A Letter Written in Japanese

Kanichi Yamamoto had become a Bahá’í in Hawaii in 1902 and wanted to write ‘Abdu’l-Bahá of his acceptance, but with only rudimentary English, he struggled to compose his letter. Finally, at the suggestion of his Bahá’í teacher, Elizabeth Muther, he wrote his letter in Japanese. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s reply answered all his questions. Moto wrote several letters to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, all in Japanese, and received replies to each.

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In 1904, one of Moto’s letters reached the Master via Helen Goodall, and He showed it to Yúnis Khán-i-Afrúkhtih, one of His secretaries, who later recalled:

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The Master mused, “Well now, you do not know Japanese.”

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“No, Beloved,” I volunteered. “I hardly know English.”

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“So, what are we to do with this letter?” He remarked, smiling.

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I bowed, and in my heart proposed, “The same thing you do with other letters.”

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“Very well, then,” He said, “We will rely on the Blessed Beauty and will write him a reply.”

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Next day two Tablets were revealed in reply.

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*Sources: Yúnis Afrúkhtih, Memories of Nine Years in ‘Akká, pp. 268–269; Earl Redman, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Their Midst, p. 216*

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