We honour Bishop Michael Hinsuke Yashiro, co-founder of St. Michael’s International School, whose leadership in Kansai and beyond has shaped our school’s identity. He served as Bishop of Kobe and in 1947 was elected Presiding Bishop of Nippon Sei Ko Kai (the Anglican Church in Japan.) At the 1948 Lambeth Conference he carried a finely embroidered silk cope and mitre and presented them to the Archbishop of Canterbury as a gesture of reconciliation and fellowship in the aftermath of World War II. The cope was later worn by the Archbishop at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

Bishop Yashiro’s dedication to education began in 1946, when he and Miss Leonora Lea founded St. Michael’s International School in Kobe, offering schooling for children and English language instruction for adults. In 1963 he established Yashiro Gakuin Boys’ Senior High School in Tarumi, Kobe, and in 1968 founded Yashiro Gakuin University, thereby creating an educational pathway from secondary through higher education. He became the first President of Shoin College and in 1968 was also elected to the Board of Commissioners on Education of Kobe City.

His legacy of faith, reconciliation and educational excellence is foundational to our school. Bishop Yashiro’s life calls us to live by his example: growing with integrity, working in fellowship, and learning together as a community