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Only the Eyes Were Lost: The Life of Ai Araki A
iko Araki’s birth in 1890 nearly coincided with the birth of Adventism in Japan. The year before, evangelist Abram La Rue shared the Advent message on mainland Japan by handing out publications; he is commonly held to be the first Adventist to do so. A year later— around the time Aiko entered the world—Stephen Haskell reported that in Japan one man had been baptized, “some of them [keep] the Sabbath,” and still more expressed interest. These earliest believers were almost certainly the fruits of Abram’s diligent effort. Aiko, or Ai, as she would be known throughout her life, would live through the fall of the Ottoman Empire, World Wars I and II, several crippling economic depressions, the rise of the United States and Russia as superpowers, and the ensuing Cold War. When she was born, the primary mode of transportation was horse and carriage, but she would live to witness a man on the moon.
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Ai would experience trying times in her personal life as well. As a teenager, she went blind in the space of a few weeks. The doctors had no diagnosis. As an adherent of Tenrikyo, a sect of Shinto, Ai was assured that hinokishin (acts of gratitude) could restore her sight. But after she gave away all her money and
possessions, she still could not see. Next, Ai tried tanno (joyous acceptance) to cope with her loss. But she could find no peace. The young girl seriously contemplated ending her life. Somehow, she carried on and life began looking up for her—for a time. A traditional occupation for the visually impaired in Japan
