Redistribution of Wealth for the Relief and Care of Children, focusing on donations to a day nursery in rural northeastern Japan in the 1930s

This study explores a nursery in the Tohoku region, which was established in 1934 when the region starved because of extremely cold summer damaging crops. The crop failure led to a food shortage, and many children were malnourished. The Iwaki Day Nursery was established in response to this situation. Recently-unearthed records of the nursery, which have been stored in the library of a local high school, have revealed that the nursery was a joint project of various parties; Nihon-kirisutokyo-renmei (National Christian Council of Japan), Christian missionaries and churches, private donors residing in and outside the region, Keifuku-kai (a charitable association with Imperial patronage), central and local governments, and private companies. The most important actor was the Too Gijuku, a missionary school in the region, whose headmaster was the administrative director of the nursery and played a significant role in fundraising with other members of administration. The records also suggest that the donors were not only high-income taxpayers but newly-emerging middle-class people in towns. In addition, women and even children donated small amounts of money as Christians. Whereas previous studies on pre-war nurseries in the countryside in the early 1930s found that most were established by private communal organisations and individuals and were mainly funded by local subsidies, the Iwaki Day Nursery was led by a Christian educational organization and relied largely on donations from outside the community for its financial resources, especially during the period when it was established. Its support was channeled through Christian networks on a national and global scale.