Uemura Masahisa

Who was Uemura Masahisa?

Uemura Masahisa was a Japanese Christian pastor, theologian and critic of Meiji and Taishō periods.

Uemura was the eldest son of Tojuiro and Tei, of the family of hatamoto. His birth name was Michitarō. Though his family was wealthy, they fell into bankruptcy at the time of the Meiji Restoration. He came into contact with Christianity when he went to Tokyo to study at Shubunkan and the preparatory school run by James Hamilton Ballagh. In June, 1873 he was baptized at the Yokohama Public Church by Ballagh. His parents and younger brothers were also baptized later. Soon he decided to become an evangelist, studying at Brown Preparatory School and Icchi Shin Gakko. He was ordained in 1880 and became the pastor of Shitaya church. In 1887 he established the church that would later become Fujimicho Church and served as pastor there for the rest of his life. As an evangelist, his work included: 1. forming evangelical churches; 2. building up an acceptance of a theological way of thinking and the related training of evangelists; and 3. participation in written campaigns opposing many movements in Japanese society.