Leonard Wren Coote (1891–1969) was born on April 22 in Enfield in North London, England to Ernest and Emma Elizabeth Coote. He was raised in the Methodist tradition. He studied at a private commercial school and worked for a few years as a stenographer. In October 1913, at the age of 22, Coote came to Kobe, Japan as a businessman working for Lever Brothers, a British soap manufacturer. Despite being a nominal Christian, he lived in a missionary home under the auspices of the Japan Evangelistic Band managed by J.B. Thornton. 

Under the influence of Thornton and other Christians in Kob…