The Closing of the Early Japan Mission
by R. Lanier Britsch*,

(Provided by D. Staples, Kansai Branch, Japan)

Even though the language classes had drawbacks, they were continued to the end of the mission. In fact the language classes were the main approach during the period from 1921 to 1924, particularly for the married couples who were serving in mission at that time.20 Some of the missionaries even took salaried positions as English teachers. In 1923 and 1924, for instance, Elder Elwood L. Christensen was employed at a commercial school near Osaka. He, of course, spent most of his time actively proselyte the gospel.21

Street meetings were also a regular means of preaching the gospel. Large crowds were usually easy to attract. People were courteous and willingly accepted tracts, announcements about meetings, and other literature, but getting the ideas of Mormonism across to a constantly fluctuating audience was a difficult task. Tracts were distributed by thousands but they did not attract many serious inquiries.

Special lessons were devised for the Japanese. Newsletters and periodicals were circulated among the members. Hymn books were published in Japanese. The Mutual Improvement Association was used to attract and hold young people. It accomplished some good, but the barriers of language and culture seemed to be insurmountable to each of the approaches used.

Another important question to consider is that of the difference in religious intensity. The main body of the Japanese have historically been low-keyed religiously. Although exceptions exist, generally Japanese religions are classified as "perfuntory, weak, and indifferent."22 In contrast it is evident that most Mormon groups should be classified as "lively, intense, and strong." This difference in religious intensity is a probable explanation for some of the lack of LDS success with the Japanese people.

Another Japanese trait is that of familism, or family centeredness. This cultural trait was very strong during the early mission period. The family group has traditionally been the individual's means of establishing his identity. Efforts, whether economic, social, or religious, have usually been made in behalf of the whole family organization. Fathers have ruled the Japanese home with an iron hand.

 Sons have respected the desires of their fathers, as have the wives and daughters. Marriages have been intended to be as compatible as possible, but they have been arranged for the benefit of the family, as well as the parties involved. Occupations have frequently been family occupations. These traditions, and others like them, tended to discourage affiliation by individual Japanese with an alien institution such as the LDS Church. It was very difficult for the missionaries to take the place of the family, or become the primary socio-religious group in the place of the family. It was through constant association with the missionaries that converts, at least those who remained active in the Church, became acculturated to and comfortable with the new social group to which they belonged.

The problem the missionaries faced was how to influence people sufficiently that they would be willing to leave the secure environment of their natal family (which could be enlarged to include the entire Japanese national family) and take a chance with the Mormon family. Several of the most faithful converts were women who worked as cooks in the mission headquarters and thus became part of the Mormon family, so to speak, and were able to establish a new identity. When the conservative nature of the Japanese family and society during the mission years is considered, it is perhaps more remarkable that 174 converts were baptized than that the number was so small.

Another problem was that of a small missionary force. At no time were there more than twenty missionaries and on several occasions there were as few as eight. It is implicit that the leaders of the Church felt ambivalent toward Japan. It was almost as though they had a policy of succeeding first and sending missionaries later. Requests for more missionaries were frequent from the various mission presidents, but they were seldom granted.

The lack of missionaries was recognized as a very real detriment to the work. Joseph H. Stimpson and his wife, Mary, who were in charge of the mission from 1915 until early 1921, struggled with this handicap and sought the help of Elder David O. McKay, then of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, to overcome it. In March 1920, President Stimpson wrote a letter of invitation to Elder McKay, inviting him to an international Sunday School convention to be held in Tokyo that fall, and including some statistics concerning the progress of the mission. To that date sixty baptisms had been performed during his tenure as president, sixteen children had been blessed, thirty-seven men had been ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood, and the total membership was one hundred twenty-four. At that time there were only eight missionaries in the field. He pleaded with Elder McKay to use whatever influence he could to have six more missionaries sent to Japan. Three new elders did arrive in May 1920, the first to come in two and a half years, but they merely replaced several others who were released. There were only two elders working in each conference, and Sendai had been closed for lack of missionaries. Stimpson wrote: "We have so few missionaries here in the mission at the present time that the devil has to look elsewhere for a workshop."23

Similar feelings had been indicated long before by Alma O. Taylor and were echoed after by Hilton A. Robertson. Taylor once reported, almost hopefully, that finally "the devil is waking up a little over here. The elders . . . report falsehoods and anti-Mormon literature afloat."24

Many years later Robertson suggested that the devil had the Japanese people so securely that he did not have to worry about the Mormon elders.25 He was probably quoting President Grant, who, in 1924, said "the devil is not all worried over our success in Japan."26 It is apparent that the missionary force was so small that they made virtually no impression upon the Japanese nation. The sad concomitant was that the missionaries felt that they were not a part of a going concern, and this was reflected in their attitude toward the work.

