mv 
 
 '■.'>„ M\ 
 
 
 
 
\ HOUSES OF FELLOWSHIP 
 
 THE GEORGE W.DOANE 
 MEMORIAL LIB RARY^ 
 
SCCIETY fOB FOREIGN MiSSiU;! W-Lfnilt 
 HOUSES OF FELLOWSHIP 
 
 6 SOUTH POnTLWlD AVE., 
 
 viir;Tt;OR, H. J. 
 
O MURA SAN 
 
MIYAMOTO O MURA SAN 
 
MAR 18 ^993 
 
 O MURA SAN 
 
 WITH A GLIMPSE OF 
 THE COUNTRY IN 
 WHICH SHE LIVED 
 
 By 
 
 ANNA MARGARET SCHNEDER 
 
 BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS 
 
 REFORMED CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES 
 
 l.'tIM) ARCH ST., PIIII.A., PA. 
 
 10U5 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 COHNTKY AND PaKKNTACK I3 
 
 CHAPTER IT 
 
 JtlKTH AND Clin.lJHOOD 3I 
 
 CHAPTER HI 
 CoNvi'.KsioN ANij I"'aklv Hskkulness 55 
 
 CIIAI'TI'.I'; IV 
 Markiack anu I loM !•; Lii'i-: "j-j 
 
 CHAPTIiR V 
 Last Days 97 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Frontispiece — Miyamoto O Mura San. 
 
 Matsushinui Bay 12 
 
 Shiogama 14 
 
 View of Sendai 15 
 
 Shop of the Miyamoto.s 23 
 
 The Boys' Festival 27 
 
 Doll Festival yj 
 
 First Lord of Sendai 41 
 
 Ilachiman Shrine 45 
 
 Sacred Water Fall 49 
 
 Famous Corner House 57 
 
 The IMain Street, Kokubuncho 58 
 
 House where Mr. Oshikawa Preached 61 
 
 The Miyamoto Family; Omurasan on the Right.... 62 
 
 The First Home of the Girls' School 65 
 
 l'"irst Graduates of the Girls' School; Omurasan on 
 
 the Right G7 
 
 (Ji'ukisan and ()mura>an with Miss [Jallowell 6y 
 
 Rev. S. Yoshiniura 77 
 
 l''irst Church Ihiildin.i;, Sendai, Furchased from 
 
 Buddhists in 1SS7. ICxterior 81 
 
 .Xihancho Church and I'arsonage 84 
 
 .Mr. \'iishinnn\i. Wife and P.ahy 87 
 
 Omurasan Ser\ ing Cakes and Tea to a Caller gr 
 
 Baby Kiyo.shi 100 
 
 Grave of Omurasan 103 
 
 Husband and Children 103 
 
 "(ii)d has been good to us, mother" 106 
 
PREFACE 
 
 Tlic life wliose stf^ry is l)ricfly told in tlic 
 following ])a|L;t's seems, to the writer, to have 
 been too rare to 1)e left to oblivion. This 
 simple narrative of facts is written with the 
 donble hope that it may enconrage others 
 even in Christian lands to a greater zeal, and 
 that it mav be the means of awakening a 
 dee])er interest in Japan and the work of 
 bringing that great nation into the KingcUjm 
 of God. A. M. S. 
 
 Skndai, Japan-, Angnst, 1905. 
 
I 
 
 COUNTRY AND PARENTAGE 
 
I 
 
 Country and Parentage 
 
 THE L'il\- of Sciulai, which Hcs within a 
 few miles of the coast on the east 
 side of North Japan, is seldom visited 
 by travellers. Those who do come are inter- 
 ested not so much in the city itself as in the 
 quiet little Bay of Matsushima near by, which 
 is called by the Japanese themselves one of 
 the three most beautiful spots in all their 
 beautiful country. Here the sea has carved 
 out of the soft yellow rock hundreds of curious 
 little islands, most of which are covered with 
 pines. The name Matsu-shima means Pine- 
 islands. At the end of one of the inlets may 
 be found the town of Sliio_2;ama. the seaport 
 of Sendai. This is the i^ate throui^h which 
 most of the travellers from the south used to 
 enter the city. Now they i^o direct by rail- 
 road; Init still the journey is a tedious one, 
 twelve hotu's bcin^- rc(|tiircd to cover the tw'o 
 hundred and tliirt\'-three miles from Yoko- 
 hama to vScndai. 
 
O MURA SAN. 
 
 The city itself is pretty, and well worth 
 visiting. It is set jnst where the Hirose River 
 runs out from between the mountains and 
 hills, and begins its more sedate course over 
 the great, fertile plain of Miyagi, down to the 
 ocean, whose roaring may be heard plainly 
 
 ^ •*> 
 
 ^m 
 
 p^^l^r^ 
 
 
 
 
 <I1I(.)GAMA. 
 
 from the streets when there is not too much 
 other noise. Back of the river, which half 
 encircles the city on the side toward the 
 mountains, are high bluffs and hills, from 
 which one mav look over the city and the 
 plain to the blue Pacific beyond. Seen from 
 one of the bluffs, most of the low houses and 
 [14] 
 
O MU RA SAN. 
 
 narrow streets of the city are hidden by the 
 numerons trees for wliicli Sendai is famous. 
 Here are the shops and lionies of eighty-five 
 thousand people; for Senchii is the largest 
 city north of Tokyo. 
 
 In this city there lived, about fifty years 
 ago, a family by the name of Miyamoto. The 
 Miyamotos were well-to-do, and dwelt on one 
 of the main streets, called Omachi. They had 
 but one child, a daughter; and in order to 
 keep up the family name, they had adopted 
 a son from another family, who was to become 
 her husband. It was th-e custom in such a 
 case to select a little boy, adopt him into the 
 family, and let him and the daughter, who 
 was to become his wife, grow up together as 
 brother and sister, until a marriageable age 
 was reached. Even today some such matches 
 are still made. When the proj)er time came, 
 the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Miyamoto was 
 married to the Noung man whom her parents 
 had selected for her. I b)\\e\'er, their married 
 life was brief. The husband soon died. Jcaxing 
 the young widow with an only son. If young 
 
 i'7j 
 
O MURA SAN 
 
 Mrs. Miyamoto had been one of several 
 (laughters, she might have done as many 
 other widow^s have done,— cut off her hair 
 close to the head and put it into the coffin of 
 the dead husband, vowed to his spirit never- 
 to marry again, put up on the god-shelf a 
 tablet to his memory, set offerings before it 
 and worshipped his spirit daily to the end of 
 her life. But as she was the only daughter, 
 Mrs. Miyamoto could not do this. She had 
 to marry again in order that there might l)e 
 some one to become head of the house. 
 
 The parents looked around for another 
 young man wdio would be willing to become 
 a yoslii (adopted son), marry the widowed 
 daughter and take the name Miyamoto. Now- 
 a-days it is hard to find a young man who 
 is willing to become a yosJii. To be a yoshi 
 means that one must be the head of the house, 
 which implies taking care of the whole family 
 and all relatives who may need help. The 
 yoshi inherits everything; but often there is 
 not much to inherit, and sometimes when he 
 enters a home as a yosJii, he falls heir, not to a 
 
 \ i8 1 
 
O MURA SAN. 
 
 fortune, but to a gTcat burden of (lel)t. Tn 
 the case of the Miyamotos, however, there 
 seemed to l)e no trou1)le. They were sup- 
 posed to be wealthy niercliants, and foou suc- 
 ceeded in lindiuL;- another liusband, a man In' 
 tile name of ( )hashi, of h^ikushima. 
 
 In an ordinary marriage, the 1)ride has to 
 go to the groom's home for the wedchng, and 
 not go empty-lianded eitlier. She lias to ha\'e 
 a I)ureau fuH of clotlies, so tliat on the ckiy 
 after tlie marriage she can make a cliange of 
 clotliing at least five or six times. She is also 
 expected to bring bedding and cooking uten- 
 sils, — in fact, almost everything that is needed 
 for housekeeping. Of course, this 's true 
 only of the middle classes. The father of a 
 poor girl cannot do so much. Years ago, 
 when the bride was a country girl, she went 
 riding on a white horse, beautifully decorated, 
 and carrying a string of l)ells around his neck. 
 The go-betweens accompanied her on horse- 
 back, and another merry party followed on 
 foot, keeping time to the jingling of the bells. 
 The city bride used to be carried to her new 
 
 [19] 
 
O MURA SAN. 
 
 home in a kago or palanquin, and had the 
 same merry party accompanying her. Even 
 today one sometimes sees a bridal party of the 
 old kind, though the horse is not always 
 white, nor so elaborately decorated as in 
 former days. I have also seen Sendai brides 
 in their gay attire accompanied by a merry 
 bridal party on the way to the wedding, riding, 
 not in palanquins, as these are no longer in 
 use, but in jinrikishas. 
 
