Thomasine Allen - Kuji Missionary
Thomasine Allen must have been a wonderful and rare individual. She is one of the very few foreigners to have recieved an Order of the Sacred Treasures from the emperor. In 1960 she received the Fifth Order of Merit of the Sacred Jewel on the recommendation of the governor of Iwate.
[Thomasine Allen in 1960 with Her Decoration]
Born in 1890 she came to Japan in 1915 as a Baptist missionary after receiving her master's degree from Chicago University. She spent time in Sendai, Morioka and finally came to Kuji in 1934 to help with the famine relief.
In 1938 she opened the Kuji Christian Center which had a staff of 40, an agricultural school, a junior high, a clinic and hospital by 1960. In the midst of this endeavor she had to spend two difficult war years in an internment camp before being repatriated back to the States for the remainder of the war.
In 1970 she started Allen International Junior College in Kuji and served as it's president until her death in 1976.
Not only did she count the emperor of Japan, the governor of Iwate and the mayor of Kuji as her supporters but also the U.S. ambassador to Japan, Dr. Edwin Reischauer and the U. S. military attache for air, Col. Robert Hemphill. Besides the rich and famous she found tremendous loyalty amongst her flock in Kuji. They reportedly came to her and asked to work for free!
After retirement she elected to stay in Kuji and continue her work with only the income from her pension to sustain her. In all she spent more than 50 years working in Japan, the bulk of it in Iwate and especially Kuji.
Take a peek at these news stories just added to the Iwate Buddy Library!
April 1, 1960 - Oakland CA Tribune - She Walked Into the Hearts of a People
March 27, 1966 - Oakland CA Tribune - Missionary Advice: ‘Leap...Then Look’
[Thomasine Allen in 1960 with Her Decoration]
Born in 1890 she came to Japan in 1915 as a Baptist missionary after receiving her master's degree from Chicago University. She spent time in Sendai, Morioka and finally came to Kuji in 1934 to help with the famine relief.
In 1938 she opened the Kuji Christian Center which had a staff of 40, an agricultural school, a junior high, a clinic and hospital by 1960. In the midst of this endeavor she had to spend two difficult war years in an internment camp before being repatriated back to the States for the remainder of the war.
In 1970 she started Allen International Junior College in Kuji and served as it's president until her death in 1976.
Not only did she count the emperor of Japan, the governor of Iwate and the mayor of Kuji as her supporters but also the U.S. ambassador to Japan, Dr. Edwin Reischauer and the U. S. military attache for air, Col. Robert Hemphill. Besides the rich and famous she found tremendous loyalty amongst her flock in Kuji. They reportedly came to her and asked to work for free!
After retirement she elected to stay in Kuji and continue her work with only the income from her pension to sustain her. In all she spent more than 50 years working in Japan, the bulk of it in Iwate and especially Kuji.
Take a peek at these news stories just added to the Iwate Buddy Library!
April 1, 1960 - Oakland CA Tribune - She Walked Into the Hearts of a People
March 27, 1966 - Oakland CA Tribune - Missionary Advice: ‘Leap...Then Look’
Labels: Baptist, Edwin Reischauer, Kuji, missionary, newspaper, Thomasine Allen
posted by Bruce Wood at 5:49 AM
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