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|image = [[File:NipponSeiKoKai.gif|195px]]
|image = [[File:NipponSeiKoKai.gif|195px]]
|caption =
|caption =
|primate = [[Nathaniel Makoto Uematsu|The Most Reverend Nathaniel Makoto Uematsu]], ''Bishop of Hokkaido''
|primate = [[Nathaniel Makoto Uematsu, Bishop of Hokkaido
|headquarters = 65 Yaraicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0805, Japan
|headquarters = 65 Yaraicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0805, Japan
|territory = [[Japan]]
|territory = [[Japan]]
|population = 57,003<ref>[http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/regions/asia/japan/anglican-church-in-japan.html http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/regions/asia/japan/anglican-church-in-japan.html]</ref>
|population = 57,003<ref>[http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/regions/asia/japan/anglican-church-in-japan.html http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/regions/asia/japan/anglican-church-in-japan.html]</ref>
|website = [http://www.nskk.org/ http://www.nskk.org/]
|website = [http://www.nskk.org/ nskk.org]
}}
}}


The '''Nippon Sei Ko Kai''' ([[Japanese language|Japanese]]: 日本聖公会, ''Nippon Seikōkai'', "Japanese Holy Catholic Church"), abbreviated as '''NSKK''', or sometimes referred to in English as the '''Anglican Episcopal Church in Japan''', is the national [[Christian]] church representing the Province of [[Japan]] (日本管区, ''Nippon Kanku'') within the [[Anglican Communion]].
The '''Nippon Sei Ko Kai''' ([[Japanese language|Japanese]]: 日本聖公会, ''Nippon Seikōkai'', "Japanese Holy Catholic Church"), abbreviated as '''NSKK''', or sometimes referred to in English as the '''Anglican Episcopal Church in Japan''', is the national [[Christian]] church representing the Province of [[Japan]] (日本管区, ''Nippon Kanku'') within the [[Anglican Communion]].


As a member of the Anglican Communion the Nippon Sei Ko Kai shares many of the historic [[Anglican doctrine|doctrinal]] and [[Book of Common Prayer|liturgical]] practices of the [[Church of England]], but is a fully autonomous national church governed by its own [[Synod]] and led by its own [[Primates in the Anglican Communion|Primate]]. The Nippon Sei Ko Kai, in common with other churches in the Anglican Communion, considers itself to be a part of the [[Four Marks of the Church|One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church]] and to be both [[Catholicism|Catholic]] and [[Protestantism|Reformed]].
As a member of the Anglican Communion the Nippon Sei Ko Kai shares many of the historic [[Anglican doctrine|doctrinal]] and [[Book of Common Prayer|liturgical]] practices of the [[Church of England]], but is a fully autonomous national church governed by its own [[synod]] and led by its own [[Primates in the Anglican Communion|primate]]. The Nippon Sei Ko Kai, in common with other churches in the Anglican Communion, considers itself to be a part of the [[Four Marks of the Church|One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church]] and to be both [[Catholicism|Catholic]] and [[Protestantism|Reformed]].


With an estimated 80 million members worldwide, the Anglican Communion is the third largest [[Christian]] communion in the world, after the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]] and the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]es. The Nippon Sei Ko Kai has approximately 60,000 members organised into eleven dioceses and found in local church congregations throughout Japan.
With an estimated 80 million members worldwide, the Anglican Communion is the third largest [[Christian]] communion in the world, after the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]] and the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]es. The Nippon Sei Ko Kai has approximately 60,000 members organised into eleven dioceses and found in local church congregations throughout Japan.


==History==
==History==


===Background (1549–1846)===
===Background (1549–1846)===
[[File:Painting of the Nagasaki Martyrs.jpg|thumb|Depiction of the [[Martyrs of Japan|Nagasaki Martyrs]] (16th Century)]] [[Jesuit]] [[Saint]] [[Francis Xavier]] together with Portuguese explorers and missionaries first brought [[Christianity]] to Japan in the 16th century. In 1587, the Christian faith and life were outlawed and Christians, Japanese and foreign, were openly persecuted. In memory of these early Japanese Christians, and in common with the [[Roman Catholic Church]], the Nippon Sei Ko Kai commemorates the [[Martyrs of Japan]] every February 5 for their life and witness.
[[File:Painting of the Nagasaki Martyrs.jpg|thumb|Depiction of the [[Martyrs of Japan|Nagasaki Martyrs]] (16th century)]] [[Jesuit]] [[Saint]] [[Francis Xavier]] together with Portuguese explorers and missionaries first brought [[Christianity]] to Japan in the 16th century. In 1587, the Christian faith and life were outlawed and Christians, Japanese and foreign, were openly persecuted. In memory of these early Japanese Christians, and in common with the [[Roman Catholic Church]], the Nippon Sei Ko Kai commemorates the [[Martyrs of Japan]] every February 5 for their life and witness.


All foreigners were subsequently expelled in 1640 as Japan began two centuries of self-imposed isolation, and Christian communities were driven into hiding. When foreigners were eventually allowed back into the main islands of Japan in the 1850s, they found thousands of Christians who had maintained their Christian faith and identity through centuries of persecution.
All foreigners were subsequently expelled in 1640 as Japan began two centuries of self-imposed isolation and Christian communities were driven into hiding. When foreigners were eventually allowed back into the main islands of Japan in the 1850s, they found thousands of Christians who had maintained their Christian faith and identity through centuries of persecution.


