A New Mission for Seattle’s Japanese Community
A growing religious and social organization for Japanese men prepares to move to larger, permanent quarters on Jefferson Street.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The Young Men's Christian Association maintains a flourishing branch among the Japanese, with headquarters on the south side of James street. Of the 150 Japanese men in this city, twenty-two are professing Christians, and fifteen are members of this organization. The mission, established in 1891, provides social support, education, and moral guidance. Rev. J. P. Ludlow serves as the local manager. The mission is scheduled to move to larger quarters at 418 Jefferson street around March 23. This new facility will contain twenty bedrooms and serve as a headquarters for the respectable Japanese element in the city. Friends of the mission are currently seeking donations of furniture, carpets, and bedding to help furnish the building.
“It is not only money that is asked for; contributions of office and bedroom furniture, carpets, bedding and similar articles will be welcome.”
This article offers a rare glimpse into the internal social infrastructure of Seattle's early Japanese immigrant community. The mission's focus on 'respectable' social purity was a defensive strategy against the virulent anti-Asian sentiment that dominated Seattle politics in the 1890s.
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