日本語 / Nihongo / Japanese Bible History (3) 
**List: Japanese Ministry
Bible ( 聖書 )
Japanese...
JAPANESE. "THE Japanese empire consists of four large and many small islands, lying off the eastern shores of the
, who, as in China, devote their sole attention to the affairs of this life, without reference
Asiatic Continent, between lat. 30° and 45° N., and long. 128° and 146° E. The Japanese have been
the predominant race in this extensive empire from time immemorial, and it is now impossible to
ascertain from what region they originally emigrated, for in physical conformation, religion, and
language, they differ from all the neighbouring nations. It has been conjectured that the population
of this empire, exclusive of its dependencies, amounts to 50,000,000; but our information on this
point, as on every thing connected with the interior of Japan, is very imperfect, and otlier estimates
rate the population at only half that amount.
The primitive religion of the Japanese is called Sin-siu[?], literally, "doctrine of spirits:" it consists
in the adoration of numerous spirits or divinities supposed to preside over all things visible and
invisible, and among the foremost in the ranks of these false gods are included the progenitors of the
present line of emperors. This ancient form of belief has, however, in a great measure been superseded
by B_ddhism, which is now the prevailing religion in Japan. There are also many followers of
Confucius
to a future state of existence.I.--CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE. [...]
II.--VERSION OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS LANGUAGE. The rigid exclusion of foreigners from Japan during the last three centuries, and the suspicious
and vigilant spirit of the government, have rendered the translation of the Scriptures into Japanese
a matter of almost insuperable difficulty. Dr. Medhurst, agent of the London My. Society in
China, applied to the study of the Japanese language, and made copies of the dictionaries and other
works that were accessible to him, in the hope of qualifying himself for this arduous undertaking; but
the honour of translating the first portion of Scripture into the language of this extensive empire was
reserved for the late Dr. Gutzlaff. About the year 1835, three shipwrecked Japanese mariners arrived
at Macao on their voyage homewards, and during the few months that they remained in that city,
Dr. Gutzlaff availed himself of their aid in translating the Gospel of St. John into their language.
This translation was printed at Singapore about the year 1839, but it does not appear that oppor-
tunities have as yet been afforded for its circulation. Upon the occasion of Dr. Gutzlaff’s visit to
England, however, in 1849, proposals for printing the Scriptures in the Japanese tongue (as well as
in other languages of Eastern Asia) were submitted by him to the Committee of the British and Foreign
Bible Society, and a small grant was made towards printing a certain portion of the New Testament
in Japanese, as a pioneer translation. Since that time the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles of
St. John have been printed, according to Dr. Gutzlaff’s translation. The whole MS. of the New
Testament, as translated by him and his associates into Japanese, is at present in this country.
The style of Dr. Gutzlaff’s version, however, being found inferior and little likely to prove accep-
table to the better educated in Japan, a new translation was undertaken by Dr. Bettelheim, my.
to Loo-Choo; and the MS. of the Four Gospels was sent by him to England. It is in Chinese and
Japanese, the Japanese being written in the Katagana character. An edition of the Gospel of St. Luke,
from Dr. Bettelhelm’s version, has been printed at Hong-Kong, under the care of the Bishop of Victoria,
and at the expense of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. This edition is regarded as
tentative only, and is issued with the view of subjecting it to inquiries as to its accuracy, and its
adaptation in style and idiom to the Japanese mind, before proceeding further in the important labour
of which it forms a commencement. The recent negociation of a treaty of commerce between Great
Britain and Japan (1858), in virtue of which the ships of the former power have permission to visit
certain ports of this hitherto secluded empire, may be confidently looked forward to as a means of aid
to my. enterprise."--The Bible of Every Land. (1860, Second Edition) Samuel Bagster [Info only]JAPANESE VERSION.--1860 S. Bagster [Info only: {Katagana?} Character n.d. Book ch:v unknown.]
Japanese: Luchu...
LOOCHOOAN. "A mission, called the "Loochoo Naval Mission," having for its object the conversion of the
Loochooans to Christianity, was commenced about the year 1843. Dr. Bettelheim, a medical
my., was sent, in 1846, by this Society to Loochoo, whence he has since returned to America.
In addition to contributions from other sources, a grant of fifty pounds was made
He has translated the Four Gospels, the Acts, and the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, into Loochooan;
and from the similarity of this dialect to Japanese, it is hoped that his translations may be found useful
in Japan itself.
by the British and Foreign Bible Society towards defraying the expenses of printing Dr. Bettelheim’s
version of the Gospel of St. Luke and of the Acts. As the Japanese characters are used in writing
Loochooan, and as the casting of type for these characters in England is far more expensive than
cutting the blocks in China, it was resolved to have the work printed at Hong Kong. This work, the
expenses of which have been mainly defrayed by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, has
since been accomplished, under the superintendence of the Bishop of Victoria (Hong Kong). The
Loochooan version of St. Luke, St. John, Acts, and Romans, was thus completed in 1855. We possess
as yet, however, no information concerning its reception among the interesting population for whose
use it is designed."--The Bible of Every Land. (1860, Second Edition) Samuel Bagster [Info only]LOOCHOOAN VERSION.--1860 S. Bagster [Info only: {Japanese} Character n.d. THE LORD’S PRAYER unknown.]
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