===Early Mission Church (1846–1900)===
===Early mission church (1846–1900)===
Anglican church mission work in Japan started with the British Loochoo Naval Mission on the outlying [[Ryukyu Islands]] in May 1846.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kerr|first1=George|title=Okinawa: The History of an Island People|date=2000|publisher=Tuttle|location=Tokyo|isbn=978-0804820875|page=279|accessdate=18 April 2015}}</ref> US Navy Chaplain Rev. [[George Jones (navy chaplain)|George Jones]], traveling with the [[Perry Expedition|Expedition of Commodore Perry]], led the first recorded Anglican burial service on Japanese soil at Yokohama on the 9th of March 1854.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Daugherty|first1=Leo|title=The Marine Corps and the State Department|date=2009|publisher=McFarland & Company Inc.|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=978-0-7864-3796-2|page=19|accessdate=18 April 2015}}</ref> More permanent mission representatives of the [[Anglican Communion]], the Rev. [[John Liggins]] and the Rev. [[Channing Moore Williams]] of the [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal Church]] arrived in the treaty port of [[Nagasaki]], in May and June 1859.<ref>{{cite book|last=Arnold|first=Alfreda|title=Church Work in Japan|year=1905|publisher=Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts|location=Harvard College Library|accessdate=21 January 2014}}</ref><ref>Arnold, Church Work in Japan, p.5.</ref> After the opening of the port of [[Yokohama]] in June 1859, Anglicans in the foreign community gathered for worship services in the British Consul's residence. A British Consular Chaplain, the Rev. [[Michael Buckworth Bailey]], arrived in August 1862 and after a successful fundraising campaign [[Christ Church, Yokohama]] was dedicated on the 18th of October 1863. <ref>{{cite book|last1=Cortazzi|first1=Sir Hugh|title=Collected Writings|date=2000|publisher=Taylor & Francis|location=Abingdon, Oxon|isbn=1-873410-93-X|page=207|accessdate=9 June 2014}}</ref>
Anglican church mission work in Japan started with the British Loochoo Naval Mission on the outlying [[Ryukyu Islands]] in May 1846.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kerr|first1=George|title=Okinawa: The History of an Island People|date=2000|publisher=Tuttle|location=Tokyo|isbn=978-0804820875|page=279|accessdate=18 April 2015}}</ref> A US Navy chaplain, the Rev. [[George Jones (navy chaplain)|George Jones]], traveling with the [[Perry Expedition|Expedition of Commodore Perry]], led the first recorded Anglican burial service on Japanese soil at Yokohama on 9 March 1854.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Daugherty|first1=Leo|title=The Marine Corps and the State Department|date=2009|publisher=McFarland & Company Inc.|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=978-0-7864-3796-2|page=19|accessdate=18 April 2015}}</ref> More permanent mission representatives of the Anglican Communion, the Rev. [[John Liggins]] and the Rev. [[Channing Moore Williams]] of the [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal Church]], arrived in the treaty port of [[Nagasaki]] in May and June 1859.<ref>{{cite book|last=Arnold|first=Alfreda|title=Church Work in Japan|year=1905|publisher=Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts|location=Harvard College Library|accessdate=21 January 2014}}</ref><ref>Arnold, Church Work in Japan, p.5.</ref> After the opening of the port of [[Yokohama]] in June 1859, Anglicans in the foreign community gathered for worship services in the British Consul's residence. A British Consular chaplain, the Rev. [[Michael Buckworth Bailey]], arrived in August 1862 and after a successful fundraising campaign [[Christ Church, Yokohama]] was dedicated on 18 October 1863.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cortazzi|first1=Sir Hugh|title=Collected Writings|date=2000|publisher=Taylor & Francis|location=Abingdon, Oxon|isbn=1-873410-93-X|page=207|accessdate=9 June 2014}}</ref>


Due to government restrictions on the teaching of Christianity and a significant language barrier, the religious duties of ordained clergy were initially limited to serving as ministers to the American and British residents of the foreign settlements. The first recorded baptism by Williams of a Japanese convert, a [[Kumamoto]] samurai named Shōmura Sukeuemon, was not until 1866.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ion|first=A. Hamish|title=The Cross and the Rising Sun|year=1993|publisher=Wilifrid Laurier University Press|location=Waterloo, Ontario, Canada|isbn=0-88920-218-4|page=37|edition=2}}</ref> <ref>{{cite book|last1=Ion|first1=Hamish, A.|title=American Missionaries, Christian oyatoi, and Japan, 1859-73|date=2009|publisher=UBC Press|location=Vancouver, BC|isbn=978-0-7748-1647-2|page=73|accessdate=30 June 2014}}</ref> Liggins and Williams were followed to Nagasaki in January 1869 by the Rev. George Ensor representing the [[Church Mission Society]] of the [[Church of England]].
Due to government restrictions on the teaching of Christianity and a significant language barrier, the religious duties of clergy were initially limited to serving as ministers to the American and British residents of the foreign settlements. The first recorded baptism by Williams of a Japanese convert, a [[Kumamoto]] samurai named Shōmura Sukeuemon, was not until 1866.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ion|first=A. Hamish|title=The Cross and the Rising Sun|year=1993|publisher=Wilifrid Laurier University Press|location=Waterloo, Ontario, Canada|isbn=0-88920-218-4|page=37|edition=2}}</ref> <ref>{{cite book|last1=Ion|first1=Hamish, A.|title=American Missionaries, Christian oyatoi, and Japan, 1859-73|date=2009|publisher=UBC Press|location=Vancouver, BC|isbn=978-0-7748-1647-2|page=73|accessdate=30 June 2014}}</ref> Liggins and Williams were followed to Nagasaki in January 1869 by the Rev. George Ensor representing the [[Church Mission Society]] of the [[Church of England]].


