# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1956_S409
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

MISSIONS 409

“Work among the Deaf. Should we start work among the
deaf in Japan? It was felt that if we are working for an indigenous
church in Japan, the request for work among the deaf should
come from the Japanese themselves.”

November 30, 1955, the Mission Council met. Also there
attention was called to the fact that one of our regional conferences
of pastors for the deaf and lay people proposed that our Lutheran
deaf collect $600 more, which, with the $1,115.41 in the treasury
of the Lutheran Deaf Mission Society, should be used for the
purpose of having someone go to Japan for a survey. From the
minutes of the council we quote the following:

“In regard to work among the deaf in Japan the question
comes to mind: Could not a missionary in the field make this
study rather than to ask someone from America to spend time
and money to do it?”

Thereupon, since we had been informed that Pastor Paul
Strege, who while in St. Louis Seminary was very much interested
in deaf work, was coming from Japan to the States on furlough
in January, we immediately got in touch with Dr. O. H. Schmidt,
Executive Secretary of the Board for Foreign Missions, and asked
whether it would be agreeable to him and his Board if we would
ask Rev. Strege to leave his field about ten days earlier and spend
that time in Tokyo at the expense of the Lutheran Deaf Mission
Society for Foreign Work and make a survey for us. We were
told by Dr. Schmidt that we should go ahead and do so. We wrote
to Pastor Strege at once, and he gladly consented to comply with
our request.

Here are the salient facts of his report:

December 20, 1955, he visited the Prefectural School for Deaf
at Asahigawa, Hokkaido, one of nine such schools in Hokkaido.
It was the last day before winter vacation, and he could not observe
older students in their classes, but saw a few of the classes of
younger children. “Children receive no religious instruction.”

January 6 he visited a Tokyo school and spent two hours with
the director of the school, who was very helpful. This is the first
school for the deaf in Japan, now 35 years old, and one of the
99 schools for the deaf in Japan. It is the only private school,
supported by the Presbyterians and EUB at $10,000 a year. Has
staff of 25, and 170 students. Religious instruction is in the form
of Sunday school, noncompulsory, but attended by all. During
the past fifteen years 23 students were baptized. He found only
one church in Tokyo and was told of one in Osaka and of two
independent churches in Kobe and Wakayama. In our 1953 report