著者

村瀬 寿代 Hisayo Murase 桃山学院大学大学院修士課程修了

出版者

桃山学院大学総合研究所

雑誌

桃山学院大学キリスト教論集 = St. Andrew's University Journal of Christian Studies (ISSN:0286973X)

巻号頁・発行日

no.39, pp.55-78, 2003-03-01

---

Guido Hermann Fridolin Verbeck was born in Zeist, the Netherlands in 1830 and went to the United States when he was 22. After he graduated from Auburn Theology School in the state of New York, he was ordained as a missionary of Dutch Reformed Church in America and came to Nagasaki as one of the first Protestant missionaries to Japan in 1859. He helped in various ways to establish modern Japan in the late 19th century, subsequently attaining fame as an adviser to the Meiji Government. Researchers have often concentrated on Verbeck's distinguished service or contribution to Japan and its people, yet very few tried to focus on his family records, his educational and religious background, and his early life previous to his arrival in Japan. Although Verbeck's biography, 'Verbeck of Japan', written by William Eliot Griffis, is one of the most important studies on Verbeck, Griffis made many incorrect statements in his writing. Most researchers seem to have believed whatever is written in 'Verbeck of Japan'. In this article, by studying the records of Zeist, Verbeck's family members and his early educational environment have been clarified. His religious experience, especially the Moravian education he was given, has also been taken into consideration. Verbeck's letters have been reexamined in detail to discover and confirm facts that have not been known to the public before. The aim of this article is to offer reliable information about Verbeck in order to find out how his experience in his youth helped him to earn his position in Japan and how his religious background influenced his way of conducting mission work as well as shaping his later character as a 'hired foreigner' in Japan.