Another problem that was related to that of a small missionary force was the problem of long tenure by missionaries. From the days of Heber J. Grant to the end of the mission, years spent in the Japan mission field were longer than for other missions of the Church.

A survey of the "Manuscript History" reveals the following statistics concerning the length of time missionaries spent in Japan. The average mission length was three years and three months. President Alma O. Taylor stayed longest of all--eight years and five months. See Table I.

Parents, sweethearts, and ward members sometimes wrote to the Presiding Brethren asking why some elder had been left in the mission for so long. The missionaries themselves were usually less concerned because they knew it was necessary to remain long enough to conquer the language and do some good. But the pressure from home did have an effect on the work in Japan. Alma O. Taylor once wrote an article in the Improvement Era in which he tried to explain why such lengthy stays were necessary.27 Still the parents and friends at home had a hard time understanding the problem.

As a result of the difficulties mentioned above, the rate of conversions to the Church was very slow. The missionaries never had a chance to become elated with their success. It was always slow. This fact reflected upon both missionaries and converts alike. The missionaries did not learn to expect rapid success, and members and prospective members did not feel that they were a part of a successful operation. The old saying that nothing succeeds like success was without question true in the case of the Japan mission. The psychology was not one of winning.

From 1920 on, the Japan mission was on trial. There is no question that from this time on the leaders of the Church in Salt Lake City were harboring grave doubts concerning the value of continuing the mission. During Stimpson's era, reports were received regularly by his missionaries to the effect that Church authorities were thinking about closing the mission. Confirmation of this fact was never received by Stimpson from the Brethren, but when David O. McKay went to Japan as part of a world mission tour, his role while there was definitely to asses the situation and decide whether or not the mission should be continued.

Elder McKay arrived in Japan on 20 December 1920. While he was there he visited all of the conferences of the mission (except Sapporo, Hokkaido, where a blizzard prevented such a visit) and remained in Japan for a month. He spent considerable time asking questions and seeking to learn more about the Japanese people. At the end of his visit he concluded that the mission was worth continuing and that if this were so, enough missionaries must be assigned to do it right. "It is like trying to run a sixty horsepower machine with a one horsepower motor and that out of repair," said McKay.28 He decided that the mission would do much better if there were several married couples appointed and distributed to each of the conferences.29 These couples were to have six or eight missionaries working under them, and they were to act as guardians and counselors for their missionaries. This idea began to be put into effect during the coming months, but never became fully operational. In June 1921, Hilton A. Robertson and his wife, Hazel, arrived in Tokyo, and in November 1922, three more couples arrived in the mission. At the end of the year there were twenty missionaries in the field, three more than in any other year.

In addition to the plan for more missionaries, Elder McKay also made some suggestions concerning improving the work immediately. He stressed the need to turn every conversation into a gospel discussion. Missionaries were to always carry tracts and other literature. They were to spend more time in public places, such as markets, teaching the gospel. Street meetings were to be continued. Elder McKay wrote the following to the elders:

As far as the Truth is concerned, the Japanese people are in darkness, though we believe that hundreds of thousands of them are groping blindly for the light. The light is now in their midst, but "the darkness comprehendeth it not." And we wonder whether we are not, perhaps unintentionally and unconsciously, hiding our light under a bushel, or at least to hold it aloft, so that all who see us must have their attention directed toward it.30

Apparently the visitor did not feel that the missionaries had been working hard enough. They were told to work at least as hard as if they were working for a salary.