After the [[Meiji Restoration]], significant new legislation relating to the freedom of religion was introduced, facilitating in September 1873, the arrival in Tokyo of the Rev. [[Alexander Croft Shaw]] and the Rev. William Ball Wright as the first missionaries sent to Japan by the [[Society for Propagation of the Gospel]]. Williams, appointed Episcopal Bishop of China and Japan in 1866, moved first to reside in [[Osaka]] in 1869, then subsequently relocated to [[Tokyo]] in December 1873.<ref>Arnold, Church Work in Japan, p.8.</ref>
After the [[Meiji Restoration]], significant new legislation relating to the freedom of religion was introduced, facilitating in September 1873, the arrival in Tokyo of the Rev. [[Alexander Croft Shaw]] and the Rev. William Ball Wright as the first missionaries sent to Japan by the [[Society for Propagation of the Gospel]]. Williams, appointed Episcopal Bishop of China and Japan in 1866, moved first to reside in [[Osaka]] in 1869, then subsequently relocated to [[Tokyo]] in December 1873.<ref>Arnold, Church Work in Japan, p.8.</ref>
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In addition to the work of ordained church ministers, much of the positive public profile enjoyed by Anglican Church in Japan during this early mission period was due to the work of lay missionaries working to establish schools, universities and medical facilities. Significant among this group were missionary women such as Ellen G. Eddy at St. Agnes' School in Osaka, Alice Hoar at St. Hilda's School and Florence Pitman at St. Margaret's School, both located in Tokyo. [[Hannah Riddell]] who established the Kaishun Hospital for leprosy sufferers in [[Kumamoto]] and [[Mary Cornwall-Legh]] who ran a similar facility in [[Kusatsu, Gunma]], were both honored by the Japanese Government for their work. <ref>Arnold, Church Work in Japan, p.126.</ref>
In addition to the work of ordained church ministers, much of the positive public profile enjoyed by Anglican Church in Japan during this early mission period was due to the work of lay missionaries working to establish schools, universities and medical facilities. Significant among this group were missionary women such as Ellen G. Eddy at St. Agnes' School in Osaka, Alice Hoar at St. Hilda's School and Florence Pitman at St. Margaret's School, both located in Tokyo. [[Hannah Riddell]] who established the Kaishun Hospital for leprosy sufferers in [[Kumamoto]] and [[Mary Cornwall-Legh]] who ran a similar facility in [[Kusatsu, Gunma]], were both honored by the Japanese Government for their work. <ref>Arnold, Church Work in Japan, p.126.</ref>


The first Synod of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai met in [[Osaka]] in February 1887. At this meeting, instigated by Bishop [[Edward Bickersteth (bishop of South Tokyo)|Edward Bickersteth]], and presided over by Bishop [[Channing Moore Williams|Williams]], it was agreed to unite the various Anglican missionary efforts in Japan into one autonomous national church; the Nippon Sei Ko Kai. The 17 European and American participants at the first Synod were outnumbered by 14 other clergy and 50 Japanese lay delegates.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bickersteth|first=M. H.|title=Handbooks of English Church Expansion, Japan|year=1908|publisher=A. R. Mowbray & Co. Ltd|location=Oxford|page=56|url=http://www.archive.org/details/japanbickerstert00bickiala}}</ref>
The first synod of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai met in Osaka in February 1887. At this meeting, instigated by Bishop [[Edward Bickersteth (bishop of South Tokyo)|Edward Bickersteth]] and presided over by Bishop [[Channing Moore Williams|Williams]], it was agreed to unite the various Anglican missionary efforts in Japan into one autonomous national church; the Nippon Sei Ko Kai. The 17 European and American participants at the first Synod were outnumbered by 14 other clergy and 50 Japanese lay delegates.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bickersteth|first=M. H.|title=Handbooks of English Church Expansion, Japan|year=1908|publisher=A. R. Mowbray & Co. Ltd|location=Oxford|page=56|url=http://www.archive.org/details/japanbickerstert00bickiala}}</ref>


Total Nippon Sei Ko Kai church membership in 1887 was estimated to be 1,300.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ion|first=A. Hamish|title=The Cross and the Rising Sun|year=1993|publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University Press|location=Waterloo, Ontario, Canada|isbn=0-88920-218-4|edition=v.2}}</ref> The Rev. [[John Toshimichi Imai]], ordained deacon in 1888 and raised to the priesthood by Bishop Bickersteth in 1889, was the first Japanese to become an ordained Anglican priest.<ref>Ion, The Cross and the Rising Sun, p.73</ref>
Total Nippon Sei Ko Kai church membership in 1887 was estimated to be 1,300.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ion|first=A. Hamish|title=The Cross and the Rising Sun|year=1993|publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University Press|location=Waterloo, Ontario, Canada|isbn=0-88920-218-4|edition=v.2}}</ref> The Rev. [[John Toshimichi Imai]], ordained deacon in 1888 and raised to the priesthood by Bishop Bickersteth in 1889, was the first Japanese to become an ordained Anglican priest.<ref>Ion, The Cross and the Rising Sun, p.73</ref>


