Always a Mishie: Female Protestant Missionary Trans-Cultural Encounters in Japan and the World War II Japanese American Incarceration Camps

A spirit of internationalism pervaded early twentieth century Protestant missions, and female missionaries played a key role in spreading that message. Believing that “the world is a neighborhood,” missionaries increasingly viewed their vocation as a partnership with indigenous churches in service to world peace, social justice, and the eradication of racism. An emphasis on friendship enabled many missionaries to critique Western political and cultural agendas even as their identity as Americans intermingled with their affinity for the people and culture in which they were situated. This paper follows the transcultural path of white female Protestant missionaries who worked in Japan in the first four decades of the twentieth century, and served as teachers, church volunteers, or social workers in Japanese American incarceration camps during World War II. Their experiences traversing radically different cultures impacted their missiological understanding and their perceptions of self, race, and culture. Deeply connected to their Japanese brethren, female missionaries in Japan understood their role as cultural and religious arbiters between the Japanese and Americans, emphasizing friendship that transcended racial and ethnic boundaries. During WWII, many missionaries used their love of Japan and belief in universal “brotherhood” to create relationships with Japanese Americans while combating the racism of white Christians. This experience in turn led these men and women to return post-war to the land and people for whom they yearned with an attitude of humility. Transcultural identities enabled Japan missionaries to straddle two worlds and promote cultural and racial understanding in America and Japan.