IN the LIGHT of the RISING SUN Memoirs of a Bahá’Í Pioneer to Japan
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An expanded, annotated version of IN THE LIGHT OF THE RISING SUN Memoirs of a Bahá’í Pioneer to Japan by Barbara R. Sims E-book In the Light of the Rising Sun: Memoirs of a Baháʼí Pioneer to Japan reviewed and approved by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of Japan (Approved July 2020) © 2019 Sheridan A. Sims All rights reserved Barbara R. Sims, Tokyo Baháʼí Center, 1961 cover of the original book Contents (page numbers are PDF) Foreword 5 Preface 7 Mary Elizabeth Steuben Burland 8 Father’s side 14 Bahá’í life Stateside 16 Following the sun 23 Early years of the Bahá’í Faith in Japan 26 Arrival and impressions 29 Tokyo L.S.A. 45 Nikko Conference 55 North East Asia 58 The International Convention and the 1960s 64 1970s, ’80s and ’90s 70 “If you want to preserve something, publish it” 77 (Re)search 82 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s prayer for the Japanese 85 Ichi Kamichika 95 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s tablets to Japan 87 Takeo Hasegawa 95 Kenzo Torikai 88 The Rev. Nobuichiro Imaoka 96 Saichiro Fujita’s relatives 91 Daisetz and Beatrice Suzuki 97 Kanichi Yamamoto’s relatives 92 Hong Kong and Macau 98 Kikutaro Fukuta’s sons 93 The Archives 101 Vasily Eroshenko 94 Some extraordinary Bahá’ís who visited Japan 102 ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum 104 Collis Featherstone 135 Tarazullah Samandari 119 Other Hands of the Cause 136 Agnes Alexander 121 Univ. House of Justice members 137 Rahmatullah Muhajir 125 Yankee Leong 140 Enoch Olinga 132 The Katirais, Moghbels, and Momtazis 142 Abul-Qasim Faizi 133 Final chapter 142 Photographs 146 Appendix: 1968 International Convention photos 164 Notes 184 Foreword This PDF document is an expanded and annotated version of In the Light of the Rising Sun, a memoir by long-time Baháʼí pioneer to Japan, Barbara R. Sims. The original book was issued in Tokyo by the Baháʼí Publishing Trust of Japan in early 2002, just before Ms. Sims passed away that April. This PDF version of Barbara Simsʼ memoir was prepared by her son, the undersigned. This document is a personal project of the undersigned, and has not been created under the auspices of the Japan Baháʼí Publishing Trust. Ms. Sims worked on her memoir 2000-1 but did not finish several sections of it; also, no doubt she would have liked to run through the entire account for final editing. Terminal illness, however, prevented her from completing her work. One wishes, in particular, that she had been able to give more anecdotes and stories of the many extraordinary persons she was privileged to meet, ranging from Saichiro Fujita to Agnes Alexander to Rahmatullah Muhajir to ʻAmatuʼl-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum. Also interesting, at a practical level, would have been any insight Ms. Sims could share on an issue she touches on here and there in her memoir: the critical need to consoli‐ date teaching achievements through deepening. In order to fill out some sections of Ms. Simsʼ memoir, the editor has incorporated to this PDF document much of the content of a notebook and some papers that Ms. Sims kept over the years of jottings and musings and reminiscences of Baháʼí visitors to Japan and summaries of talks they gave: Ms. Sims herself made little use of that material for her memoir, because, basically, she ran out of time. The editor has rearranged some of the original memoir text, in order to achieve a better chronology and flow of subject matter. Typos and other mistakes the editor detected in the original have been corrected. Although there are many names, neither the original memoir nor this document has an index, but PDF allows for easy search. Editorial notes have been added at the end of this document; neither this foreword nor the endnotes are part of the original memoir, and have been differentiated by font from the main text. The editorial notes are indicated in the main text by a numeral enclosed in brack‐ ets; numerals in italics following the note numbers are the PDF document page numbers of the relevant endnotes. In Notes the page number of the passage in the main text to which a note pertains has also been given in italics. (Thus, in the main text [8;185] means see note 8 on page 185; in Notes 8;19 means note 8, pertaining to text on page 19.) A few of the editorʼs notes digress from the subject matter of the main text, but (nearly) always stay on the Baháʼí Faith and/or Japan; the notes have been placed at the back of this document so that they can be readily ignored by the reader. The editor has doubt‐ less made mistakes and failed to catch them in the course of editing, typing, and