A Servant Leader

By Meghan Gardner

High in the dome of Hodges Chapel is Petru Boteztu’s painting of Toyohiko Kagawa in The Cloud of Witnesses. Kagawa is among fifteen other paintings Christian heroes and saints. Each is surmounted by an arch and drawn alongside objects and buildings that characterize the subject’s life. Self-described as “A Sermon in Stone,” the chapel aims to represent church history through art and architecture to Samford and greater Birmingham (Beeson Divinity School). With this goal in mind, the figures on display become crucial witnesses to historical Christianity. Kagawa’s story adds diversity to the chapel and is an important model of active service and civic engagement in Christian life.

Education and Early Career

Born out of wedlock to a political figure in Japan, Kagawa was brought up under the strict and unwelcoming care of his mother and grandmother. However, his life dramatically changed when he attended classes with a Christian teacher whose profession of faith led Kagawa to convert to Christianity. In 1909, after pursuing missions and teachings throughout college, Kagawa moved to the slums of Kōbe. There, he embraced an extreme pursuit of poverty and generosity. In his Meditations, he remarks that “truly the mysterious meaning of eternal life is that the way to gain is to lose” (Kagawa, 1950). He lived out this idea, giving everything he had down to his clothing to the poor and taking in unhoused beggars as roommates. This was the background for his efforts towards civic change and evangelism in both Japan and the United States.

Kagawa was heavily influenced by his every-day experiences in Kōbe, and quickly became a representative of the people. He was very involved in civic affairs and devoted himself to the campaign for universal suffrage, as well as being active in labor reform. He helped with the organization of the Japanese Federation of Labor, and in both 1921 and 1922 he was arrested briefly for the leadership role he adopted among laborers. Kagawa was also a staunch pacifist, founding the National Anti-War League and traveling across the Pacific in an attempt to avert conflict between Japan and the U.S. the first years of World War II.

Evangelism in Japan and the U.S.

Kagawa was not only a leader of social movements; he was also a devout Christian who worked to spread the gospel in Japan and abroad. For three years he abandoned his social work to travel and preach in Japan. Particularly notable was his time evangelizing in America; he gave lectures that were broadcast across the country. He became recognized for his charisma and “quiet fervor,” and was wildly popular (Axling 1946, 119). This popularity is represented in his image in Hodges Chapel through the inclusion of a periodical. Apart from teaching, Kagawa also wrote hundreds of books, many with theological and philosophical subjects. His religious devotion characterized him as a unique sort of missionary and gave him validity as a Christian figure.

Why Hodges Chapel?

Kagawa’s inclusion in Hodges Chapel is rather surprising. The later years of his life came as a disappointment to many of his admirers, something which took a heavy toll on his legacy. His initial success and fame led many to ascribe “superhuman powers to Kagawa—or if not superhuman, certainly powers far beyond what he actually had in Japan” (Schlingden 1988, 292). As his beliefs increasingly contradicted those of governmental, nationalist, and political groups in Japan, he was forced to water down his message; as William Bradshaw elaborates: “he fell short of his attempt to imitate Christ in an act of redemptive love” (Bradshaw 1952, 116). He abandoned or slowed many of his civic pursuits in favor of good political relations. This led to a loss of his story from the popular canon; in the twenty-first century, Kagawa is a largely unknown figure. This presents the question: why is his painting in Hodges Chapel?

As a basis for this question, it seems reasonable to consider representations of Kagawa that exist elsewhere. Most notable that in Washington National Cathedral. The statue was placed there in 1976, an important year in the cathedral’s history as it was the culmination of the construction of the cathedral’s nave. This physical milestone came with a desire to reinforce the cathedral’s identity as a “‘national house of prayer for all people’” (Tao 2020); the statue itself created a special “opportunity to showcase the all-embracing scope of [the cathedral’s] mission” (Tao 2020). In this effort, the cathedral included a series of statues of international figures in its outer north aisle. Kagawa is the only East Asian represented.

Just at the cathedral looked to Kagawa when seeking to represent the global breadth of Christianity, so did  Samford. Much of the imagery within the painting in Hodges Chapel denotes Kagawa’s heritage; the chapel’s guidebook points out that the cherry blossoms in the painting symbolize Japan, and he is depicted in front of Mt. Fuji. These features suggests that the purpose of Kagawa’s painting is largely to diversify the nationalities represented.

While such logic presents one purpose for the painting at Hodges Chapel, it is worth noting the ways in which Kagawa’s life aligns with the university’s mission. The final line of Samford’s mission statement says that the school has a goal of “encouraging social and civic responsibility and service to others.” Kagawa was committed to the same mission. His time in Kōbe was spent entirely in service to others, particularly orphans and beggars, and he routinely placed the wellbeing of others above his own. He also took immense civic responsibility through his fight to change the systems present in Japan, including universal suffrage, labor reform, and foreign policy. Whether based on diversity or his own merit, the image of Kagawa in Hodges Chapel represents a man who devoted his life to God and others, encompassing the spirit of the building and the university which houses it.

Conclusion

Among the figures depicted in the chapel dome, Kagawa is unique. While he did write and study theology, his heart was with the cause of the everyday man, as evidenced by his involvement in labor reform and his efforts to take care of the needy and homeless. He, along with a few others such as Lottie Moon, shows Christianity taking root in Asia, adding to the breadth of figures in the chapel. This furthers the goal of Hodges to depict Christianity across the globe. The incredible legacy left through Kagawa’s teachings around the globe and his massive repertoire of writings make him a valuable inclusion in The Cloud of Witnesses.

Toyohiko Kagawa
Medium: painting
Artist: Petru Botezatu
Created and Installed: c. 1995
Location: Andrew Gerow Hodges Chapel, Samford University, 800 Lakeshore Drive, Birmingham Alabama, 35229

References

Axling, William. 1946. Kagawa. New York: Harper & Brothers.

Bradshaw, Emerson O. 1952. Unconquerable Kagawa. Macalester Park.

Kagawa, Toyohiko. 1950. Meditations. Harper & Brothers.

Schildgen, Robert. 1988. Toyohiko Kagawa, Apostle of Love and Social Justice. Berkeley, CA: Centenary Books.

Tao, Bo. 2020. “The Chrysanthemum and the ‘Saint’: Kagawa’s Statue in the Washington National Cathedral.” Church History 89 (3): 567–91. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0009640720001377

Meghan Gardner ‘27 was a student in UCS 102: Icons & Memorials in Samford University’s Howard College of Arts & Sciences in fall 2024.

Published January 3, 2024