リーフレット編集／Ｎ P Ｏ法人ピアソン会

http://www.npo-pierson.org/

PIERSON MEMORIAL HOUSE
Kitami City, Hokkaido, JapanLong, long ago,￼
Charmed by a view of the setting sun,
A couple from a distant land
Made this place their home.

Missionaries George and Ida Pierson and Kitami
On a crest surmounted with ancient oaks and towering elms they stood amid
the delicate fragrance of bellflowers as the setting sun tinted the peaceful sky over
Notsukeushi.
The impressively tall missionary, already more than fifty years of age, and hiswife had been strolling along this ridge, considering whether to establish their mission headquarters in Engaru or in Notsukeushi (now Kitami). Looking up, they saw thegiant burning disc of the sun slowly declining towards the mountains to the west.
Charmed by the beauty of the scene, their uncertainties were resolved and they decided there and then to come and live at this place.
In early autumn, a house in the Swiss chalet style favoured by Mrs
Pierson was completed on this spot, reminiscent of the natural beauty of theirhometown Elizabeth, New Jersey.
To the local people, this western-style building was very unusual and it received
a constant stream of visitors, drawn by their admiration for the character and dedication of the two missionaries.
George Pierson first arrived in Japan in 1888 and subsequently spent forty years
here, thirty-four of them in Hokkaido. He, later with his wife, followed their calling
to Otaru, then Sapporo, Asahikawa and Kitami. From the south to the north, from-１-

cities to rural areas, they kept the light of their dream alive, fortified by their pioneering spirit of courage and endurance.
In Otaru and in Sapporo they contributed to the first education for women in
Hokkaido and taught at Sapporo Agricultural College. In Asahikawa they dedicatedthemselves to mission work among soldiers, prisoners and Ainu, campaigned toend prostitution and promoted the development of schools.
In Kitami they published annotated translations of the Old and New Testaments,
worked to prevent the establishment of places of prostitution and transformed thelives of many women and children.
They called this spot Mikashiwa no Mori (Three Oaks), developing a deep affection for it and for this town. From here they could see the Hokkosha (Christian pioneer)
settlement in the distance and the lights of the town close at hand. This placebecame a house of prayer for Hokkosha pioneers and other citizens, a house of God
where the words of the Bible were explained. In the spring of 1928, the Piersons bid atearful farewell to Mikashiwa no Mori, which had been their home for fourteen years,
and set out down poplar-lined Pierson Avenue on their way back to the United States.

Main Items Displayed
First Floor Display Room - Memories of George and Ida Pierson
Items formerly belonging to the Piersons:Bell, organ, desk, lamp, chalice
Photographs, letters, pamphlets, other writings
Mr and Mrs Pierson, Rural Missionaries (in Japanese)

Works of George & Ida Pierson:
The Year 1908 in Hokkaido				'DAN=DAN' ? How to Present Christ to Unbelievers
Through Kitami in June				Annotated Complete Old Testament			
Annotated Complete New Testament			
Annotated Complete Bible				Let Us Go Into the Next Towns in Japan 		
Forty Happy Years in Japan				
The Cross of Christ					Ask and It Shall Be Given You 				The Call of Rural Japan19081909
1910
1916
1916
1916
193419361937
1937？

Writings in Japanese by George & Ida PiersonTranslations into Japanese:
Forty Happy Years in Japan				Through Kitami in June
The Year 1908 in Hokkaido-２-1985
20022009

Second Floor Display RoomItems related to Elizabeth,
New Jersey - Sister City to Kitami
In June 1969, Kitami signed a sistercity agreement with Elizabeth,
New Jersey, U.S.A., the birthplaceof George Pierson.
Kitami and Elizabeth have maintained
their international friendship since then.

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Elizabeth New Jersey

Sister city agreement, city guides, city maps, city planning reports, annual education
reports, publicity pamphlets, photographic collections, other.