 It used to be believed by young women, 
 and is still a superstition in some places, that 
 if a girl had her mouth open when a white 
 horse passed, it would be hard for her to get 
 a husband. So when a miss saw a white horse 
 coming, she would cover her mouth so that 
 the horse could not see that her teeth were 
 white, not having been blackened, as is the 
 custom after marriage. All wanted to get 
 married; for it was considered a disgrace to 
 be left a maiden lady. Girls were married at 
 the age of fourteen and fifteen, and, althougii 
 the law now forbids such early marriages, 
 they still take ])lace in some rural districts. 
 
 [20] 
 
MURA S A N. 
 
 But the educated of today get married in the 
 twenties. 
 
 .'\ young lad\- who is l)cing married for the 
 lirst time is usually (h'essed in a beautiful black 
 crepe, from beneath which two while silk 
 dresses peei). Her face is powdered a snow 
 white, and her lips are painted a dark red. 
 Over her head she wears a hood called the 
 "cotton bonnet,"" made of silk. The bride sits 
 on one side of the room on a scjuare silk 
 cushion, and beside her sits the w^ife of the 
 go-between and the bride's mother. On the 
 other side of the room sits the groom in 
 stiff silks and beside him are the go- 
 between and the bride's father. .Vt the 
 other end of the room sit a few relatives that 
 have been invited. The only decorations used 
 at a wedding are plum blossoms, pine and 
 bamboo. The crane and the tortoise, too, 
 may be seen, being emblems of long life. In 
 the center of the room stands a ])retty little 
 (able, on which are i)laced three earthen wine- 
 cups decorated with white and red paper, em- 
 blematic (jf marriage, and beside the table 
 
O MURA SAN. 
 
 stands the earthen winepot, looking some- 
 what Hke a teapot, and decorated in the same 
 way. The marriage ceremony consists of 
 drinking wine out of three cups in a very 
 formal way. It is first passed to the groom, 
 then to the bride. After both have drunk 
 from the three cups, the ceremony is consid- 
 ered over. The hood is now removed from 
 the bride's head, and the groom gazes upon 
 the blushing face of his new wife. Formerly, 
 it was often the case that when the hood was 
 removed, the -groom saw for the first time the 
 one who was to be his companion for life; 
 but such marriages were apt to prove very 
 unhappy. An educated man of today wants 
 to see and know a lady before he becomes 
 engaged to her. 
 
 The ceremony now over, the wedding feast 
 is in order, after which wedding cake is sent 
 around to all friends. The new wife has to 
 put up her hair in married ladies' style, and 
 blacken her teeth. Formerly, all ladies had 
 to blacken their teeth after marriage, although 
 
O M U K A S A N. 
 
 \cr\' few will) Ii\c in cities oi' towns of any 
 si/e do so an\' loiit^cr. 
 
 lUit the marriage of Mr. ( )liaslii and tlie 
 yoinii;' widow Miyamoto was not of the ordi- 
 nary kind. .\s he was a yoslii, he had to go 
 to the liome of the bride to l)e married, and 
 there was no bridal party. Moreover, as she 
 was a widow, not mnch was made of the cere- 
 mony. Slie did not need to change the style 
 of her coifTnre or blacken her teeth; for all 
 that had been done at the previous marriage. 
 
 Our new couple next settled down to real 
 life. But the yoimg Ohashi, now Mr. Miya- 
 moto, found himself not in a home of wealth, 
 as he liad su])posed. He discovered that he 
 had nothing to inherit ])Ut a great deal of 
 debt and trouble. llo\\e\'er, being a brave 
 and energetic }'oung fellow, he tried to bear 
 the bui'den now resting u])on him with a cour- 
 ageous heart. I'nt still harder times were 
 before him. h'or in the \ear iShS the \Var 
 of the Restoration took place. .Many fought 
 to restore to the l''m])eror his rightful author- 
 it \' as ruler of the nation. ( )thers, and Sendai 
 
 25 
 
O MURA SAN. 
 
 with them, vainly fought for the Shogun, who 
 was the actual ruler at that time. The war, 
 of course, made havoc everywhere. Where 
 once there was wealth, po\'erty now prevailed. 
 The feudal lords and their retainers had to 
 give up their power and privileges, and be 
 just like other people. This was indeed hard 
 for them. Everywhere things had to be re- 
 adjusted. 
 
 The Miyamotos at this time suffered with 
 the rest. They lost almost all they owned, so 
 that, five years after the war, they found them- 
 selves very, very poor. But, fortunately, it 
 was not disgraceful for a merchant to work, 
 and young Miyamoto now worked hard to 
 support the large family depending upon him. 
 He was not the kind to give up in despair. 
 He courageously toiled on until he found him- 
 self out of deep water again. 
 
 In the course of time, two little boys came 
 into the home, of whom the parents were very 
 proud, and the pride of the grandparents w^as 
 just as nuich in evidence. If you could have 
 passed the home of the Miyamotos about that 
 
 [26] 
 
MURA SAN. 
 
 time, on the 5th of May, you might have seen 
 two larg'e paper fish, painted in gorgeous 
 colors, floating in tlie air from the top of a 
 bamboo pole, put tlicrc by tlic ])roU(l father, 
 to let i)cop1e know that he had two sons. The 
 
 TH1£ BOYS FESTIVAL. 
 
 pa])cr lisli arc images of carp, wlu'cli tlic people 
 say arc the strongest of all fish. TIicn' arc 
 bclicxcd to 1)e al)le to swim u]) waterfalls, and 
 so they are a g-ood emblem of tlic strength 
 which i)arcnts wish their sons to enjoy. 
 
 [27] 
 
II 
 
 BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD 
 
II 
 Birth and Childhood 
 
 ONI*', beautiful day, on the fourth of 
 April, in the year 1872, a little girl 
 was l)orn to the Miyamotos. Little 
 was said al)out it, and no congratulations were 
 sent in, because it was only a girl. But as the 
 Miyamotos already had two boys, they took 
 real interest in this little mite of a girl. As 
 was the custom, and is yet in many places, 
 the child was given its name on the seventh 
 day after its birth. The name Mura was 
 selected, and then there was written on a 
 large piece of white paper this notice: "To 
 Mr. Miyamoto was born a daughter named 
 Mura," which was then posted up in the par- 
 lor, wdiere everybody that happened to come 
 to the house could see it. The family call her 
 ]\Iura, but everybody else must call her 
 Omurasan (Honorable Miss Mura). Many 
 families, when a girl is born, plant a tree 
 called "kiri," with the idea that this tree will 
 grow large enough to furnish the wood for 
 
MURA SAN. 
 
 the bureau that she will need when she be- 
 comes a bride. 
 
 Now would YOU not like to see this little 
 baby Omurasan take her bath? A larg-e wash- 
 tub is broui^ht into ihe room, half full of al- 
 most boiliui;- \\aler. The little one is un- 
 dressed and rolled into a white cloth, and then 
 is held down in the fearful I v hot water to soak. 
 She screams as loudly as her little hmo-s will 
 allows After a little while, she is lifted out. 
 the \vet cloth is taken ofT and she is laid on a 
 dry cloth lying on the floor. She is carefully 
 dried and laid into her l)rioht red or yellow 
 ^vadded dresses, and the two strings that are 
 attached in front are tied to fasten them 
 around the little body. She is then put into 
 her bed, wdiich consists of a single fiiton, or 
 comfortable, three inches thick, and one of 
 the same thickness for coyer. Here on the 
 floor the baby sleeps while many visitors are 
 calling on her mother, and perhaps bringing 
 gifts. If for the baby, a dress; if for the 
 mother, some fish. Such visitors begin to 
 come when the baby is only a day old. 
 
