Christian Organizations

While in New York City, the Iwakura Mission visited the American Bible Society and the YMCA. The Bible Society was an organization that advocated the translation and distribution of the Christian Bible, and presented the delegation with Bibles written in Chinese. Kunitake Kume made note of the popularity of Christianty in America, especially as a tool for people to evaluate the moral character of themselves and others. For Kume and his fellow delegates, this aspect of Christiany, among others, was difficult for them to fully accept. Nevertheless, Kume could tell that Christianity was a positive influence on American civilization, acting as a unifying religion and compass for moral standards. In his writing, he compared the sincerity of the Christian practice to Confucianism and Buddhism, concluding that Christianity was perhaps more accessible to the everyday man. In 1873, the Meiji government lifted a ban on Christianity that had been in place since the sixteenth century, setting in motion Japan’s openness to other Western religions and practices.