Fr. Akijiro T. Ooki, S.J.
The Compassionate Pastor of Pokhara
Fr. Akijiro Ooki, S.J.
All of a sudden, there was a big sound! … An earthquake? The impact of it was very great. The captain fell down to the ground. The tremour went right through the bones of the young man of 19 years of age. All his colleagues on the field were on the verge of great panic when a heat wave surrounded them. But nobody moved from the assembly, and nobody uttered a word. The young man in the suicide ring of the Human Torpedo Operation of the Japanese Imperial Navy stood still as he saw the mushroom cloud rising about 20 k.m. away in the sky. It was moments later, he and his colleagues realized that the first atom bomb exploded right in front of them.
It was August 6th, Monday, at 8:15 A.M., 1945, in Hiroshima, a key turning point In the history of humanity. It was also a turning point in the life of that young trainee as Naval Officer. Akijiro saw “the value of life” diminishing in the far horizon. He wanted to run after it, grab it, and bring it back to the world where It belonged, before it would disappear from sight. So he ran after it. He never noticed how far he ran, but he never gave up. Finally, he got hold of it, clasped it close to his heart, and gently looked at what he had got. A tiny, slightly disfigured dumb boy in his embrace smiled back at him! But, by then, the would-be Naval Officer, far from his homeland, found himself standing in a small village near Pokhara, in West Nepal.
Fr. Akijiro Ooki was born on January 3, 1926, in Tokyo, the capital of Japan, as the seventh child among ten chldren in the family. He had only one elder brother and no younger brothers.
His father, Yoshiaki Ooki, had studied in a Marianist school in Tokyo, where he became a Catholic. His father learned Italian at a government university, and later on became a trader between Japan and Italy. He died at the age of 95 a few years back. Pope Pius XI had granted him the title of the “Knight of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem” because of his service for the Holy See and the Church in Japan.
His mother, Tsuruko Ooki offered her life mainly for the sake of their children at home and was involved in regular household work. She was not a Catholic when she was married; but a year after her marriage, she was baptized. Ever since, she has lived as a marvelous example to everybody of her faith. She died On July 31st on the feast day of St. Ignatius, in 1943.
In the family, among the children, only his brother, Mr. Yoshitarou Joseph, got married. He has six daughters and two sons, all of them are married now and all are leading very good Catholic lives. His eldest sister, Sr. Monica, Ancilla de Sacrado Corazon de Jesus, and his second eldest sister, Sr. Margarita, A.C.I. belong to the same congregation. The third one, Sr. Teresa, F.M.I., is a Marianist. Sr. Maria, F.M.M., his 4th sister, became a member of the Congregation of the Franciscan Missionaries. She worked as Professor of Japanese Language in Fu Jen, a Jesuit University in Taipei, Taiwan for twenty years; and now she is helping at a parish church in Utsunomiya City, Japan. His fifth elder sister, Ms. Anna, has died. Tsurusaburou Vianney, his younger brother, died as a baby, Sr. Agnes, A.A.S.C. (Adoratrices of the Holy Sacrament) died a few years back. And Sr. Josefina, A.A.S.C., the tenth one, is now in Bolivia as a missionary.
After his primary and high school education in Hommoku Chugakko, Yokohama, Fr, Ooki went to Sophia University, a Jesuit University in Tokyo. As a Catholic student there, he was once invited to attend a retreat held in the Jesuit novitiate in Hiroshima. There he had the chance to meet Fr. Arrupe, the then novice master, who later became the 28th general of the Society of Jesus. During and after World War II. he stayed in St. Aloysius Hostel for Catholic students attached to the same university. The hostel director, Fr. Geppert, took good care of the students, for both their physical and spiritual life. So among about 30 students, 20 of them eventually became priests or brothers for the Church.
Though from the time of his First Communion in his boyhood, he had the dream of becoming a priest, in those days as a student of the university he had no idea of becoming a Jesuit. However, one of his friends in the hostel once invited him to go to the novitiate with him saying, “Let’s become novices.”
A week after that, they both got into a train for Hiroshima. His friend was going to be a novice, but Akijiro’s destination was to become an officer in the Japanese Imperial Navy. The naval base he was going to enter was located near Hiroshima. During his training in the Navy, he applied to become a suicide member of the Human Tornado Operation. But in the meantime the atomic bomb was dropped on the people of Hiroshima City. Of that tragedy he was a witness and the war ended.
After having change of mind, in 1946, Fr. Ooki entered the Jesuit novitiate in Hiroshima. And of course, Fr. Arrupe was his novice master. In the novitiate, Fr. Ooki was in charge of kitchen activities. One of the things he is still proud of from his novitiate experience is that he taught driving to Fr. Arrupe – a great thing to do to a great person.
