Facing Global Challenges: Mission for 100 Years, Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in Japan
by Sister Masako Miyake, SNDdeN
Gratitude for Mission
In August 2024, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur (SNDdeN) will celebrate 100 years in Japan! Responding to the invitation from Archbishop Henry Döering, SJ, in the Hiroshima Diocese, six SNDdeN from Massachusetts, left by ship from San Francisco, California, USA, for Japan on July 22, 1924. With the exception of Sister Marie Claire Leahy, Superior of the Community, the five young Sisters were all in their 20s. They left on a mission without strong preparation for the culture or the language of Japan. Yet, all reports from that time indicate a joyful welcome and arrival in Okayama without any hardships or confusion in understanding!
Challenges and Rich Roots
In September 1923, a major earthquake centered in Tokyo, left Japan suffering both socially and economically in 1924. This high school, which the Sisters inherited, was also facing serious problems. When our Sisters took over this school, they had serious difficulties in recruiting students due to a poor reputation with aging buildings and financial problems. Sr. Mary Claire Leahy, the new Principal, returned briefly to the USA to enlist help from the Massachusetts Province.
In a newsletter called “Uchiwa,” the school detailed the critical situation with a decision and plan for the construction of a new school building. The SNDdeN in the MA sister-schools organized and carried forward successfully a fundraising campaign. The children in these schools did not buy candy but instead put coins in the donation box to help the school in Japan.
At that time, the Sisters in Japan strengthened the curriculum in a System of Education with vibrant educational content and clear policies for the school. A school song expressed in poetry the Christian values and spirit in the Japanese culture. The second Principal, Sr. Mary Kostka Kemper, promoted vigorously the growth and development for the school which gradually merited a reputation of SNDdeN educational excellence among the people in Okayama.