Uchimura Kanzo
(1861–1930), Japanese writer and religious figure. Uchimura Kanzo was born in Edo (present-day Tokyo) to the samurai class and educated in the English language at Sapporo Agricultural College (now Hokkaido University), where he converted to Christianity. In 1884, he traveled to the United States, studied at Amherst College and Hartford Theological Seminary, and worked at a mental hospital in Philadelphia. His spiritual autobiography, How I Became a Christian (1895), describes the racial prejudice, economic injustice, crime, and strident religious sectarianism he found in the United States, all of which he considered contrary to true Christianity. After returning to Japan in 1888, he became a schoolteacher, but was accused by his colleagues of showing disrespect toward the emperor. Unable to continue in education, he became a writer, editor, and religious leader, as well as a prominent pacifist. His mukyokai (nonchurch) doctrine sought to avoid reliance upon church buildings, professional ministers, and organizations in favor of more informal and democratic gatherings at individuals' homes. Although motivated in part by a resistance to the hegemony of Western religious institutionalism, his doctrine also emphasized Bible study in small groups, organized along the culturally familiar pattern of sensei (teacher or mentor) and deshi (student or disciple). While technically a fundamentalist, his beliefs are also seen as nationalistic in their advocacy of a Japanese-led reformation of Christianity.
Further Reading
Miura Hiroshi. (1996) The Life and Thought of Kanzo Uchimura, 1861–1930. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
Uchimura Kanzo. (1895) The Diary of a Japanese Convert.
New York: Revell. ———. (1895) How I Became a Christian. Tokyo: Keiseisha.
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