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100th Anniversary of JAUC in 1994

Japanese Methodist Church / Easter 1938
323 West 108th Street, New York, NY

By Fujio Saito

The U.S. Census figures for the year 1890 show that there were 2,039 Japanese in the United States. Most of the immigrants remained in the West working mainly on farms and for the railroads. The young men who came to New York were hired at the Brooklyn Navy Yard to serve as cooks, stewards and kitchen workers on American battleships. In his autobiography, The Shinning Stars, Dr. Toyohiko Takami, a prominent pioneer Issei leader in the New York Japanese community, states that at the age of 17 he was appointed as chief cook on the U.S.S. Vermont. At that time there were 400 to 500 seamen in the area. When not at sea they lived in boarding houses run for the Japanese residents. Dr. Takami describes the seamen as a rough, heavy drinking lot. There was much quarreling and many fights between the drunken men. "It was certainly not a very encouraging environment."

In 1893 a young Japanese evangelist by the name of Kinya Okajima came to Brooklyn by walking across America from Portland, Oregon because he felt that it was his mission to preach the Gospel to the Japanese in New York and because he did not have the train fare. Dr. Takami writes about their meeting and that eventually Mr. Okajima started the first Japanese mission in New York in 1893 on the second floor of a house on Sands Street. Later the mission moved to 17 Concord Street and was known as the Concord Mission. In 1901 the Japanese Methodist Church was established in Brooklyn with $125 support from the New York Methodist City Society. In 1902 the Concord Mission merged with the Methodist Church and in 1920 moved to its home at 323 West 108 Street in Manhattan.

In 1897 Rev. Yoshisuek Hirose from Chicago established a boarding house at 52 Prospect Street in Brooklyn near the Navy Yard where he conducted Sunday services and Bible studies for the Japanese in the area. In time the Navy Yard stopped hiring Japanese and many moved to Manhattan to work in American households. Thus in 1899, Rev. Hirose moved the mission to 105 East 54 Street in Manhattan. Then in 1901 the mission moved to 330 East 57 Street due to increase in the number of boarders and it was named the Japanese Mission. In 1912, Rev. Hirose returned to Japan and the mission was left without a minister. At that time through the efforts of Rev. Earnest Atsushi Ohori, who had founded the Shudokai (Japanese Christian Association) in 1909 with the support of the Women's Board of Domestic Missions of the Reformed Church in America, encouraged the Women's Board to support Rev. Sojiro Shimizu, a recent graduate of McCormic Theological Seminary who was on his way to Scotland, as the minister for Japanese Mission. He was hired for one year but continued to serve for 35 years when he retired in 1948. In 1916 the Japanese Mission became officially the Japanese Christian Institute.

As described above, the Japanese Christian Association was formed in 1909 with the Rev. E.A. Ohori as the first minister. In the beginning the congregation met at the Bible Teachers Training School for Sunday services at Lexington Avenue and 49th Street and later in a room of the Harlem Reformed Church at 103 West 123rd Street. In 1927 the Church purchased the two buildings at 453 and 455 West 143rd Street. In 1929 Rev. Giichi Kawamata was appointed as assistant minister and succeeded Rev. Ohori who passed away in 1931. Upon the retirement of Rev. Shimizu, the two Reformed missions merged to become the Japanese American Church of Christ (Reformed).

In 1924 the Japanese Exclusion Act was passed and no further immigration was permitted from Japan. As a result the Japanese community in New York was stabilized. The immigrant parents established families, so that at the time of the outbreak of World War II the three mission churches were adequate to meet the needs of the community. However, on the West Coast the government uprooted all Japanese, citizens and non-citizens, from their homes and corraled them into ten Relocation Centers, a total of 110,000. In time the government allowed the internees to move out of the camps eastwards away from the West Coast. Many of the evacuees came to New York. In order to meet the needs of the newcomers it became apparent that the three small mission churches should merge and pool their resources to accommodate the enlarged congregations. Thus, in 1953 the three mission churches merged to become the Japanese American United Church. The three brownstone mission/dormitory churches were sold and in 1970 the United Church moved into its current building at 255 Seventh Avenue.

In 1952 the Walter-McCarran Immigration and Naturalization Act was passed which ended the Japanese Exclusion Act of 1924. It also gave citizenship rights to the Isseis for the first time. Although the immigration quota for Japan was only 185, it allowed the Japanese to immigrate to the U.S. again. Although most of the pioneer immigrants (Isseis) are gone, today the cycle continues and the United Church, a bilingual Church, continues to bring the Gospel to the newly arrived Japanese-speaking participants.