Elder McKay's last official act was to release the Stimpsons to return home. They left Japan on 11 February 1921. In March 1921, Lloyd O. Ivie, a former Japan missionary, and his new bride, Nora, arrived in Japan to assume the reins of leadership. Ivie continued in the spirit of the reforms or innovations started by Elder McKay. He tried to expand the work. Missionaries were introduced. For a brief moment total numbers of missionaries, Book of Mormon sales, and baptisms increased, but by the end of 1922, matters had returned to the old pattern. In January 1922, Kofu, after having been worked for fourteen consecutive years, was closed. This left only three conferences in the mission. Unfortunately, after the arrival of couples, the leaders in Salt Lake City did not continue to send the numbers of missionaries that had been suggested by Elder McKay. The result was less enthusiasm among the missionaries.

During the last couple of years missionary activity varied little throughout the mission and weekday schedules were quite similar in all areas. The missionaries spent most mornings studying, teaching English at local schools and taking care of various tasks, such as letter writing, picture taking, shopping, visiting the doctor, and other similar activities. Active proselyting did not usually begin until afternoon. Evenings were filled with English classes, Mutual Improvement Association, teaching lessons, and visiting friends and investigators. Three meetings were usually held on Sunday. Sunday School was the largest, being attended by large numbers of children. The missionaries hoped these children would be a successful avenue of approach to their parents. Sacrament meetings were usually attended by only a few members and investigators. An evening preaching meeting frequently drew fairly good numbers.

Attendance patterns in the individual branches of the mission were not encouraging. Just before Kofu was closed there were only two or three Saints and a couple of investigators attending sacrament meeting--the elders claimed these figures were encouraging.31 This was in spite of the fact that there were thirty baptized members still living in Kofu32 and ten years earlier between five and eight members attended regularly.33 The situation in Osaka was slightly more encouraging. On seven Sundays picked at random during 1923 and 1924, the following numbers attended: an average of about twelve at sacrament meeting (including missionaries); about thirty-seven at Sunday School; and around twenty-five usually attended the evening preaching meeting.34

In 1924 the elders in Sapporo reported a regular attendance of between twenty-five and fifty people at Sunday School, and of about eight to ten people at sacrament meeting.35 Sendai was a much newer area and little success had been realized there. Even though Tokyo had twenty more potential members than any other area the attendance figures were more erratic than in other branches. Average attendance there was only eight at sacrament meeting. Tithe paying was reportedly very poor throughout the mission.

In summary, the statistics for the mission were far from impressive. This is evident in Table II giving statistics for the years 1918 through 1924.36

One further issue should be raised here. Were the Mormons unusual in their lack of success or was their record somewhat like that of other missionary groups? It is my belief that the Latter-day Saints were no less successful than other missionaries, though it is difficult to accumulate the statistics to prove this statement. However, it appears that the ratio of effectiveness was about proportional to the number of man-years put in by any missionary group. Such thinking is justified by the fact that the other Christian missionaries stayed in Japan much longer and still had few converts, especially during the early years.37

___________________________Table II_________________________________________________
______________________1918__1919__1920__1921__1922__1923__1924
Number of Members..........105......127......127......135......154......158......164
Number of Missionaries......11........10..........9........13........17........19........14
Baptisms...............................10........13........10........10........18.........6...........8
Ordinations...........................11.........4..........6.........11.........7..........1...........2
Excommunications.................0.........1...........0..........1..........0.........1............0

R. Lanier Britsch, BYU Studies, Vol. 15, No. 2, p.185
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Political conditions were much different then, but during the first thirteen years of the Protestant missions, only ten converts were baptized. By 1882, there were 145 Protestant missionaries and 4,987 members. Many of the missionaries had been there for ten years or more. By figuring in terms of man-years put in, the LDS missionaries actually gained converts a little faster than did the Protestants.

As was mentioned above, Lloyd O. Ivie became president of the mission in March 1921. He worked hard and tried to follow the counsel of Elder McKay. Two factors, however, worked against his success as president. The first was his own personality. He was a very bright and capable man, but he has also been described as being rather undiplomatic. This did not help relationships with either his missionaries or the members. Another problem was the health of his wife and new child. Sister Ivie gave birth during the early months of 1923, and neither the mother nor the child felt very well after. This was the apparent cause of his release as mission president in October 1923. However, because the child was not well the Ivies did not sail from Japan until 22 January 1924.

