The Beginnings of Koen; War Looms
A few days after the school opened, a small group of girls asked to come to school on Sunday so the nuns could talk to them about God. The school tried to incorporate catechesis in other ways, such as talks on religious themes, conferences with slides, and the creation of a small library. In 1936, a Marian-type group was created that brought Catholic and non-Catholic girls together. In 1938, there were a group of seventeen girls who gathered for spiritual exercises, and by 1940 retreat days for the schoolgirls started and others who wanted to join. Visiting the sick was another apostolic activity, which brought some to receive baptism. These activities were not interrupted even by the war. The pupils continued coming to the school where they found hope and accompaniment in those difficult moments. So Koen evangelized in two ways: One was through an environment of piety and celebration of life which was created in the school indirectly, but enveloped the atmosphere of Koen. The other was through the catechism class offered once a week and this had to be suspended eventually when war broke out. As Sr. Maria Rosa MMB said: “We have to appear indifferent, not showing the least interest in the question of religion, which was the only motive which brought us here.”
But the fruit of their mission did blossom. Elizabeth Kuwaori entered the MMB community, making her vows on June 4, 1933. She began to work at the school, but fell ill in August and was diagnosed with lung damage. She could not be taken care of at home, so ended up staying in the hospital. Eventually, she went to Berriz, where she was taken care of before she died on October 22, 1939. Other members of the new MMB Institute also suffered from health issues, including Mother Margarita herself, who died in 1934.
After the death of Mother Margarita, it was thought that visits planned by her would have to be postponed. However, Mother Nieves Urizar took it on, and in September she visited the communities of Tokyo and Wuhu, while Mother Begona Dochao who arrived with her would visit the communities of Saipan and Ponape. In the meantime, a new superior of the Mercedarians was elected in Berriz in 1935, Cecilia Gallarzagoitia, MMB., who because of the political situation in Spain could not go to Tokyo.
Relations between Japan and China changed things as well, and Wuhu now belonged to Japan, which meant that the house in Wuhu would also have to depend on the school of Tokyo and they would have to learn Japanese. When this happened Mother Cecilia had to go to Japan. Upon arrival, many of the issues that could have impacted the House of Wuhu were solved and the house of Wuhu would not have to depend on the house of Tokyo. Mother Cecilia wanted to go on to visit the islands of the Marianas and Carolines but was refused permission, so the superiors of the island houses had to come to Tokyo to meet with her there.
The last blow to Koen before the war came from a document which was sent by the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fide. It arrived on August 23, 1939. The apostolic delegation of Tokyo and Supervisors of the Ministry of National Education stressed these points:
1. The greater part of the school’s atmosphere is too European or American.
2. The habit of the religious makes them stand out as foreigners.
3. In the classes and corridors there are no patriotic pictures.
4. Among the teachers there are few Japanese religious.
The apostolic delegation decided that the direction of the school should be passed on to a Japanese religious or Japanese, asking the foreign directors to step down. After much deliberation, Mr. Yamasaki was made the director, though in reality he already ran the school. However, Mother Begona Dochao was listed in the ministry of Education.
The Effects During World War II
Then the Mercedarians were asked to remove their religious from the Pacific islands in Micronesia that the Japanese had now taken. Mother Cecilia directed Mother Begona to act as she found suitable and divide the religious between Wuhu, Japan and Spain. No one knows how it was resolved. What we do know is that no one left the islands. It seems that the outbreak of the war impeded it. 1941 brought the attack on Pearl Harbor, and in Koen and all Japan began the terrible situation of war, which spilled out to the islands of Micronesia as well.
There was very little correspondence from the time of World War II, but with some letters from after the war and memoirs we can piece together the situation that remained in Koen. Whatever sufferings ensued the sisters were always animated by the same missionary spirit even though the deprivations were great. There began to be a lack of food and clothing. The alarm system was constantly being rehearsed and danger was imminent everywhere. It wasn’t until 1944, that the terrible bombardments which were to destroy Tokyo began. The first few months of 1944 began peacefully, but orders were given that the civilian population, especially the elderly and children should leave Tokyo.
