Traces that Remain: Chapters 62-63

62. The Development of the Local Spiritual Assemblies in Japan

The Guardian stressed the great importance of establishing functioning local spiritual assemblies. The administration which was described and amplified by Shoghi Effendi is part of the Divine Revelation. When viewed in this light, the establishing of local assemblies, which in turn provide support for the national assemblies, are, as the smallest administrative unit, vital to the development and spread of the Faith.

For several years there was only one in Japan; the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Tokyo. Then in 1954 the Local Spiritual Assembly of Hyogo Prefecture was elected. It was composed entirely of foreigners, who, at that time could speak little Japanese but it started functioning in accordance with administration. In 1956 it was dissolved and three local assemblies were formed in cities within that prefecture.

In 1956 there were eight assemblies in Japan, one in Taiwan,

click here for larger image

It is thought that these same members were elected to the first post war Local Spiritual Assembly of Tokyo in 1948, and again in 1949 and 1950. This particular photograph was taken in 1950. Seated are Miss Fusae Ichige, Mr. Goro Horioka and Miss Shigeko Nakanishi. Standing are Mr. Robert Imagire, Mr. Saito, Mr. Toshio Hirohashi, Mr. Naoki Yoshino, Mr. Yoshiharu Kato and Mr. Shozo Kadota.

161

one in Hong Kong and two in Korea, all of which would elect delegates to send to the first National Convention of the Bahá'ís of North East Asia, in Tokyo.

The next year, 1957, the Local Spiritual Assembly of Hiroshima was elected. By 1958 there were eighteen local assemblies under the new national spiritual assembly; eleven in Japan; one each in Hong Kong and Macau; two in Taiwan; and three in Korea, in Seoul, Mokpo and Kwangju.

Years later, in 1974, when the National Spiritual Assembly of Japan was elected, there were over fifty local spiritual assemblies. Following are some of the first local assemblies:

click here for larger image

The second area to have a local spiritual assembly in Japan was Hyogo Prefecture. That assembly was formed in April 1954. Two years later it went out of existence and three were formed in the same area using city limits as areas of jurisdiction.

The assembly consisted entirely of pioneers who had come to Japan that year or the year previously and who were laying the foundation for the administration. Mr. Datwani and his wife had come from India to Japan for business. They left soon after to reside in Hong Kong, among the first pioneers to settle there.

Seated are Mrs. Mahin Moghbel, Mrs. Behjat Mumtazi, Mr. Philip Marangella and Mrs. Pouran Mumtazi. Standing are Mr. Ataullah Moghbel, Mr. G. B. Datwani, Mr. Abbas Katirai, Mr. Noureddin Mumtazi and Mr. Rouhollah Mumtazi.

162

click here for larger image

This was the Tokyo Local Spiritual Assembly elected in 1954. It was the first incorporated assembly in Japan, as the incorporation was completed by April 1955. Tokyo directed the work of the Faith in all Japan until the first national spiritual assembly was elected. Seated are Mr. Hiroyasu Takano, Miss Fusae Ichige, Mrs. Yuriko Mochizuki Furukawa, Miss Kotoko Mochizuki and Mrs. Barbara Sims. Standing are Mr. Goro Horioka, Mr. Yadollah Rafaat, Mr. Tameo Hongo and Mr. Yuzo Yamaguchi.

click here for larger image

The first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Nagoya, 1956.

163

Seated are Mrs. Kaneko Sueki, Mrs. Toshiko Nakagawa, Mr. Hisateru Hattori and Miss Emiko Matsui. Standing are Mrs. Frouz Mohtadi, Mr. Chiyoyuki Sueki, Mr. Yoshiro Kato, Mr. Katsutaro Ito and Mr. Aziz Mohtadi.

Mr. and Mrs. Mohtadi, pioneers from Iran, were able to stay in Japan for about two years. They went to Nagoya to establish the Faith there. After they left in November, 1956, it was the only community of all Japanese believers.

