was a Japanese Christian minister. Kozaki was called one of the "Three Elders" of the Kumiai Church alongside and Ebina Danjo. He was the second president of

Doshisha University , also referred to as , is a private university in Kyoto, Japan. Established in 1875, it is one of Japan's oldest private institutions of higher learning, and has approximately 30,000 students enrolled on four campuses in Kyoto. It is one of Japa ...

Early life

Kozaki was born in what is now

Kumamoto is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a populat ...

on May 17, 1856. He was the second son in a

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

family. He began his studies at the Jishūkan, then entered the in 1871. He was strongly opposed to Christianity when he entered the school, and held on to

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...

. However, in 1876, he was baptized by Leroy Lansing Janes and joined the Kumamoto Band, but kept his Confucianist beliefs. The Kumamoto Yogakko closed that year, so Kozaki transferred to Doshisha English School, where he met

Joseph Hardy Neesima (born ; 12 February 1843 – 23 January 1890), better known by his English name Joseph Hardy Neesima, was a Japanese Protestant missionary and educator of the Meiji era who founded Doshisha English School (later Doshisha University). He w ...

. He graduated in June 1879, and went to Hyuga province to do missionary work with Neesima.

Career

In October 1879, Kozaki went to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

and founded a church. In March 1880, he became the first president of the Japanese

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

. In the same year he began publishing the , and later in 1883 he began publishing the . In 1886 he published his first major work, the ''Seikyo Shinron'', in which he criticized Confucianism and said that Christianity should be Japan's main religion. He also founded two new churches that year, the Reinanzaka and the Bancho Church. Kozaki married Tsuda Sen's great-niece, Imamura Chiyo, in 1881. They had a son, , in 1888. In 1892 Kozaki became the president Doshisa University and of the Doshisha, which is the parent organization of all of the Doshisha schools, from Doshisha elementary to Doshisha University. In 1893, he represented

Japanese Christians Christianity in Japan is among the nation's minority religions in terms of individuals who state an explicit affiliation or faith. In 2022, there were 1.26 million Christians in Japan, down from 1.9 million Christians in Japan in 2019. In the ...

at the

World Parliament of Religions There have been several meetings referred to as a Parliament of the World's Religions, the first being the World's Parliament of Religions of 1893, which was an attempt to create a global dialogue of faiths. The event was celebrated by another c ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. While he was in the United States he studied theology at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

for eight months. When he returned, he found a growing tension between Doshisha and the

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian mission, Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the l ...

, which culminated in the Board ending their partnership with Doshisha in 1896. Kozaki took responsibility for the turmoil this caused the school, and resigned.

Tokio Yokoi Tokio Yokoi (December 3, 1857 – September 13, 1927) was a Japanese pastor, journalist, bureaucrat, and member of the Japanese House of Representatives. He was also known as Tokio Ise. Career Yokoi was born on December 3, 1857, in Higo provi ...

became the next president. Kozaki returned to his churches in Tokyo, where he continued to write, preach, and conduct missions overseas. He died of old age in

Chigasaki, Kanagawa is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 242,798 and a population density of 6800 people per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography The city is located on the eastern bank of the Sagami R ...

on February 26, 1938.

References

1856 births {{DEFAULTSORT:Kozaki, Hiromichi 1938 deaths 19th-century Protestant theologians Presidents of universities and colleges in Japan Japanese theologians Japanese Christians Japanese Confucianists 19th-century Confucianists 19th-century Japanese people 19th-century Christian theologians Converts to Christianity

Early life

Career

Further reading

References