Katherine WeissDr. Kim

April 28, 2014Cultural Assumptions, Generalizations, and the Japanese

In scholarly literature on missionaries in Japan, researchers have tended to focus

on American Missionary involvement in Japan in the one hundred or so years leading up

to World War II. However, there is little information or analysis readily available about

American Missionary interaction in Japan immediately following the end of American

occupation (1945-1952). Secondly, when historians focus on Japan post-1945 they tend

to focus on military life in Japan. When examining missionary work in Japan after

American occupation, a different picture is found. The missionaries approached the

Japanese with a humble spirit, enabling them to see everyday ordinary Japanese people in

a simpler way. These missionaries were in awe of the culture and were greatly impressed

by the people. The missionaries did not harbor any resentment towards the Japanese, but

instead, thrust themselves into the activities of everyday life in Japan. A case study of

Rev. William (1924-2012) and Georgia Weiss (1928-) shows that cultural generalizations

and assumptions are not always negative, and that when we have preconceived notions it

does not have to negatively impact your daily interactions.

There are a great deal of books written by military men involved in the Pacific

theatre during World War II who all returned to Japan at some point. In one book,

Goodbye Darkness, William Manchester, a Marine sergeant who fought in Okinawa,

combines memories of the war with an account of a return trip to the Pacific Islands in

1978. Even more than 20 years after the war, Manchester still regarded the islands with

resentment and referred to the Japanese with harsh language.1 While there are books that

have shed light on pro-Japanese sentiments such as Baa Baa Black Sheep by Pappy

1 Sheila K. Johnson, The Japanese Through American Eyes, (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1988), 32-34.

Weiss 2

Boyington and Bridge to the Sun by Gwen Terasaki, a large majority of the books written

post World War II focused on people who had very clear negative Japanese sentiments.

Historians who have chosen to focus on civilian rather than military life after the war

similarly put too much focus on American’s negative view of the Japanese based on

preconceived cultural assumptions. Sheila K. Johnson, who spent a year in Japan in the

early 1960s, writes that while she had thought the bitterness over World War II would die

out, she found that, “The Japanese as a hostile, aggressive, and cold-blooded nation

remains a powerful theme in American thought.”2 Johnson and other historians are

missing a piece to the post-1945 puzzle.

While there is a great deal of literature and analysis about missions to Japan

beginning in 1859, it seemingly trails off by the 1920s. There is hardly any readily

available material regarding information about post-1945 missions to Japan. Hamish Ion

wrote an extensive work about the early missionaries and discussed many of the trials and

struggles faced by the first American missionaries in Japan. Early missionaries found,

“Japanese hostility toward foreigners…continued.”3 As time went on, however, it

appeared that progress was being made and the missionaries were having success in

converting the Japanese. His work only covers the beginning of American missionary

involvement in Japan, though, and cuts short the dialogue in 1873. Additional works that

address missionaries in Japan place a similar focus on the early 1900s. John Coventry

Smith, a missionary to Japan in 1929 and a leader of the World Council of Churches,

provides insight into his time in Japan in an autobiographical book of his experiences in

2 Sheila K. Johnson, The Japanese Through American Eyes, (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1988), 37.3 Hamish Ion, American Missionaries Christian Oyatoi and Japan 1859-73, (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2009), 61.

Weiss 3

the church. Smith does a sufficient job chronicling his time in the late 1920s in Japan

giving us a good first hand picture of missionaries in Japan at a time where other works

have previously fallen short. However, he returned to America in 1942 during the

outbreak of the war, which again leaves historians wondering about missionaries in Japan

after the war.

