A Young Christian Arrives From Japan
Rev. Takie Okumura was a Japanese Christian minister who founded this church and established the Okumura Boys and Girls Home, the first Japanese-language school, and the AJA (Americans of Japanese ancestry) baseball league in Hawaii. Born in Kōchi prefecture in Japan, Okumura was baptized on September 9, 1888 and admitted to the Osaka Christian Church. In September 1890, he entered Dōshisha University Theological Seminary in Kyoto to dedicate his life to Christian work. After graduation, he was influenced by Dr. Jerome Davis, father of Merle Davis, who was formerly with the local Institute of Pacific Relations and by Dr. John Gulick to accept an invitation to Hawai’i. Okumura arrived in the Islands in August 1894 at the age of twenty-nine.
A Pioneering Church Planter
Despite the challenges of preaching Christianity “in the midst of such a topsy-turvy community” where men “ridiculed and threw stones at me,” Okumura continued his work of spreading the message of God to the Japanese immigrants. He was the pastor of the Japanese Christian Church, the predecessor of Nu’uanu Congregational Church, from September 1894 to October 1902 when he resigned. He organized the Makiki Church on April 8, 1904 with twenty-four members. When he retired in 1937, the membership had reached 799 members.
Introducing Young Japanese Immigrants to Jesus
As a prominent educator and activist in Hawai’i, Okumura established a Japanese kindergarten and the Honolulu Japanese Elementary School (later Hawai’i Chuō Gakuin and then Central Institute) in April 1896; the Japanese YMCA on April 28, 1900, which became a department of the Honolulu YMCA in 1912; the Temperance Society in May 1892; and the Benevolent Society in May 1889. In August of 1896, he founded the Okumura Boys and Girls Home, formerly known as the Japanese boarding school to provide affordable housing for young adult immigrants.
Bridging Japanese-Americans During and Post WWII
Although he retired as a pastor from church work in 1937, he still served as head of the home until his death in 1951. Unlike many other Issei leaders in Hawai’i, Okumura was not interned during World War II and continued his work under martial law. During his life, Okumura was also active in the Territorial educational campaign, New American Conferences, and the Japanese Language Education association, conducting language classes in the local public schools. Additionally, Okumura extensively wrote under the pen name “Roku Seki” publishing various periodical such as The Tomo, The Hikari, The Kyoho, The Rakuen Jiho (The Paradise Times), and until his death The Rakuen no Ochiba.
Although the Japanese government tried to award Okumura medals for meritorious service on three different occasions, Okumura declined declaring that his efforts were for his people and for the building of his program in Hawai’i. His death in 1951 was attended by numerous prominent individuals in the Islands in revealing the influence of Okumura in the establishment of the Japanese community in Hawai’i.
Our Church Today
Today, we are a family of faith called by God to be the Body of Christ and sent by the power of the Holy Spirit into the world to continue the ministry of Jesus. We welcome those from our neighboring Makiki and Ala Moana area and throughout the island of all ages and backgrounds. In addition to our weekly Sunday worship services in both English and Japanese, we have an NAEYC-accredited preschool for our children as well as a weekly ministry for our older adults. We support various local outreaches such as prison and homeless ministries, as well as missions beyond our shores, even reaching out to the people of Okumura’s hometown of Kōchi through what we call the Rainbow Connection. Come and worship with us as a community of the Spirit that seeks to follow Jesus and to demonstrate God’s promise of things to come!