Elder Hilton A. Robertson was appointed president of the mission when the Ivies returned home. The period of his leadership was short-lived for two principle reasons. The most serious factor was the problem that arose in Japan as a result of the Oriental or Japanese exclusion laws. A second contributing factor was the great Tokyo earthquake of 1 September 1923.

We will turn to the international political situation next, but first some comments about the earthquake. The destruction that came in the wake of this terrible sister was very great. About 91,000 people died in fires, under falling debris, and as a result of riots and disorders. Several missionaries, including the Robertsons, were in Tokyo at the time of the disaster and were very fortunate to escape bodily harm or death. Through the entire disaster, Robertson reported, not one member of the Church was injured, nor were any of the missionaries. The mission home lost some tile from the roof and plaster from the wall, but aside from that the place fared very well.38

The results of the earthquake caused missionary work in Tokyo to stop for a long time. However, the missionaries filled their days by helping some of the members repair their homes and others to relocate. Because the missionaries outside Tokyo were not able to get in touch with headquarters, they lost time by coming to Tokyo to assess the situation.

At home, gloomy reports were circulated, and in one instance an incorrect report of the death of President Robertson was published in one of the Utah papers.39 Not until 11 September did the friends and relatives of the missionaries know that they were safe.40

The earthquake had a lasting effect on the mission in one way. It started the leaders at home thinking more seriously about the work in Japan, and reassessing the position of the Church there. The parents of the missionaries also felt the distance from their sons and daughters to be greater than ever before. Family members of missionaries were concerned by scriptural passages telling of earthquakes as warnings to wicked peoples. Upon his return home Robertson concurred in this reasoning. He said: "We are told in the testimony of the servants of God, earthquakes, pestilence, and disease, etc., will follow and I bear testimony to you folks, . . . that those things have taken place in that land. . . ."41 The "handwriting was on the wall," so to speak. The question was simply what to do. It was not answered immediately.

With the exception of the problem of unavailability of missionaries during World War I, international matters had no major effect upon the mission until 1924. The Japanese exclusion law in America caused the most serious problems. In October 1920 Alma O. Taylor wrote the following to President Stimpson:

"You are perhaps anxious about the present agitation and ill feelings over the pending legislation in California against the Japanese. I can see no way out of the situation as the people of California have more support from the rest of the U. S. than ever before. Something should be done now to prevent the constant recurrence of the question. Before the settlement the feeling in Japan among the populous [sic] will perhaps run high against the Americans."42 Taylor was prophetic in his assessment of the coming situation.

The problem did not come to head until 1924, when laws preventing Japanese from immigrating to the United States were passed. The question of racial discrimination against Chinese and Japanese living on the West Coast of the United States was a contributing cause of the closing of the Japan Mission. A long series of state and national issues concerning the immigration of "orientals" into the United States and subsequent issues relating to their possession of land began in 1882, and was culminated by the enactment by Congress of a new immigration law, the second Johnson Act, containing a section forbidding admittance to the United States of "aliens ineligible for citizenship."43 Because the Asians of China and Japan were the only aliens not eligible for citizenship, the law was a direct insult to the Japanese nation and was accepted by the Japanese as such.

The law went into effect on 1 July 1924. That day was observed throughout Japan as a "day of humiliation," and Tokyo was blazing with posters which read "Hate Everything American." The largest of sixteen meetings of protest lasted continuously from one in the afternoon until ten in the evening, with an audience ranging from 5,000 to 12,000.44

The situation became very tense for the missionaries after this law was passed. Americans were temporarily not welcome in Japan. On one occasion, shortly after the 1924 exclusion law went into effect, President Robertson found two posters tacked to his door saying, "Bei-jin Haiseki" or "American go home."

Even before 1 July, other missionary groups were feeling the negative effects of the law. A Salt Lake Telegram article printed 18 June 1924 noted that the Reverend Dr. Paul B. Waterhouse had asserted that "the passage of the exclusion act has made Christian missionary work in Japan almost impossible." However, further attention must be paid to the dates involved in these actions and reactions. By the time the unfriendly law went into effect the fateful telegram from the First Presidency had already been delivered. It was sent 9 June 1924 and arrived 26 June 1924. The final decision, however, probably had not been made much before then.