===Continued Growth and Wartime Challenges (1900–1945)===
===Continued growth and wartime challenges (1900–1945)===
By 1906 the Nippon Sei Ko Kai was reported to have grown to 13,000 members, of whom 6,880 were communicants with a Japanese led ordained ministry of 42 priests and 22 deacons.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bickersteth|first=M. H.|title=Handbooks of English Church Expansion, Japan|year=1908|publisher=A. R. Mowbray & Co. Ltd|location=Oxford|page=58|url=http://www.archive.org/details/japanbickerstert00bickiala}}</ref> [[Henry St. George Tucker (bishop)|Henry St. George Tucker]], President of [[Rikkyo University|St. Paul's College]] and in 1913 appointed Bishop of Kyoto, was one of the foremost missionary leaders of the period who advocated that an independent, Japanese-led and self-supporting church was the only way in which Christianity could be carried to the wider population of Japan. Initiatives were put in place to help grow the financial self-sufficiency of church congregations and the first Japanese bishops, [[John Yasutaro Naide]], Bishop of Osaka and [[Joseph Sakunoshin Motoda]], Bishop of Tokyo, were consecrated in 1923. <ref>{{cite book|last=Sachs|first=William L.|title=The Transformation of Anglicanism|date=1993|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=0-521-39143-1|page=296}}</ref>
By 1906 the Nippon Sei Ko Kai was reported to have grown to 13,000 members, of whom 6,880 were communicants with a Japanese led ordained ministry of 42 priests and 22 deacons.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bickersteth|first=M. H.|title=Handbooks of English Church Expansion, Japan|year=1908|publisher=A. R. Mowbray & Co. Ltd|location=Oxford|page=58|url=http://www.archive.org/details/japanbickerstert00bickiala}}</ref> [[Henry St. George Tucker (bishop)|Henry St. George Tucker]], President of [[Rikkyo University|St. Paul's College]] and in 1913 appointed Bishop of Kyoto, was one of the foremost missionary leaders of the period who advocated that an independent, Japanese-led and self-supporting church was the only way in which Christianity could be carried to the wider population of Japan. Initiatives were put in place to help grow the financial self-sufficiency of church congregations and the first Japanese bishops, [[John Yasutaro Naide]], Bishop of Osaka and [[Joseph Sakunoshin Motoda]], Bishop of Tokyo, were consecrated in 1923. <ref>{{cite book|last=Sachs|first=William L.|title=The Transformation of Anglicanism|date=1993|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=0-521-39143-1|page=296}}</ref>


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[[St. Andrew's Cathedral, Tokyo|St. Andrew's Tokyo]], now the Cathedral church for the Diocese of Tokyo, was one such congregation that resisted government pressure, struggling to retain its land, church buildings and [[Anglican]] identity to the war’s end in 1945. However, like many urban Nippon Sei Ko Kai churches, medical and educational facilities, St. Andrew's buildings were lost in the [[Bombing of Tokyo|1945 Allied incendiary bombing]].
[[St. Andrew's Cathedral, Tokyo|St. Andrew's Tokyo]], now the Cathedral church for the Diocese of Tokyo, was one such congregation that resisted government pressure, struggling to retain its land, church buildings and [[Anglican]] identity to the war’s end in 1945. However, like many urban Nippon Sei Ko Kai churches, medical and educational facilities, St. Andrew's buildings were lost in the [[Bombing of Tokyo|1945 Allied incendiary bombing]].


===Post War (1945–2013)===
===Post war period (1945–2013)===
The pressure of an extended war caused damage to both internal church unity and the physical infrastructure of the of Nippon Sei Ko Kai; 71 out of a total of 246 churches had been destroyed, others were in bad repair due to neglect, requisition by the military or vandalism.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hemphill|first=Elizabeth|title=The Road to KEEP|year=1969|publisher=John Weatherhill Inc.|location=New York and Tokyo|page=108|edition=First}}</ref>
The pressure of an extended war caused damage to both internal church unity and the physical infrastructure of the of Nippon Sei Ko Kai; 71 out of a total of 246 churches had been destroyed, others were in bad repair due to neglect, requisition by the military or vandalism.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hemphill|first=Elizabeth|title=The Road to KEEP|year=1969|publisher=John Weatherhill Inc.|location=New York and Tokyo|page=108|edition=First}}</ref>


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In 2013 the NSKK co-hosted with the [[Anglican Church of Korea]], the 2nd Worldwide Anglican Peace Conference in [[Okinawa]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Conference Communique and Media Coverage|url=http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2013/04/anglicans-call-for-peace-in-asia-and-pacific.aspx|work=Anglicans call for Peace in Asia and Pacific|publisher=Anglican Communion News Service|accessdate=16 April 2014}}</ref>
In 2013 the NSKK co-hosted with the [[Anglican Church of Korea]], the 2nd Worldwide Anglican Peace Conference in [[Okinawa]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Conference Communique and Media Coverage|url=http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2013/04/anglicans-call-for-peace-in-asia-and-pacific.aspx|work=Anglicans call for Peace in Asia and Pacific|publisher=Anglican Communion News Service|accessdate=16 April 2014}}</ref>


==Present==
==Current Activities==
The Most Revd [[Nathaniel Makoto Uematsu]], [[Bishop]] of the [[Diocese]] of [[Hokkaido]] was installed as the current [[Primate (bishop)|Primate]] of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai on the 25th of May, 2006.
The Most Rev. [[Nathaniel Makoto Uematsu]], [[Bishop]] of the [[Diocese]] of [[Hokkaido]] was installed as the current [[Primate (bishop)|primate]] of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai on 25 May 2006.


