No place is too remote for God

I can’t imagine there are any Christians on this island. That sad thought flashed into my mind as I walked across the gangplank. The Jetfoil was bound for the beautiful volcanic island of Izu Oshima, about 100 km south of Tokyo, just off the Izu Peninsula.

To be honest, the fact that my wife and I were boarding this boat at all was a bit harebrained. My mother, visiting for Christmas, had offered to look after our children so we could celebrate our 15th anniversary. My wife Charley had, no doubt, pictured a spa treatment and dinner, which I attempted to organize but was frankly overwhelmed by the choices—googling “spa hotel Tokyo” brought 44 million hits. I’ve always had a fascination with islands, and living in central Tokyo, the thought of escaping the concrete jungle was enticing. And so, on a slightly grey January morning I shoved a small suitcase into the basket of a Docomo share bike, and we started the 10-minute cycle to Hinode Pier where our journey began.

Oshima is an island of 7,000 people and technically a part of the Tokyo Metropolis. I’m not sure why the thought about Christians popped into my head, but assuming a Christian population of 1% for the whole of Japan suggests there may be about 70 Christians on Oshima, though obviously the number of believers varies vastly by area. In rural areas the average is as low as 0.1%, if there are any Christians at all.¹ As we glided under the Rainbow Bridge, and the machinery of oil refiners gave way to breathtaking views of Mt Fuji, that sobering thought lodged in my mind.

We landed at around 10.30 a.m. After picking up a kei car, we planned to do a loop of the island before checking into our hotel. First stop was a small dairy farm to sample camellia ice cream—one of the island’s famous products. Next, wondering who actually lives in a place like this, we called into the Oshima Folk Museum and were treated to a personal tour by a retired Tokyoite who’d been posted to the island as a civil servant and decided to stay. Among displays of the 1986 volcanic eruption, traditional workers’ clothes, and a strange notice about the island declaring independence after the war to escape Allied rule, there was a small exhibit about exiles from the mainland. For many centuries the Izu Islands were a penal colony. We noticed that some of the names were written in katakana—often a sign of those who’d taken a “Christian name” in baptism. Were some of those exiles followers of Jesus?

Later, we pulled into Fudeshima Observatory, where you can see a rock jutting out of the water that looks a little like a fude (brush for writing or painting). But as I got out of the car, it wasn’t the rock that caught my eye, but an enormous white cross towering over the landscape. What on earth is this?! It stood several meters tall, glistening in the sun against the ocean’s deep blue. Nearby was a small Shinto shrine and plaque commemorating someone called ジュリアおたあ (Julia Ota); the name looked vaguely familiar from the museum display about exiles.

Our interest piqued, we carried on towards Habu, a picturesque harbour in a hidden little bay offering much needed shelter from stormy winds. On the way into town, we passed a graveyard, and I did a double take. “Was that another cross?” I exclaimed, pulling the car over. Sure enough, at the back of an ordinary Buddhist cemetery was a charnel house adorned with a cross. Nearby was a stone with names of the brothers and sisters of Habu Church whose remains rest here waiting for their resurrection on the day of the Lord’s return!

Heading north again we made for the main town of Motomachi. At our hotel, a little googling told me there are actually three churches on the island, two Protestant and one Catholic. What’s more, the Shinto shrine we saw earlier is one of just three “Christian shrines” in Japan.² That is, a Shinto shrine that commemorates a Christian as a kami (god).

Who was Julia Ota?

After we returned to Tokyo, I discovered the shrine venerates Julia Ota,³ a Korean lady brought to Japan as a prisoner aged three or five after the Japanese invasion under Konishi Yukinaga in 1592. Konishi was a Christian and young Julia was raised in his household, herself coming to faith. After Konishi was killed in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Julia was taken into the household of his vanquisher Tokugawa Ieyasu. However, in 1612, with Tokugawa increasingly wary of Christianity he ordered Ota and others in his household to renounce their faith in Christ. Julia refused, preferring to choose banishment than renounce her true Lord. Julia was exiled to the Izu Islands, but wherever she went she was admired for her generosity and zealous evangelism. Although she only spent a few weeks on Oshima, when residents later learned of her death they erected a shrine to console her spirit. It is said that at her shrine bubonic plague could be healed. The fact that Julia was a fervent believer in Christ seems to have been forgotten, but clearly, she made a remarkable impact on the islands’ residents.

Christianity on Izu Oshima

The impact of the Nihon Kirisuto Kyodan churches seems to have been no less extraordinary. I called up Pastor Kanno Katsuyuki, who has written about the history of the church in Oshima⁴ and been ministering there for seven years. To my astonishment a tentative phone call turned into a 20-minute natter and prayer!

He told me that although the two Protestant churches now have a combined Sunday attendance of only a little over 20 people, the church has a wonderful history. Habu Church was planted by the Scandinavian Alliance Mission (now known as TEAM) in the Meiji period in around 1890. He was sure there wasn’t a single person on the island who didn’t know of the church, in large part due to one of his predecessors, Pastor Aizawa. Aizawa-sensei was a passionate evangelist, publishing his own evangelistic newspaper which he then delivered on foot to every household on the island. He also made sure Habu Church was at the forefront of serving the community, founding the island’s first daycare center.

Oshima may have seemed remote to me but not to our Father, for as Jesus reminds us: “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working” (John 5:17 NIV). I was reminded of this as we soaked in an onsen on the edge of Minamoto’s port, with views of Mount Fuji. At sunset, the clouds were draped in the most remarkable pinks, a beautiful display of our heavenly Father’s glory. It was the glory of creation that I’d expected to be the highlight of this trip—and on that front we weren’t disappointed—but we also discovered the glory of the gospel at work in this most unlikely of places. Praise be to God. JH

1. For statistics and explanation, see “Why Rural Japan,” Rural Japan Church Planting Network. https://en.ruraljapanchurch.com/why-rural-japan (accessed March 16, 2023).
2. Miyeon Kim 金美連, “日本のキリシタン神社で行われる儀式 ―枯松神社祭、桑姫社大祭、ジュリア祭の比較考察 [Rituals Held at Christian Shrines in Japan—Comparative study of Karematsu Shrine Festival, Kuwahime Shrine Festival and Julia Festival]”, 国際関係研究（日本大学）Vol. 41 (Shizuoka: 2021), 93-104. https://www.ir.nihon-u.ac.jp/pdf/research/publication/02_41_09.pdf
The other two churches are in Nagasaki. Some suggest there may be as many as eight: https://office.nanzan-u.ac.jp/library/publi/item/katholikos29.pdf (accessed March 16, 2023).
3. Summary of Julia Ota based on various sources including Miyeon Kim (cited above) and Wikipedia “Julia Ota” (ジュリアおたあ). Accessed March 16, 2023.
4. Katsuyuki Kanno 菅野勝之, “大島元村に続く宣教師たちの伝道スピリット [The ongoing spirit of missionary evangelism in Oshima Motomura],” 信徒の友 [Friends of Faith], June 2022.
Photos submitted by author