Kawai Michi

Kawai Michi (河井 道, July 29, 1877 – February 11, 1953) was a Japanese educator, Christian activist, and proponent of Japanese-Western ties before, during, and after World War II.

[3] When Kawai was still a child, her father lost his job and chose to move his family to Hakodate, in Hokkaido, where the government was encouraging people to settle.

There, in 1887, she began attending a newly established boarding school in Sapporo, run by a Presbyterian missionary named Sarah C. Smith.

[7] In 1895, shortly before turning 18, Kawai spent a year helping to start up another girls' school in northern Hokkaido, experience that would prove useful later in her life.

[14] Following the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, Kawai also served as the first chairman of the Federation of Tokyo Women's Associations, which played a significant role in organizing the post-earthquake relief efforts.

[19] In 1941 Kawai attended a meeting of the Foreign Mission Boards of North America and Canada, representing Japanese Christian women.

In her biography, Michi wrote, “‘This is a gesture of American goodwill to Japan at this critical moment,’ said my soul to me, ‘therefore accept the honor, not for yourself, but for your country, and pledge yourself to stand for the cause of peace and friendship in this hour of tribulation.’"[20] Citations Sources