Today the Nippon Sei Ko Kai continues its traditions of ministry and Christian witness in Japan through church congregational life, hospitals, schools, social advocacy and support for non-profit organizations.
Today the Nippon Sei Ko Kai continues its traditions of ministry and Christian witness in Japan through church congregational life, hospitals, schools, social advocacy and support for non-profit organizations.
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Eight of the NSKK's dioceses ordain women to the diaconate and priesthood.
Eight of the NSKK's dioceses ordain women to the diaconate and priesthood.


==Dioceses and Notable Churches==
==Dioceses and notable churches==
There are currently eleven [[dioceses]] in the Nippon Sei Ko Kai and over three hundred church and chapel congregations spread across the country. Comprehensive lists of churches and affiliated institutions are available on the official [http://www.nskk.org NSKK website] (in both Japanese and English) and to a more limited extent at [http://anglicansonline.org Anglicans Online]. Notable churches in each diocese from North to South to include:
There are currently eleven [[diocese]]s in the Nippon Sei Ko Kai and over three hundred church and chapel congregations spread across the country. Notable churches in each diocese from north to south include:
[[File:St Johns Church Hakodate Hokkaido Japan02n.jpg|thumb|St. John's Church, Hakodate]]
[[File:St Johns Church Hakodate Hokkaido Japan02n.jpg|thumb|St. John's Church, Hakodate]]
[[File:Christ Church, Yokohama.jpg|thumb|[[Christ Church, Yokohama]]]]
[[File:Christ Church, Yokohama.jpg|thumb|[[Christ Church, Yokohama]]]]
[[File:St. Andrew's Church, Kiyosato.jpg|thumb|St. Andrew's Church, [[Kiyosato, Yamanashi]]]]
[[File:St. Andrew's Church, Kiyosato.jpg|thumb|St. Andrew's Church, [[Kiyosato, Yamanashi]]]]


===Hokkaido Diocese===
===Hokkaido diocese===
*[http://nskk-hokkaido.jp/church/sapporo-christ.html Christ Church Cathedral], [[Sapporo]]
*[http://nskk-hokkaido.jp/church/sapporo-christ.html Christ Church Cathedral], [[Sapporo]]
*[http://hompage3.niffty.com St. John's Church], [[Hakodate]]
*[http://hompage3.niffty.com St. John's Church], [[Hakodate]]


===Tohoku Diocese===
===Tohoku diocese===
*[http://www.k4.dion.ne.jp/~nskk.toh/ Christ Church Cathedral], [[Sendai]]
*[http://www.k4.dion.ne.jp/~nskk.toh/ Christ Church Cathedral], [[Sendai]]


===Kitakanto Diocese===
===Kitakanto diocese===
*[http://nskk-kitakanto.org/facilities/maebashi-christ.html St. Matthias' Cathedral], [[Maebashi]]
*[http://nskk-kitakanto.org/facilities/maebashi-christ.html St. Matthias' Cathedral], [[Maebashi]]


===Tokyo Diocese===
===Tokyo diocese===
The Diocese of Tokyo was established in its modern form in May 1923. There are 33 churches and 9 chapels in the Diocese, many having been first established in the second half of the nineteenth century.
The Diocese of Tokyo was established in its modern form in May 1923. There are 33 churches and 9 chapels in the Diocese, many having been first established in the second half of the nineteenth century.
*[[St. Andrew's Cathedral, Tokyo|St. Andrew's Cathedral]], Minato-ku, [[Tokyo]]
*[[St. Andrew's Cathedral, Tokyo|St. Andrew's Cathedral]], Minato-ku, [[Tokyo]]
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* Williams Theological Seminary, Kyoto
* Williams Theological Seminary, Kyoto


===Universities and Colleges===
===Universities and colleges===
*[[Rikkyo University]], Tokyo (立教大学 Rikkyō Daigaku), also known as [[Rikkyo University|St. Paul's University]]
*[[Rikkyo University]], Tokyo (立教大学 Rikkyō Daigaku), also known as [[Rikkyo University|St. Paul's University]]
*[[St. Margaret's Junior College]], Tokyo (立教女学院短期大学 Rikkyō Jogakuin Tanki Daigaku)
*[[St. Margaret's Junior College]], Tokyo (立教女学院短期大学 Rikkyō Jogakuin Tanki Daigaku)
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*St. Barnabas' Hospital, Osaka
*St. Barnabas' Hospital, Osaka


==Notable Figures==
==Notable people==
===Early Mission Church (1859–1900)===
===Early mission church (1859–1900)===
*[[Channing Moore Williams]], (1829-1910) Episcopal Bishop of China and Japan, founder of [[Rikkyo University]]
*[[Channing Moore Williams]], (1829-1910) Episcopal Bishop of China and Japan, founder of [[Rikkyo University]]
*[[John Liggins]], (1829-1912) First Protestant missionary and ordained representative of the Anglican Communion to reach Japan
*[[John Liggins]], (1829-1912) First Protestant missionary and ordained representative of the Anglican Communion to reach Japan
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*[[John Toshimichi Imai]], (1863-1919) First Japanese born Anglican priest, consecrated in 1889
*[[John Toshimichi Imai]], (1863-1919) First Japanese born Anglican priest, consecrated in 1889