Missionaries in Japan at this time can be explored when examining a case study of

Rev. William and Georgia Weiss. Mrs. Weiss, who was commissioned with her husband

to be a missionary to Japan in 1953, chronicled their time in Japan by writing letters to

their families back home, providing historians with an in-depth look at the missionaries’

time in Japan and their perception of Japanese culture at that time. The Weisses time in

Japan paints a different picture than one of a disgruntled returning military man, or an

American who has never actually been to Japan. Rev. Weiss was a sailor during World

War II and fought in the Okinawa campaign. Although he had a military vantage point

that could have pushed him toward the apparent typical negative view, Weiss never once

looked harshly upon the Japanese. The letters portray a unique involvement in Japan that

have previously been unexplored; a sailor returning to Japan, the very people he fought

against as an enemy, as a missionary after World War II. Reading their letters allows an

opportunity to not only learn about their daily activities, but at the same time provide an

insight into how they and fellow missionaries viewed the Japanese.

Christianity in Japan dates back to 1549 with the arrival of Francis Xavier, who

landed at Kagoshima, which is located at the southern tip of the island Kyushu in Japan.

However, in 1614 Christians were declared enemies of the state and in 1636 Japan was

shut out from the West. Under Iemitsu (1604-1651), the third shogun of the Tokugawa

Weiss 4

dynasty, many Tōshōgū shrines were established and Buddhism became state

institutionalized. The Christian missionary movement returned in 1859.4 Although

Christians were no longer persecuted Shintoism would become the state religion in 1872

during the Meiji era. Be that as it may, this influence of a state religion led to people

becoming less enthusiastic in their beliefs, beginning a shift in the attitude towards

religion as more of a ‘title to be used’ than a ‘belief to participate in.’5 This attitude shift

would carry into the 1950s when the missionary Rev. William Weiss began his work in

Japan in 1953.

After attending San Francisco Presbyterian Seminary in 1952, Weiss worked with

his wife, Georgia, in a Japanese church in Stockton, California. In addition to pastoral

duties, the Weisses drove 100 miles each weekend to volunteer at a church with second-

generation Japanese youth. This would lead to an invitation by the church board for them

to serve in Japan. In 1953, Weiss was commissioned with his wife to be a missionary by

the Presbyterian Church’s Commission on Ecumenical Mission and Relations. They

would serve in Japan until 1964. Unlike previous years, the missionaries commissioned at

this time were to attend language school in their host country, rather than take courses at

Yale University before they traveled overseas. This marked an important transition in

which the church attempted to focus on integrating the pastors into the local culture by

learning from the people, rather than attempting to learn in a classroom setting. John

Coventry Smith spoke of this decision in his book that recorded his time in the church.

Smith said that language would not be the first requirement for a new missionary

4 For more information about Christianity in Japan read American Missionaries Christian Oyatoi and Japan 1859-73 by Hamish Ion. The author discusses the evolution of Christianity in Japan after Japan was reopened to the West. 5 Converting Japanese Gets Harder, (St. Paul Press, 1958).

Weiss 5

anymore because the most important thing was, “the attitude of the missionary toward

persons of another color and culture, the willingness to work under their direction and to

make contributions as a whole.”6 He recognized that it was a problem especially for

Westerners, “who had unconsciously absorbed attitudes of superiority.”7

The illuminating story of Rev. Weiss and Georgia Weiss’ integration into the

lives of the Japanese begins with their preparations to travel abroad. They lived in San

Francisco at the time with their 5-week-old son and were to be commissioned in New

York. The Presbyterian Church asked them to go on a cross-country road trip over the

course of three months and raise money in churches along the way for their starting

salary. However, they felt very uncomfortable asking people for money, even if it meant

they would be unable to go on their mission. They trusted God would guide them, even

with that possibility. The couple arrived in New York with barely any money and left for

Japan without even the promise of a salary.

Unlike other missionaries, Rev. and Georgia Weiss were sent to Japan not to start

their own church but rather to work alongside Japanese ministers in the Japanese

churches already established. Weiss and his wife had several duties while in Japan. They

taught English to local businessmen in their home, held discussion groups three times a

week, held Bible classes twice a week, and even spent six hours a week learning the

Japanese language. Weiss was also in charge of work camps for the World Council of

Churches, co-editor of the Japan National Christian Council bi-weekly, and wrote

6 John Coventry Smith, From Colonialism to World Community, (Philadelphia: The Geneva Press, 1982), 36.

7 John Coventry Smith, From Colonialism to World Community, (Philadelphia: The Geneva Press, 1982), 36.

Weiss 6

weekly articles for the Japan Times (student edition). Additionally he chaired a Cub