 [32] 
 
O MURA SAN. 
 
 W'licii the l)al)}- is twenty-one (la}-s old, the 
 mother is eonsidered quite well and strong" 
 again. So the da\- is celebrated with a feast. 
 The relalixes and some friends are inxited to 
 join the famil\- in celebrating" the occasion. 
 |-"(ir this dinner, rice with red Ijeans is ])re- 
 ])ared. also sonie black seeds called goiiui, and 
 a little salt. Some of this rice is pnt into 
 beantifnll}' laccjnered boxes with a little bag 
 of the i^oiiia seed and salt, and then the boxes 
 are placed on trays and co\ered with hand- 
 some, often embroidered, silk or crepe 
 scjuares, and sent aronnd to the friends who 
 ]ia\e ])resented the child gifts. 
 
 W hen ( )nun"asan became thirtv-three days 
 old, she reached what to most babies was an 
 important day. As her mother worshipped 
 in a dilTerenl way from man_\- others, how- 
 ever, little ( )mnrasan was not carried to the 
 tem])le. iUit other mothers wonld ha\'e 
 dressed their babx" in a gorgeons red-tlowered 
 dress and carried it to the tem])le, taking a 
 little i)ag of rice along to please the gods 
 1)\- the wa\-. When lhe\' crossed the bridges 
 
O M U RA SAN. 
 
 over the little streams leading to the temple, 
 they would throw rice into the water, hoping 
 thereby to get the good will of the gods. 
 On reaching the temple, they would slip out 
 of their wooden clogs and climb the steps to 
 the temple door. There they would ring a 
 little bell by a red cloth cord, to awaken the 
 gods within, who were supposed to be sleep- 
 ing. Then they would clap their hands and 
 prostrate themselves before the images, and 
 ask them to be good to the child and give it 
 a long and prosperous life. They would then 
 wend their way home feeling assured that 
 the gods would answer their prayers. 
 
 Parents who had lost a child and were 
 blessed with another, in order to make sure 
 of its having a long life, took the following- 
 plan ; The mother begged from each of one 
 hundred people a patch of material, and from 
 these patches she made a dress for the child. 
 This dress was supposed to secure the child's 
 life. 
 
 Omurasan is now one hundred days old, 
 and she is given her first meal, by proxy. A 
 
 [34] 
 
O MURA SAN. 
 
 feast is prepared, and the oldest one in the 
 house — if the grandmother is Hving, she is 
 the one — eats the meal for the baby. Hold- 
 ing her in her lap, she takes some of the food 
 with chopsticks and puts it to the mouth of 
 the baby, and then she proceeds to eat it all 
 herself. This act is supposed to make the 
 child grow to a good old age. 
 
 Omurasan's mother was not very strong, 
 and could not nourish her child. As there 
 was then no fresh cows' milk or condensed 
 milk in Japan, the only thing to do was to 
 find a wet-nurse and give the child to her 
 to raise. This wet-nurse lived some distance 
 from the IMiyamoto home, and the mother 
 saw very little of her child. When Omurasan 
 was about two years old, the nurse failed to 
 bring the child home to see her mother as 
 usual, and the mother began to feel anxious. 
 She went to the home of the nurse to see what 
 was the matter. To her amazement, she 
 found that the nurse had moved away and her 
 whereabouts w^as unknown. Mr. Mivamoto 
 was awav from home at the time, and some 
 
 35 
 
O M U R A S A N. 
 
 days passed before his return. Jinrikishas 
 were then their trains, and there were no tele- 
 graphs nor telephones as there are now. So 
 by the time the father reached home and the 
 nurse's whereal)outs was discovered, it was 
 found that Omurasan's eye was destroyed by 
 a disease which she had contracted from the 
 nurse. If the nurse had brought the child 
 home for treatment as soon as she saw that 
 the eye was inflamed, the member might have 
 been saved. But neglect and fear of the par- 
 ents caused her to hide, and so poor Omur- 
 asan was given back to her mother with but 
 one eye. The parents were heartbroken over 
 the loss their child had sustained. 
 
 As Omurasan was now able to eat other 
 food, such as rice gruel, eggs, and so forth, 
 she was kept at home. While her mother 
 was busy with her work, Omurasan could be 
 seen tied to a little nurse's back, her poor 
 little head dangling back and forth as the girl 
 who carried her played hopscotch or battle- 
 dore and shuttlecock. No matter how great 
 the heat, ( )nnu-asan"s little head was alwavs 
 
 3^> 
 
line iioi.i. riiSTiVAi.. 
 
O M U RA SAN. 
 
 exposed to the hot rays of the sun. I believe 
 that a large part of the blindness of which 
 there is so much in Japan is caused by this 
 practice. But now-a-days mothers are be- 
 giiming- to shield their babies' heads with 
 either a hat or a parasol. 
 
 The third of i\Iarch comes. This is a great 
 day for little girls. It is the doll festival. A 
 stand specially pre])ared for the occasion is 
 put up in the parlor, and on this are arranged 
 beautifully-dressed dolls, little images of the 
 Emperor and Empress seated at the very top. 
 On this day the children are given quite a 
 feast. A part of the feast is a white wine and 
 some niochi cakes in three colors, — green, red 
 and white. Moclii is a ceremonial dish made 
 of rice ])aste. The little girls look forward to 
 this (lay with much joy. But our poor 
 ( )nHn-asau did not have this pleasure. Her 
 mother ^aid that as they had lost their money 
 she thought Umurasan would have to do with- 
 out the doll festival. 
 
 By and by we find Omurasan eigiit years 
 old, ami her ])arents send her to school. She 
 
 [ 39 I 
 
O MURA SAN. 
 
 finds her first day at school hard indeed, and 
 every day grows harder, because the children 
 tease her unmercifully about her blind eye. 
 They call her "Teisansama." Teisansama 
 was the first lord of Sendai. He had an eye 
 just like that of Omurasan. A word about 
 Teisansama may be interesting, l:)y the way. 
 He is buried in a larg'e mausoleum on one of 
 the beautiful hills near Sendai, on either side 
 of which are ten toml^stones that mark the 
 graves of his retainers who killed themselves 
 when he died, in order to accompany him to 
 the spirit land. Teisansama made an image 
 of himself and said that when he died his 
 spirit would enter into it. This image is now 
 standing on a high altar in one of the famous 
 temples at Matsushima. Candles are burning 
 before it all the time, and hundreds go there 
 to worship. 
 
 Poor Omurasan disliked being called 
 Teisansama and other uglv names, and her 
 parents found it \er)- hard to get her to go 
 to school. The teasing that she endured at 
 school, and the se\-ere chastisements that she 
 
 40 
 

 
 
 
 J. 
 
 THE FIRST LORD OF SENDAI. 
 
MU RA SAN. 
 
 received at home liardened the child so that 
 she became ahnost unmanageable. Several 
 times her mother resorted to the extreme 
 punishment of burning. This was done by 
 putting a little powder of a certain kind on 
 the skin and then setting it on fire with a red 
 hot iron, burning a deep wound into the fiesh. 
 The mother thought this would cure her of 
 her badness and at the same time be good for 
 her weak eye. But many times since has the 
 mother looked at those scars with tears rolling 
 down her cheeks, and saying : "How could I 
 be so cruel?" Omurasan cared little whether 
 she learned anything or not, as she found no 
 joy either at school or at home. One morn- 
 ing her mother said : "Today we must go to 
 the temple. This is the day for the worship 
 of our ancestors." Preparations were made, 
 and they started off with their lunch. They 
 soon reached the temple and found many 
 others there, among them many friends and 
 relatives w ho had also come to worship at the 
 shrines of their ancestors. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Oshikawa and Rev. Mr. Yoshida 
 
 [43 
 
O M U RA SAN. 
 
 were now in Sendai proclaiming- the message 
 of a Savior wlio had (hed for all, and is willing 
 to save all who give themselves to Him. Our 
 little ( )nun-asan had attended a few of their 
 Ilihle classes wilhonl the knowledge of her 
 parents, and the htllc that she had heard bore 
 fruit. A\'hile the friends and relatives, both 
 old and }oung, drunken with liquor, were 
 dancing before their ancestors' shrines, one of 
 the priests came to little Omurasan and said : 
 "Why do you not do like the rest, and dance 
 too?" and threatened to punish her if she 
 would not. But she refused, knowing by 
 what she had heard from Mr. Oshikawa that 
 such things were wrong-. She ran to her 
 mother crying and telling her that she did 
 not want to dance. Her mother then ex- 
 cused her. knowing that when she made up 
 her mind in such a matter there w-as no use 
 in trving to compel her. Really, w^e might 
 say that this was the beginning of Omurasan's 
 Christian life. 
 
