Saniku Gakuin College (Japan Missionary College)

Saniku Gakuin College (Japan Missionary College) is a coeducational boarding school on a senior college level, operated by the Japan Union Conference, near Naraha, 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Tokyo, across the bay from Yokohama.

Early Beginnings

Seventh-day Adventist educational work in Japan began in January 1898 with the opening of a Japanese-English Bible school in Tokyo, led by William C. Grainger, a former president of Healdsburg College in California, U.S.A. His interpreter was Teruhiko H. Okohira, a Japanese-born convert and former Healdsburg student. The two had arrived in Japan over a year before. Grainger’s passion for the Bible left a lasting impact on his students in Tokyo. Just a few months later, on April 30, 1898, the first Adventist baptismal service in Japan was held in the Meguro River. Among those baptized was Hide Kuniya, a young man who later became the first Seventh-day Adventist in Japan to be ordained to the ministry. The school’s work progressed steadily, but Grainger passed away on October 31, 1899, less than three years after arriving in Japan. Despite his passing, other missionaries carried on his work, and the school continued to grow.¹

William D. Burden continued Grainger’s work, followed two years later by Frank W. Field, the director of the Japan Mission, who also promoted the training of young people for service. In 1910, Field was succeeded by F. H. DeVinney. From 1908 to 1913, Harry F. Benson directed a training course for workers, offering subjects such as Bible, history, biology, English, and more. However, it was not until October 1, 1919, that the institution was reorganized to include an elementary school (six years) and a secondary school (five years), in addition to its junior college program. The school was named Amanuma Gakuin, starting with 32 students and led by Perry A. Webber as president and Andrew N. Nelson as manager. Shortly after, the institution expanded to include a six-year elementary school, a five-year secondary school, and a three-year junior college.²

There was a strong belief that, in line with the SDA educational philosophy, the school should be located outside the city, allowing students to participate in agricultural work, construction, and other practical skills. With financial support from the Foreign Mission Board of Seventh-day Adventists in Washington, D.C., and generous contributions from the local Japanese community, the mission in Japan planned to establish a theological seminary and workers’ training school. In 1926, the existing Amanuma Gakuin, located in cramped quarters on the outskirts of Tokyo, was set to be relocated to a new site at Kanno Mura, Kimizu Gun, Chiba Ken, about an hour’s train ride from Chiba city. The students and faculty played a major role in constructing the school on 35 acres of woodland and farmland. At that time, the school offered a six-year secondary course and a two-year junior college program.³ With the new location, the school’s name was changed to Nihon San Iku⁴ Gaukin. Andrew Nelson explains the reasoning behind choosing the new name:

While the celestial name Amanuma Gakuin, is not considered in the least a misnomer for a religious school, it has been thought best, with the transfer of the location, to change the name to the more practical one of San Iku Gakuin, which expresses the threefold educational program of the institution, namely, the harmonious development of the physical, the mental, and the spiritual faculties of the student. This is symbolized by the three H’s, representing the hand, the head, and the heart.⁵

In 1927, two school buildings, along with cottages for Japanese and foreign teachers were completed, with more buildings and improvements planned for the future. The school, farm, and dairy provided year-round opportunities for industrial training. The plan was to introduce additional industries and establish a separate girls’ school.⁶ In the years that followed, testimonies from many students and staff at the school showed that “the time spent at Nihon San-Iku Gakuin bear fruit.”⁷

Post World War II Developments, Accreditations and Relocation

During World War II, Christianity faced significant restrictions, leading to the closure of the school in December 1943 under a prefectural order. After the war, as Japan began to recover, the school reopened and resumed its prewar curriculum. On April 4 and 5, 1948, the opening of Seventh-day Adventist elementary schools at the Kujikawa and Tokyo churches marked a significant step forward in Japan. Before World War II, opening church schools was nearly impossible due to restrictive laws that did not recognize Bible classes and required a six-day school week. After the war, however, the circumstances changed, allowing church schools to open. W. W. Konzack, Education secretary for the Japan Union Mission, wrote in 1949:

God’s remarkable, providences in Japan have now opened „wide this important field of education and evangelism to us. The head of the education section of the Occupation Army is a personal friend of Seventh-day Adventists. He and his staff saw that religious liberty was being infringed upon due to existing laws. The law has been changed and schools, such as ours, now have the privilege of operating on the days they choose. We had a similar experience with respect to the teaching of Bible in our schools. Accreditation was granted our junior high school in record time and it became the first religious school to be so recognized. Later, the senior high school was similarly recognized. Now our two church schools are also the first such schools to be accredited with the government. We are deeply grateful for these victories won for the cause of God.⁸