Scout Pack and taught English at Waseda, a large university. Mrs. Weiss actively

participated in Women’s society meetings at the Tokyo Union Church that included

missionary wives, professors’ wives, and army wives. A good portion of the Weisses

work was not directly preaching the gospel of Christ to the locals; instead, they

demonstrated their beliefs through daily actions and the way they lived out their lives. In

an interview, Mrs. Weiss stated that she “frequently entertained Japanese students and

other persons to illustrate ‘typical’ Christian family life.”8 In this way their audience was

greatly widened to people of all socio-economic classes, and to both believers as well as

non-believers.

The churches they worked with did not have very large congregations. This was

to be expected, though, with Christians comprising only .5% of the population. However,

while the churches they worked in may have been small, Rev. and Mrs. Weiss were well

received by the members. One of these members, Mamoru Shimizu, highly praised their

work for the church in a letter to Rev. and Mrs. Weiss, and even pointed to a rise in

attendance since Rev. Weiss’s arrival at the Fujimichō church, located near Ichigaya in

Tokyo. The members did more than just praise the couple for their work, though, and

often welcomed them into their homes for meals and gave gifts to their children.

Christianity in Japan involved a minority of the population and although the churches

were small, new members seemed to come often. This is shown in one letter from Weiss

communicating how profound it was that even after living in Japan for over six years his,

“Bible class at the church [was] doing so well, [with] new people all the time.” 9

8 Converting Japanese Gets Harder, (St. Paul Press, 1958).

9 Mamoru Shimizu, letter to Rev. Weiss, 1957

Weiss 7

Many Americans held contempt towards the Japanese after the war. It was hard

not to see the Japanese as one collective enemy based upon the atrocities that occurred

during the war. There is a common thread, however, through the narratives of those who

held the Japanese with high regard. People like Boyington, Terasaki, and Weiss had

personal relationships with the Japanese. Boyington dealt with the Japanese on a one-to-

one personal basis and, “learned to distinguish between the gung-ho and often brutal

military types and some of the more intellectual Japanese whom he met.”10 Terasaki had

married a Japanese diplomat, which allowed her to see how the, “average Japanese

civilian felt during the war.”11 They saw the individual Japanese, and understood that

Japan could not be branded as a single collective enemy. Rev. and Mrs. Weiss had

continuous interaction with the Japanese on a day-to-day basis, and when reading through

their letters written over a ten-year span it is difficult to find but a few instances where

they made assumptions of the culture. They cherished the everyday interaction and even

after being in Japan for almost 8 months were, “still thrill[ed] to see people smile at

Stephen and say ‘kawai’ (cute).”12 In fact, when interacting with the Japanese they felt, “a

greater responsibility to be courteous wherever we are to those we meet and see.” Not

only did the couple have many personal relationships with the church members, but they

were also close to those they taught English to, who were often not believers.

10 Sheila K. Johnson, The Japanese Through American Eyes, (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1988), 30.

11 Sheila K. Johnson, The Japanese Through American Eyes, (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1988), 31.

12 Georgia Weiss, letter to Mr. and Mrs. F.A. Amundson, April 17, 1954

Weiss 8

In her letters, Mrs. Weiss had high praise for all aspects of Japanese society: the

architecture, the vegetation, the people, and the food. In her first spring in Japan, she

fondly wrote that, “the cherry blossoms are in full bloom and they’re simply gorgeous.

It’s like fairy land to see them...”13 Likewise when William would write, he found that the

Japanese, “were most friendly and gracious.”14 Despite their high regard for the Japanese

and their close interpersonal relationships, Rev. and Mrs. Weiss still unwittingly revealed

cultural assumptions about the Japanese throughout their letters. Although not all of the

cultural assumptions were bad, they were nevertheless assumptions.

