| Missions. | Missionaries. | Native Pastors and Evangelists. | Members.[230] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protestant | 789 | 494 | 50,512 |
| Roman Catholic | 229 | 98 | 55,824 |
| Greek Church | 4 | 152 | 27,245 |
These figures, when compared with those of ten years ago, do not, as far as the Greek Church and the Roman Catholic Church are concerned, indicate remarkable progress, but to Protestants they are on the whole encouraging. There are 23 Protestant denominations working in Japan, but the most important sects are the Congregationalists, the Presbyterians, the Episcopalians, the Methodists, and the Baptists. The statistics for the 5 principal missions are as follows:—
| Missions. | Foreign Missionaries. | Japanese Pastors. | Adult Members. | Including Children. | Baptisms Last Year. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Congregational | 71 | 45 | 10,856 | 11,548 | 880 |
| Presbyterian | 153 | 79 | 10,156 | 11,651 | 1,213 |
| Episcopalian | 224 | 47 | 9,968 | 10,997 | 846 |
| Methodist | 233 | 125 | 9,283 | 9,711 | 1,598 |
| Baptist | 56 | 9 | 2,213 | 2,213 | 328 |
The following table gives other interesting particulars:
| Missions. | Churches. | Self-supporting Churches. | Church Property. Yen. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Congregational | 81 | 34 | 125,794 |
| Presbyterian | 71 | 23 | 218,252 |
| Episcopalian | 69 | 2 | |
| Methodist | 146 | 13 | 225,559 |
| Baptist | 30 | ||
| Missions. | Sunday-School Scholars. | Native Money Subscribed. Yen. | Amount Per Member. Yen. Sen. |
| Congregational | 6,880 | 33,791 | 3.11 |
| Presbyterian | 7,879 | 29,027 | 2.86 |
| Episcopalian | 5,524 | 15,827 | 1.59 |
| Methodist | 12,613 | 30,011 | 3.24 |
| Baptist | 3,775 | 4,283 | 1.94 |
It is calculated that if all the different kinds of property
held by the Protestant Church be included, it is worth over 1,500,000 yen.
The Catholic Church in Japan
A writer signing himself “K. M.” contributes to the “Fukuin Shimpō” an account of the methods followed by the Roman Catholics and of their work in Japan, said to have been derived from an interview with L’Abbé E. Ligneul. The following is a summary of “K. M.’s” article. (1) The revival of Roman Catholicism in Japan. This began at Nagasaki in 1865, where a church was built and when the descendants of the old Christians came forward in large numbers to welcome the arrival of foreign missionaries. Having mentioned the principal works of reference on the Roman Catholic Missions in Japan, M. Ligneul went on to speak (2) Of the present state of their churches. The following table gives the numerical strength of the mission:—
| Ecclesiastical Districts. | Converts. | Japanese Priests. | Japanese Evangelists. | Foreign Missionaries (Male). |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tōkyō | 9,245 | 4 | 20 | 37 |
| Nagasaki | 38,160 | 27 | 180 | 31 |
| Ōsaka | 4,273 | 2 | 40 | 27 |
| Hakodate | 4,643 | 1 | 20 | 20 |
| Total | 56,321 | 34 | 260 | 115 |
The fact that comparatively little is known of the work being carried on by the Roman Catholics throughout the country is no accidental affair. It is one of the principles observed by the whole mission to refrain from the use of the methods employed by other missions for making their work known to the public generally.