===Continued Growth and Wartime Challenges (1900–1945)===
===Continued growth and wartime challenges (1900–1945)===
*[[Paul Shinji Sasaki]], (1885-1946) Bishop of Mid-Japan, later Bishop of Tokyo and Presiding Bishop of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai
*[[Paul Shinji Sasaki]], (1885-1946) Bishop of Mid-Japan, later Bishop of Tokyo and Presiding Bishop of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai
* Todomu Sugai, (1883-1947) Bishop of South Tokyo
* Todomu Sugai, (1883-1947) Bishop of South Tokyo
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==See also==
==See also==
{{Portal|Anglicanism}}
{{Portal|Anglicanism}}
⚫
*''[[Silence (novel)|Silence]]'', historical novel by [[Shusaku Endo]] drawn from the oral histories of the hidden Christian communities ([[Kakure Kirishitan]] and [[Hanare Kirishitan]]) that survived the 17th-century state suppression of the Catholic Church in Japan.
*[[Anglican Communion]]
*[[Book of Common Prayer]]
⚫
*''[[Silence (novel)|Silence]]'' historical novel by [[Shusaku Endo]] drawn from the oral histories of the hidden Christian communities ([[Kakure Kirishitan]] and [[Hanare Kirishitan]]) that survived the 17th-century state suppression of the Catholic Church in Japan.


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 13:37, 24 May 2015

{{Infobox Anglican Church| |show_name = Nippon Sei Ko Kai |image = File:NipponSeiKoKai.gif |caption = |primate = [[Nathaniel Makoto Uematsu, Bishop of Hokkaido |headquarters = 65 Yaraicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0805, Japan |territory = Japan |population = 57,003[1] |website = nskk.org }}

The Nippon Sei Ko Kai (Japanese: 日本聖公会, Nippon Seikōkai, "Japanese Holy Catholic Church"), abbreviated as NSKK, or sometimes referred to in English as the Anglican Episcopal Church in Japan, is the national Christian church representing the Province of Japan (日本管区, Nippon Kanku) within the Anglican Communion.

As a member of the Anglican Communion the Nippon Sei Ko Kai shares many of the historic doctrinal and liturgical practices of the Church of England, but is a fully autonomous national church governed by its own synod and led by its own primate. The Nippon Sei Ko Kai, in common with other churches in the Anglican Communion, considers itself to be a part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church and to be both Catholic and Reformed.

With an estimated 80 million members worldwide, the Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion in the world, after the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches. The Nippon Sei Ko Kai has approximately 60,000 members organised into eleven dioceses and found in local church congregations throughout Japan.

History

Background (1549–1846)

Depiction of the Nagasaki Martyrs (16th century)

Jesuit Saint Francis Xavier together with Portuguese explorers and missionaries first brought Christianity to Japan in the 16th century. In 1587, the Christian faith and life were outlawed and Christians, Japanese and foreign, were openly persecuted. In memory of these early Japanese Christians, and in common with the Roman Catholic Church, the Nippon Sei Ko Kai commemorates the Martyrs of Japan every February 5 for their life and witness.

All foreigners were subsequently expelled in 1640 as Japan began two centuries of self-imposed isolation and Christian communities were driven into hiding. When foreigners were eventually allowed back into the main islands of Japan in the 1850s, they found thousands of Christians who had maintained their Christian faith and identity through centuries of persecution.

Early mission church (1846–1900)

Anglican church mission work in Japan started with the British Loochoo Naval Mission on the outlying Ryukyu Islands in May 1846.[2] A US Navy chaplain, the Rev. George Jones, traveling with the Expedition of Commodore Perry, led the first recorded Anglican burial service on Japanese soil at Yokohama on 9 March 1854.[3] More permanent mission representatives of the Anglican Communion, the Rev. John Liggins and the Rev. Channing Moore Williams of the Episcopal Church, arrived in the treaty port of Nagasaki in May and June 1859.[4][5] After the opening of the port of Yokohama in June 1859, Anglicans in the foreign community gathered for worship services in the British Consul's residence. A British Consular chaplain, the Rev. Michael Buckworth Bailey, arrived in August 1862 and after a successful fundraising campaign Christ Church, Yokohama was dedicated on 18 October 1863.[6]

Due to government restrictions on the teaching of Christianity and a significant language barrier, the religious duties of clergy were initially limited to serving as ministers to the American and British residents of the foreign settlements. The first recorded baptism by Williams of a Japanese convert, a Kumamoto samurai named Shōmura Sukeuemon, was not until 1866.[7] [8] Liggins and Williams were followed to Nagasaki in January 1869 by the Rev. George Ensor representing the Church Mission Society of the Church of England.

After the Meiji Restoration, significant new legislation relating to the freedom of religion was introduced, facilitating in September 1873, the arrival in Tokyo of the Rev. Alexander Croft Shaw and the Rev. William Ball Wright as the first missionaries sent to Japan by the Society for Propagation of the Gospel. Williams, appointed Episcopal Bishop of China and Japan in 1866, moved first to reside in Osaka in 1869, then subsequently relocated to Tokyo in December 1873.[9]

Nippon Sei Ko Kai Clergy (c.1888)

By 1879, through cooperative work between the various Anglican missions, the largest part of the Book of Common Prayer had been translated and published in Japanese. A full version of the text being completed by 1882.[10] On Palm Sunday 1883, Nobori Kanai and Masakazu Tai, graduates of the Tokyo theological school were ordained by Bishop Williams as the first Japanese deacons in the church.[11] In 1888 the Anglican Church of Canada also began missionary work in Japan.

