Love Runs Through Christianity（愛以てこれを貫く）

Background

In response to the question, “What is Christianity?” Neesima answers, “Love runs through Christianity,” in other words, love is the essence of Christianity. Christianity is sometimes called a “religion of love,” but what is this “love”? Neesima attempts to answer this question with several concrete examples. The examples are so varied that they would be unthinkable today. Needless to say, the words and deeds of Jesus in the Bible are cited, but there are also those of Francis Xavier (1506–1552), Masashige Kusunoki (1294–1336, famous as a loyal retainer), the Ako-roshi (a group of samurai who tried to avenge their lord in 1702 out of loyalty to him), the German emperor who comforted a wounded soldier, a mother who wept for her son, and so on. Strictly considered, some of these examples of Christian love are not appropriate, but Neesima probably wanted to convey in concrete terms the universality of “love,” which can be widely found in figures from all ages and cultures.
　Although Kusunoki is rarely cited by us today as a loyal and righteous samurai, in another sermon, “The Beginning is Important, but the End is More Important” (1808), Neesima praises him by referring to the Analects of Confucius, “Do an act of benevolence at the sacrifice of oneself.” In this sermon, he quotes not only Kusunoki but also many characters from Chinese classics, suggesting that Neesima was deeply familiar with Chinese classics.
　On the one hand, Neesima sometimes takes a negative stance toward traditional values such as Confucianism and Buddhism, but on the other hand, he refers inexhaustibly to Japanese and Chinese ideas and figures and attempts to encompass them within Christianity. Efforts to bridge different civilizations and values were hard at work among Neesima’s Christian contemporaries, including Kanzo Uchimura (1861–1930, thinker who advocated non-church movement) and Inazo Nitobe (1862–1933, internationally renowned educator who wrote Bushido). However, if we go back to the history of Christianity, we can say that the prototype can be found in St. Paul, who tried to bridge the gap between the biblical world (Jews) and the Mediterranean world (Gentiles). It is noteworthy that Paul used “conscience” (συνείδησις) as a keyword to connect different worlds and people (1 Corinthians 8:8–13, Romans 2:15).

Contemporary Significance

Practicing Love of Neighbor

Christian values are different from just acquiring knowledge about Christianity. Neesima’s understanding of Christianity as “Love runs through Christianity” boldly strikes at the essence of Christian values. The question for us is whether we have the “power of love” to gain insight into the reality of the various discriminations and prejudices created by human minds and the countless disparities embedded in society and to transcend these barriers to face those in need of help.

Bridging East and West with Conscience

In Neesima’s time, Christianity was considered a Western religion, but today, when the majority of the Christian population lives in non-Western countries, Christianity is no longer a Western religion. While critically relativizing the Western-centered understanding of Christianity, it is necessary to seek a form of Christianity appropriate for the modern age from a global perspective.
　Although Neesima did not have a sympathetic view of the people of colonized Asian countries after he departed from Japan, a strong interest in Asia grew and developed in Jiro Yuasa (1850–1932, a businessman who supported the early Doshisha) and Gien Kashiwagi (1860–1938, a pastor who advocated non-war), who were trained by Neesima. Yuasa and Kashiwagi were both active in the Asian community. In 1914, Yuasa and Kashiwagi opposed the mission to Korea by Japanese pastors at a general meeting of the Japanese Congregational Church and insisted that Christianity must not become a tool of Japanese imperialism. However, the momentum to face the people of Asia as “neighbors” was drowned out by subsequent history. The unfinished task of reconciling different worlds and values, and facing each other as “neighbors,” has been handed down to us today. Conscience, which constantly reminds us of the importance of “knowing together,” is the starting point for this.

(Katsuhiro Kohara)