 Once a year this public worship of an- 
 cestors took place, and on that occasion one 
 
 [44] 
 
•0' 
 
 1 t: "V 
 
 
 '"^^^ 
 
 .m: ■■ ;•'- 
 
 
 
 UACUIMAN SllKlNE. 
 
O MUR.I S.'IN. 
 
 could sec nicii, women and even cliildren in- 
 toxicated. Ancesloi- worshiji is the hardest 
 thinp;- for the Japanese people to i:;"i\e up when 
 they want to become Christians. The ances- 
 tral tablets are held so sacred that when the 
 people become Christians it is indeed hard 
 for them to destroy them. 
 
 Sendai is still full of heathenism. On a hill 
 in the northwestern part of the city is a .fam- 
 ous temple called the Hachiman Shrine. The 
 temple itself is not at all pretty; on the con- 
 trary, it is a very simple affair. But it is the 
 manner in wdiich the people worship there 
 that attracts one's attention. Every year on 
 the fourteenth of January, the coldest part of 
 the year, one may see crowds gathered at this 
 temple, l)t)th young and old. They all come 
 with a lot of sake, or rice-]i(|uor, and ofTer it 
 before the gods. Then they undress them- 
 selves and pour water over their heads and 
 down over their naked bodies. This is done 
 to cleanse themselves of the offences com- 
 mitted during the year. Then they prostrate 
 themselves before the gods and ask them to 
 
 [47 1 
 
O M U R A S A N. 
 
 be good to them during- the ne'w year, after 
 which, as a sort of penance, they parade 
 through the streets, carrying- paper charms 
 and other things, ami ahiiost freezing them- 
 seh^es. To keep the teeth from chattering, 
 they all have a piece of folded white paper 
 between them. The sake that the gods cannot 
 drink they drink themselves. Now-a-days, 
 these worshippers are not allowed to go nude 
 through the streets any more, yet all they 
 wear even now is a very thin white gown, and 
 some of them dip this in water before putting 
 it on, so that it fairly freezes on their bodies. 
 When, last January, I saw such a procession 
 it made me feel sad indeed. I saw in the 
 newspaper, the following morning", that edu- 
 cated young women were among the wor- 
 shippers. This is the only temple in Japan, 
 that I know of, where the people pray for 
 anything like the forgiveness of sins. Would 
 that they might believe in Him Who alone 
 can forg-ive them ! 
 
 There is another temi)le on a hill near 
 Sendai where people go to pray for loved 
 
 [4-^ 
 
4'i 
 
 SACKHD UAl'ER FAI.I.S. 
 
O MU RA SAN. 
 
 ones who arc ill. They will pray to the god 
 to cure the sick one, and then go and stand 
 under a sacred waterfall, sometimes for sev- 
 eral days and nights at a time, neither eating 
 nor drinking, thinking thereby to please the 
 gods sufficiently to get their loved ones re- 
 stored to hc'alth. 
 
 These things are hard to see and hear. 
 But we are thankful for these worshippers, as 
 they are the most easily brought into the 
 Kingdom. Those who worship nothing are 
 the hardest to win. Infidelity is growing in 
 Japan, especially among the young men. 
 Later, our dear Omurasan worked hard for 
 the girls of Japan, but she was at the same 
 time especially anxious for the young men, as 
 we shall soon see. 
 
 51 
 
Ill 
 
 CONVERSION AND EARLY 
 USEFULNESS 
 
Ill 
 Conversion and Early Usefulness 
 
 ABOU'J' this time a family moved in next 
 door to the Miyamotos by the name 
 of Kodaira. They had been attend- 
 ing the meetings of Mr. Oshikawa and Mr. 
 Yoshida, had become very much interested 
 and were about to be baptized. They had 
 heard from the Miyamotos what a time they 
 had with their child Mura, and what an un- 
 manageable girl she was. Mrs. Kodah-a said 
 one day to her parents: "Let me take her 
 along to the Jesus meetings." "All right," 
 said the father, "you may if you like." But 
 he did not believe in the least that it would 
 help his daughter to be a better girl. Mr. 
 Miyamoto was a very proud man, and hated 
 this new religion, the "Jesus religion," as 
 everybody called it. At the center of the city, 
 at a place called Banana Crossroads, where 
 four famous corner houses stood, were af- 
 fixed the placards denouncing the new re- 
 ligion; and all who had anything to do with 
 
O MU RA SAN. 
 
 it had to suffer. Three of these houses have 
 been destroyed by fire during the last fifteen 
 years. Only one remains to tell tales of the 
 old times. Our little Omurasan paid no at- 
 tention to these placards, and little did she 
 care what people said. The first day she went 
 with Mrs. Kodaira she was so much pleased 
 with what Mr. Oshikawa said that she made 
 up her mind to try to practice just what she 
 had been taught. The lesson that day was 
 on the fifth commandment, and made quite 
 an impression upon little Omurasan's heart. 
 She at once made up her mind to be a better 
 girl. She now went to school without a mur- 
 mur, and studied faithfully, and also became 
 obedient and kind to her parents. This all 
 began to make an impression upon them. 
 One day the father said, "Don't the children 
 tease you any more at school?" They liad 
 been teasing her more than ever before, be- 
 cause they knew that she was attending the 
 Jesus meeting's. She was not only teased, 
 but persecuted. But her quiet answer to lier 
 father was, "Yes, thev do tease me; ])ut thev 
 
 [56] 
 
KAMOL'S COKNER IIOUSK. 
 
O M U R A S A N. 
 
 can otilv liiii"t the Ixuly, and not the soul." 
 The more ( )innrasan ^rcw in lier love for the 
 1.1)1(1 Jesus, the more she had to suffer. Idie 
 children \\()uld spit on her, gather together 
 on street corners and refuse to let her pass, 
 hit her and call her all kinds of names. When 
 they saw her praying before she ate her lunch, 
 they \\ould take what she had to eat and 
 throw it into the street and trample it into 
 the dirt. Many a day she would go w^ithout 
 food for Christ's sake, and with all these per- 
 secutions our little Omurasan w^as growing 
 stronger in her faith. They only 'lre\v her 
 closer to Ilim. 
 
 The parents were much pleased with the 
 change that had taken place in their daughter, 
 and wondered how this Jesus religion could 
 have such an effect. One day, Omnrasan's 
 father took a walk up the main street, and as 
 he saw a large crowd standing before the 
 house where Mr. Oshikawa was preaching, he 
 stopped to listen. He heard men, women 
 and children weeping over their sins. The 
 sermon that they were hearing touched every 
 
 [59] 
 
M U R A SAN. 
 
 heart. But Mr. Miyamoto, being a proud 
 Confucianist, turned away with a sneer, and 
 said, "This reli.e^ion is good enough for 
 women and cliilch'en, l)ut it is of no use to 
 men." Mr. Miyamoto was now beginning to 
 lose his eyesight, and dared not use his eyes 
 to read. So one day when he had nothing to 
 do and was feeHng depressed because he had 
 l)een told by the doctors that nothing could 
 be done for him. he asked Alura to read 
 to him. She asked him if she might read 
 to him from the Bible. "Yes," said he; "read 
 me anything." And the child read to him 
 the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of John. 
 The words that he now heard set him to 
 thinking, and he decided to go and have a 
 talk with Mr. Oshikawa and ]\Ir. Yoshida. 
 They succeeded in making him feel that he 
 was a sinner and must seek a Sayior. This 
 pleased Omurasan yery much. She felt that 
 God was answering her prayers. She prayed 
 most earnestly for her parents' conyersion. 
 Her prayers at the Christian meetings would 
 make the tears come to many an eye. Her 
 
 60 
 
HOUSE VVJIKRt MR. OSHIKAWA PREACHED. 
 