proofreading text, and these will, it is hoped, be discov‐ ered and corrected over time. Photographs from In the Light of the Rising Sun have been scanned and included herein. The photos are somewhat unclear, because they were that way in the memoir and were scanned as such for this document, but also because some clarity was lost during scanning and upon conversion to PDF. The editor will eventu‐ ally make better scans from the original photos, once he has located them all. The order of the photos herein (chronological) follows that of the memoir but the formatting does not. As is apparent, the editor has not gone to great trouble formatting the photos. The editor has taken the liberty of adding an appendix contain‐ ing photographs from an album Barbara Sims made of the 1968 International Convention in Haifa and of travels after it. She made several albums of International Conventions and personal pilgrimages, and these photos have been included as representative. With the above-mentioned added notebook content, editorial endnotes, and appendix, this PDF document amounts to a consider‐ ably expanded version of the original published memoir. Barbara Sims refers in her memoir to books she compiled or edited. These are online at www.bahai-library.com/East-asia. Sheridan A. Sims, editor March 2018 Postscripts: March 2019—The editor has made a number of minor revisions to this PDF document since March 2018, including after 1 January 2019, when it was first posted to Baháʼí Library Online. The editor thanks his sister, Sandra Sims Fotos, for her comments on the document. May 2019—Further minor revisions made to foreword, main text, and endnotes. 8/19, 2/20, 3/20, 4/20, 5/20—Ditto. Preface The Japanese name for their country is Nihon or Nippon. The name is written with two kanji characters, the first meaning “sun” and the second “source”. The literary translation is “Land of the Rising Sun”. In December 1953 I followed the setting sun across the sea and to a new world. I crossed the Pacific Ocean from California, U.S.A. to Japan, in response to the appeal to Bahá’ís from Shoghi Effendi in his Ten-Year Crusade to establish the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh all over the world. As my ship entered Tokyo Bay dawn was breaking. For me it was truly the dawn of a new day. This is an account of my life as a Bahá’í pioneer in Japan, along with family background and American reminiscences. It is intended as a sort of record for family and friends and whoever else may be inter- ested. I do not go into lots of detail either about Bahá’í affairs or about myself. The former subject is discussed in the books I have compiled, and I am sure it will be more fully elaborated by future historians. As for the latter subject, what is here in these pages should suffice. To Bahá’u’lláh for His blessings I offer my humblest thanks, especially for allowing me to serve His Cause in Japan. Barbara Helen Rutledge Sims Tokyo, January 2002 Mary Elizabeth Steuben Burland When the Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, toured the United States and Canada in 1912 He gave numerous talks, and in several of those He referred to the localities or regions He was visiting. He also specifically addressed the various states and Canada in the Tablets of the Divine Plan. I am particularly interested in what the Master said about Califor- nia, as my Bahá’í line is one of the earliest in that state. He said Califor- nia was a “blessed state”, compared it physically to the Holy Land saying it was “like unto a delectable paradise”, and spoke of its “fertili- ty and richness”. In a talk given in California and recorded in Promul- gation of Universal Peace He remarked that the Californians were a “noble people”, hoped they would “make extraordinary progress and become renowned for their virtues”, and said further: Then may altruistic aims and thoughts radiate from this center toward all other regions of the earth, and may the glory of this accomplishment forever halo the history of this country. May the first flag of international peace be upraised in this state. (The United Nations, of course, came into being in San Francisco in 1945.) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá also stated in a tablet found in a Star of the West volume: The future of California, whether in regard to its material affairs or spiritual affairs, is very important. It is my hope that the people of California may become the sons and daughters of the Kingdom and be the means of promoting the religion of God. California has accounted for a great number of Bahá’í pioneers, and they include the granddaughter and great-granddaughter of an early California Bahá’í, who left their home state in 1953 to serve the Cause in Asia.