József Rokonai—whose original name was József Pesztalics, and who, as a Japanese citizen, was known as József Kanazawa — a Roman Catholic priest, pastor of the Diocese of Vác, a missionary who served in Japan for nearly a quarter-century, and later pastor of Japanese Catholic communities in Brazil.
He was born in Pancsova, in the Southern Region, in 1913 or 1914. His father was József Pesztalics, the land registry clerk at the Pancsova court, and his mother was Mária Grób. Among his siblings, his older brother, Lajos Pesztalics—whose religious name was Simon Rokonai, O.Cist.—became a Cistercian monk, while his sister, Erzsébet, worked as a pharmacist. Following the Treaty of Trianon, the family moved to Budapest, where the siblings continued their studies. In the late 1920s, the family Hungarianized their surname to Rokonai.
He completed his high school studies at the Mintagimnázium on Trefort Street in Budapest. He was an active member of the Congregation of Mary and the Scout Movement, and felt a calling to missionary work from a young age. He initially applied to join the Order of Mercy, but ultimately became a seminarian in the Diocese of Vác. He was ordained a priest in 1937.
His first assignment was in Budapest-Pestszenterzsébet, where he served as an assistant pastor from 1937 to 1947 and later as an assistant to the parish priest. He became involved in the work of the National Association of Catholic Artisans and Young Workers (KIOE), and even at that time he had a keen interest in missionary work.
In 1947, he left for Japan as a missionary, where he served as a priest in the Diocese of Yokohama for nearly twenty years. During his missionary work, he organized parishes, carried out pastoral work among Japanese believers, and became a Japanese citizen, at which time he adopted the surname Kanazawa. As an active participant in the life of the Japanese Church, he paid particular attention to the formation of the laity and the organization of church communities.
In 1969, his bishop sent him to Brazil, where he was entrusted with the pastoral care of the large Japanese Catholic diaspora. Over the next four years, he carried out missionary work among the Japanese communities in Brazil.
In addition to his missionary work, he repeatedly spoke out publicly in favor of the ordination of women, which sparked significant controversy. When he visited Hungary in 1973, the communist authorities granted him permission to stay only for a short time, so he was forced to leave the country once again. Later, he received a two-year permit, followed by a permanent return permit.
He spent the final years of his life in Székesfehérvár, at the priests’ home. Even in his retirement years, he remained connected to Japan: he taught Japanese, gave lectures on Japanese culture, and actively participated in fostering Hungarian–Japanese cultural relations. He also supported the work of the Hungarian–Japanese Friendship Circle in Székesfehérvár and worked on establishing a kindergarten.
He possessed a remarkable command of languages; he compiled a Japanese-language dictionary in five languages, and published a book titled *One More Word About Japan*, in which he introduced Japanese culture and his missionary experiences to Hungarian readers.
He passed away in Székesfehérvár in June 1991. His death was commemorated in both *Új Ember* and the *Fejér Megyei Hírlap*.

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