Jitsuo morikawa biography definition
American Baptist preacher..
Most of you likely have never heard of Jitsuo Morikawa, a Japanese American who was born years ago and died on July 20,
Jitsuo Morikawa
American Baptist preacher
Jitsuo Morikawa (1912 – July 20, 1987), was a Japanese-American Baptist pastor and denominational leader. He was a pastor at the First Baptist Church in Chicago and interim senior minister of Riverside Church in Manhattan, and an executive at American Baptist Churches USA.
Early life
Morikawa was born in Hammond, British Columbia, to Buddhist parents, and he was the youngest son of his father Yasutarō and mother Tora Morikawa.[1]
He became a Christian at age of 16, and was ordained in 1937 at a Baptist church in Pasadena, California.[2]
Education and career
He graduated from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and UCLA for his bachelor's degree.[3]
He wanted to become a missionary but his Japanese ancestry was a barrier to service.
He later relocated to serve as West Coast pastor to three Japanese American Baptist congregations in the Los Angeles area. During World War II, h
