Modest Niijima Jo: Samurai to Pastor to Chancellor

By Carmen Sterba

Carmen Sterba made many wonderful friends during her decades in Japan, but the most impressive person she came across was someone she learned about only in books: Niijima Jo.

Born Niijima Shimeta, he was given the name “Jo” by Captain William Savory on the ship Berlin. Then Captain Horace Taylor arrived on Wild Rover. He befriended the young adventurer who was determined to escape his home to learn English and find God.

This will be the second full biography of Niijima Jo in English since 1891. The author chronicles Jo’s magnificent life from his fearless trip to the United States in 1864-5 to his return to Japan as a pastor to the fulfillment of his dream of establishing Doshisha University in Kyoto in 1888.

Against all odds, Jo became one of Japan’s most fascinating heroes, and the way he lived his life to the fullest holds lessons for us today. Discover how an underappreciated historical figure played a critical role in the development of Japan with this fascinating biography.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jan 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9781973681847

Carmen Sterba

Carmen Sterba went to Japan as a young American to study Japanese history and literature. She graduated with a bachelor of arts in Asian Studies from Sophia University in Tokyo before earning a master’s degree and teaching at Japanese women’s colleges. After thirty-two years, she returned to the United States of America, where she continued teaching. This is her largest book.

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Copyright © 2020 Carmen Sterba.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8185-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8186-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8184-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019920148

WestBow Press rev. date:   04/14/2020

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Modest Niijima Jo: Samurai to Pastor to Chancellor

Dedicated to my Three Sons

Osamu William Yanaka

Megumu Andrew Yanaka

Mamoru Luke Yanaka

Cover image. Toyohara Chikanobu (1838–1912) Singing Songs for Primary Education. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Part 1    1853–1875

Chapter 1   Niijima and Commodore Perry

Chapter 2   Niijima and Captain Taylor

Chapter 3   Niijima Arrives in America

Chapter 4   The Meiji Restoration

Chapter 5   Captain Taylor and Mori

Chapter 6   Tsuda Ume

Chapter 7   Brave Japanese Girls

Chapter 8   Niijima and the Meiji Heroes

Chapter 9   Niijima and Tanaka in Europe

Chapter 10   Niijima Returns to America

Chapter 11   Niijima’s Ordination and Graduation

Part 2    1875–1890

Chapter 12   Niijima Returns to Japan

Chapter 13   Yamamoto Yae Marries Niijima

Chapter 14   Niijima and Doshisha University

Chapter 15   Brave Young Women Return

Chapter 16   Shigeko Marries Uriu Sotokichi

Chapter 17   Stematz Meets Yae & Niijima

Chapter 18   Ume’s Culture Shock

Chapter 19   Stematz Marries Oyama Iwao

Chapter 20   Ume’s Friend Clara

Chapter 21   Niijima Reminisces over Doshisha

Chapter 22   Constitution Day and Mori Arinori

Chapter 23   Niijima’s Legacy

Part 3    1890–1929

Chapter 24   Tsuda Ume Studies in America

Chapter 25   Tsuda College Established

Chapter 26   Anna Saved Tsuda College

Afterword

Acknowledgments

Important People in the World of Niijima Jo 1843–1890

Major Events in the Meiji Period (1868–1912)

Chronology of Japanese History with an Emphasis on Meiji Period Ending in 1912

Primary Sources

INTRODUCTION

Niijima never forgot the landing of Commodore Perry when he was ten in 1853. Japan was closed to Europeans and Americans (except a few Dutch), but the national isolation was starting to unravel. When Commodore Perry had the audacity to sail in with his navy ships to give a letter from President Millard Fillmore to the emperor, he was expecting to open more ports for trade. What Perry did not know was that the Tokugawa shogun¹ ruled the Japanese islands, not the emperor, who was dying.

There were changes among young samurai who wanted to learn technology of the West. They hoped the feudal system controlled by powerful families and military warlords would stop dominating the land. Twenty-year-old Niijima had a personal dream to go to America to learn English and find out about Christianity, which was taboo in Japan. With the help of some friends, he stowed away on an American ship. He worked on two American ships before arriving at Boston. It was 1865, and the good news was that the Civil War had ended and slavery had been abolished. However, he heard about the tragedy of President Lincoln’s assassination.

Seven years later, in Washington, DC, Niijima met some of the heroes of the Meiji Restoration and translated for them.² Iwakura, Kido, and Ito had become statesmen of the Meiji period. The Meiji heroes traveled to eighteen countries to find the best technology, education, and weapons to keep up with Western countries as they traveled with the Iwakura Embassy.³ In the first stage of the Iwakura Embassy, fifty young men were left in New England colleges to study with scholarships. There were also five courageous girls who had scholarships for ten years in America. They made a difference when they returned to their country. Niijima was able to fulfill two dreams.

