Toyohiko

(1888-1960) "Communism's only power is to

diagnose some of the ills of
disordered society. It has no cure. It

Kagawa
creates only an infantile paralysis of
the social order."

Christian social reformer, author, and leader in Japanese labor and

democratic movements who focused attention upon the poor of Japan.
A pacifist, Kagawa founded the National Anti-war League in 1928 and in 1940.
Wrote two novels, 'Crossing the Deathline' and 'Shooting at the Sun'; both became
best sellers. And wrote more 150 books.
Kagawa wrote, spoke, and worked at length on ways to employ Christian principles in the
ordering of society and in cooperatives. His vocation to help the poor led him to live among
them. He advocated for women's suffrage and promoted a peaceful foreign policy.

EARLY
LIFE
He learned English from missionaries and converted
to evangelical Protestant Christianity after taking a
Bible class in his youth, which led to his being
disowned by his remaining extended family. Kagawa studied at Tokyo Presbyterian
College, and later enrolled in Kobe Theological Seminary. While studying there,
Kagawa was troubled by the seminarians' concern for technicalities of doctrine. He
believed that Christianity in action was the truth behind Christian doctrines.
Impatiently, he would point to the parable of the Good Samaritan. From 1914 to 1916
he studied at Princeton Theological Seminary. In addition to theology, through the
university's curricular exchange program he also studied embryology, genetics,
comparative anatomy, and paleontology while at Princeton.
Kagawa was arrested in Japan in 1921 and again in 1922 for his part in labor activism
during strikes. While in prison he wrote the novels Crossing the Deathline and
Shooting at the Sun.

IFE
MILY L
FA
Kagawa was born in Kobe, Japan to a philandering
businessman and a concubine. Both parents died while he
was young. He was sent away to school, where he learned
from two American missionary teachers, Drs. Harry W.
Myers and Charles A. Logan, who took him into their
homes.
Kagawa found a wife, Haru Shiba, who shared
wholeheartedly in his ministry. When their first baby came
along in 1922, they moved out of the slum, where infant
mortality was 75 percent. But Kagawa continued tirelessly
3 INTERESTING FACTS
organizing and writing. Inspired by English guild socialism,
he focused on building worker cooperatives and labor
unions. And he became active in the international peace
movement, speaking out against militarism and
imperialism.
Still, Kagawa considered himself a patriot. After Japan
bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World
War II, he made radio broadcasts condemning American
barbarism while failing to similarly condemn Japanese
atrocities. Even so, his record of pacifism, such as his
public apology to China for Japan’s invasion of Manchuria,
made him suspect, and he was arrested twice for “antiwar
thoughts.”
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Kagawa is recognized as a successful author. His other writings include several pamphlets
and meditations. He spent the revenue from his books on relief of the poor while he and
his family subsisted on a small monthly salary.
After his death, Kagawa was awarded the second-highest honor of Japan, induction in the
Order of the Sacred Treasure.
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America commemorates him as a renewer of society on
April 23; Kagawa is also honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal
Church (USA) and on the Calendar of the Presbyterian Church (USA) on that day.
After Japan's surrender, Kagawa was an adviser to the transitional Japanese
government. During his life, Kagawa wrote over 150 books. He was nominated for
the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1947 and 1948, and for the Nobel Peace Prize in
1954 and 1955. He established credit unions, schools, hospitals, and churches, and
wrote and spoke extensively on the application of Christian principles to the
ordering of society. He founded the Anti-War League, and in 1940 was arrested
after publicly apologizing to China for the Japanese invasion of that country.
SOURCES:
LINKS:
Bradshaw, Emerson O., Charles E Shike and Helen F. Topping, eds. Kagawa in http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/143.html
Lincoln's Land. Brooklyn, NY: National Kagawa Coordinating Committee, 1936. https://www.plough.com/en/topics/faith/witness/toyohiko-kagawa
https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1801-1900/toyohiko-kagawa-japanese-
Davey, Cyril James. Kagawa of Japan.
original-11630620.html
Kagawa Tohoyiko. A Grain of Wheat. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyohiko_Kagawa#Works
Harper and Brothers, 1941 Behold the Man.