Born in Kobe in 1888, Toyohiko Kagawa lost his parents at the age of four and was taken in by his father's family in Oasa-cho, Naruto City. Overcoming many hardships, including loneliness, his family's bankruptcy, and illness, at the age of 21, while still a student at Kobe Theological Seminary, he entered the slums of Kobe and began relief work. However, through his work in the slums, he realized the limitations of "poverty relief" work and shifted his focus to "poverty prevention" activities to prevent people from falling into poverty. After studying abroad in the United States and returning to Japan, Toyohiko Kagawa launched various social movements in the spirit of "one for all, all for one," including the labor movement, cooperative movement, peasant movement, and mutual aid movement. He was also passionate about peace activities, and before the war he was known as one of the world's three great saints, along with Gandhi and Schweitzer. After the war, he gave lectures around the world, advocating the world federalism movement, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize four times. However, in modern society, many people have various connections with consumer co-ops, agricultural cooperatives, mutual aid associations, labor unions, etc., but know very little about Toyohiko Kagawa, the roots of these movements.
The Naruto Kagawa Toyohiko Memorial Museum was established on March 21, 2002, to honor and pass on Kagawa's great achievements and to make him known to as many people as possible. The museum exhibits various documents and handwritten calligraphy by Kagawa Toyohiko, a world-renowned man born in Naruto. A simple introductory DVD of about 11 minutes is also shown. Please come and visit.
