Toyohiko Kagawa was born in Kobe, Japan, in 1888, the illegitimate son of a political leader. Orphaned at age four and raised harshly by relatives, he then went to a school where he was deeply influenced by two American missionary teachers. Moved by their compassion, Kagawa rejected his Buddhist background and became a Christian. That he had been brought to faith by Christian actions rather than arguments was something that was to dominate Kagawa’s life.
Clearly very able, Kagawa went to university in Tokyo to study theology. Rebelling against an atmosphere that preferred abstract discussion to action, he moved into a Kobe slum in 1909 to show Christian love to the poor. There he met Haru. They married in 1914 and she became a life-long support for him.
In 1914 Kagawa went to Princeton to study theology, focusing particularly on responses to poverty. Returning to Japan, Kagawa found that a book he had written on the problems of the poor and the evils that they suffered was widely read and discussed. He worked to help the under-privileged through labour unions, creating cooperative ventures and campaigned for voting rights for all. Becoming involved in strike action, Kagawa was sentenced to prison where, endlessly energetic, he wrote novels. On release, realising that the labour movement was becoming violent and opposed to his Christian values, he focused on evangelism. When an appalling earthquake hit Tokyo in 1923, Kagawa was not only involved in the relief work, but also preached as an evangelist for over a hundred nights in succession.
By the mid-1920s Kagawa’s social action, writings and evangelism had made him a national figure in Japan, and by the 1930s Kagawa was known worldwide as a leading Christian figure. He made various overseas visits – notably to the States, where his preaching tours attracted tens of thousands – and met with leading figures such as Gandhi and Einstein. He was something of a prophetic speaker; always challenging, Kagawa was perfectly capable of speaking bluntly about anything that he saw as Christian inconsistency or hypocrisy.
Back in Japan, Kagawa, a lifelong pacifist, now found himself increasingly in opposition to the rising tide of militaristic nationalism and was arrested. Freed, and recognising that war with the United States loomed, he toured America attempting – but failing – to make peace. With the outbreak of hostilities, Kagawa returned to Japan. His limited opposition to the Japanese government during the war years has been criticised, often by those who fail to understand the pressures he was under.
In 1945, with the Americans occupying Japan, Kagawa was offered a high political office – it was rumoured that he could become Premier – but chose simply to be an adviser to the new Japanese government and was an important figure in the reconstruction of Japan. He continued writing, teaching and pastoring a church through the 1950s, dying in 1960 at the age of seventy-one.
Kagawa’s achievements are remarkable. He wrote over 150 books on theology, politics and social action, as well as novels and poetry. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1947 and 1948, and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1954 and 1955. For over four decades he was at the forefront of almost every Japanese social reform, including the creation of the healthcare system. He helped set up many cooperative ventures, and with an interest in agriculture and the environment, promoted ecological ways of farming in Japan. Perhaps most significant was the way that through evangelism, writing and social action, Kagawa won respect for Christianity in Japan.
Inevitably, Kagawa was a man of his time; yet in many ways he was ahead of it. Although committed to preaching the gospel, his faith had a breadth that took in social justice, human rights, the arts and environmental care. In many areas where today’s Christians are claiming they are breaking new ground, the reality is that Kagawa got there first.
Toyohiko Kagawa is an intriguing character who does not easily fit neatly into pigeonholes. Perhaps the most striking and challenging thing about him is how he sought balance in his Christian faith.
First, Kagawa sought to balance a faith of word and deed. He didn’t just preach a gospel of love, he practised it. Although Kagawa held firmly to traditional Christian beliefs, he was anxious that such truths were to be worked out in the world. Equally, although he worked for the improvement of society, he was always aware that politics is never enough: only Christ can change lives.
Second, Kagawa sought to balance a faith that was both national and international. As a man who was influential in both Japanese and western Christianity, he was careful to reject the bad and accept the good from both cultures.
Finally, Kagawa sought to balance a faith of the individual and the community. As an evangelist, he preached that men and women must make a decision to personally turn to Christ. Yet as a social activist, he sought to build communities of justice and cooperation.
Keeping a balance is difficult. In distancing yourself from two extremes, you present yourself as a target to both. So Kagawa was criticised for speaking too much (or too little) about conversion, for being too Japanese (or not Japanese enough) and being too concerned about the individual (or not concerned enough). The one area where Toyohiko Kagawa showed no desire for balance was in giving everything he had for Christ. And ultimately isn’t that all that really counts?
J.John
Reverend Canon