Mr. and Mrs. Sueki's son, Toshio, a second generation Nagoya Bahá'í, helped us with the identification.

click here for larger image

The Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Tokyo, 1956. This assembly, along with seven others which came into existence in 1956, sent delegates to the first national convention in 1957. From the left: Mrs. Virginia Hamilton, Miss Yoko Majima, Mr. Shozo Kadota, Miss Kotoko Mochizuki, Mrs. Barbara Sims, Miss Yukiko Inatsuka, Mr. Haruo Nekomoto, Mrs. Jean Eaton and Lt. Lawrence Hamilton.

Lt. and Mrs. Hamilton were caretakers of the Tokyo Bahá'í Center in 1955 and 1956. They left Japan shortly before the first convention. Lt. Hamilton did much remodeling and made improvements to the building to make it more effective as a center of activities.

164

click here for larger image

The first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Osaka, 1956. Seated are Mr. Eichu Kim, Mrs. Sedighe Naderi, Mrs. Chie Nakajima, Mrs. Afagh Naderi and Mr. Gekie Nakajima. Standing are Mr. Karim Naderi, Mr. Kayushi Utsumi, Mr. Hassan Naderi and Mr. Akira Okada.

click here for larger image

The first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Kobe, 1956. Seated are Mrs. Tahereh Kazempour, Mr. Rihei Sako (the first Japanese Bahá'í of Kobe), Mr. Morio Nakamichi, and Mrs. Behjat Mumtazi. Standing are Mr. Noureddin Mumtazi, Mr. Eiichiro Yokoyama, Mr. Nario Sawada, Mr. Takeo Katayama and Mr. Abbas Kazempour.

165

click here for larger image

The first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Nishinomiya, 1956. Seated are Mrs. Pouran Mumtazi, Mrs. Rezvanieh Katirai, Mrs. Talat Mahboubi and Mr. Tawad Mahboubi. Standing are Mr. Rouhollah Mumtazi, Mr. Abbas Katirai, Mr. Naomi Hashimoto, Mr. Yoshimitsu Yamamoto and Mr. Philip Marangella.

click here for larger image

The first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Kyoto, 1956. Seated are Mr. Jun Koyama, Mr. Masazo Odani, Miss Agnes Alexander, Mr. Tokujiro Torii and Mr. Seiichiro Tsunemi. In the back row are Mrs. Shizue Tsunemi, Mrs. Ito Torii, Miss Yoshiko Morita and Mr. Makoto Inaba.

166

click here for larger image

The first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Amagasaki, 1956. Seated are Mrs. Isao Zenimoto, Mrs. Mahin Moghbel, Mrs. Katsuko Ishii and Mrs. Kian Vahdat. Standing are Mr. Ataullah Moghbel, Mr. Takeshi Ishii, Mr. Heshmat Vahdat, Dr. David Earl and Mr. Michitoshi Zenimoto.

click here for larger image

The first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Yokohama, 1956. In the front row are Mr. Roy MacDonald, Mrs. Louise MacDonald, and Miss Yuriko Mizuno. In the middle row are Mr. Koji Akizawa, Mr. Takao Mizuno and Mr. Takatoshi Tanaka. In the back row are Mr. Hitoshi Sakamoto, Dr. Ikuo Mizuno and Mr. John McHenry III.

167

click here for larger image

The first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Hiroshima, 1957. Seated are Miss Sachiko Watanabe, Mrs. Bazaieh Assassi and Miss Kimi Masuda. Standing are Mr. Mohsen Assassi, Mr. Saishin Yasumoto, Mr. Toshio Arai, Mr. Michitaka Honkawa, Mr. Shuzo Nakai and Mr. Muhammad Labib.

click here for larger image

The second Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Hiroshima, 1958. Seven of the nine members had changed from the year before. Seated are Mrs. N. Sharifi, Miss Sachiko Watanabe, Mrs. Bazaieh Assassi, Miss Eiko Yuasa and Miss Noriko Matsuura. Standing are Mr. Tsuenori Nakamae, Mr. Hirokazu Arai, Mr. Yukio Hanada and Mr. Sharif Sharifi.

