Page:A handbook of modern Japan (IA handbookofmodern01clem).pdf/337

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JAPANESE CHRISTENDOM
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And, all over the Empire, on special bulletin-boards, notices were published to the effect that this edict must be strictly enforced.[1] And yet, in spite of the shrewd measures employed to detect Christians, by compelling suspected persons, for instance, to trample on the cross or be crucified, in some sections the knowledge of the Gospel was handed down in secret from one generation to another; so that, when these edicts were removed in 1873, to a few here and there Christianity was not a strange doctrine.[2]

Just as soon as it was possible, under the treaties of 1858, for foreigners to reside in Japan, even under restrictions, missionaries began to enter (1859), and are now numbered by the hundreds. This count includes both single and married men, the wives (for in some cases the wife is worth more than the husband), and single ladies.

The work of the Greek Church has been carried on, except for a few years, so far as foreigners are concerned, by only one man, and even now has only two single men connected with the mission; but the remarkable personality of the late Bishop Nicolai and his tact in utilizing Japanese workers made a profound impression and neutralized the prejudice arising out of political animosity to Russia.

  1. ↑ "The wicked sect called Christian is strictly prohibited. Suspected persons are to be reported to the respective officials, and rewards will be given" (1868).
  2. ↑ See also Murray's "Story of Japan," pp. 172-179, 240-268.
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