"Hiram Hisanori Kano"
Annual Council Eucharist
November 6, 2009
Church of Our Savior – North Platte
James E. Krotz
Today I ‘m going to tell you a story of two Nebraska saints. Saints in the sense that all the baptized are saints and perhaps even in the more conventional sense that their lives provide heroic examples to the community of faith.
I first told this story some 18 years ago at the Annual Council of the Diocese convened at Holy Apostle in Mitchell.
Some few of you may have been there.
Some few of those who were present may even recall parts of this story.
It’s a story worth telling and hearing again and you’ll soon see why Church of Our Savior in North Platte is a good place for its telling. I consider it an honor to have even a small part in preserving this story and I thank you, Bishop Joe, for inviting me here to tell it.
The first of our heroes is not the central character of my story but he appears first on the stage.
George Allen Beecher spent 51 years in ministry to the people of Western Nebraska from 1892 - 1943. He served as rector of Christ Church Sidney and here at Church of Our Savior, North Platte. He was the missionary pastor to many hundreds, perhaps thousands of souls scattered across the vast reaches of the west. In 1910 he was elected Bishop of the Missionary District of Western Nebraska, a position in which he served till his retirement in 1943.
That a man could survive 33 years as a Bishop is evidence of great spiritual and physical strength. George Beecher not only survived, he flourished and under his leadership so did the church.
Some of you may remember Bishop Beecher. Those who do describe him as a man of enormous physical and spiritual presence. It’s said that he stood 6 foot 3 or 4 and weighed upward of 250 pounds. Bishop Beecher was a man of great moral courage, courage that shone most brightly in his dealings with the central character of my story, Fr. Hiram Hisanori Kano.
Hiram Kano was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1889, four years after George Beecher began his ministry here in North Platte. When William Jennings Bryan traveled to Japan, the Kanos, as part of the Imperial family, hosted his visit. Their visitor from the west sparked in young Kano an intense desire to travel to the United States and especially to Bryan's home state of Nebraska.
While studying agricultural economics at the Imperial University of Tokyo, young Kano nearly died of a ruptured appendix. The doctors told his parents his case was hopeless and he remembers that at one point a nurse took his pulse and announced that it had stopped.
Though he was ready and willing to die, there came to him a great sense of calm and he was granted a vision of God. An interior vision of light that was more than light. In his own words he "surrendered" and his recovery began. One hundred days after the vision he left the hospital.
He began to read the bible and became convinced that his vision had been of the risen Christ. In 1910 he was baptized into the body of Christ by a Dutch Reformed Missionary.
In 1916 he heard God calling him to go to America. There his skills could best be put to good use in helping the many young Japanese who were emigrating to the United States to farm. He came to the United States and quickly earned a Masters Degree in Agricultural Economics at the University of Nebraska.
In the years that followed he served as organizer, translator teacher and spokesman for the Japanese immigrants living in Nebraska.
Just one year after his graduation from the University of Nebraska, Kano faced his first challenge.
On December 16 1919 the Nebraska Constitutional Convention assembled in Lincoln. The purpose of the convention was to update the state constitution to reflect the monumental social, economic and political changes brought about by the First World War.
At the convention a number of bills were introduced that would have discriminated bitterly against oriental immigrants. Bill #215 introduced by a delegate from North Platte was typical. The bill would have prohibited aliens from owning land, inheriting farmland or even leasing land for more than one year. Since the Japanese, like other Orientals, did not have the right to become naturalized citizens, these laws would have excluded them entirely from farming except as hired laborers.
Mr. Kano left his farm in Southeast Nebraska and hurried off to the capitol where he quietly and carefully interviewed a number of legislators. At last he was permitted to address the judiciary committee. I’m going to read to you his brief but powerful statement.
"In Nebraska there about 700 Japanese, including Nisei. (American citizens born to Japanese immigrant parents) There are about 200 Japanese farms, mostly raising sugar beets along the North Platte River. Nearly all are tenant farmers whose skill and hard work satisfies their landlords and the sugar company. Japanese living in towns or cities mostly operate cafes and restaurants, with the help of their employees. They are friendly and cooperative with their neighbors, sharing their joys and sorrows.
As you probably know, the United States Constitution gives the privilege of naturalization only to free white men and Negroes, not to other races. Therefore, we are not yet citizens, but we Japanese have a strong desire to be adopted here, to live here permanently, desiring to be buried in Nebraska when our earthly life comes to an end. Therefore, we are doing our very best to develop and elevate the State of Nebraska materially and spiritually. I beg you from the bottom of my heart, do not make any law detrimental to your Japanese brethren. I certainly appreciate your very great kindness of giving me this wonderful opportunity to address you gentlemen who are representing justice, liberty and equality."
