American Missionaries, Christian Oyatoi, and Japan, 1859-73

Japan closed its doors to foreigners for over two hundred yearsbecause of religious and political instability caused by Christianity.By 1859, foreign residents were once again living in treaty ports inJapan, but edicts banning Christianity remained enforced until1873.

Ion investigates the impact of American Protestant missionaries andChristian laymen, or oyatoi, from their arrival in 1859 to theopen propagation of Christianity in 1873. His exploration of theiraspirations and efforts in private, mission, and government schoolsreveals that the transmission of values and beliefs was not a simplematter of acceptance or rejection. Missionaries saw promise in the faceof hostility and, as informal agents of the United States, served ascultural mediators between East and West.

This account of a crucial but neglected aspect of Japanese-Americanrelations will appeal to students and scholars of modern Japan,international relations, and Christian missions.