| Administrative History | The Church Missionary Society began work in Japan in 1869 at Nagasaki. Until March 1874 it was administered as part of the China mission. By 1898 there were four secretaryships, the country being divided into areas comprising South Tokyo, Kyushu, Hokkaido and Osaka. By 1906 these had settled into three missions: Central Japan, Kyushu and Hokkaido. Unlike the normal procedure, however, the Japan mission archives continued as one series for the whole of the country. The main mission stations were, for Central Japan: Osaka (1873), Tokyo (1874), Tokushima, Fukuoka and Matsuye (all 1888) and Hiroshima (1892); for Kyshu: Nagasaki (1869); for Hokkaido: Hakodate (1874), Sapporo (1892) and Otaru (1897). |
| Custodial History | Papers catalogued by Rosemary A. Keen, 1967. Hard copy handlist revised and expanded: Rosemary Keen 1982. Deposited in the Library of the University of Birmingham 1981. |