The earthquake and the deterioration of Japanese-American relations hastened the closure of the mission, but Robertson and others believed that the real reason for the closing was the indifference of the Japanese and the failure of the missionary work.

Robertson's conclusion was correct. In a letter dated 10 June 1924 the First Presidency stated that they were not "particularly alarmed over the situation in Japan." They believed that the current problems would soon subside. The reason for closing the mission was because "from the standpoint of converts" success had been "so limited that, at least for the present, under existing circumstances, it will be better to withdraw. . . ."45

Several other items may have contributed to the willingness of the First Presidency to close the Japan-based operation. One was that the Church had not acquired any real property. This made it possible to leave easily. Another development that may have had some bearing, was the consideration being given to closing the Tonga Mission at the same time. (The mission president in Tonga made a valiant plea for the continuance of his mission. There were over a thousand Saints in Tonga. Nevertheless the mission came very close to being shut down during the summer of 1924.) Such thinking seems to reflect a willingness to assess missions and determine their worth. Japan was found wanting.

Closely related to the above reasoning was the problem of psychological failure. This was a cumulative matter. Since the mission was first opened President Grant had questioned its validity. Upon his return from his mission to Japan he had requested to go somewhere where he could perform a real mission; he was sent to England two months later. A feeling of questioning the possible success of the mission had been in the mind of President Lorenzo Snow when he sent Grant to Japan. On 26 June 1901 President Snow told Elder Grant:

Noah preached 120 years, he was a grand man, he did his duty but failed . . . and as to these brethren who will shortly leave for Japan the Lord has not revealed to me that they will succeed, but He has shown me that it is their duty to go.46 This attitude may have helped President Grant make this particular decision.

There is still one further ingredient that many Latter-day Saints would suggest as an essential reason for President Grant's decision. This is inspiration or direction from the Lord. When the missionaries arrived in Salt Lake City on 22 August 1924, President Grant greeted them with, "Thank God you are home because I know what is in store for the people of that land and we are glad you are safely home."47 President Robertson made a statement many years later that was similar in spirit to that of President Grant's greeting. He said:

"I think that the mission was closed for a purpose in 1924 when we returned home and ordered the mission closed temporarily. Later on we find that the other denominations throughout the world were proselyting in Japan were forced to close their missions and return to America at great loss and sacrifice."48

When the telegram arrived on 26 June, instructing them to return, the missionaries promptly set about making the necessary arrangements for closing the mission. Arrangements were immediately made for Elder and Mrs. W. Lamont Glover to sail home, as Sister Glover's health was not good at the time. They sailed on 8 July aboard the S. S. Shinyo Maru. On 16 July 1924, Elder Elwood Christensen baptized Yosaku Morita in Tokyo, the last baptism in Japan for over fourteen years. During the first three weeks of July elders and sister arrived at Tokyo from their various locations. Most of the last month or so was spent visiting members, selling and giving way mission-owned goods, shipping books, and other similar activities.

Then on 24 July, Elders William E. Davies and Milton B. Taylor, along with Elder and Mrs. F. Wallace Browning (who had visited China since the notice of closing came), boarded the S.S. President Cleveland and sailed for the United States.

All meetings were cancelled after 29 June, except sacrament meeting, which was held until the last Sunday before departure. Only two to four Japanese Saints attended during that time. Three thousand seven hundred tracts were passed out during these final days. Finally on 2 August, President and Sister Robertson went to Osaka to encourage the Saints there to "live up to their duties." They boarded the S.S. President Pierce in Kobe, and all the remaining missionaries, Elder and Mrs. Elwood L. Christensen, and Elders Rulon Esplin, Vinal G. Mauss, Lewis H. Moore, and Ernest B. Woodward, boarded the same ship in Yokohama. They sailed from Japan on 7 August 1924. Thus the early mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Japan was closed.49

Conclusion

Considering the number of problems the mission had faced through the years, the disruptions of the final two years, and the psychological distress suffered by the missionaries, it is easy to understand the decision of the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve to close the mission. It was true that the results had been "almost negligible." Nevertheless, the mission did produce some lasting contributions--translation work in particular--and a few converts were brought into the Church who remained faithful through the years until the work was recommenced following World War II.