Remembering Legacy of Eiichi Shibusawa as He Helped Armenian Refugees during Genocide

Sitting at the head of a long table, Shibusawa asked Wirt “who the Armenians were and why they needed help.” After a little geography and history, Wirt described the details of the atrocities committed against the Armenians and their current plight. Shibusawa interrupted and asked, “Why did you not come to us with your appeal?” He added, “Was it because we are Buddhists and you thought we would not help Christians in distress? We have read your speeches as reported in the Japan Advertiser [an English-language daily] and we thought we would like to help, even if we have not been invited to do so. Unbeknown to you, one of our Japanese papers published your appeal, and here is your result.” Shibusawa then handed over to Wirt a check for $11,000 (about $140,000 in today’s terms).

Not only did he give money for charity, Shibusawa also accepted the chairmanship of the Armenian Relief Committee of Japan, headquartered in Kajimachi, Tokyo. He immediately wrote a letter to 100 Japanese leaders, inviting them to attend a lecture by Rev. Wirt in the hope of inspiring interest to help the Armenians.

It’s a fact that the Armenian Relief Committee of Japan implemented a series of donations, activities, and lectures together with Eiichi Shibusawa and a group of people of different social and political status, who spared no effort to raise funds for Armenians in need. The issue of the Armenian refugees became a key question for the Committee.

For example, 10,000 yens were sent to the Armenian Refugee Fund. Another amount was transferred to the Armenian Musicians’ Fund. In addition, it was decided to transfer 120 yen per child per year. The Armenian Relief Committee headed by Eiichi Shibusawa raised about 20,000 yen, by organizing such activities as lectures, concerts, film screenings and theatre performances. It is also significant, that the money raised by Armenian Relief Committee headed by Shibusawa reached the biggest Armenian orphanage at the time, which was located in Aleksandrapol, today’s Gyumri, Armenia.

From the distance of a century, the impression is created that the mercy of the Japanese people towards the Armenian people has been forgotten, lost from the pages of the joint history of the two friendly peoples. This article hopes to counteract this view, valuing the historical relations between the Armenian and Japanese peoples. Despite the geographical distance, the peoples of the two friendly countries have always treated each other with mutual warmth. In general, there is an opinion that states make history.