Lives of George & Ida Pierson
1861
1862
1882
1885

George Pierson born 14 January in Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S.A., at the time of the outbreak of the Civil War.
Ida Goepp born in Easton, Pennsylvania. Her father a lawyer.
G. Pierson graduated from the University of New Jersey (now Princeton University).
G. Pierson entered Princeton Theological College. Graduated. Evangelical work in Cumberland,
Pennsylvania, summer 1887.
1888
G. Pierson became a minister on 16 April. Ordained on 21 June at Westminster Presbyterian Church,Elizabeth, his home church, and simultaneously appointed a missionary to Japan. Set sail from
America for Japan on 21 August.
1888-90
G. Pierson learned Japanese while teaching at Meiji Gakuin High School in Shiba, Tokyo.
1890
Ida Goepp first came to Japan, as a missionary teacher.
1890-92
G. Pierson engaged in mission work in Tokyo and Chiba while teaching at Chiba Prefectural High School.
Spent time in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture doing mission work.
1894-95
G. Pierson moved to Otaru. He married Ida Goepp in Tokyo on 12 June, 1895. After a furlough break in theUnited States, they returned to Hokkaido.
1897-1900 Moved to Sapporo. Taught at Hokusei Girls’School (now Hokusei Gakuen) and at Sapporo
Agricultural College (now Hokkaido University).
1901
Moved to Asahikawa. Joined Japanese minister Sakamoto Naohiro in campaigning against prostitution.
Engaged in mission work in Tokachi Prison. Extended the scope of their mission activity to include
the Tokachi, Kushiro, Kitami, Engaru, Nayoro and Teshio regions.
1914
After taking a one-year furlough break in the United States, moved to Notsukeushi (Kitami) in latespring.
1914-28
Lived in Notsukeushi (Kitami) for fourteen years. Engaged in mission work in eastern and northern
Hokkaido.
1928
Left Kitami in May. Officially retired from mission work in August. Went to live in Philadelphia.
Devoted themselves to writing, several works published.
1937
Mrs Ida Goepp Pierson died in Philadelphia at the age of 75.
1939
George Pierson died in Philadelphia on 31 July at the age of 78.

Pierson Memorial House
This house, built in 1914, was the home of Mr and Mrs Pierson for fourteen years. It was later altered, but in 1970 was restored by Kitami City to its original form. It was opened
on 31 May 1971 as the Pierson Memorial House, and is governed bythe Pierson Memorial House Ordinance of 1 October 1971.
Since then it has functioned as a memorial house and museum, under the control of the Kitami Board of Education.
（この英訳文章は北海学園北海商科大学教授、Graham W. Herd 氏によるものです）-３-

Pierson Memorial House

Pierson Memorial House
ピアソン公園

学
下園
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ホテル
黒部

通り

り

駐車場

中 央

北１条

iroshTo

Ob・roi
ihKu

To Abashiri

国道 39 号線

（⇨
北見信金

通 り

西１丁目

西３丁目

北２条

西４丁目

北３条

銀座通り ︵西２丁目︶

北４条

至 北網圏北見文化センター

To Asahikawa

北見赤十字病院

北見郵便局

山オホーツクビアファクトリーパラボ

ＪＲ石北本線Kitami
みんとロード地下道

薄荷蒸留館
Bus terminal
Kitami Mint Memorial Museum

Kitami City Tourism association
Kitami City Public Library■ Open：Six Days a Week
Tuesday - Sunday
Monday when a National Holiday■ Opening Hours: 9.30 a.m. - 4.30 p.m.
■ Closed：
MondayTuesday following a National Holiday
Holiday Closure:
New Year
30 December - 6 January■ Admission： Free
■ Access： From JR Kitami Station and Kitami
Bus Terminal
15 Minutes Walk; 5 Minutes by Taxi
Managed and Staffed by Members of the NPO
Pierson Society on behalf of Kitami City.
PHONE..FAX (0157) 31-1215【homepage】
http://www.npo-pierson . org/

missionary Dr.Pierson's hometown

Elizabeth New Jersey

City Hall-４-

2019.10.26 更新