Nakada and Chambers: a Research Surprise!

While researching Juji Nakada last night, I stumbled on a surprise.

I love research serendipities. I’ve written about them here, here, here, and here.

In this case, a footnote on the bottom of the Wikipedia listing (yes, I often start there) caught my eye.

I read the endnotes when I’m researching.

This particular book’s attraction, frankly, was I could read it online.

So off I went.

Gilbert Little Stark, Nakada, and Chambers

Gilbert Little Stark graduated from Harvard in 1907.

He and four friends set out after their graduation to travel around the world.

He wrote a diary and letters back to his family and they published everything in a book in 1908.

While traveling across the United States that summer of 1907 he met a Mr. C on the train between Chicago and St. Paul.

Mr. C?

I sat up straighter.

I’d opened this book because of the Wikipedia link to Nakada.

But, I knew from David McCasland’s Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God, that Chambers traveled with Nakada to Japan in 1907.

This was the first “non-Christian” reference I’d seen to Chambers.

Assuming, of course, it was Oswald Chambers.

Interesting fellow passengers

Stark wrote his account long before Juji Nakada and Oswald Chambers made their marks on the world.

(Here’s a blog post I wrote that includes that trip, In America with Biddy and Oswald. And another one here).

These are his descriptions:

“Some of our fellow passengers are very interesting.

At the head of the list is Juji Nakada San, a Japanese Christian missionary now returning from his second trip around the world.

He is one of the brightest, jolliest, cleverest, most cultured men that I have ever known. A master of jiu-jitsu, some of his early conversions were accomplished by sitting on the neophyte’s head and talking to him of the glories to come.

He has told us invaluable things about the religions and prejudices of the people, and knowing him has revolutionized our ideas of his people, of the possibility of introducing Christianity into the Orient, and the present attitude of the United States towards Japan.”

Nakada eventually became known as the “Dwight L. Moody of Japan,” and a founder of the Oriental Missionary Society (now known as One Mission Society).

Stark’s description of Nakada is accurate.

Mr. C—

“Next in interest is Mr. C—, the man whom I met between Chicago and St. Paul.

He is Scotch, and piece by piece we have learned a little of his history. His brother is a famous musician and Mr. Oswald C— for such is his unfortunate cognomen, is a musician of no mean education.

Then it also appears that he has painted pictures which have attracted wide attention. In addition to his achievements on canvas, we are assured by Nakada, with whom C— is traveling, that he is a very good architect.

Add to these accomplishments the facts that he has taught philosophy and psychology for twelve years, is an ordained minister, and intends to spend twelve years in traveling around the world, and you will appreciate the conviction with which I repeat that he is an interesting man.”

So, Stark doesn’t have all the facts correct about Oswald Chambers, but it’s interesting what captures his attention.

Oswald was both a fine musician and a painter. His brother Franklin played the organ in concerts at St. Martin in the Field’s church in London.

Who knew Oswald was an architect?

While I knew he loved to travel, I didn’t know he planned to spend a dozen years traveling the world. Was that what Oswald said?

Or, does this quote sound, perhaps, like Nakada’s description of Oswald? The two had been traveling together, at that point, for six months.

Regardless, it’s an interesting set of observations from someone who didn’t know either man before.

In Japan

The ship’s passengers and crew first caught sight of Japan on July 26, 1907, at 6:30 in the morning. They landed at Yokohama later that day.

Stark parted ways with Nakada and Chambers and with his friends headed into central Tokyo for a hotel overlooking the Imperial City.

Stark may have been a Christian since he attended services at the “town mission”–a probable reference to the Oriental Missionary Society headquarters not far from the Imperial City.

They even visited a Japanese Sunday School.

“I wish you could have seen the children at Sunday school. They sang “bringing in the Sheaves,” in the purest Japanese, and carried the tune much better than our children do.”

The next day he and his friends took an “electric car,” to Nakada’s house–where Chambers was staying as well.

“We rode for about an hour and then alighted at the prettiest little doll village of a suburb you can imagine.”

Nakada gave them a tour around his home and the neighborhood.

“It means a good deal to us strangers to have such dear friends as Nakada and Chambers have grown to be, and it is a great concession for them to give up so much time.”

Chambers probably enjoyed the visit of Stark and his friends since Nakada took the time to explain the nearby temple of Kwannon in Asakusa Park.

Research serendipity

I love discovering additional research details while investigating something else!

I’ll be writing more about Nakada in the future, but I enjoyed seeing his good friend Oswald Chambers “in the wild,” in a stranger’s diary entry.

I continued reading the diary in hopes of catching another glimpse of Oswald, but he moved along soon thereafter.

Oswald stayed in Japan for a few weeks before catching another ship back to England with his new friends Charles and Lettie Cowman of the Oriental Missionary Society.

When Oswald finally returned to England a year after he left, he pulled a shilling from his pocket and showed it to his brother Franklin.

“I went all the way around the world on the same coin.”

He did not spend the next eleven years traveling the world, though Oswald Chambers did take a few more voyages before his death in 1917.

As to Stark, he sailed on a few weeks after arriving in Tokyo. He visited China and Sikkim, among other eastern nations.

Gilbert Little Stark never returned home. He died of fever in Mangalore, India on March 26, 1908.

Tweetables

Oswald Chambers “in the wild,” a description before anyone knew him. Click to Tweet

Meeting an unknown Oswald Chambers on a boat to Japan. Click to Tweet

Juji Nakada and Oswald Chambers: a research surprise! Click to Tweet

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