The opening ceremonies were memorable, with the Tokyo school’s officer remarking that, despite being the smallest in the city, the school’s educational model was much needed. With the demand for church schools far exceeding the available teachers, this new opportunity in Japan represents a crucial step in the mission field. The new schools faced challenges, including Japan’s lack of small schools and the difficulty of teacher training. Miss Kato, the director of teacher training at Japan Junior College, played a key role in overcoming these challenges. The Tokyo and Kujikawa churches took on the responsibility of their schools, providing classrooms and supporting teachers with minimal help.⁹

On July 1, 1953, the school was officially recognized by the General Conference as a full senior college, marking the beginning of its offering of courses leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree. Given the challenging accreditation requirements in Japan, the school felt a significant sense of achievement when it received government recognition for various departments: the junior and senior high school on August 31, 1948; the primary school on June 14, 1950; the school of theology on December 22, 1950; and, the junior college department of English on January 27, 1971.¹⁰

The relocation of the college took place in August 1978. It was moved south of the old campus to Otaki-machi in Chiba Prefecture, about 80 miles (130 hectares) southeast of Tokyo. The secondary school (Hiroshima Saniku Gakuin) was moved to an independent cite in April 1977. In 1987, the Nursing Department received government accreditation as a junior college to offer a three-year degree program. Since 1988 the Theology Department was reorganized as a Special Training College to offer a five-year B.Th. degree program.¹¹

More Recent Developments

In 2004, the college launched a one-year Community Health Nursing program for registered nurses seeking a Community Health Nursing license. In 2008, the Nursing Department earned government accreditation to offer a four-year B.S. degree in nursing.¹²

In 2015, the Theology Department was authorized to offer a four-year B.A. degree, allowing high school students to enter the program directly without going through the English program. As a result, the two-year English program was closed in 2016.

In 2018, a new nursing school building in Tokyo was inaugurated to mark the 120^th anniversary of Adventist education in Japan and the 90th anniversary of nursing education. In 2020, the college received government accreditation to offer a Graduate M.S. degree in nursing program.

Principals/Presidents

A. N. Nelson, 1926-1935; F. R. Millard, 1936-1937; P.A. Webber, 1942-1943; closed, 1943-1947; W. W. Konzack, 1947-1950; F. R. Millard, 1950-1951; R. S. Moore, 1951-1956; T. Yamagata, 1956-1969; R. E. Klimes, 1969-1973; G. Hirokawa, 1973-1974; S. Arakaki, 1974-1976; S. Nagakubo, 1976-1994; S. Tabuchi, 1994-1998; Y. Takahashi, 1998-2006; I. Ueda, 2006-2010; K. Higashide, 2010-2022; M. Sugi, 2022-

Sources

Eldridge, Retha H. “Nihon San-Iku Gakuin.” The Youth’s Instructor, September 20, 1938.

Konzack, W. W. “Another Open Door Entered.” Far Eastern Division Outlook, June 1949.

Nelson, A. N. “Students and Teachers Build a School.” The Youth’s Instructor, February 1, 1927.

Pettibone, Dennis. “Grainger, William Calhoun (1844-1899.” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, September 6, 2020. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=B9DF&highlight=Grainger.

Saniku Gakuin College official website, https://www.saniku.ac.jp/.

Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1996. S.v. “Japanese Missionary College (Saniku Gakuin College).”

Notes

1. Dennis Pettibone, “Grainger, William Calhoun (1844-1899,” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, September 6, 2020, accessed February 10, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=B9DF&highlight=Grainger.↩

2. Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists (1996), s.v. “Japan Missionary College (Saniku Gakuin College).”↩

3. A. N. Nelson, “Students and Teachers Build a School,” The Youth’s Instructor, February 1, 1927, 8.↩

4. Also spelled “Saniku” and “San-Iku.”↩

5. Ibid.↩

6. Ibid.↩

7. Retha H. Eldridge, “Nihon San-Iku Gakuin,” The Youth’s Instructor, September 20, 1938, 9.↩

8. W. W. Konzack, “Another Open Door Entered,” Far Eastern Division Outlook, June 1949, 4.↩

9. Ibid.↩

10. Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists (1996), s.v. “Japan Missionary College (Saniku Gakuin College).”↩

11. Ibid.↩

12. Saniku Gakuin College official website, https://www.saniku.ac.jp/.↩