The anti-Japanese bills failed in 1919, but anti-oriental feeling continued to grow especially on the West Coast. The California legislature passed a law forbidding even the lease of farmland to Japanese farmers. Under that law they could work only as farm hands and laborers, not as operators. The California propaganda was so influential that the Montana legislature also passed an anti-Japanese land law. The Montana law was so restrictive that all Japanese farmers were forced to leave the state.
In the 1921 session of the Nebraska State Legislature a copy of the California Land Bill was introduced by the representative from North Platte. The bill provided that aliens ineligible for U.S. citizenship could not own or inherit land, nor could they lease farmland for more than two years. They would not even be allowed to own stock in any company or financial corporation they themselves might form. If the bill passed, the 200 Japanese farmers in Nebraska would be driven from their farms.
Representatives of the Japanese community quickly assembled in Lincoln and passed three resolutions.
1. To invest Mr. Kano, president of the Japanese Americanization Society, with full power to meet the situation and request him to do his best.
2. Those present would go home immediately and ask their American friends, such as bankers, merchants and farmers, to write letters expressing their reaction against House Resolution 138 and forward these letters to Mr. Kano.
3. Ask Mr. Toshijiro Ohdo to confer with the Rt. Rev. George Allen Beecher, Episcopal Bishop of Western Nebraska and get his advice and assistance in meeting this critical situation.
At last our two heroes meet.
Bishop Beecher wrote to Mr. Kano saying that he was coming to Lincoln to meet with the bill's sponsor, and asking that Kano meet him at Union Station.
Here is how Mr. Kano described that meeting:
"... I had a taxi ready, awaiting his arrival. He was a big man physically. When he and I used to stand side-by-side, people would laugh, saying, 'An elephant and a mouse are visiting.' (Beecher was at least a foot taller than Kano)
As soon as he got off the train, he said, 'Let us walk to the Capitol as you explain to me what you have already done about this matter.'
I said, 'Bishop, the taxi is ready.' I also told him why I had hired the taxi, so we would not be seen together, since his kind act might hurt his reputation by labeling him pro-Japanese.
The Bishop said, 'Don't be afraid to do justice. Don't you worry about me. I will go to the taxi driver and tell him we do not wish to hire him this time.' At that moment, I was very moved by his greatness and sincerity: to this very day I am his admirer. He was really representing the Church of God.
When we reached the Capitol it was recess time. The legislators were enjoying coffee and relaxing. We found Mr. Davis (the sponsor of the bill) in the group. The Bishop immediately introduced himself and told Mr. Davis why he was there, saying, 'I understand you have presented and proposed HR 138, trying to make it a law of this state. I know quite a considerable number of Japanese scattered throughout the state of Nebraska, and even though they do not yet have the right to become U.S. citizens, they are honest, industrious and law-abiding. No Japanese is in any jail or prison: their reputation is good in every community I know of. There are about 200 farmers raising sugar beets, which requires back-breakingly hard labor. They are truly contributing to this important industry in this state. I do firmly believe it is not right to make any law against such people. Do you think this is a desire of the majority of Nebraska people?’
Mr. Davis was almost frightened by this unexpected visitor and the sharp criticism of the bill he had proposed. He said to the Bishop, 'To tell the truth, a friend of mine in California requested that I present this bill to the floor.'
The Bishop said, 'Then I advise you to withdraw it, at once.'
There were quite a few legislators in this room, watching and listening to this unusual, excited scene and conversation. I was standing behind the Bishop, listening to every word he spoke, and I was again deeply moved with his fighting spirit on behalf of justice and fairness. He was a great man."
As a result of Bishop Beecher's assault on the legislature and the support of many friends throughout the state, the original bill was defeated and a moderated but still odious compromise bill was passed. The new bill allowed ownership of city property but not of farmland and it restricted leases on farmland to five years.
Bishop Beecher was obviously impressed by Hiram Kano because in 1923 he descended on the Kano farmstead unannounced and asked Mr. Kano to serve as a missionary to the Japanese immigrants living in western Nebraska. Already a deeply committed Christian, though not an Episcopalian, Kano was profoundly moved by the Bishop's appeal. Still he felt that his mission was an agricultural one. Missionary work would begin when he was too old farm.
