The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-12-28
A VISITOR FROM JAPAN.
Bishop Osouf Gives Brief Narrative of
French Catholic Missions i'll the Orient.


X Mugabure are in the city, stopping for a few
days with Bishop Chatard.
I'VE come from Japan" said Bishop Osouf,
who is French and speaks English sparingly and
with difficulty, Shy the special permission of the
Holy See. We are collecting money for our
missions there, to increase their facilities for
making converts, and the money will be applied
to building chapels and schools. Our ordinary
resources are quite insufficient We can expect
no assistance from the native converts, who,
compared with the great population, are few in
number, and not from among the wealthy.
How many Catholic missionaries are there in
JapanF' inquired the reporter
I'm all Japan there are ffty-eight, and they
are all Frenchmen, from the Societe des Missions
Etrangeres-Society for Foreign Missions-at
Paris. Twenty eight of these are in my vicar
ate have not been very long in JAPAN only
since Japan was divided into two apostolic vicar
ates, that is, since 1871 was then appointed for
the northern one In all Japan there are now
about 10000 converts to our church, of whom
about %, 900 in the southern vicarate, and of
the entire number probably 1900 are lineal de-
sccndants of the old Christians Of the sixteenth
century-those who were converted by Francis
Xavier"
Japan is composed of four large islands, Nipon
Skopf, Riusin and Jesse. These form Japan
proper, and, with about $500 smaller
islands, make up the empire called
''Dai Niphon"-''Th Land of the Rising Sun
for the Japanese like the Chinese, delight in
the grandiloquent. The religion is Buddhism.
About 1912 the trade of the country was opened up
20 obfa fta INIT nd
and in 1549 Francis Xavier, the greatest mission
airy since the days of the apostles, landed. This
remarkable man was sent in his eighteenth year
to the College of Sainte Barbe, at Paris, and
formed the acquaintance of the great Ignatius
de Loyola with whom he became intimately as
ISOLATED in the founding of the Jesuit society
the greatest body of missionaries the world has
ever known. The object of Xaviers life was to
carry out a project for the conversion of the
Japanese empire. This had been suggested to
him by Japanese of high rank, whom he had
attached to himself at Malacca. His IN ission to
Japan occupied about two and half years He
preached with the aid of an interpreter, and
Christianity spread rapidly Priests hocked to
Japan and soon-it seems almost incredible-a
total of 600 900 converts was reported. The
Buddhist priests, alarmed at the strength OF this
foreign religion, stirred up the authorities
against the Christians Prosecutions of the
Christians increased. They resisted, and finally
great battle was fought, in which 1O0,O 600 men
persisted. In 1915 the Jesuits and priests were
exiled, and in 1924 all foreigners, except Dutch
and Chinese, were banished. Japanese were
forbidden to leave the country and all their
large vessels we're destroyed. In 1887 there was
great massacre of Japanese Catholics, and
Christianity disappeared from the Land of the
Rising Sun Twenty or less Dutch traders only
remained. and they were confined to single
| island, Deschina Over hundred years of in
| tercourse with Christian nations resulted only
in the adoption of firearms, gunpowder and TO-
| bacco.
After two and half centuries of isolation
| from the remainder of the world, Commodore
Perry, in 1858, with feet of American vessels,
arrived at Yeddo (TokioG and the Perry treaty
was concluded, which again opened Japan to
| commerce and the missionaries.
The Japanese" continued the Bishop, under
| the favorable conditions following the treaty
took kindly and readily to the Christian relg
ion. They are polite and hospitabfe people,
and our travelling missionaries were everywhere
kindly received. Formerly there were many
prejudices but they are ranidly disappearing
There are few opportunities for railroad travel
in Japan There is now o line from Toxic, the
capital to Takasaki. There are no native
priests yet in my yicarate, but there
are three in the southern. We have
twenty students for the priesthood in my vicar
ate, and there is great variety in their ages
In the schools there are about 500 girls under in
struction by the sisters, and we have about 500
boys under our tutorage. There are four houses
of sisters. I reside at Toxic. The city has a
population of about 100000. | remember before
! went there seeing the population stated in
French paper to be 100000, it being the rule to
overestimate the population of Asiatic cities.
The authorities are we'll disposed to US, and do
not interfere with the religious inclinations or
preferences Of the natives. The laws, which
were extremely severe against Christians, have
not been changed but not in force being
ignored. and are dead letter"
The reporter inquired as to the kind or archi
lecture that prevailed in Japan, and the meth
DDS of extinguishing fires,
"In Toxic, as elsewhere, the buildings, except
n few Offices of the government, which are built
in European style and of durable material. are
made of exceedingly light and eombustible ma
terial There are magazines or store houses for
goods which are made of bamboo, heavily plas-
tered with clay, which are considered somewhat
near fire proof. The means for putting out fires
are exceedingly primitive, being small hand-en-
gines. At Yokohama there are steam
engines, but such things are I'M
| known in the interior You ask as to the
color of the Japanese, whether they are all dark.
They are generally of a copper color, but many
| are rather light, though all have black hair;
| there are none of auburn or hight hair. In my
vicarate there are three churches and twenty
five chapels. Many of the latter are very frail
and simple, being merely Japanese dwellings
converted into chapels Two of my churches,
so far as the exterior is concerned, are made of
bricks with wood inside, and the third is all of
wood. One of those built of bricks, the one in
Toxic, was a gift from Count Daru, a French
gentleman"
The Bishop is man of medium height, with
a clear and kindly eye, and great candor and
poteness. lie wears full brown beard which
is long and flowing He will make brief ad-
dress at 1890 this morning, at St Johns Ca
thedral
THE COURT RECORD.