In the initial months of living in Japan, Rev. and Mrs. Weiss found themselves

enamored with the elaborate buildings and traditions of the Japanese. Mrs. Weiss wrote

to her parents that, “the Christian religion really has something to compete with…[the

Buddhist Temple’s] are the most beautiful and ornate buildings inside, with gold altars

and hanging chandeliers.” 15 In several of the early letters some cultural assumptions were

revealed, although they did not harbor any ill sentiments. In discussing their nanny, Mrs.

Weiss noted, “and of course all Japanese love children.”16 She also wrote that the

Japanese, “all want to be well-groomed, educated and so on…”17 While clearly not bad

assumptions and generalizations, they are reflective of the preconceived notions she had

when she arrived to Japan.

13 Georgia Weiss, letter to Mr. and Mrs. F.A. Amundson, April 1, 1954

14 William Weiss, letter to Georgia Weiss’ parents, February 26, 1955

15 Georgia Weiss, letter to Mr. and Mrs. F.A. Amundson, October 5, 195316 Georgia Weiss, letter to Mr. and Mrs. F.A. Amundson, January 11, 1954

17 Georgia Weiss, letter to Mr. and Mrs. F.A. Amundson, January 23, 1954

Weiss 9

Mrs. Weiss found some of the Japanese social mannerisms rather coarse. She did

note that it was, “normal procedure to see a man stop to urinate along the streets”, which

was not a pleasant sight.18 This comment held some underlying assumptions about the

Japanese. Men urinating in the street is something that occurs in America, however, when

in Japan it became something to note because they were in a different place and

everything seemed more prominent. In a similar fashion, Weiss wrote that with the

Japanese, “there seems to be something peculiar about the way they lose even their sense

in the rush to get some place or attain something.” He continued, “If the people in the

States pushed that way… [they] would have received some cutting looks and remarks.”19

This last statement is ironic, considering America is notorious for its hustle and bustle of

city life. After the first couple of months living in Japan, comments regarding cultural

assumptions and generalizations seemed to disappear. These generalizations would only

return several years later. During the time that the Weisses lived in Japan, there were

many instances of heightened violence. One instance happened after they had been living

in Japan for about seven years, in 1960, when a 17-year-old student killed Inejiro

Asanuma, a leader of the Japan Socialist party. This death led Mrs. Weiss to write,

“There seems to be no respect for life here among the younger people.”20 However, this

contradicted previous letters where she was impressed with the youth, and how educated

they could be. “The students seem so full of ideas and so eager to discuss any topic…” 21

18 Georgia Weiss, letter to Mr. and Mrs. F.A. Amundson, October 29, 1953

19 William Weiss, letter to Mr. and Mrs. F.A. Amundson, January 3, 1954

20 Georgia Weiss, letter to Mr. and Mrs. F.A. Amundson, October 12, 1960

21 Georgia, letter to Mr. and Mrs. F.A. Amundson, July 5, 1956

Weiss 10

These examples help to illustrate that negative generalizations and assumptions

are often more prevalent under an emotional circumstance. These assumptions do not

dictate one’s entire view, though, and are often not said with malicious intent. Those few

instances when Rev. and Georgia Weiss revealed cultural assumptions clearly did not

cause their views of the Japanese to change, nor did it affect their day-to-day life and

their personal relationships the Japanese. They continued throughout their ten years in

Japan to always hold the Japanese with high regard.

Rev. and Mrs. Weiss were not just trying to share their customs and beliefs with

the Japanese, but they were also learning much from them, even going as far as to

incorporate aspects of the Japanese culture into their American life. The Weisses were

profoundly impacted by their time in Japan. Upon the Weisses return to the United States,

they incorporated Japanese culture into many areas of their life. They continued to

prepare and eat Japanese food, wear kimonos, and later in life they taught their

grandchildren short phrases of Japanese and how to use hashi (chopsticks) properly. In

addition, they kept in close contact with the friends they made during their time in Japan.

Their experiences in Japan changed not only the Japanese people they encountered but

changed the way they lived and interacted with others back at home in America. Rev.