Exactly one year later the Bishop returned and this time the urging of the Holy Spirit was so powerful that Kano relented. In the early spring of 1925 he left his farm and traveled to Mitchell to begin Bishop Beecher's missionary work among the Japanese. Kano was ordained Deacon in 1928 and continued in that order for eight years. He served as pastor of St. Mary's church in Mitchell and also served the Japanese mission in North Platte. Partly in gratitude for the tireless support and concern of George Allen Beecher the Japanese Episcopalians in North Platte dedicated their church to the honor of St. George. (That church building no longer stands but the chapel here at Church of Our Savior is known as St. George Chapel). Deacon Kano's yoked parish was 180 miles from end to end, a daunting prospect for even the most durable of circuit riders.
With patience and great zeal Deacon Kano taught his people of God. The God who had delivered him from death as a young man. The God who revealed his perfect love for all people in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
For the next twelve years Deacon Kano modeled the servant ministry of Jesus Christ as he served as an agricultural consultant, English teacher, advocate, friend and above all as pastor to the Japanese in the Platte Valley.
In 1936 he was ordained priest and continued his tireless ministry along the Platte.
During this time Bishop Beecher and Fr. Kano continued to work with and encourage the Japanese even as the state and nation withheld from them the basic rights we now take for granted.
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked Pearl Harbor. American reaction against Japanese immigrants was swift and harsh. Fr. Kano was arrested by agents of the F.B.I. that very afternoon on the steps of the Church right here in North Platte.
Bishop Beecher responded immediately with the following public statement. "The Japanese people in Nebraska are my friends. They are fine people and I ask you not to harm them. If anyone of you is seeking unjustly to persecute them, you shall have to kill me first."
Despite the protestations of their many friends and without regard for their exemplary behavior, the Japanese were severely treated. Some were sent to prison camps. Fr. Kano spent time in five different prison camps. There he continued his ministry, calming the fears of his people and giving them strength through knowledge. Through what he called the "Internment University," he helped hundreds of Japanese Americans learn to speak and read and write English.
By the grace of God, Bishop Beecher was able to bring some good even from this shameful episode. He persuaded, or perhaps I should say intimidated, the government into releasing Fr. Kano into the custody of Nashota House Seminary where he put his confinement to good use in further study.
Following his release from Nashota House Fr. Kano returned to his mission as Pastor and Priest.
It was not until the Walter-McCarran Act of 1952 that Fr. Kano then 63 years old, could become a naturalized citizen. By then he had worked 33 years in the service of his country, his people, his church and his Lord, Jesus Christ. Thirty-one years later, at age 95, Fr. Kano described the day of his naturalization as the most exciting of his entire life.
Bishop Beecher died in June of 1951, two years before Fr. Kano became a citizen of the United States of America. The Japanese in Mitchell merged their congregation with that of Holy Apostle's Church and built a spacious new parish hall which they named "Bishop Beecher Memorial Hall."
Fr. Kano died three months short of his 100th birthday, on October 24 1988.
Bishop Beecher seems somehow larger than life. The memorial parish hall, his book, and his ubiquitous and profoundly intimidating photographic portrait help to keep his memory alive.
And yet it’s the smaller man, physically smaller I mean, who makes the greater impression on my soul.
As a layman he was a quiet and persevering warrior in the battle against the evil of racism. He was a champion of his people in the struggle for justice and peace, respecting as he fought the dignity of every human being.
As a deacon he exemplified the servant ministry of Christ serving all who were in need, particularly the poor, the weak, the sick and the lonely.
As a priest he was diligent in his ministry of word and sacrament, laboring with those he was called to serve in building up the family of God.
In all of this he did his best to pattern his life and that of his family in accordance with the teachings of Christ and provided thereby a most wholesome example for all the people.
There is something in the life and ministry of Hiram Kano to inspire and encourage all of us. Layperson, Deacon, Priest and Bishop alike can look to his life to see what God can accomplish right here in Nebraska through the life of a willing disciple.
In 1991 at the Annual Council of the Diocese convened at Holy Apostles in Mitchell and I told this story by way of introducing a resolution that would be presented at the session immediately following the Eucharist. That resolution was prepared by Nancy Westerfield of the Department of Mission and Fr. W. J. Barnds our Diocesan Historiographer at the time. They and I were convinced that Fr. Kano should be considered for inclusion on the official calendar of the Episcopal Church. We discovered however that the process might require many, many years. Just how many years we have yet to discover.
For the time being the Episcopal Church in Nebraska and in Colorado celebrates the life and ministry of Hiram Kano on October 24, the anniversary of his death.
We may be a little late with this particular celebration but then again we are still within the octave of the Feast of All Saints.
Our Bishop thought that North Platte, the eastern pole of Fr. Kano’s mission field, was a good place for us to recall just WHY we consider him a Christian of “heroic virtue.” A worthy example for the baptized, for deacons, for priests and, yes, for bishops.