In addition to the work of ordained church ministers, much of the positive public profile enjoyed by Anglican Church in Japan during this early mission period was due to the work of lay missionaries working to establish schools, universities and medical facilities. Significant among this group were missionary women such as Ellen G. Eddy at St. Agnes' School in Osaka, Alice Hoar at St. Hilda's School and Florence Pitman at St. Margaret's School, both located in Tokyo. Hannah Riddell who established the Kaishun Hospital for leprosy sufferers in Kumamoto and Mary Cornwall-Legh who ran a similar facility in Kusatsu, Gunma, were both honored by the Japanese Government for their work. [12]

The first synod of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai met in Osaka in February 1887. At this meeting, instigated by Bishop Edward Bickersteth and presided over by Bishop Williams, it was agreed to unite the various Anglican missionary efforts in Japan into one autonomous national church; the Nippon Sei Ko Kai. The 17 European and American participants at the first Synod were outnumbered by 14 other clergy and 50 Japanese lay delegates.[13]

Total Nippon Sei Ko Kai church membership in 1887 was estimated to be 1,300.[14] The Rev. John Toshimichi Imai, ordained deacon in 1888 and raised to the priesthood by Bishop Bickersteth in 1889, was the first Japanese to become an ordained Anglican priest.[15]

Continued growth and wartime challenges (1900–1945)

By 1906 the Nippon Sei Ko Kai was reported to have grown to 13,000 members, of whom 6,880 were communicants with a Japanese led ordained ministry of 42 priests and 22 deacons.[16] Henry St. George Tucker, President of St. Paul's College and in 1913 appointed Bishop of Kyoto, was one of the foremost missionary leaders of the period who advocated that an independent, Japanese-led and self-supporting church was the only way in which Christianity could be carried to the wider population of Japan. Initiatives were put in place to help grow the financial self-sufficiency of church congregations and the first Japanese bishops, John Yasutaro Naide, Bishop of Osaka and Joseph Sakunoshin Motoda, Bishop of Tokyo, were consecrated in 1923. [17]

During the 1930s, as overseas funding and the number of foreign Anglican missionaries in Japan declined, new challenges arose for Nippon Sei Ko Kai church leadership and laity from the increasing focus on Shinto as a state prescribed religion and the growing influence of militarism in domestic and foreign policy. Christianity was portrayed by many nationalist politicians at the time as incompatible with the loyalty of Japanese subjects. In response the Nippon Sei Ko Kai issued periodic statements in support of the Imperial Army[18] and missionary work followed the path of Japanese expansion into Manchuria.

A more active period of government persecution began in 1937, particularly for Christian denominations such as the Salvation Army with its commitment to social reform, and for the NSKK with its historic links to the Church of England. [19] Archbishop Lang's condemnation in October of Imperial Japanese Army actions in China, provoked hostile scrutiny of the NSKK and caused some in the church leadership to publicly disassociate themselves from links with the wider Anglican Communion. [20]

St. Andrews, Cathedral Church of the Tokyo Diocese

During World War II, the majority of Protestant churches in Japan were forcibly brought together by the Japanese wartime government to form the United Church of Christ in Japan, or Kyodan. Reflecting the distinctive doctrinal character of the Anglican Communion, many individual Nippon Sei Ko Kai congregations refused to join. The cost of resistance to and non-cooperation with the government's religious policies was harassment by the military police and periods of imprisonment for church leaders such as Bishops Samuel Heaslett, Hinsuke Yashiro and Todomu Sugai, as well as Primate Paul Shinji Sasaki.[21]

St. Andrew's Tokyo, now the Cathedral church for the Diocese of Tokyo, was one such congregation that resisted government pressure, struggling to retain its land, church buildings and Anglican identity to the war’s end in 1945. However, like many urban Nippon Sei Ko Kai churches, medical and educational facilities, St. Andrew's buildings were lost in the 1945 Allied incendiary bombing.

Post war period (1945–2013)

The pressure of an extended war caused damage to both internal church unity and the physical infrastructure of the of Nippon Sei Ko Kai; 71 out of a total of 246 churches had been destroyed, others were in bad repair due to neglect, requisition by the military or vandalism.[22]

Through individual and larger communal acts of reconciliation and with the support of an Anglican Commission sent out by Archbishop Fisher in 1946, the Nippon Sei Ko Kai was organizationally reordered in 1947, with a leadership consisting of Japanese bishops at the head of each diocese, renewing its life and mission for the Christian Gospel in Japan.

The Nippon Sei Ko Kai became a financially self-supporting Province of the Anglican Communion in 1972.[23]

Adopting a formal Statement of War Responsibility at the General Synod in 1996, and reflecting on the Japanese occupation of China and Korea prior to the Second World War, the NSKK has been active in multi-year projects promoting peace, reconciliation and youth exchange programs between East Asian nations.[24]

Two decades after becoming the first woman deacon, Margaret Ryoko Shibukawa was ordained the first woman priest in the Nippon Sei Ko Kai in December 1998.[25]

The Nippon Sei Ko Kai celebrated the 150th anniversary of continuous Anglican Christian witness in Japan in 2009. The occasion was marked with a series of church and community events and visits by both Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams and the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Katharine Jefferts Schori.[26]

In 2013 the NSKK co-hosted with the Anglican Church of Korea, the 2nd Worldwide Anglican Peace Conference in Okinawa.[27]

Present

The Most Rev. Nathaniel Makoto Uematsu, Bishop of the Diocese of Hokkaido was installed as the current primate of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai on 25 May 2006.

Today the Nippon Sei Ko Kai continues its traditions of ministry and Christian witness in Japan through church congregational life, hospitals, schools, social advocacy and support for non-profit organizations.