Three members of the Arai family became Bahá'ís. Mr. Hirokazu Arai eventually died from the lingering effects of the devastating Hiroshima bombing.

168

click here for larger image

The first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Itami, 1958. Seated are Mrs. Setsue Kimura, Mrs. Masako Fujishima, Mrs. Hide Takada and Mrs. Katsuko Ishii. Standing are Mr. Yasuo Kobayashi, Mr. Takeshi Ishii, Dr. Atauallah Mottahedin, Mr. Rohei Kobayashi and Mr. Keiji Takada.

click here for larger image

The first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Akashi, 1958. Seated are Mrs. Fumiko Kojima, Mr. Tadasu Miyazawa and Mrs. Toshiko Kojima. Standing are Mr. Eitaro Kojima, Mr. Masami Morii, Mr. Sanjiro Moriyama, Mr. Kota Nakahama, Mr. Yoshimi Kojima and Mr. Akemitsu Kojima.

169

click here for larger image

The first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Nagasaki, 1959. To celebrate the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Nagasaki, Mr. Labib had a small 8-page pamphlet printed in English, Japanese and Persian. This is one of the pages. In the middle are the local spiritual assembly members. Top: Mr. Kazuyuki Miyazaki, Mr. Kiyoshi Seto and Mr. Noboru Ueda. Middle: Mr. Tamotsu Furudono, Mr. Akio Seki and Mr. Hidero Seshita. Bottom: Mr. Yoshizo Fujisawa, Mr. Muhammad Labib and Mr. Shigeo Hario.

170

click here for larger image

The first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Sapporo, 1959. Front row: Mrs. Kikue Kuzumaki, Miss Seiko Saida, Miss Hisako Takahashi, Mr. G. V. Tehrani and Mr. Yoshiro Sasaki. Back row: Miss Keiko Doi, Mr. Kinkichi Shimatani, Mr. Nobuo Takase and Mr. Kazuo Kuzumaki. Mr. Sasaki was the first person to become a Bahá'í in Hokkaido, and Mr. Shimatani the second. Mr. Tehrani, the first pioneer to settle in Hokkaido (1957) did many years of unforgettable service and was very much loved by all.

click here for larger image

The first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Ashiya, 1959. Seated are Mr. Nosratollah Mottahedin, Mrs. Moluke Kazempour, Mr. Kusuo Ida and Mrs. Fumi Ida. Standing are Mrs. Yasuno Sakashita, Mr. Abbas Kazempour, Mrs. Tahereh Kazempour, Mr. Shigenobu Okabe and Mrs. Faride Mottahedin.

171

63. Nagasaki, and the First Bahá'ís in Kyushu

In the Guardian's message to the first National Convention of the Bahá'ís of North East Asia (1957), and again in a later message, he emphasized that the Faith must be taken to the other smaller islands of Japan. Hand of the Cause Mr. Khazeh, who met with the newly formed national spiritual assembly suggested that someone settle in Kyushu as well as other islands.

Actually there was a Bahá'í already living in Kyushu, in Miyazaki Prefecture, Mr. Takeo Hasegawa. He had become a Bahá'í while in the United States, where he had gone to study in the early 1950s. He tells this story: He and another Japanese student were at a university in Texas. One day while they were walking on campus, a friendly elderly woman approached them.

June 1957, Mr. Katirai, middle, and Dr. Mottahedin, right, are about to leave Mr. Labib in Nagasaki. They stayed three days to help him get settled, during which there was a typhoon.