MU RA SAN. 
 
 pleadings liacl their effect. One day the 
 fatlier said again, "I and three otlier seekers 
 are going to see Mr. Oshikawa." Mr. 
 Oshikawa's talk had a wonderful effect upon 
 them. Mr. Miyamoto felt that now he had 
 at last found his Saxior, and then, he says, 
 something wonderful happened. "I fell over 
 as one dead, and when T revived I was happv." 
 He firmly believes that at this time he re- 
 ceived the Holy Spirit. Little Oniurasan now 
 had the joy of hearing her parents say that 
 they too were going to accept her Savior. 
 That week when she attended the woman's 
 meeting, they all said to her, "How happy 
 you must be!" and when she offered her 
 prayer of thanksgiving, they all w^cpt with 
 her for joy. Omurasan was thirteen years old 
 when she, with her parents, received the sac- 
 rament of baptism in the little chapel on 
 Kokubuncho. 
 
 Her prayer was now for her brothers, rela- 
 tives and friends. The Tord soon answered 
 these prayers too. Her brothers and rela- 
 tives and many friends soon after became 
 
 [63 J 
 
O MU RA SAN. 
 
 Christians. Can you not imagine this child's 
 joy? Next, Omnrasan prayed for her nation; 
 and did not cease to pray until death sealed 
 her loving lips. 
 
 When she was fourteen years of age, she 
 heard the good news that Miss roorbaugh 
 (now Mrs. Cort) and Miss Ault (now Mrs. 
 ITov) were coming to Sendai to start a Girls' 
 School. Eagerly she looked forward to their 
 coming-. It took several days then to reach 
 Sendai from Yokohama. One had to go by 
 l)oat to Shiogama and from there to Sendri, a 
 distance of about fifteen miles, in a basJia, or 
 rumbling old omnibus. One day Omurasan 
 was told that they were expected to arrive late 
 that night. The darkness made no difTerence 
 to her. In company with a few others she 
 walked far out of the city to welcome them. 
 Mrs. Hoy says in one of her letters. "I have 
 alwa\'s thought of Omurasan as my dear little 
 girl, for she was one of the first to welcome 
 me to Sendai." 
 
 In a rented Japanese house on the street 
 called Nibancho, the new school was opened 
 
 [64] 
 
O MU RA S A N. 
 
 and Oninrasan was one of the first i)U])ils. She 
 was very happy in her new stnches. and be- 
 came \-ery fond of instrnniental and vocal 
 music. When Miss Ennna F. Poorbaugh ar- 
 rived, the teaching of music was gi\'en to her. 
 
 THE FIRST lli'MIC or Till-; (,1T;I.S SlJIil'il.. 
 
 and <')nHn-asan became lier (hligent and de- 
 voted pupil. ( )nc of her great pleasures was 
 the Christmas serenade. She and some other 
 girls of tlie scliool would gel u]) early Christ- 
 mas nioi-ning, take lanterns and go from one 
 missionar_\"s liouse to another, singing Christ- 
 
 I ^'5 I 
 
O M U RA SAN. 
 
 mas carols. The girls in the School still keep 
 np this custom, and there is nothing that 
 touches the heart of a missionary more than 
 to hear on Christmas morning about three or 
 four o'clock the sweet voices of the girls as 
 they sing of God's love for men. After the 
 song there are calls of "Merry Christmas!" 
 between serenaders and serenaded. 
 
 While a student in the Girls' School she 
 taught in the Sunday-school, where she had a 
 large class of boys noted for their badness. 
 These boys were incited by educated people 
 to ask all sorts of difficult questions. Some- 
 times she could answer them and sometimes 
 she could not. Over her inability to answer 
 all she wept many tears, but did not give up. 
 She looked to God for help and guidance, and 
 her joy was complete when later she saw 
 some of these very boys give their hearts to 
 the Lord. 
 
 At the age of twenty-one Omurasan grad- 
 uated from the Girls' School. 
 
 She then became Miss Hollowell's helper. 
 After continuing in this work for two years, 
 
 [66 1 
 
FIRST GRADUATES OF THE GlRLS' SCHOOL: OMUKASA.N w.. 1111. KIGHT. 
 
M U RA S A N. 
 
 she made known to Miss Hollowell a wish to 
 go to Tokyo and study music. Omurasan 
 looked up to Miss Tiolk)well as to a mother 
 and lo\ed her dearl_\-. Miss Hollowell loved 
 ( )niurasan too and took a deep interest in 
 
 --^ -.-.'«.'• ■7-' 
 
 I \ r K I s \ \ 
 
 KASAN WITH MISS TIOI.l.i i\\ I I I . 
 
 her. She approved of her plan, thinking- that 
 as she had but one eye it would be difficult 
 for her to marrv a man suitable for her, and 
 that if she continued takino- lessons on the 
 piano she could then be independent and 
 
 69 
 
O M U RA S A N. 
 
 make her own living". So she made arrange- 
 ments for her to go to Tokyo. 
 
 Omurasan entered the Government Music 
 School at Ueno, but she stayed only one year 
 as she did not like the school. Miss Hollo- 
 well then made arrangements for her to enter 
 a girls' school established by the Canadian 
 Methodist Mission, as this school had a very 
 fine teacher of music. To pay for her lessons 
 Omurasan was to teach. This she gladly did, 
 and was very happy in her new work. She 
 was also much loved by the girls. She was 
 passionately fond of music and she gave her 
 hands so little rest that twice they became 
 quite nerveless. Later on there appeared a 
 still more serious difficulty. Her remaining 
 good eye began to ache. Miss Hollowell 
 then urged her to go to see Dr. Whitney, a 
 well-known oculist, wdio told her the terrible 
 news that unless she gave up studying music 
 she would lose her sight entirely. This was 
 a great disappointment. However, she 
 thought it wise to obey the physician, gave 
 up music and was then made assistant matron 
 
O M U R A S A N. 
 
 in the school. A lady friend who loved Omu- 
 rasan was anxious that she should marry a 
 friend of hers, a youni;" man of rank. A meet- 
 ing was arranged between the two and soon 
 an eng'agement was made between them, but 
 with the understanding that she would not 
 marry him unless he became a Christian. He 
 seemed to her to be a sincere seeker, but one 
 day all her joy was turned into grief when 
 she heard that the night before he had spent 
 his time with a singing-girl. She immedi- 
 ately sent him a letter asking to be released 
 from the engagement. He confessed to hav- 
 ing done wrong and said he never would re- 
 peat the offence. But Omurasan said, "No. 
 you have been untrue to me once, and I can 
 never trust you again." The engagement was 
 then broken and she said she would never be- 
 come engaged to an unbeliever again with 
 the hope that he would become a Christian. 
 "If I marry, it must be to a Christian, and one 
 that has been tried." 
 
 Having been in Tokyo about two years 
 and a half she returned to Sendai, and for a 
 
 [71 ] 
 
O M U R A S A N. 
 
 short time was my own helper. During this 
 time she became very dear to me. She was 
 worth her weight in g'old and was ever after 
 a great help to me in my life and work as a 
 missionary. 
 
 The ladies in onr school were at this time 
 in need of a teacher of the Japanese Bible and 
 nuisic. OnunMsan was asked to take this ]io- 
 sition, and accepted it, as her eye now seemed 
 perfectly well again. She went into this new 
 work with much joy and worked very hard. 
 She was especially interested in her Bible 
 classes. Many times she wonld come and 
 tell me her joys and sorrows. She never went 
 to teach her classes withont preparation and 
 prayer. She always had a hard time to get 
 the new girls to listen to her. They would 
 talk and laugh at things she said, and this 
 hurt her verv nuich. ( )ne day she came and 
 said, "I had a new class to start in the Bible 
 today, and the girls were so bad. Before be- 
 ginning to teach ! did as I always do, ask 
 God's help and guidance. I said, 'Girls, I 
 want to teach you about the one true God 
 
 \72\ 
 
M U RA SAN. 
 
 and the onlv Savior of the world, and in my 
 own strcni^th alone I cannot do it. So T am 
 g'oins;' now to ask for His help to ^nide me in 
 teacliinm' \'ou to see and know Ilim. T be;:;' 
 of \<)n. please be cpnet for jnst a few min- 
 utes.' " lUit as she ()tTere<l her fervent prayer 
 the i^irls made a i;real ileal of noise, and when 
 she l)eL;an teaching' the_\- ])retended that thev 
 did not hear a word she said. lUit they did 
 hear some of it. because a few weeks after 
 that she came in \\\{\\ such a happy h^ok on 
 her face and said, "^fy i;irls are so mucli in- 
 terested." and told me some of the earnest 
 questions that they \\()uld ask her. But 
 Omurasan was e(|ual to the occasion. She 
 would i;'et so interested in her Bible classes 
 that she not only taught them in school 
 hours, but imited them to her home on Sat- 
 urda}-s and ^-rive them s])ecial instruction. She 
 was ])rofound]\ interested in the Christian 
 growth of her L;irls. and it o-ave her unspeak- 
 able joy when she saw them one by one en- 
 tering; the Church. She was an cxcellenl 
 teacher of the I'ible and was much loved by 
 the girls, many of whom called her "Mother." 
 
