Ebina Danjō

Ebina Danjō in old age

Ebina Danjō ( Japanese 海 老 名 弾 正 , actually Ebina Kisaburō ( Japanese 海 老 名 (喜 三郎) ); born September 18, 1856 in Chikugo province ; died May 22, 1937 ) was a Japanese Christian missionary and educator during the Meiji , Taishō and the beginning of the Shōwa period .

life and work

Ebina Danjō was a samurai from Kyūshū who received his first training at the "School for Western Learning" (洋 学校; Yōgakkō) in Kumamoto . There he came under the influence of Leroy L. Janes and joined Christianity and belonged to the "Kumamoto Christian Band" of young Christians. He trained at Dōshisha University under Niijima Jō (1843-1890).

After joining the Church, he worked across Japan to spread the doctrine. He was a preacher in the churches of Annaka in Gumma prefecture , then as a missionary in Kobe , Kumamoto and Kyoto. But it was above all his pastor at the Hongo Church in Tokyo from 1897 to 1920 that made him known as a preacher and evangelist. He also founded a Christian magazine called "New Man" (新人, Shinjin).

In Hongō he was director of the Dōshisha from 1920 to 1928 and at the same time a leading figure in the "Japanese Congregational Church", but his liberal views and the idea of ​​a church expanded by traditional Japanese values ​​led to disputes with his more orthodox colleagues.

Ebina exercised considerable personal and religious influence on both Christians and non-Christians in his day.

Remarks

1. ↑ Leroy Lansing Janes (1838–1909) taught science and mathematics at the school, but also taught his students a basic understanding of Christianity.

literature

• S. Noma (Ed.): Ebina Danjō . In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993, ISBN 4-06-205938-X
• Hunter, Janet: Ebina Danjō . In: Concise Dictionary of Modern Japanese History. Kodansha International, 1984. ISBN 4-7700-1193-8 .

Web links

Commons : Ebina Danjō  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Ebina is the family name, Danjō the first name.