by Aum Shinrikyo, a bogus religious organization. In response to this, Yamaori Tetsuo, a scholar in religious studies, made the following critical response: “If that is the situation, what value is there in religious organizations being involved in volunteer work?”
In response to this criticism, religious leaders cooperated together during the 2011 disaster response. They interviewed suffering people to find out how they could help and gave telephone counseling and radio broadcasts. Doctors and university professors joined in this cooperation to establish the “heart counseling room” in April 2012. The following website gives one account: http://tohokuhelp.com/panel/120605a.html. This type of cooperative action among religious leaders had begun on an intermittent basis during natural disasters in the past, but it had always been quite limited and the idea of the role termed “chaplain” had not taken root in Japan.
This time, we must work hard to continue the new endeavor that was born out of a great loss of life, building upon the foundation of our past experiences to further develop this spirit of cooperation through personal training and organizational development. Failure to do this will reduce the ability of religious organizations, such as churches, to support effectively the activities that will need to be continued in the stricken areas for several more decades.
As a result of this widely shared awareness of the issues involved, the Kyodan has financially assisted Touhoku HELP with the establishment of the “Endowed Course for Practical Religious Studies” at Tohoku University in April 2012.
2.The Goal
This new endowed course, which resulted from the desire to enable continued development of the interfaith cooperation that grew out of this natural disaster, has a three-year plan and is now just finishing its first year of existence. The aim of this program is to develop a “Japanese-style interfaith chaplain,” and the training that began last fall has been widely heralded in the press. The second training session will be held this spring, with some improvements, based on the first session. Further analysis of what works best will be added to the mix so that in working together with the medical and other related fields, this program will serve as a foundation for disaster relief in the future.
The first year of this endowed program of study is but the first step in a long journey. We ask for your continued support of the program. (Tr. SM)
_________________
*A Sendai Christian Alliance Disaster Relief Network—an ecumenical endeavor in which the Kyodan participates
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「日本版チャプレン」 設立 を目 指す
「東北大学 実践宗教学寄附講座」について
日本基督教団 仙台市民教会 主任担任教師
東北大学実践宗教学寄附講座 運営委員会 委員長
川上直哉
東北ヘルプは、東日本大震災への対応として、東北大学に教団とその他の団体からの寄付で「実践宗 教学 寄附 講 座」を開設した。日本には欧米に見られるような「チャプレン」の役割は存在していない。今次の震災において、この問題は大きな課題となっ た。東北ヘルプはこの問題の解決のために、東北地方の諸宗教者と協働して、寄附講座を開設した。以下、その経緯と目標を簡潔 に記 す。
１．経緯
東日本大震災は、一瞬のうちに万を数える人々の命を奪った。海岸線だけでも500キロに及ぶ地域が津波の被害を受け、更に原子力発電所の爆発事故が重なった。まさに未曾有の事態 であ る。
この大惨事に、一つの出来事が起こった。宗教者が宗教の別を越えて協働したのである。この協働 の背 後に は、 歴史の反省があった。阪神大震災の時、宗教者は率先してボランティアに勤しんだ。その時「宗教
は隠された。オウム事件があったことは、その背景として留意されるべきである。しかし、宗教学者 の山 折哲 雄氏 は厳しく批判して言った。「それであれば、宗教者の奉仕活動の意義は、どこにあるか。」
この問いに応え、今次の震災において諸宗教者は協働して働いた。被災者を見舞 い、 電話 相談 を受け、ラジオ放送を行った。その活動の一端はhttp://tohokuhelp.com/panel/120605a.htmlに報告されている。
その協働に医師と大学教授が呼応し、2011年4月、諸宗教者の広範な協働組織「心の相談室」が生まれた。
こうして、宗教者の協働が、被災現場で始まった。こうした活動は、過去断にも続的にあったが、 常に 限定 的な 活動にとどまり、遂に現在に至るまで、日本に「チャプレン」は誕生しなかった。
今回、大きな犠牲の上に生まれた新しい取り組みを活かし、過去において積み上 げら れた 蓄積 と接続し、新しく生まれた協働のための「人づくり」「仕組み作り」をしなければならない。そうしなければ、これから数十年続く被災地での 活動を、教会等の宗教施設が支えることはできない。
この問題意識が広く共有され、2012年4月に東北大学に設立されたのが、「実践宗教学寄附講座」であった。
２．目標
被災地で発見された宗教者の協働を持続可能なものとするべく始まった寄附講座は、三年の計画を 立 て、 今、第 一年度を終えようとしている。この講座は「日本版チャプレン」を立ち上げるということを目指し、昨秋に研修を行い（この研修は多く好意的 に報道された）、その成果を踏まえて今春に再度の研修を行う。その内容は分析され、過去の蓄積へと連結される。今後は医療等 の他 領域 と連 携し、長く続く支援の基盤を整備することを目指す。
遥か に目 指す 道程 の第一歩として第一年度が終了しようとしている寄附講座に、引き続き広いご理解とご支援を賜れば幸いである。
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