Loochoo Naval Mission

The Loochoo Naval Mission (1843–1861) was a Church of England mission society to provide Christian outreach to outlying Ryukyu Islands, today part of Japan but a sovereign country during those times.

Lieutenant Clifford had been a member of Captain Basil Hall's 1816 Royal Navy expedition to the Ryukyu Islands.

[4] accompanied by his wife, his two young children, a tutor named Sarah Speight James, and a Cantonese translator.

Bettelheim's arrival was not a welcome development for the Ryukyuan authorities or much of the local population; when offered temporary shelter, he promptly took up permanent residence in the Gokoku-ji temple and refused to leave for the next seven years.

Bettelheim did provide medical care to local residents and made considerable progress in learning the local language, but was not reported to have made any Christian converts in the years he lived on the island.