Two early Protestant missionaries who make a profound impact in Japan

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OMF Japan

Dr. James and Clara Hepburn were among the first Protestant missionaries to Japan, sent from the United States in 1859 just a few years after Japan opened its borders. A medical doctor, Dr. Hepburn, influenced the development of modern medicine in Meiji Japan, while Clara established some of the first formal women’s education in Japan. The Hepburns shared God’s love through hospitality, practical service, and a deep humility in interacting with all social classes. They made a lasting impact on Japanese society, language education, and gospel ministry in Japan.

The Hepburns were always eager to use their skills and home to welcome both native Japanese and other missionaries and expats. The words “hospitality” and “hospital” come from the same Latin root—and Dr. Hepburn’s first medical clinic served alongside the Hepburn home as a place of welcome, help, human connection, and spiritual healing.

Clara and her husband hosted some who ended up profoundly impacting modern Japan. They shared a welcoming attitude for whoever entered and a heart to educate. Count Tadasu Hayashi lived with the Hepburns for a time to learn English, and later became a diplomat to England and important political figure. Others were students of the school for girls Mrs. Hepburn started in 1863, at a time when women’s education was almost non-existent in Japan. Later, the Ferris Seminary—a women’s school that still exists in Yokohama—was founded as the continuation of Mrs. Hepburn’s educational work.

When his first medical clinic was shut down by suspicious government officials, Dr. Hepburn turned his extra time to study of the Japanese language. At the time, no English-Japanese dictionaries existed, and the locals were suspicious of foreigners and hesitant to help. But the Hepburns’ willingness to immerse themselves in the daily life and language of the common people served them well. Dr. Hepburn learned not just scholarly Japanese from upper-class citizens, but also from the poor and working class who came to his clinic and worked in his house. While learning from the famous literary works, he didn’t shy away from novels and “crude” stories for the entertainment of the masses. He sought in every way to learn the words and idioms of those he wished to reach.

Perhaps the methodical precision of the doctor enabled him to carefully categorize the words and sounds of this difficult language. His compiled notes eventually became the first Japanese-English dictionary for English speakers, and the system of romanization he developed became the official romanization of Japanese (Romaji) still used today. Dr. Hepburn’s work also contributed to some of the first translations of the full Bible.

They were eventually allowed to open a second clinic in Yokohama, and from here Dr. Hepburn continued to serve the community. He was a man of high ideals and deep theology, but was also intensely practical and compassionate—he embraced the meeting of physical needs as a gateway to meeting spiritual needs. Aware of his own limitations and ever with a vision for the future, the clinic became a center not just for the sick, but also for Japanese students who apprenticed themselves to study of medicine and become some of the first modern medical professionals in Meiji Japan. Dr. Hepburn had the heart of a teacher, teaching his patients about the Bible as he worked and training young men to continue the medical work. Perhaps one of Hepburn’s greatest strengths was his willingness to admit his weakness and seek the help of others in his work and daily life.

The Hepburns, and other missionaries, also allowed their marital affection toward each other to be a testimony to the Christian life. Scholar Stuart D. B. Picken notes in his book “Christianity and Japan” the impact Christianity had on changing the Japanese perspective towards marriage, which was traditionally viewed as a practical and unequal relationship in Confucian ethics. He notes that Christianity changed the perception of marriage even among the non-Christian population of Japan as seen in the later popularity of church weddings. Family friend William Griffis speaks of the many Japanese who witnessed the Hepburns’ home life who “looked upon this old couple who . . . had walked hand and hand together along life’s pathway, as embodying both the Christian and the marital ideal.”1

Throughout the Hepburns’ life in Japan they lived among, alongside, and for the benefit of the Japanese people. This incarnational mindset and the sympathy the Hepburns showed for Japan undoubtedly contributed to the great respect they earned from a people who, at the beginning, were so suspicious.

The Bible frequently references God as dwelling with his people. The missionary effort is often portrayed as leaving one’s home in order to preach Christ in a distant land. But as seen throughout missions history, some of the most impactful missionaries were those that made a new home in a land foreign to them and opened that home to those around them. James and Clara Hepburn, through their ministries of hospitality, education, and translation, helped the Land of the Rising Sun to not only rise among the modern world powers, but also to point to the truly Risen Son.

By Morgan, an OMF missionary