Collection open for research by appointment.
The collection includes draft materials for the reports there were published in the supplementary volumes of the LFMI report, but also material that was too voluminous to be included in the published report. Most of the material was written for the LFMI project, although some, newspaper articles and school programs for example, were collected for the project but not produced specifically for it.
Other similar material can be found in the main LFMI archival holdings at the Burke Library Archives, especially in subseries 1D. See the notes for each series for more detailed links to the LFMI collection. Note that in many of the original sources, Japanese names are sometimes rendered in a Western style, with given name followed by the family name. In this document Japanese names will follow the East Asian standard, with the family name appearing first, followed by the given name.
The collection is organized into 9 series:
Series 1: McGruder Ellis Sadler Papers, 1927-1931
This series contains papers related to the reports produced by Sadler for the LFMI. Sadler was born in 1896 in North Carolina, and earned his Ph.D. from Yale in 1929. He was selected as president of Texas Christian University in 1941, a position he held until 1959, when he became chancellor. He retired in 1965 and died the following year. Sadler contributed a chapter on religious education to the Supplementary Series of the LFMI's report. His papers are held in the Special Collections of Texas Christian University. Further material on religious education produced for the LFMI can be found in the main LFMI archival holdings at the Burke Library Archives, subseries 1D, box 1 and box 2 folders 1-9.
Series 2: Fred Roy Yoder Papers, 1927-1931
This series contains material related to the reports produced by Yoder for the LFMI. Yoder was born in 1888 in North Carolina, and taught at the State College of Washington from 1920 until his retirement in 1954. He contributed a chapter on rural missions to the Supplementary Series of the LFMI's report. The main collection of his papers, circa 1890 - circa 1980 (20 lin. ft.) is held at Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA. Box 1, folders 15-30 in this series contain materials from the planning stages of the LFMI project, the remainder comprises data and unpublished materials from Yoder's report. Further material on rural work in Japan can be found within The Burke Library Archives main LFMI records in subseries 1D, box 3 folders 13-16.
Series 3: Margaret Elizabeth Forsyth Papers, 1930-1931
This series contains documents related to the reports produced by Forsyth for LFMI. Forsyth was born in 1894 and received an A.M. degree from Teachers' College, Columbia University. She taught at TC from 1922 to 1944, when she became the head of the foreign division of the YWCA. She retired in 1959 and died on July 29, 1971. Some additional material on Forsyth is to be found in the United Methodist Church archives at Drew University. She contributed a chapter to the Supplementary Series of the LFMI's report.
Series 4: Christian Education in Japan, [193?]-1931
This series contains material related to Christian education produced for the LFMI. The main report was produced by Thoburn Taylor Brumbaugh, 1896-1974, a Methodist minister based in Tokyo who was also a leader of the Japan International Christian University Foundation 1946-1958. There is some material on Brumbaugh in the United Methodist Church archives. The final report includes two chapters on Christian Education in Japan. Further material on Christian education in Japan can be found in the main LFMI holdings at the Burke Library Archives, subseries 1D, box 2 folders 10-32, and box 3 folders 1-11.
Series 5: Harvey Hugo Guy and George L. Maxwell Papers, 1930-1931
This series contains material related to theological education produced by Guy and Maxwell for the LFMI. Guy was a member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He graduated from the Bible College of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and went to Japan in 1893 with his wife. In 1906 he and Ishikawa Kakujiro, 1867-1930, founded Seigakuin Bo ys' Junior and Senior High School 聖学院中学校高等学校 in Tokyo. In 1909 he was appointed to Berkeley Bible Seminary, but was dismissed in 1912. He later worked at the Pacific Theological Seminary in Berkeley, CA. Further material on Guy is to be found in the Benjamin Ide Wheeler papers, 1854 - 1927, held in the Bancroft Library of UC Berkeley. Guy was the director of the LMFI Fact-finders for Japan, and he contributed a chapter to the Supplementary Series in addition to his co-authored chapter with Maxwell.George L. Maxwell, 1896-1947, was an alumnus of Union Theological Seminary in New York City (class of 1927), field secretary for the National Council on Religion in Higher Education (1928-29) and later held senior administration positions at the University of Denver in Colorado. He co-authored a chapter in the Supplementary Series with Guy.
