Paul Frederick Rusch (1897 – 1979) was a lay missionary of the

Anglican Church in Japan The ''Nippon Sei Ko Kai'' (), abbreviated as NSKK, sometimes referred to in English as the Anglican Episcopal Church in Japan, is the national Christianity, Christian church representing the Province of Japan (, ) within the Anglican Communion. ...

. Rusch is remembered in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

for his role as an educator and for pioneering activities in development of

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

, rural agriculture and post

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

reconciliation.

Background and early life

Born November 25, 1897, in Fairmount, Indiana, US, Rusch was raised in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

. He served with the US Army in France during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In Kentucky, Rusch was an active member of the congregation of Christ Church Cathedral in Louisville.

Work in Japan

Rusch first arrived in Japan in 1925, initially to help the YMCA with reconstruction efforts after the Great Kantō earthquake, and stayed to dedicate his life and energies towards youth education, post-war reconciliation and rural development in that country. Through his association with the

he taught both Economics at Rikkyo University and was instrumental in helping Dr. Rudolf Teusler raise funds for the expansion of St. Luke's International Hospital in central

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 ...

. Encouraged by Bishop Charles S. Reifsnider, Rusch was renowned as an unconventional, but highly effective lay evangelist for the Anglican Church in Japan, establishing a chapter of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew at Rikkyo University in 1927. In 1934 Rusch also established and was elected first chairman of the Intercollegiate Football League, the first college level American Football association in Japan. The Paul Rusch Cup is awarded each year to the MVP of the

Rice Bowl The Japan Championship Rice Bowl is an annual American football national championship game held in Japan every January 3 that determines the champion of the X-League (Japan), X-League. The game was originally a collegiate all-star game until 198 ...

, Japan's own American Football national championship game. Rusch was arrested in December 1941 immediately after the Japanese

Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

. He was detained at a temporary prison camp on the campus of Sumire Girls' School on the outskirts of Tokyo and eventually deported from Japan as a part of a wartime prisoner exchange in June 1942. Repatriated back to the United States, Rusch worked at the Military Intelligence Service Language School at Camp Savage,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, returning to Japan at the end of hostilities as a member of General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

's General Staff.

Kiyosato Educational Experiment Project (KEEP)

Rusch is most widely known for his work in founding the rural at Kiyosato, on the slopes of Mt. Yatsugatake,

Yamanashi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Yamanashi Prefecture has a population of 787,592 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,465 km2 (1,724 sq mi). Yamanashi Prefecture borders Saitama Prefecture to the n ...

. The camp and farm, first opened in July 1938, served as an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

youth mission center prior to the

and was rededicated in 1946 as the Kiyosato Educational Experiment Project (KEEP). After the war, as surrounding fields were cleared, a new

church dedicated to St. Andrew was constructed using local stone. A vocational school, an experimental farm, a nursery and library facilities soon followed. In June 1948 the groundbreaking ceremonies for the Seisen Ryo rural clinic were attended by Prince Takamatsu. Other features of the mountainside site include a Yamanashi Prefecture Nature Center, the Japan American Football Hall of Fame, and an outdoor chapel and altar constructed in 1962 by students from Lenox School for Boys. The KEEP farm and mission center is an operationally independent year-round residential retreat and conference center, but retains its links with Anglican and other Christian church educational establishments throughout Japan. The original farm property and Paul Rusch Memorial Museum are the focus of the popular Yatsugatake County Fair and Paul Rusch Festival held each October.

Recognition and awards

Among numerous awards and decorations, Rusch received honorary doctorates from Hobart and William Smith College in 1950, Lincoln University in 1955 and Rikkyo University in 1965. Rusch was awarded the Third

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese Order (distinction), order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six c ...

by the Japanese Government in 1956. The Paul Rusch Athletics Center on the main campus of Rikkyo University in

Ikebukuro is a commercial and entertainment district in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. Toshima ward offices, Ikebukuro Station, and several shops, restaurants, and department stores are located within city limits. Transportation At the center of Ikebukuro is ...

is named in his honour. A commemorative plaque in the University Chapel records his role as Godfather of over 500 Rikkyo Students.

Paul Rusch Cup

The Paul Rusch Cup is an annual award, beginning in 1984, given to the top American football player in Japan.

References

External links

Official site of KEEP
* Aiko Takeuchi-Demirci
Review of McDonald, Andrew T.; McDonald, Verlaine Stoner, ''Paul Rusch in Postwar Japan: Evangelism, Rural Development, and the Battle against Communism''
H-Diplo, H-Net Reviews (June 2019). {{DEFAULTSORT:Rusch, Paul American Anglican missionaries Anglican missionaries in Japan 1897 births 1979 deaths Academic staff of Rikkyo University American football in Japan People from Grant County, Indiana People from Louisville, Kentucky American expatriates in Japan