IV 
 MARRIAGE AND HOME LIFE 
 
IV 
 
 Marriage and Home Life 
 
 IN (lie gradiiatiiii;' class of the Theological 
 Department of North Japan College in 
 TQOO there was a young man named 
 Suekichi Yoshimnra. Having been a speci- 
 ally earnest student he 
 was inuuediately after 
 graduation made as- 
 sistant ])astor of the 
 Sendai Church, which 
 was at this time wor- 
 shiping in an old IJud- 
 dhist temple, though 
 the new building was 
 then being erected. 
 After he l)egan his 
 
 REV. S. yOSIIIMURA. 
 
 work he felt the need 
 
 of a wife and, following the Japanese custom 
 in such ihiugs. made his wish known to some 
 old ladies of the congregaliou. Me said he 
 feared il would be hard for him to get a lady 
 suitable for the position of ])astor"s wife to 
 conseiU to man"\- him as he had been a poor 
 
O MURA SAN. 
 
 boy and had worked his way through college 
 by serving in the Industrial Home. Educated 
 ladies aspired to something higher than being 
 merely the wife of a despised Jesus preacher. 
 But one day his heart was made glad by the 
 news that Miss Mura Miyamoto had consent- 
 ed to be his wife. She had known him many 
 years, seen how he worked and struggled to 
 get his education, and admired his earnest- 
 ness. But above all did she prize his beautiful 
 Christian character. When she was asked to 
 marry him she came and asked me whether I 
 thought she was worthy to be the wife of a 
 pastor. She said, "I know that a pastor's sal- 
 ary is small and that it is not an easy thing 
 to get along, but if you think me worthy and 
 Mr. Yoshimura thinks me worthy, I am will- 
 ing to become his wife and help him bear the 
 trials that may come to him in life." I said, 
 "Omurasan, if you are not worthy, then no 
 one is. You can be a great help to him and 
 give him much joy in the life-work which he 
 has undertaken." 
 
 [78 
 
O M U R A S A N. 
 
 Arrangements were then made for them to 
 meet and speak with each other, and the day 
 was selected on which the engagement shonld 
 be made l)in(hng. An engagement is not 
 considered complete nntil a gift of a dress or 
 obi (sash) has been presented to the lady by 
 the gentleman and carried to the lady by the 
 go-between. This took place on the eighth 
 of May. Mr. Yoshimura presented his in- 
 tended wife with a dress. He was now very 
 happy in the love reciprocated by his chosen 
 one. Soon after the engagement he called to 
 see her. Her home was then at the Miyagi 
 Girls' School, and in the reception-room they 
 had a qniet little talk together. Just before 
 leaving he asked her to play on the piano for 
 him. Her selection was "The Storm," a piece 
 which she had often played for me and of 
 w hicli I was very fond. She said, "You know, 
 dear, that you and 1 will have to pass through 
 many storhis. but after the storm comes 
 ])eacc and calm." 
 
 One day she made him a gift of a sprig of 
 
 79 
 
MU RA SAN. 
 
 evergreen and a few violets. The violet was 
 her favorite flower and the evergreen meant 
 that her love for him was nnchangeable. 
 These tokens of love that she showed him 
 from time to time moved him to write these 
 words in his diary one day : "How strong is 
 the power of love! True love can be broken 
 bv no man." Her love letters to him are all 
 written in the English language and are full 
 of encouraging words. Once some one must 
 have criticised him, for in one of her letters 
 she savs : 'T do not care what people say. The 
 more they say against you the better I love 
 you." 
 
 So as the days went by the love of these 
 two grew stronger and stronger until one 
 evening, the fifteenth of September, they 
 were made one. Dr. Schneder had the privi- 
 lege of performing the ceremony and I that 
 of making the wedding supper. This was the 
 last wedding ceremony performed in the old 
 lUiddliist tem])le. Soon after it was torn down 
 and the best of its timl)ers used in putting up 
 
 [80] 
 
MU R A SAN. 
 
 the parsonage that the TTanck sisters, of 
 Frederick, Maryland, hel])ed to l)uild. ( )nui- 
 rasan was \ery dee])ly interested in llie l)nild- 
 in^' (if the new ehnreh and lier one regret was 
 tliat it was not finished in time for her wed- 
 
 FIRST CIIUUCII BUILDING, SENDAI, PURCIIASKD FROM BUDDHISTS IN 
 1887. EXTERIOR. 
 
 (h'ng. Slie wanted hers to l)e the first wed- 
 (h'ng in tlie new clun^ch. 
 
 Mr. \'()shinun'a"s s;darv being onl\- twenty- 
 two yen, or elexen .\nieriean dohrn's per 
 month, he eonld not afford to rent a lionse for 
 himself and l)ride, and so one Httle room, 
 
 [81 1 
 
O M U RA SAN. 
 
 twelve by nine, with a little kitchen, six by 
 three, was rented, with nothing but the paper 
 doors to protect them from the cold winter 
 winds, the room not having the usual wooden 
 doors for closing up at night. This small 
 room was fixed up by Omurasan's dainty 
 hands wath so much taste, and made to look 
 so comfortable and cozy that one forgot its 
 smallness and remembered only the happy 
 faces that welcomed everybody into it. A 
 palace could not have afforded more joy than 
 these two found in their little rocm. Omu- 
 rasan did not give up her teaching in the Girls' 
 School, as she felt that she must help her hus- 
 band all she could. So every morning early 
 she was up preparing the breakfast and also 
 the dinner for the day, and attending to all 
 other things that had to be done before leav- 
 ing for school. As they lived seven squares 
 from the school and as she was on duty at 
 eight o'clock, she found it hard to get all her 
 work done before leaving. Mr. Yoshimura, 
 who wanted to be kind to her, helped her by 
 drawing the water, bringing in the charcoal, 
 
O M U RA S A N. 
 
 and doing other little things. This kindness 
 created gossip. It was such an unusual sight 
 to see a husband helping his wife, and the un- 
 believing wives around began to criticise and 
 said that Mr. Yoshimura and his wife were 
 too affectionate. They talked to her about 
 it and also to her father. So one day she 
 came to me and said, "What shall I do? I 
 can not bear to be talked about, and yet my 
 husband says that he does not care what peo- 
 ple say; that if he wants to be kind to his wife 
 it is nobody's business, and that it is for us 
 to set an example of how a Christian family 
 should live." 1 said, "Your husband is right." 
 The gossipers soon saw that this talk could 
 not change the home life of the new couple 
 and they began to look upon them with ad- 
 miration and envy. 
 
