To a Place Unknown: Evacuation
Despite an uncertain future, Japanese American Christians faced their evacuation with a faith defined by the author of Hebrews: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction…
The Christian Answer to Suffering
Rev. Dr. E. Stanley Jones (1884-1973) was a former Methodist missionary to India who penned a well-received book, The Christ of the Indian Road. He was also a good friend…
We Shall Have Our Easter
Rev. John Misao Yamazaki (1884-1985) served in St. Mary’s Episcopal Church of Los Angeles for parts of five decades. He pastored the church before the war from 1913 to 1942,…
New Pilgrims
In April 1921, Rev. Kengo Tajima (1884-1961) was sent to continue the work of the Japanese Church of Christ in Salt Lake City begun by Rev. Hidenobu Toyotome. Tajima’s ministry…
To Follow in the Faith of Abraham
Rev. Sohei Kowta (1893-1963) pastored the Japanese Presbyterian Church in Wintersburg, California from 1938 to 1942. He later recounted, Immediately after my lunch on that fatal Sunday, December 7, 1941,…
The Babylonian Exile and the Love of God
Rev. Hideo Hashimoto (1911-2003) was born in the United States, but received his primary school education in Japan. His extensive travel and experiences allowed him to understand both the Japanese…
Reweaving Our Lives
Rev. Royden T. Susu-Mago was the pastor of the Japanese Independent Church in Hollywood, California at the time of the evacuation order. He and his wife, Charlotte, cared for the…
The Tie That Binds
Rev. Donald K. Toriumi (1914-1980) was the English pastor of the Japanese Union Church in downtown Los Angeles. He had been installed as pastor scarcely one month before evacuation when…
A Stone Cried Out
Rev. Shigeo Shimada (1906-1984) was born in Japan and began to follow Christ through his sister’s influence. After his father disowned him for believing a “foreign” religion, Shimada immigrated to…
Facing Evacuation
On the Sunday before their forced removal, Lester Suzuki had preached a sermon to the Nisei congregation of the Japanese Methodist Church in Los Angeles: “Brethren, we are facing the…