Family names are written first in Japanese, ex. Niijima Shimeta, but on his ship going to America, the captain called him Joe, and that became his nickname. When Mr. and Mrs. Hardy became his benefactors for his education in Massachusetts, he chose Joseph Hardy Niijima in America. However, Niijima stopped using Hardy when he returned to Japan, but he used Joseph Niijima as a Chancellor. At home he was called Jo by his wife. In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, Niijima Jo is the name to remember.

Modest Niijima Jo is a nonfiction biography, but I chose to have Niijima present the narrative for thirteen chapters, Ume for six narratives, Yae, Stematz, and Shigeko twice each, and Anna once. The narrative names can be seen at the top of each of the twenty-six chapters. Example: Niijima Speaks.

PART 1

1853–1875

CHAPTER 1

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NIIJIMA AND

COMMODORE PERRY

Edo, Japan 1853–1860s

Niijima Speaks

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Commodore Matthew Perry

I never forgot the first interview I had with Niijima, or how happy he felt, when he saw the shores of his Japan fading from this view, knowing that he was safe from harm. His sole aim was to learn the English language that he might be able to translate the Bible into his own tongue for the benefit of his countrymen.

34171.jpg Captain William Savory ⁴

On July 8, 1853, when I was ten years old, I woke up to fearful sounds blasted throughout Edo. I immediately asked my mother what it was. She looked strained as she explained what my father had told her about the four American ships that had invaded Edo Bay that morning. Mother spoke in a shaky voice: Your father has gone to join other samurai to prevent the Americans from landing.

I circled the room in disbelief and then turned to run outside to find my friends. Neighbors were mingling and even shouting in the street. When I recognized my friends, we were both excited and agitated at the same time, so I dared them to go with me to see the spectacular steam-powered ships (the Susquehanna and Mississippi) plus two three-masted sailing ships (Plymouth and Saratoga). A loud boom was coming from one of the ships, and pitch-black smoke poured out over the bay. With fear and fascination, the crowds walked backward. When I saw the largest ship, I thought it looked like a castle and imagined that she could fight any enemy.⁵ Even though the ships looked fierce, there was a comic side when a boatful of Japanese artists came alongside to sketch the ships.

I heard the city folk imagined an invasion was imminent, but the next morning, the bay was calm. Even though there were rumors of a meeting between distinguished leaders unknown to the city folk, the samurai knew there would be a discussion of a trade treaty between Japan and America. Within the week, some representatives of the shogun boarded the Mississippi from their boat.

Commodore Perry introduced himself as an admiral, and a Japanese policeman identified himself as a vice-governor. Perry’s primary purpose was to meet a high-ranking official to give a letter from President Millard Fillmore to the emperor. Commodore Perry promised that he would come back with more ships the next year to conclude a treaty of trade between America and Japan. Meanwhile, he learned that he must act the part of a man who expected respect because the hierarchy of Japanese culture depended on rank, not personality. These two countries had intersected for the first time. Each leader waited to receive his due respect, but they were also stubborn. Between the two sides, there were many misunderstandings because of the awkward interpretation.

On the Japanese side, the interpreter was a Dutchman who knew Japanese and English. On the American side, there was an American interpreter who was a scholar of Chinese, yet his ability in Japanese was limited. Overcoming cultural differences in such a short time was impossible. The man posing as a vice-governor asked why the Americans needed four ships to carry a letter from the American president. Perry said it was out of respect to the emperor. Finally, Perry left with the four ships after handing over an official letter from President Fillmore. The Japanese and the Americans had no idea that the Tokugawa shogun was dying at the castle.

The next year, when Commodore Perry sailed into Edo Bay, he had six ships and was able to meet with higher-ranked people. At least a real governor met with him. The governor’s name was Abe Masahiro. Abe and Perry negotiated the first treaty between Japan and America. They signed the Treaty of Kanagawa on March 31, 1854.⁶ Soon after, ports were opened to the British, French, and Russians to trade. The only other counties that had ties over the centuries with Japan were China and the Netherlands. Our Niijima family belonged to the Annaka domain (clan). There are many domains, such as Choshu and Satsuma. During the Tokugawa shogunate, there had been peace most of the time. My samurai father was a writing master, and my samurai grandfather was an assistant to our lord Itakura (a feudal landowner, the equivalent to a medieval European lord). He was accomplished in Chinese classics and was known to be an exceptional scholar. Our family had great respect for him. We knew that Lord Itakura was a far-sighted, honest man who kept his word. He determined that the military system of the country must