The church, at both a national and local level, works to support disadvantaged, marginalized or discriminated against communities in Japan, [28] [29] as well as communities in Tohoku impacted by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and subsequent crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear generating plant.[30]

The NSKK also engages in field-based mission work overseas, such as in The Philippines.

Eight of the NSKK's dioceses ordain women to the diaconate and priesthood.

Dioceses and notable churches

There are currently eleven dioceses in the Nippon Sei Ko Kai and over three hundred church and chapel congregations spread across the country. Notable churches in each diocese from north to south include:

St. John's Church, Hakodate
Christ Church, Yokohama
St. Andrew's Church, Kiyosato, Yamanashi

Hokkaido diocese

Tohoku diocese

Kitakanto diocese

Tokyo diocese

The Diocese of Tokyo was established in its modern form in May 1923. There are 33 churches and 9 chapels in the Diocese, many having been first established in the second half of the nineteenth century.

Yokohama Diocese

Chubu Diocese

St Agnes Cathedral, Kyoto

Kyoto Diocese

Osaka Diocese

Kobe Diocese

Kyushu Diocese

Okinawa Diocese

Rikkyo University, Tokyo
St. Luke's International Hospital, Tokyo

Nippon Sei Ko Kai affiliated educational, medical and social welfare institutions in Japan number over two hundred. Comprehensive lists of affiliated institutions are available on the official NSKK website.

Seminaries

Universities and colleges

Hospitals

Notable people

Early mission church (1859–1900)

Continued growth and wartime challenges (1900–1945)

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/regions/asia/japan/anglican-church-in-japan.html
  2. ^ Kerr, George (2000). Okinawa: The History of an Island People. Tokyo: Tuttle. p. 279. ISBN 978-0804820875. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  3. ^ Daugherty, Leo (2009). The Marine Corps and the State Department. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company Inc. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-7864-3796-2. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  4. ^ Arnold, Alfreda (1905). Church Work in Japan. Harvard College Library: Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  5. ^ Arnold, Church Work in Japan, p.5.
  6. ^ Cortazzi, Sir Hugh (2000). Collected Writings. Abingdon, Oxon: Taylor & Francis. p. 207. ISBN 1-873410-93-X. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  7. ^ Ion, A. Hamish (1993). The Cross and the Rising Sun (2 ed.). Waterloo, Ontario, Canada: Wilifrid Laurier University Press. p. 37. ISBN 0-88920-218-4.
  8. ^ Ion, Hamish, A. (2009). American Missionaries, Christian oyatoi, and Japan, 1859-73. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-7748-1647-2. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Arnold, Church Work in Japan, p.8.
  10. ^ Arnold, Church Work in Japan, p.12.
  11. ^ Hobart, Margaret (1912). Japan Mission of the American Church. New York: The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society. p. Part II: Training Schools.
  12. ^ Arnold, Church Work in Japan, p.126.
  13. ^ Bickersteth, M. H. (1908). Handbooks of English Church Expansion, Japan. Oxford: A. R. Mowbray & Co. Ltd. p. 56.
  14. ^ Ion, A. Hamish (1993). The Cross and the Rising Sun (v.2 ed.). Waterloo, Ontario, Canada: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. ISBN 0-88920-218-4.
  15. ^ Ion, The Cross and the Rising Sun, p.73
  16. ^ Bickersteth, M. H. (1908). Handbooks of English Church Expansion, Japan. Oxford: A. R. Mowbray & Co. Ltd. p. 58.
  17. ^ Sachs, William L. (1993). The Transformation of Anglicanism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 296. ISBN 0-521-39143-1.
  18. ^ Sachs, William (1993). Self Support: The Episcopal Mission and Nationalism in Japan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 500. ISBN 0-521-39143-1. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  19. ^ Ion, A. Hamish (1999). The Cross and the Dark Valley: The Canadian Protestant Missionary Movement in the Japanese Empire, 1931-1945. Waterloo, Ontario, Canada: Wilfred Laurier University Press. p. 241. ISBN 0-88920-218-4.
  20. ^ Ion, A. Hamish (1999). The Cross and the Dark Valley: The Canadian Protestant Missionary Movement in the Japanese Empire, 1931-1945. Waterloo, Ontario, Canada: Wilfred Laurier University Press. p. 245. ISBN 0-88920-218-4.
  21. ^ Ion, Hamish (1993). The Cross and the Rising Sun. Waterloo, Ontario, Canada: Wilfred Laurier University Press. p. 254. ISBN 978-1-55458-216-7.
  22. ^ Hemphill, Elizabeth (1969). The Road to KEEP (First ed.). New York and Tokyo: John Weatherhill Inc. p. 108.
  23. ^ "About the NSKK". NSKK Overview. Provincial Office of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  24. ^ "NSKK General Synod Resolution, 23 May 1996" (PDF). Statement of War Responsibility. Nippon Sei Ko Kai. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  25. ^ "Online News Report". First Woman Priest Ordained by Japan Anglican Church. UCA News. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  26. ^ "Pastoral Letter" (PDF). 150th Anniversary of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai. NSKK House of Bishops. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  27. ^ "Conference Communique and Media Coverage". Anglicans call for Peace in Asia and Pacific. Anglican Communion News Service. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  28. ^ "NSKK Newsletter" (PDF). Inauguration of New Primate of the NSKK. NSKK Provincial Office. September 2006. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  29. ^ "Anglican Kani Mission". Program for Migrants. NSKK Chubu Diocese. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  30. ^ "Remember the Survivors". Tohoku Mission. ACNS Anglican Communion News Service. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
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