Okumura Takie

The Makiki Christian Church, established by Okumura in 1904. This building, inspired by late Sengoku or Edo period castle architecture, dates to 1932.

Rev. Okumura Takie was a Christian missionary active in Hawaii in the early years of the 20th century. He played a prominent role in the origins of the Japanese Christian community in Hawaii, as well as in establishing or supporting other aspects of the Japanese community in the islands.

A native of Kôchi and a graduate of Dôshisha University in Kyoto, Okumura first arrived in Hawaii in 1894. In 1896, he returned to Hawaii with his wife, Ogawa Katsu, who he had married in 1886, and three children. That same year, he established the first Japanese-language school in Honolulu, and in 1904, became the head of the Japanese Christian Church in Nu'uanu, establishing a second mission in Makiki at that time.

Okumura also established the first Japanese baseball team in Hawaii in 1901, consisting of students from his boarding school. His wife Katsu, who ultimately bore thirteen children, was active in helping Okumura in all his various projects, and especially in overseeing the boarding school, known as Okumura House.

References

• Franklin Odo and Kazuko Sinoto, A Pictorial History of the Japanese in Hawaii 1885-1924, Bishop Museum (1985), 77, 107.