He did his juniorate in Hiroshima from 1948-50, and then went for his philosophy in Tokyo. He began his theology in 1954, and Cardinal Petrus Doi ordained him a priest in 1956. He returned to Hiroshima in 1958 for his tertianship.
After tertianship, he worked in Eiko Jesuit High School for about six years as a teacher. In 1967, he was appointed to work in Hiroshima Jesuit High School. He worked there for about ten years
He tells about his experience while teaching in the schools in Japan, “Our Jesuit high schools in Japan have always achieved the highest esteem in the country because of the good results of the students’ entrance examination to the best universities. So as an ethics teacher in those schools, I repeatedly insisted that our schools should nor only be prep schools, sending boys to good universities, but also, as Catholic schools, should inculcate the spirit of the Gospel into the students. Our alumni should have the idea of charity and service towards people and society. They should not only look out for the prosperity of themselves or their families, bur they should also try to realize the idea of service for people In need. We had good examples for such ideas; for instance, Dr, Miyazaki who offered his life for a project against leprosy based in Agra, India, and Dr. Iwamura who worked in Tansen and Okhaldunga, Nepal, for twenty years. I also insisted that our alumni should open their eyes to other countries in need of our assistance or help. Sometimes I used to tell them, “If you are going to be doctors, always be ready to respond to requests from countries like Nepal, and be open to follow the example of such doctors.”
Fr. Ooki at New Year
In 1975, all of a sudden, a request came from the Nepal Jesuits to the Japanese Province asking for members of the Province to share in the work in Nepal. As he used to speak about Nepal quite openly in his classes, for him to be an honest teacher in front of his boys, he could not ignore the chance, and he applied to the Nepal Jesuits, expressing his willingness to work in Nepal. Since he still had duties for two more years, he prepared for his journey only in the spring of 1977.
On his arrival in Nepal, he first joined the St. Xavier’s community at Jawalakhel. There while helping the hostel boys and doing teaching, he ventured into learning Nepali. Being a very simple personality, he had a mild way of approaching the students. For Instance, during the cold months of December and January; the boys used to refrain from taking baths. But Fr. Ooki solved the problem very tactfully by offering free Japanese towels and soap for those who took regular baths, and the boys used to rush for baths regardless of the cold weather.
Fr. Ooki’s heart has always been moved toward the poor and the needy. So in 1979, when Fr, Adam Gudalefski, a Maryknoll priest, was leaving Nepal, Fr. Ooki immediately offered to take up the project for handicapped children run by Fr, Adam in Pokhara. Thus in February, 1979, he became the director of “Shishu Bikas Kendra.’ Initially there were only five children. Now the number his gone up to nearly 20. His work is mainly for die poor, deaf and dumb, and mentally retarded children from the neighbouring villages around Pokhara. Though he Is still a member of the Jawalakhel community, he stays permanently in “Shishu Bikas Kendra.”
Before Fr. Ooki, there were no Jesuits staying permanently outside the Kathmandu Valley. So he is considered to be the first full-time Jesuit missionary outside the Kathmandu Valley.
Besides his Centre in Pokhara, he also helps Jyoti Kendra in Simal Chaur. This is a day care centre for under five year old children. He also helped the handicapped centre in Baglung before it was taken over by the government. In 1993, Msgr. Sharma requested him to take care of Amar Jyoti Kendra in Bhairawa. So he often visits and directs the Holy Cross Sisters who do the work there.
Another project that has been directed by Fr. Ooki is the Japanese aided “Kukura Kendra.” This was started for the purpose of providing eggs to the poor boys and girls of the public schools in Pokhara as an effort to give better nourishment to the children. Daily, hundreds of eggs are being produced and given out from there.
Fr. Ooki is also the first parish priest In Pokhara, sure enough a compassionate pastor. When he landed there, no Catholics were around the area. Now there are about a hundred Catholics and a good number of catechumens. One of the astonishing features of this parish is that it seems to be mobile at times. On New Year’s Day, he takes the whole parish up to Sarankot, where he celebrates the New Year Mass, within the panoramic view of Annapurna and Machpuchhare.
After having worked for twenty years there, he is much loved and widely appreciated by all the people. Though in his younger days he was interested in activities like playing the flute, drawing, photography and photo printing, and trekking, he hardly finds time for these now.
When he was asked to leave a message for the youngsters in the Region, he said, “We should get into the shoes of the people of Nepal, through inculturation and a thorough mastery of the Nepali language. It seems to be lacking In our Region to some extent. The youngsters should take the challenge of learning Nepali well. We. should always keep the poor people as our priority and target, and give ourselves to them whole heartedly.”
(Text and Pictures from the Nepal Region’s 50th Anniversary Book, 2001)