 In the spring of 1901, about the middle of 
 April, the new parsonage was completed, and 
 the young minister and his wife moved into it. 
 They found it a great change. Omurasan 
 was delighted with the new home and kept it 
 in perfect order. She was an excellent house- 
 
 [83] 
 
M U R A S A N 
 
 keeper and a prudent manager. She could 
 make a ver}- little go very far, and would 
 "conjure nice things cmt of nothing," as we 
 used to say. She had g'ood taste as well as 
 o-ood common sense. Few American women 
 
 r, fi fi 
 
 •nt tt »S 
 
 
 NIBANCHO CHURCH AND PARSONAGE. 
 
 could equal her. As a wife she was every- 
 thing a husband could wish. She was always 
 loving and kind, and ever mindful of his 
 health and comfort. When discouragements 
 and troubles came she was ahvays ready with 
 
 84 
 
MU RA SAN 
 
 eiicoiiragiiii;" words of sympathy. Even 
 though at limes ahiiost too sick or tired to 
 hold u[) her head she was ahvays in her pew. 
 Iler face cheered and helped him; for she was 
 iiis most attentive listener. \'et she was also 
 his severest critic, but he ahvays lo6ked for- 
 ward to her criticisms with so much joy that 
 he could liardl)- wait to get home after he w'as 
 through with his sermon. If the sermon was 
 good he received high praise; if poor, severe 
 criticism, always given, however, in such a 
 way as not to hurt. Whether criticism or 
 praise it was always helpful. "At one time," 
 says Mr. Yoshinnu'a. "I preached a sermon 
 (hat m_\- dear wife thought would turn some 
 uf the members against me. i saw tha|; she 
 was right after hearing what she said about 
 it, and then we together with tears asked God 
 to overrule what I had said, so that no harm 
 might be done. 1 had spoken too freely of 
 some of the church members' faults, and as I 
 was so young my dear wife feared trouble." 
 C)nun"asan was ])r()ud of her husljand and 
 wanted him to be loved by his people. She 
 
 [85 J 
 
O MURA SAN 
 
 also liked him to dress well. They were poor. 
 Although he was pastor of a large congrega- 
 tion, the support his people could give him 
 was small. But with all this he was always 
 well dressed, which pleased the congregation 
 very much, though they little suspected the 
 great sacrifices that were being made by his 
 wife to accomplish this. 
 
 On the twenty-fourth of June, 1901, a little 
 boy came into the home. They named him 
 Shinichi, "Faith-first," and called him Shin- 
 chan, "chan" being the ending attached to 
 children's names. He was a charming little 
 baby. Many a dark hour was cheered by his 
 presence. But the mother found herself busi- 
 er than ever. 
 
 Besides the care of this new-comer, she had 
 her household duties and her school work to 
 do. She had also undertaken some private 
 classes, which she taught in the evening, as 
 they found it hard to make ends meet. But 
 with all the heavy work and the responsibili- 
 ties that were resting upon her, she never 
 wearied, but could often be heard singing that 
 
 86 
 
MR. YOSHIMURA, WIFE AND BABY. 
 
O M U R .1 S A N. 
 
 beautiful hymn, "1 am so g"lad that Jesus loves 
 me." She was much opposed to havinj:^ any 
 debt. If they liad liad only themselves to 
 su])])()rt thev would not lia\e found it so dif- 
 licu]l. I)Ut tlic\- had Mr. Yoshimura's ])arents 
 and his niece dependent on them also, and 
 had to help a sick brother of Mr. Yoshimura, 
 who would write e\'ery now and then plead- 
 ing' for aid. So at times they hardly knew 
 how to manage. Rut somehow they always 
 found a ^vay out. .Vnd with all her cares she 
 managed to be an excellent mother. She did 
 not neglect her bow nor did she forget family 
 worship. E\-ery morning and e\'ening to- 
 gether they would go before the family altar, 
 taking turns in leading the worship. She 
 never laid her little boy to rest without whis- 
 pering a prayer to God for him. She never 
 let her boy see an}-thing l)ut love and kind- 
 ness. One time she was severely tried and 
 her anger arose within her, lint she said noth- 
 ing. .\fterwards a friend said to her, "How 
 could _\-ou keep (|uiel?" "Oh!" said she, "I 
 try ne\er to lose my temper in the presence 
 
 [ 89 ] 
 
O MURA SAN 
 
 of my child." The first word she taught her 
 baby to hsp was "J^sus," and the second 
 word was "Papa." She always kept her little 
 boy looking neat and clean, and spent many 
 precious moments in making some new thing 
 for him. She did not dress him in the ordin- 
 ary Japanese costume. She felt that that 
 hampered the limbs too much and did not 
 give the child a chance to grow properly. So 
 she invented a new style of dress, in which 
 Shinchan looked very sweet indeed. 
 
 Omurasan took much delight in giving 
 him his first Christmas. A little tree was 
 trimmed and myself and the children and a 
 few seekers were invited to share the Christ- 
 mas joys. She could do beautiful crochet- 
 work and had made me a handsome white 
 shawl, she and another girl friend of mine 
 sharing in buying the yarn, and dear Omura- 
 san spending the hours even after midnight 
 to do something to show me her love and ap- 
 preciation. 
 
 In the fall of 1901 the new church was com- 
 pleted and was dedicated on the twentieth of 
 
 [90] 
 
n MURA SAN 
 
 October. Soon after this Mr. Yosliinnira 
 was made the regular pastor of the dnirch 
 and his responsibilities increased. Onnn'asan, 
 too, found more to do. She took great interest 
 in e\ery one who came as an incpiirer. Tlieir 
 
 IMUR.ASAN SERVING CAKES AND TEA TO A CALLER. 
 
 home was always open, everybody was wel- 
 come and a siuiling face greeted all comers. 
 I ha\c heard church members sa\- that if 
 Omurasan saw them coming, she would run 
 out to the gate to welcome them. The school 
 
 [91] 
 
MU RA SAN. 
 
 girls who liad no homes in Sendai made 
 Omurasan's house their home. They en- 
 joyed l)eing- there and liaving a romp with 
 Shinchan. Shinclian was idolized 1)v every- 
 hody and the petting- that he got would have 
 spoiled an ordinary child. But it had no ef- 
 fect on Shinchan. He remained just as good- 
 natured as before. 
 
 The students of North Japan College, too, 
 found a home at the Yoshimuras. Omurasan 
 was deeply interested in young men, especi- 
 ally those who were alone in the city. She 
 said that boys need a mother to keep them 
 from evil, and she undertook to mother every 
 boy who came to her home. The boys would 
 come on Saturdays or other days when they 
 had vacation and stay the whole day. and 
 Omurasan would often give them their meals 
 and still they would stay and talk till late into 
 the night. Mr. Yoshimura said, "They would 
 pretend to come to see me, l)ut it was really 
 the talks with ni}- wife that drew them. When 
 1 would com])lain about not being able to 
 spare the time, she would say, T^ity the poor 
 
 [92 
 
MURA SAN 
 
 boys; they have no otlier place to go to; we 
 may be the means of saving them and of giv- 
 ing them an idea what a Christian home 
 ought to l)e. If we send tlicm away, they may 
 go astray and be lost Hke the many hundreds 
 that are going to destruction in this city every 
 day.' " The city of Sendai is an educational 
 center. Thousands of students come here 
 from all parts of Japan. These students are 
 left to wander al)out for amusement, and of- 
 ten get to places that ruin both body and 
 soul. There are also thousands of soldiers 
 who are leading the same kind of life. Omur- 
 asan and 1 often talked the matter over, and 
 wished many times that some place of inno- 
 cent recreation could be opened for these 
 young men. where they might also have good 
 reading matter and where they could come 
 into contact with good Christian people. But 
 we are still without such a place. 
 
 During the summer of 1902 Omurasan and 
 I had planned a lot of work for the coming 
 winter. She especially took great interest in 
 the Bible class which we expected to start for 
 
 03 
 
O MURA SAN 
 
 ladies who were yet ignorant of the Christian 
 religion. Whenever I had a talk with her 
 about the work, I always came home feeling 
 more thankful than ever that it was my lot to 
 be a missionary. But while we were planning 
 work here on earth the Father in heaven was 
 making- other plans for her. 
 
 [9-7 
 
V 
 
 LAST DAYS 
 
o 
 
 Last Days 
 
 X tlie twenty-ninth day of September 
 another httle bal^y boy was born into 
 the home. All would have been happy 
 had his mother looked as strong as he did. 
 But her life seemed to be hanging by a thread. 
 On the fonrtli day a very high fever set in. 
 We at once sent for our good Christian ])]iv- 
 sician. Dr. Yamamoto. When he saw the pa- 
 tient he confirmed our fears. Her case 
 seemed very serious, and we sent for two 
 other prominent physicians, but all shook 
 their heads. On the fifth day she seemed a 
 little better. So Mr. Yoshimura gave a name 
 to the child. He selected the name Kiyoshi 
 (pure) taken from Matthew 5 : 8. and the 
 mother was very much pleased with the selec- 
 tion he had made. She seemed so cheerful 
 that our hopes greatly revived, and we began 
 to believe that she might recover. 
 
