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Japanese Christians WhoHave Lived the CrossBy TOYOHIKO KAGAVAWHEN I was a boy of fifteen in the Middle School of Tokushima therewas the Russo-Japanese War, when Port Arthur was attacked by General Nogi and his army. In it was a soldier named Mori,whose story was one of the impulses whichdrove me to serve in the slums of Kobe.This Mori had been an ignorant laborer, who went from the vicinity of Tokushima (011 the island of Shikoku) across to themain island to work as an apprentice in aka. There he stole five yen, and came back to Tokushima. One time he wasbv the small Christian mission halll/when Dr. Myers was preaching, and he went in and repented. After his repentance he had much trouble and persecution. He worked very hard taking care of his invalid elder brother. His father was also sick, and his mother and father did notlike him because he had become a Christian. He had a time of terrible testing, but he had faith, and kept on and saved five yen and went back to Osaka and paid back. Then he came back to begin hisslum work.One dav Dr. Mvers said to me, “I’ll takeyou to a good place/’ and I followed him.Thus for the first time I was introduced toMr. Mori's work.thousand years ago Kobo Daishi, a great Buddhist priest, visited Ningpo and came back and established eighty-eight sacred places on our island of Shikoku. To these sacred places over fifty thousandcome every year, who live bybegging alms from the island people. Sinceall these pilgrims .are believed to be reincarnations of Kobo Daishi, all must be fed without exception. And therefore those afflicted with leprosy, and the knock-kneed, crippled, blind, and diseased from all over Japan come to Shikoku and make the rounds of these sacred places. Some gettoo ill to move about, and go to the slums of Tokushima City. One such was a crippled beggar. And to him Mr. Mori wasgiving five sen a day, out of the pittance of eighty sen a day which he earned, andon which he supported the whole family!• *Soon after that the war broke out, and Mori was taken to Port Arthur in the thirtv-third regiment of 2.500 soldiers, all■ ..... -.. . . . ..whom, but three or four, were killed..But even during that fierce fighting Mori saved out of his soldiers’ penny (soldiers were paid at that time only a few sen aday in the Japanese army) five sen a day to send back to his crippled beggar. This reality of Mori’s living the cross impressedme, and taught me that I must serve also.The victory of the cross in Japan lies inthat sort of thing.
Newspaper Details
The Christian Advocate
Cincinnati, Ohio, US
Thu, Jul 30, 1931
Page 9
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
JP 22 Jul 2020
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