Takio Tanase, a leading minister and teacher of the Nihon Menonaito Kirisuto Kyokai Kyogikai, Hokkaido (Japan Mennonite Christian Church Conference, Hokkaido), was born 14 March 1929 in Tokyo. Later he moved to Hokkaido where he met Ralph and Genevieve Buckwalter. He was baptized in Kushiro in 1952, while helping them with mission work.

After study at Hesston College and Goshen College (1954-1957), he became pastor of the Tsurugadai congregation in Kushiro. The following year he married Aiko Harada.They became parents of two children. Except for one year at the Hombetsu congregation in 1959, he continued to serve the Tsurugadai congregation, largely in a self-supporting capacity. He again went to Goshen in 1969, receiving a BA degree from Goshen College and an MRE degree from Goshen Biblical Seminary in 1972.

In 1965 he helped to organize the Eastern Hokkaido Bible School, where he served for many years as director and head teacher. Later the school moved to Obihiro, and there, besides teaching, he served on the pastoral team of the Obihiro congregation. In the spring of 1987, he moved back to Tokyo and began serving part-time as pastor of the Honancho Christian Church. He is also involved in writing and translation work with the Japan Mennonite Literature Association.    

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p. 871. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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