 But on Sunday morning she was worse 
 again and on Monday morning a messenger 
 
O MURA SAN 
 
 came saying that Mrs. Yoshimura wanted to 
 see me at once. I went up hurriedly to see 
 what she wanted. When I came into her 
 presence she looked at me smiling and said : 
 ''Mrs. Schneder. you have been so kind to 
 me. and I want to thank you for all that you 
 have done for me. I am going to die, so 
 please listen to what I have to say." I said, 
 ''Omurasan, we cannot do without you. You 
 have been so much to me. I need you; and 
 your dear husband and children need you; 
 and there is so much that you can yet do for 
 Christ here." "Yes, yes," she said, "that is 
 so, but I feel that God wants me to come 
 home, and now do listen to what I want to 
 tell you, for by and by I shall not be able to 
 speak to you." So she told me where to find 
 the dress in which she wanted to be buried 
 and other things connected with her funeral, 
 her husband meanwhile pleading with tears 
 that God would spare his wife. While I was 
 yet talking with her, her blind father came in, 
 I led him up to the bedside. He could not 
 look upon his daughter's face, but he took 
 
 [98] 
 
O M URA SAN 
 
 her hands in his while she bade him farewell, 
 he reciting to her a number of passages from 
 the Scriptures. Though unable to read he 
 knew much of the New Testament by heart. 
 Then the aged, now very deaf, mother came 
 in to say farewell. As they clasped hands 
 Omurasan asked me to tell her mother her 
 last words. This I did through an ear trum- 
 pet. Afterwards she bade farewell to her 
 brother and her sister-in-law and a few rela- 
 tives, after which she said, "Now, Mrs. 
 Schneder, send them all away and bring me 
 my children.'' At first we refused to do this, 
 as w'e did not think her so near death's door. 
 But she begged so hard that we at last yielded 
 to her wish. When they were brought in she 
 looked at them lovingly and said, "My dear 
 boys, I want you to be ministers and save 
 souls for Christ," and then said to her hus- 
 band, "Papa, take good care of them." Turn- 
 ing to me she said, "Mrs. Schneder, please 
 take care of niv children." and then when she 
 gave them a parting kiss she for the first time 
 broke down and wept bitterly. She said, "Oh, 
 
 [99] 
 
O M U RA SA N 
 
 my poor babies!" The little ones were taken 
 away and while she was alone with her hus- 
 band the rest of us were in another room 
 praying. Afterwards she seemed so happy 
 and peaceful. We really thought she was 
 better and began to have a little hope again. 
 
 As she lingered in 
 great i:)ain, having 
 m u c h difficulty i n 
 b r e a t h i n g. she still 
 thought of the unsaved 
 souls around her and 
 tried to convert the 
 unbelieving doctor and 
 the nurse who were at- 
 tending her. Often as 
 thev came to her bed- 
 side she would plead 
 with them. She said 
 that some one must work for Jesus in her 
 place and asked the doctor if he would 
 not do so. Only after she got the promise of 
 both of them that they would attend church 
 and try to learn of Christ did she feel sat- 
 isfied. 
 
 [ loo] 
 
 BABY KIYOSHI. 
 
O M U R A S A N . 
 
 Our <lear sufferer each day grew weaker, 
 so that at times we could not understand what 
 she was trying to say. On the ninth day slie 
 •could neither liear nor see well any more, and 
 on the morning of the tenth we saw that she 
 was nearer heaven than earth. She said noth- 
 ing, but whenever one would look at her she 
 would l)e smiling as if communing with the 
 saints. 
 
 On the morning of the eleventh day about 
 eleven o'clock, her speech and sight all came 
 back and she seemed strong. She had all her 
 dear diics called around her once more and 
 told them that she was going to heaven. She 
 said, "I have already been drinking of the 
 water of life." Then she asked that they read 
 to her the twenty-third and the fifty-first 
 Psalms. After they had finished she looked 
 around on them all and bade them farewell, 
 and looking toward her deaf mother she 
 pointed up to heaven. All pain had left her. 
 Her breathing was natural, and in this peace- 
 ful way, her hand still pointing toward heaven 
 she simply closed her eyes and fell asleep. 
 The Christian doctor who stood by when she 
 
 [lOl] 
 
O M U RA SAN . 
 
 breathed her last said, "What a glorious wit- 
 ness for Christ." 
 
 We now all gathered into one room to 
 weep over our loss. Soon we heard her 
 father say, "God has been good to us, mother. 
 Omurasan led us to Jesus, and now He has 
 called her home first so that she can welcome 
 us at the gate of heaven when we come." 
 Both said : "We want to die now, too. We 
 are ready to go any day that Jesus may call." 
 Then the aged couple together thanked God 
 for His goodness. 
 
 Omurasan was laid in a pretty coffin clad 
 in the dress which she had chosen and hold- 
 ing a white rose in her hand. She was carried 
 into the new church by some of the students 
 she had mothered. Here was, not the first 
 w^edding, but the first funeral to be held in the 
 new house of worship. It was crowded with 
 Christians and unbelievers. There were about 
 six hundred people present, among whom 
 were many that had never been inside of a 
 house of God before. Many prominent ladies 
 of the city had learned to love and honor 
 Omurasan, some of whom she had hoped dur- 
 
 [ 102] 
 
C.^*CVIb ■»«»<! 
 
 
M U RA SAN 
 
 ing the winter to bring into the Church. Af- 
 ter the sermon, which was preached by Dr. 
 Schneder, the hymn tliat she had selected 
 was sung, "Jesus, lover of my soul." She 
 thought this the most beautiful hymn ever 
 written, and often sang it while doing her 
 work at home. 
 
 After a w^alk of two miles we reached the 
 spot that had been assigned to the Christians 
 for a cemetery. It is a beautiful place on a 
 high hill which overlooks all Sendai and the 
 plain beyond on to the sea. Here close by 
 the grave of Mrs. Allen K. Faust was laid to 
 rest all that was left of Omurasan. 
 
 The day after the funeral 1 went to see Mr. 
 Yoshimura and the children. I was not sur- 
 prised to find the father ill with grief over his 
 great loss and over his motherless children. 
 He spoke sadly of his loneliness; yet he was 
 thankful to God for having had such a wife 
 even for a short time. I tlid what I could for 
 the comfort of the little motherless boys, and 
 many times since have I visited them. The 
 older one, Shinchan. could often be seen 
 pointing to his mother's picture and saying, 
 
 [ loql 
 
O MURA SAN 
 
 "Mama," and then pointing to the Saviour's 
 picture, saying, "Jesus." 
 
 A week or so later I called to see Omura- 
 san's parents to give them a word of comfort. 
 
 GOD HAS BEEN GOOD TO US, MOTHER. 
 
 I found them happy in the thought that the 
 time was not distant when they too could go. 
 "And there," said the father, "she will meet 
 me and I shall be able to sec her." "Oh !" 
 [io6] 
 
O MURA SAN 
 
 said he, "if I had not become a Christian 
 when I was about losing my eyesight, I 
 should have committed suicide. I could not 
 have endured it. But my faith in the Lord 
 Jesus Christ keeps me happy now and I am 
 comforted by the thought that I shall be blind 
 only for a while." 
 
 The father just before Omurasan's death 
 was teaching a large Bible class consisting 
 mainly of the clerks of a dry goods store. Be- 
 cause they were busy during the day he taught 
 them after nine or ten o'clock at night. From 
 these classes he always returned so happy 
 that he found it difficult to sleep. Growing 
 weakness at last compelled him to give up the 
 work. Through him one of his nephews was 
 converted, who has since been the mayor of 
 Fukushima and is now one of our most active 
 workers in the Church there. The mother is 
 one of our stand-bys at all women's meetings. 
 
 My dear Christian friends, when we think 
 of this dear old couple, and of the saintly life 
 of Omurasan, must we not say that it is in- 
 deed worth while to work for the salvation of 
 Japan? 
 
 [T07I