The sisters did not want to abandon the school and the illness of Sr. Loreto Zubia who was found to be with cancer, made it impossible to leave Tokyo. They had prepared a place in Kofu, set up a Mercedarian kindergarten and named Mr. Yamazaki’s wife the director.
In November 1944, the series of bombardments was continual in Tokyo and people took refuge wherever they could. American planes dropped flyers that all foreigners should leave Koen by the 21st of March, and police would come for the foreign nuns to leave altogether. On March 18, the Spanish nuns accompanied by a Japanese nun left for Kofu for refuge. There was a little house next to the kindergarten. It had two rooms and the sisters slept there. The four Japanese nuns remained in Koen. In Kofu the sisters stayed from March 18 to June 1945. Here they gave some classes and continued their apostolate until persecution cut it off. Julita Tanaka came from Koen several times a week to check on the sisters and let them know how Koen was doing. She and an aspirant Kusijima-San were able to save some of the things from Koen. Julita truly risked her life for the sisters and God’s Providence was with her that nothing happened to her on those journeys.
Finally, the destruction in Tokyo continued. Koen became a factory, where the few pupils who still went there worked and produced military objects. All the neighborhoods were disappearing under the numerous bombings and by May 25, it descended on Koen. It happened at night that the fiery bombs began. It was around 10 p.m. and there were the four sisters, Julita, two teachers and another young girl who boarded there. The alarms sounded, but when they usually did the planes often passed without incident. Not so this night. A shower of fire was falling everywhere, and they could think of nothing else but to flee, saving their lives and any important documents they could take with them. Outside they tried to pull out, by hand, around ten of the fiery missiles. It was truly a grace that there were not any personal injuries, not the slightest wound or burn, although one of the teachers was at the point of death from suffocation.
It was astounding that during the thirty minutes they were in the midst of a rain of fire and the three hours of threat from the planes, there were no injuries and they escaped to safety.
At 5 o’clock in the morning, they were received into the house of someone who knew them. The fire that night of May 25th was one of the worst in Tokyo during the war. That same night, the school of St. Paul of Chartres, the Cathedral of Sekiguchi and the minor seminary were all burned. Once the planes left, they went to see the devastation. Koen was a place of desolation. The building was still burning with one floor falling on another leaving a huge pile of ashes. Only the lower floor of reinforced concrete upon which the upper floors had fallen remained intact.
Julita brought the news to Kofu about the school being a pile of ashes. When Julita assured them the sisters were safe Sr. Begona said: “To hear this is enough for me. Thank God.” The four sisters who had been in the school went to Julita’s house for a few days. Two of the sisters then went to Kofu, the other two of the parish at Koen, until one became sick and went to the hospital of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary.
The community continued in Kofu until it was no longer safe. Bombing threatened the less important cities now. They had to journey on. No one would rent to foreigners for fear of the authorities, so they set out for Ichimiya. The authorities there said they could live in the Buddhist Temple, but they did not clear it with the Buddhist priest in Ichimiya. This temple was about 40 minutes by car from Kofu. The authorities also gave them a truck for their furniture and two autos to reach there. On June 20th they left Kofu for Ichimiya. Bernardeta Sakai and Julita had gone a few days earlier to clear the temple, and were waiting for them when they arrived.
They were a spectacle to the children of Ichimiya. To see the foreigners in their habits was unheard of and they were especially amazed by the great size of their noses, and how tall some of them were. The children followed them and helped them carry their suitcases. They peeked through the numerous holes of the pagoda all hours of the day and night allowing little privacy. When the Buddhist priest of the temple found out about the foreigners staying there, he was furious. When he entered the temple the nuns were lying on tatami mats, all 10 of them. Sr. Bernardeta Sakai explained the situation to him and he calmed down and left them alone. The nuns had left Kofu just in time. On June 5, 1945, all Kofu was destroyed. All that remained was the church and a neighboring street. The same night planes flew over Ichimiya and the pagoda would have made excellent fuel for a fire, so the sisters found refuge in the neighboring cemetery, shielded as best they could.
(To be continued. . .)
