Tokyo, Archdiocese of

TOKYO, Archdiocese of. - Located in the central-western part of the island of Hondo, it comprises the two civil prefectures of T. and Chiba, whose total area is 5,079 sq km.

This territory originally belonged to the diocese of Funai, erected in 1587, and then to the apostolic vicariate of Japan, erected in 1846 and entrusted to the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris. On June 28, 1876 the mission was divided into two apostolic vicariates: Southern Japan, with its center at Nagasaki, and Northern Japan, with its center at T. In 1891 the latter vicariate was elevated to the archdiocese of T., simultaneously detaching from it the seven civil prefectures of northern Japan and the island of Hokkaido, which formed the diocese of Hakodate, now Sendai. On Aug. 13, 1912 the same archdiocese ceded to the new apostolic prefecture of Niigata the territories of Toyama and Ishikawa, later annexed to the apostolic prefecture of Nagoya. On Feb. 18, 1922 the territories of Aichi and Gifu were detached from it, and became part of the new apostolic prefecture of Nagoya. On Nov. 9, 1937 the archdiocese of T. was transferred to the secular clergy and on Dec. 2 the first archbishop of Japanese nationality was appointed. It has seven suffragan dioceses, namely Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Osaka, Sendai, Yokohama, Kyoto and Sapporo.

T., anciently called Edo, was founded by a feudal lord about 600 years ago. It assumed the role of a great city under the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, who established his castle here, now the Imperial Palace. During the Shogunate of the Tokugawa family (350 years), although the ancient capital Kyoto (Miaco) existed de jure, Edo (later T.) gradually became de facto the true capital, the center of life and the heart of the entire Empire of the Rising Sun.

Greater T. is also the seat of various religions: Shinto, Buddhist and Protestant. Among the Shinto sects the jinja or national temples are not included. The influence of Buddhism is enormous. In T. the Buddhists have 76 famous temples and countless followers. The modern "Hishi Honganji," a kind of Buddhist Vatican, is very beautiful.

Spiritual state. - The archdiocese has a population of 8,600,000 inhabitants; the metropolis alone numbers 6,230,000 inhabitants. There are 20,398 Catholics with 4,329 catechumens; 3,000 dissidents of the Eastern rite; 52,000 Protestants; 8,520,000 pagans. There are 28 native priests and another 189, belonging to 27 religious families. There are 75 brothers; 482 sisters, both native and foreign; 28 major seminarians. There is an interdiocesan seminary, canonically erected on Jan. 23, 1948, with 121 students; 35 catechists; 435 teachers; 25 Catholic doctors; 4 hospitals; 4 pharmacies; 9 orphanages; 2 kindergartens; 10 elementary schools; 9 middle schools; 3 high schools; 1 vocational school; 29 sacred buildings; 29 parishes; 9 principal stations and one secondary station.

Edoardo Pecoraro

CATHOLIC UNIVERSITIES

In T. there are three universities, to which may be added the other one located in Nagoya, with a total student population of 3000 students.

I. Sophia University (Jochi Daigaku), founded in T. in 1913 by the Fathers of the Society of Jesus, by whom it is directed. It comprises the following Faculties: a) Letters, with sections in philosophy, literature, history, pedagogy and journalism; attached to the philosophy section is the ecclesiastical Faculty of philosophy, canonically erected; b) Economics, with sections in national economy and commerce. Already recognized by the Japanese government in 1951, it also obtained recognition of the Graduate course. It is currently attended (1953) by 1220 students, of whom 305 are Catholics, and its director is Fr. Oizumi S. I.

The following publications are issued by this University: a) Monumenta Nipponica, in half-yearly fascicles, containing studies in foreign languages, concerning especially Japanese Christian antiquities and their historical period, as well as the cultural and scientific contacts between East and West. The publication is directed by Fr. Wilhelm Schiffer S. I. When it first appeared in 1937, as many as 400 government institutes immediately subscribed to it. b) Sophia Kirishistan Bunko (since 1940), which is a bibliographical catalogue of works concerning Christian antiquities and their historical period. It is published once a year under the direction of Fr. Laurens S. I. c) Sophia, a quarterly review, begun in March 1952. Written in Japanese, with summaries in English, it is the organ of the University. It deals with scientific and cultural questions of interest to the East and the West. d) Seiki, a monthly periodical. It is connected with the Fathers of the University. Of a popular character, it is intended for intellectuals. Within a few years, that is, in the postwar period, as many as 200 books and articles have come out of the University, for the most part of a scientific nature. To contribute to a solid religious and moral formation of the students, a residence attached to the "Studium" is in operation. It accommodates 160 students. The University is also the seat of two important groups of scholars: the Federation of Catholic Physicians and the Society of Catholic Scientists.

II. Seishin Daigaku, founded by the Religious of the Sacred Heart in T. Already affiliated with the Catholic University of Washington, in 1950 it was officially recognized by the government and authorized to grant diplomas in English and Japanese literature and the licentiate in history. Until that year no women's university in Japan had been authorized to impart teaching beyond the baccalaureate. The University publishes a yearbook.

III. Seisen Jochi Daigaku, founded by the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart as a higher school of languages in 1949 and recognized by the government as a university in 1950. There diplomas in English and Japanese literature are conferred. The students number over 100.

IV. Nanzan University is located in Nagoya and was founded by the Fathers of the Society of the Divine Word. Opened first as a higher school of foreign languages, it was later expanded and recognized by the Japanese government as a university institute in 1949. The Faculty of Letters comprises the following sections: letters, languages and literatures of the Far East (Japanese and Chinese), philosophy and pedagogy, juridical-social sciences. Attached to it is an anthropological Institute, which is connected with the "Anthropos" Institute of Fribourg in Switzerland, directed by the very well-known Fr. Wilhelm Schmidt, pontifical academician supernumerary. The organ of the Institute is the scientific periodical Gakkai zasshi (Man and Culture). The University has 160 professors and 1034 students; connected with it are four middle schools, for boys and girls, with over 2000 students, boys and girls, and 120 professors.

There exist, moreover, two university "Colleges": several higher schools, among them one of the Japanese language for missionaries directed by the Friars Minor in T., founded through the initiative of Fr. Schnusenberg, general delegate O. F. M. for the Far East, and inaugurated on 10 Sept. 1951. - See plate XXII.

Edoardo Pecoraro