Series 6: Reports on Rural Japan, 1929-1930
This series contains a sequence of reports regarding rural Japan produced by Japanese authors, possibly at the request of LFMI investigators. The authors include: Nunokawa Magoichi 布川孫市 , [18??] - 1944, founding member of the Sociological Society (shakaigakkai 社会学会 ), a professor at Meiji Gakuin University 明治学院大学 , and an adviser and investigat or for the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce; Chozo Yuki mas a, founding secretary of the Japanese Farmers' Union in 1923, and teac her in the Japanese Farmers' Gospel School; Gentaro Suyehiro of Tokyo Imperial University; Eijiro Honjo, 1888 - 1973, professor of Japanese economic history. Further material on rural work in Japan can be found in the main LFMI holdings at the Burke Library Archives, subseries 1D, box 3 folders 13-16.
Series 7: Missionary Checklist, [1930?]
This series contains tabulations of the "missionary checklist," a survey of missionaries in Japan. The data is organized by denomination, type of service and length of residence in Japan et cetera.
Series 8: Japan Self-Interpreted, 1929-1930
[Some Fragile Materials Restricted] The cover note of the series bears the imprint of the Institute of Social and Religious Research, a New York City institute founded by Rockefeller, and the organization behind the fact-finders for the LFMI. The series contains English newspaper articles from Japan, plates from the Encyclopedia Britannica [14th Edition?] on Japanese culture, and an issue of the Japanese newspaper Kingdom of God Weekly 神の國新聞 published by Kagawa Toyohiko 賀川豊彦 , 1888-1960. The main collection of Kagawa papers is to be found within the Mission Research Library Archives at the Burke Library. As the articles in the collection are very acidic and fragile, please consult microfilm copies of any restricted articles cited in the contents list. Please see this collection's finding aid for more information.
Series 9: Reference Materials and Maps re Japan, [192?-1930?]
This series contains oversized reference materials for the reports submitted by Harvey Hugo Guy and Charles Hatch S ears, 1870 - 1943, to the LFMI. Sears was superintendent and general secret ary of the New York City Baptist Mission Society. He was also the editorial secretary for the "City Mission Work" section of the periodic al Baptist Home Mission Monthly . He contributed a chapter to the Supplementary Series.
Arranged in 9 series: 1. McGruder Ellis Sadler Papers, 1927 - 1931; 2. Fred Roy Yoder Papers, 1930 - 1931; 3. Margaret Elizabeth Forsyth Papers, 1930 - 1931; 4. Christian Education in Japan[192?] - 1931; 5. Harvey Hugo Guy and George L. Maxwell Papers, 1930 - 1931; 6. Reports on Rural Japan, 1929 - 1930; 7. Missionary Checklist [1930?]; 8. Japan Self-Interpreted, 1929 - 1930; 9. Reference Materials and Maps re Japan[192? - 193?].
Collection open for research by appointment.
Item descripti on, MRL 7: Christianity in Japan, series #, box #, and folder #, The Burke Library Archives (Columbia University Libraries) at Union Theological Seminary, New York.
Columbia University Libraries, Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary
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2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
The Laymen's Foreign Missions Inquiry was a major research project undertaken from 1930-1931 to study Christian mission work abroad. Please consult the Finding Aid for the Laymen's Foreign Missions Inquiry Rec o rds, 1898-1939, for a general history of the Inquiry. Japan was one of the major areas of foreign mission work examined by the Inquiry, the others being China and India. Herbert Hugo Guy was appointed the regional director for Japan of the fact-finding arm of the LFMI. Two volumes of reports were produced for each region: a volume of "Regional Reports" pulled together from many sources and edited by committee, and a volume of "Fact-Finders' Reports" with chapters on specific topics written by a single author or a pair.
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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