Weiss had a large Japanese garden in his back yard that he cared for meticulously, and he

was extremely passionate about his bonsai trees. After returning to the States, Weiss was

particularly fascinated in finding out where objects were made. He preferred things that

were made in Japan, as he thought they were of a higher quality than of products made in

China. This openness to and even integration of the Japanese culture set the Weiss’ apart

from other Americans who spent time in Japan and perhaps let their preconceived notions

Weiss 11

affect their views of the Japanese. The Weisses came to Japan with preconceived notions

about the Japanese and their culture. After arriving in Japan, they made cultural

generalizations and assumptions from time to time. However, whatever prejudices,

stereotypes, assumptions, and generalizations the Weisses might have made were often

not negative, and in fact enhanced their missions. Their daily interaction with the

Japanese allowed them to have a positive attitude towards the Japanese.

While the Weiss case study is only one example, it does serve to illustrate a

prevalent condition that exists in our society. The Weisses had some preconceived

notions, both positive and negative; this is a direct reflection on how American society

functions. Our American society has been conditioned to not only assume broad

generalizations about others cultures, but also to then assume that our whole society

accepts these generalizations ignoring any exceptions. Cultural assumptions are not

equivalent to ignorance or underlying ill feelings as is commonly thought. The letters

written by Rev. and Mrs. Weiss to their families back home show that even if cultural

assumptions are positive they are nonetheless inescapable. However, it is also shown that

despite having cultural assumptions, deeply interpersonal relationships can be cultivated

and have a profound impact on the way we live our lives.

Throughout American historical interactions with Japanese people and culture and

the impressions shared at their return to America, numerous missteps have been made.

Literature written about American interaction with the Japanese after World War II

typically focuses on returning American military men. This approach is lacking because

it does not address civilian interaction with the Japanese. Books like Goodbye Darkness

are evidence that focusing on military men leads to a focus on negative perception rather

Weiss 12

than positive. American missionary involvement in Japan provides both the civilian and

positive perspective that a large percentage of literature after 1945 lacks. However there

is little scholarly work and literature on missionaries in Japan after 1930s. Examining a

case study of the Weisses elucidates missionary work in Japan after the 1930s. It also

reveals civilian interaction after World War II that is not typically focused on. The

Weisses are an especially important study because they are an example of positive

interaction with the Japanese. The Weisses are an example that positive interactions with

other cultures can be made and that daily interaction and personal relationships are key to

overcoming negative generalizations and assumptions.

Bibliography

"Converting Japanese Gets Harder." St. Paul Press, 1958.

Coventry Smith, John. From Colonialism to World Community . Philadelphia : The Geneva Press, 1982.

Weiss 13

Ion, Hamish. American Missionaries Christian Oyatoi and Japan 1859-73 . Vancouver: UBC Press, 2009.

Johnson, Sheila K. The Japanese Through American Eyes. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1988.

Shimizu, Mamoru. Mamoru Shimizu to Rev. William Weiss, 1957.

Webb, Keith E. Overcoming Spiritual Barriers in Japan. Next/Church Resources, 1999.

Weiss, Georgia. Georgia Weiss to Mr. and Mrs. F.A. Amundson, October 5, 1953.

Weiss, Georgia. Georgia Weiss to Mr. and Mrs. F.A. Amundson, October 29, 1953.

Weiss, Georgia. Georgia Weiss to Mr. and Mrs. F.A. Amundson, January 11, 1954.

Weiss, Georgia. Georgia Weiss to Mr. and Mrs. F.A. Amundson, January 23, 1954.

Weiss, Georgia. Georgia Weiss to Mr. and Mrs. F.A. Amundson, April 1, 1954.

Weiss, Georgia. Georgia Weiss to Mr. and Mrs. F.A. Amundson, April 17, 1954.

Weiss, Georgia. Georgia Weiss to Mr. and Mrs. F.A. Amundson, July 5, 1956.

Weiss, Georgia. Georgia Weiss to Mr. and Mrs. F.A. Amundson, October 12, 1960.

Weiss, William. William Weiss to Mr. and Mrs. F.A. Amundson, January 3, 1954.

Weiss, William. William Weiss to Mr. and Mrs. F.A. Amundson, February 26, 1955.