172

She invited them to come to her home. It was lonesome for them in the United States and they were happy to accept her kind invitation. It was Mrs. Kathryn Frankland, who was home-front pioneering in Texas. She had long had an affinity for the Japanese. When she lived in Berkeley, California, it was she who introduced Saichiro Fujita to the Faith many years earlier. It was she who kept in close contact with the Yamamoto family and taught the children.

Mr. Hasegawa returned to Japan and had attended the Nikko Conference in 1955, but Miyazaki Prefecture was far away and he was not seen again for many years.

Mr. Muhammad Labib was living with Mr. and Mrs.

Mr. Muhammad Labib, the first pioneer to settle in Kyushu, with Mr. Shigeo Hario, who was the first to accept the Faith (1958) in Kyushu. This photograph was taken about 1959.

173

Assassi in Hiroshima but he responded to the call to settle in another island. In June 1957 Mr. Labib, accompanied by Mr. Katirai and Dr. Mottahedin, who were living in Kansai, left Hiroshima for Nagasaki, Kyushu.

Many years later Mr. Katirai recalls the trip. "When we reached Nagasaki a typhoon was beginning. It had been a long trip and the three of us were quite dirty, because the train was coal-burning, no diesel trains there yet. At first, we couldn't find any place to go to clean up. To add to the problems Mr. Labib had an infection in his toe. His foot had swelled so much that he could not walk and he needed to have it attended to. I carried him on my back to a hospital we were directed to.

"When we entered the hospital, we saw the staff sitting at

click here for larger image

The first Bahá'í wedding in Kyushu was the marriage of Miss Akiko Enokida and Mr. Eugene Schreiber in Nagasaki in 1959. Mr. Labib is standing at the far right.

174

a long table having dinner. They looked up shocked to see three very wet, none too clean, foreigners, one being carried on the back of another. Upon seeing us several of the nurses screamed and fled."

It was difficult for many pioneers in those days, both Americans and Persians, and especially for those with limited finances.

Mr. Labib was elderly, alone, knowing no Japanese, with barely enough funds. His situation was similar to that of Mr. Tehrani, the first to pioneer that same year to the northern island of Hokkaido.

Mr. Shigeo Hario, the first Japanese to become a Bahá'í in Kyushu, told the story of his friendship with Mr. Labib. It was late 1957 or early 1958. Mr. Hario was retired, but teaching part-time in a high school. He was also studying Japanese dance. One of the men in the dance class said a foreigner was renting a room at his house but he didn't know why. Perhaps the foreigner was a spy. Mr. Hario could speak fluent English so the man asked him to come and meet the foreigner.

Mr. Labib, vital and dedicated, had come to Nagasaki just a few months before. When the two men met it was the beginning of a close friendship. Together they did much service for the Faith. Mr. Hario said Mr. Labib came to his house almost every day, and they often went out meeting people, Mr. Labib talking and Mr. Hario translating. They sometimes went to schools where Mr. Labib would offer to speak on a variety of subjects, introducing the Faith, and making friends.

Mr. Hario was a Buddhist and came from a high-class samurai family. He read many Bahá'í books in both English and Japanese before he became a Bahá'í, but, he said, what originally attracted him to the Faith was Mr. Labib and his life.

Mr. Labib wanted to have a Bahá'í Center for Nagasaki so he could have more regular meetings. He and Mr. Hario searched for the land and had the Center built a couple of years later. A young American Bahá'í, Mr. Eugene Schreiber, an engineer who was working on an island nearby, generously contributed the money. Mr. Schreiber's marriage to Miss Akiko Enokida in 1959 was the first Bahá'í wedding in Kyushu.

Mr. and Mrs. Schreiber recall Mr. Labib and Mr. Hario with great affection. They said Mr. Labib made all the wedding arrangements and invited the people. Mr. Hario performed a traditional dance for the wedding guests.

175

Previous chapter Next chapter

Traces that Remain table of contents

History of the Bahá'í Faith in East Asia main page
Bahá'í Academics Resource Library