Uemura Masahisa

Uemura, 1922

Uemura Masahisa ( Japanese 植 村 正 久 ; born January 15, 1858 in Edo ; died January 8, 1925 in Tokyo ) was a Japanese church leader, translator and editor of the Meiji and Taisho periods .

life and work

Uemura with friends, 1912/13

Uemura Masahisa, who came from a samurai family, started learning English when she was 13. He became a Christian and began studying theology at a missionary school in Yokohama . In 1878 he completed his education and was ordained as pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Japan.

As a student he had started a career as an editor of various magazines, and in 1880 he was one of the founders of the magazine "Das Universum" (六合 雑 誌, Rikugō zasshi). In the following decade he published the text "General information on truth" (心理 一般, Shinri ippan), founded a parish, the Fujimichō Kyōkai (富士 見 町 協会), worked together with other leading figures of the church in numerous committees and participated the establishment of the Meiji Gakuin Missionary University (明治 学院), the forerunner of today's Meiji Gakuin University .

Uemura's tomb

In 1890 Uemura brought out his own literary magazine (日本 評論), as well as the Christian weekly "The Gospel" (福音 週報, Fukuin shūhō). He also often gave lectures on English literature. In 1904 he founded the Tōkyō Shingakusha (東京 神学 社), an institution that then developed into the university "Tōkyō shingaku daigaku" (東京 神学 大学).

Uemura is known as a church leader for advancing the presbyterian direction in Japan, emphasizing independence from missionary control. Major themes in his writings included the importance of the individual in society and the attraction of Christians who can withstand social pressures. His translations of psalms and other biblical texts became modern Japanese classics.

Remarks

1. ↑ Back center: Soyano Teruo (征 矢野 晃 雄; 1889–1929). Front row: Takakura Tokutarō (高 倉 徳 太郎; 1885–1934), Uemura Masahisa, Kanai Tameichirō (金井 為 一郎; 1887–1963) and Saitō Isamu (斎 藤 勇; 1887–1982).

literature

• S. Noma (Ed.): Uemura Masahisa . In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993, ISBN 4-06-205938-X , p. 1642.

Web links

Commons : Masahisa Uemura  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Uemura's tombstone

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