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Day of Remembrance Women in the Camps	History 100th Anniversary of JAUC in 1994 Japanese Methodist Church / Easter 1938 323 West 108th Street, New York, NY *By Fujio Saito* The U.S. Census figures for the year 1890 show that there were 2,039 Japanese in the United States. Most of the immigrants remained in the West working mainly on farms and for the railroads. The young men who came to New York were hired at the Brooklyn Navy Yard to serve as cooks, stewards and kitchen workers on American battleships. In his autobiography, The Shinning Stars, Dr. Toyohiko Takami, a prominent pioneer Issei leader in the New York Japanese community, states that at the age of 17 he was appointed as chief cook on the U.S.S. Vermont. At that time there were 400 to 500 seamen in the area. When not at sea they lived in boarding houses run for the Japanese residents. Dr. Takami describes the seamen as a rough, heavy drinking lot. There was much quarreling and many fights between the drunken men. "It was certainly not a very encouraging environment." In 1893 a young Japanese evangelist by the name of Kinya Okajima came to Brooklyn by walking across America from Portland, Oregon because he felt that it was his mission to preach the Gospel to the Japanese in New York and because he did not have the train fare. Dr. Takami writes about their meeting and that eventually Mr. Okajima started the first Japanese mission in New York in 1893 on the second floor of a house on Sands Street. Later the mission moved to 17 Concord Street and was known as the Concord Mission. In 1901 the Japanese Methodist Church was established in Brooklyn with $125 support from the New York Methodist City Society. In 1902 the Concord Mission merged with the Methodist Church and in 1920 moved to its home at 323 West 108 Street in Manhattan. In 1897 Rev. Yoshisuek Hirose from Chicago established a boarding house at 52 Prospect Street in Brooklyn near the Navy Yard where he conducted Sunday services and Bible studies for the Japanese in the area. In time the Navy Yard stopped hiring Japanese and many moved to Manhattan to work in American households. Thus in 1899, Rev. Hirose moved the mission to 105 East 54 Street in Manhattan. Then in 1901 the mission moved to 330 East 57 Street due to increase in the number of boarders and it was named the Japanese Mission. In 1912, Rev. Hirose returned to Japan and the mission was left without a minister. At that time through the efforts of Rev. Earnest Atsushi Ohori, who had founded the Shudokai (Japanese Christian Association) in 1909 with the support of the Women's Board of Domestic Missions of the Reformed Church in America, encouraged the Women's Board to support Rev. Sojiro Shimizu, a recent graduate of McCormic Theological Seminary who was on his way to Scotland, as the minister for Japanese Mission. He was hired for one year but continued to serve for 35 years when he retired in 1948. In 1916 the Japanese Mission became officially the Japanese Christian Institute. As described above, the Japanese Christian Association was formed in 1909 with the Rev. E.A. Ohori as the first minister. In the beginning the congregation met at the Bible Teachers Training School for Sunday services at Lexington Avenue and 49th Street and later in a room of the Harlem Reformed Church at 103 West 123rd Street. In 1927 the Church purchased the two buildings at 453 and 455 West 143rd Street. In 1929 Rev. Giichi Kawamata was appointed as assistant minister and succeeded Rev. Ohori who passed away in 1931. Upon the retirement of Rev. Shimizu, the two Reformed missions merged to become the Japanese American Church of Christ (Reformed). In 1924 the Japanese Exclusion Act was passed and no further immigration was permitted from Japan. As a result the Japanese community in New York was stabilized. The immigrant parents established families, so that at the time of the outbreak of World War II the three mission churches were adequate to meet the needs of the community. However, on the West Coast the government uprooted all Japanese, citizens and non-citizens, from their homes and corraled them into ten Relocation Centers, a total of 110,000. In time the government allowed the internees to move out of the camps eastwards away from the West Coast. Many of the evacuees came to New York. In order to meet the needs of the newcomers it became apparent that the three small mission churches should merge and pool their resources to accommodate the enlarged congregations. Thus, in 1953 the three mission churches merged to become the Japanese American United Church. The three brownstone mission/dormitory churches were sold and in 1970 the United Church moved into its current building at 255 Seventh Avenue. In 1952 the Walter-McCarran Immigration and Naturalization Act was passed which ended the Japanese Exclusion Act of 1924. It also gave citizenship rights to the Isseis for the first time. Although the immigration quota for Japan was only 185, it allowed the Japanese to immigrate to the U.S. again. Although most of the pioneer immigrants (Isseis) are gone, today the cycle continues and the United Church, a bilingual Church, continues to bring the Gospel to the newly arrived Japanese-speaking participants. Back to top Back to History home