When the [first Protestant] missionaries in Kanagawa succeeded in securing a teacher to help them in the study of the language, they found that he was a government spy. To avoid complications with foreign 'governments, the authorities appointed guards to protect the "foreigners," and warned them not to go about the streets without escorts, lest harm befall them from armed samurai they might meet. There were two things the missionaries in the early years had to do in order to secure any progress in their work, namely, to win the confidence of the people, and to gain a knowledge of the language. Neither task was easy, but with patience, perseverance and uniform kindness, they won out.
source: Fruits of Christian Mission in Japan
