Christianity in Japanese History: Readings I
(updated 7 November 2014)

Class 2 ; Class 3 ; Class 4 ; Class 5; Class 6

For Classes 7 onwards, click here.

If you have a Keio ID, you can download pdf files containing the readings from the education support system (keio.jp). For details of how to access the system, see here.

The materials for the first few weeks are open access; materials after that are only available to people registered for the class

Note: The reading passages are all in English. Where possible I have given information about versions available in Japanese. However,remember that the classes are conducted in English only. Even if you do the readings in Japanese, you must be able to discuss them in English, with people who have read the English version rather than the Japanese one. You could read the passages first in Japanese, and then in English.

Class 2. (See the two readings at "02" on the education support system.)

Reading 1: Swyngedouw, Jan, 'Religion in Contemporary Japanese Society', The Japan Foundation Newsletter xiii, no. 4 (Jan. 1986)

This is an analysis of the role of religion in Japanese society based on two surveys, one conducted in 1981, and one conducted in 1984. You only need to read up to p. 5, which is the part based on a famous NHK survey carried out in 1981. This extract should help you to see how the various religious practices that are present in Japan function at a grass-roots level.

If you have experience of life in a country other than Japan, what similarities and differences can you see? If your main experience of life has been in Japan, what is similar to the situation in Japan today? What is different?

For information about the NHK survey in Japanese, see NHK世論調査部編　『日本人の宗教意識』東京：日本放送出版教会、１９８４

Reading 2:
Kadowaki, J.K., Zen and the Bible: A Priest's Experience, chapter 11 ( London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1980).

The author of this book is a Jesuit priest who came under the influence of Zen at secondary school but then became a Catholic. The Jesuits who worked as missionaries in Japan from the mid-sixteenth century until the suppression of Christianity in the Edo period had a negative attitude to Buddhism. However, from the mid-nineteenth century there has been a gradual change in Christian understanding of other religions. In chapter 11 of the book, Kadowaki suggests that Zen teachers and Jesus used words in similar ways in order to shock people into understanding the truth of their message.

What is the relationship between different religions? If one religion is "true", does that mean that all others are false? Might all religions be different attempts to express one "truth"? What implications do these different views of the relations between religions have for missionary activity?

The book was originally written in Japanese:
門脇佳吉　『公案と聖書の身読：一キリスト者の参禅体験』　東京：春秋社、１９８３

Class 3 (See the three readings at "03" on the education support system.)
The extracts come from a detailed study of the life of Francis Xavier which contains extensive quotations from his letters. (Note that the author of the study is himself a Jesuit.)
For a Japanese version, see 聖フランシスコ・ザビエル全生涯 / 河野純徳訳 (or 聖フランシスコ・ザビエル全書簡 / 河野純徳訳).

The extracts can be divided into 2 main sections:

Section 1 Schurhammer, Georg, Francis Xavier: His life, his times, 2, India, 1541-1545 , trans. M. Joseph Costelloe, (Rome: The Jesuit Historical Institute, 1977, pp. 306-311, and 334-339).
This section deals with Xavier's missionary work among the Paravas, pearl fishers on the southern tip of India. They had agreed to convert to Christianity in the mid 1530s in return for protection by the Portuguese fleet. They were baptised, but no priests had remained with them. Xavier's evangelisation efforts appear to have been effective, because they are still a strong Christian community. (If you click here, you will find the home page of the diocese of Tuticorin, which traces its origins to Xavier.)

Look for the main features of Xavier's missionary strategy, so that we can compare it with his strategy in Japan.

Section 2 Schurhammer, Georg, Francis Xavier: His life, his times, 4, Japan and China, 1549-1552, trans. M. Joseph Costelloe, (Rome: The Jesuit Historical Institute, 1977).
a) pp. 73-77.
This part deals with Xavier's first encounter with Japanese Buddhism, soon after his arrival in Japan.

What seems to be going on? Is it what you would expect, since Xavier's purpose is to convert the Japanese to Christianity?

Note that Paul, referred to as Xavier's interpreter (p.74), is the first Japanese convert to Christianity. Xavier had met him at Goa, and he was Xavier's main source of knowledge about Japan. Later (p.79) Paul is referrred to as Anjiro.

b) pp. 79-85, 97-99.
This part contains letters from Anjiro to Jesuits in Goa, from Xavier to Jesuits in Goa, and from Xavier to the 'captain' of Malacca. (This is the Captain General, or Governor.)

What does Anjiro's letter tell us about Anjiro?

The extracts from Xavier's first letter contain first a description of the journey to Japan, which gives us insight into his religious beliefs. What features of his beliefs interest you? Then, he gives his first impression of the Japanese. What has he noticed, and what conclusions has he drawn?

What does Xavier write to the Captain General?

c) pp. 219-229
This part deals with Xavier's experiences on his return to Yamaguchi after a trip to Kyoto (Miaco 都). At this time, Ouchi Yoshitaka was a powerful ruler. On his first visit to Yamaguchi, Xavier had been dressed very simply, and brought no gifts. On his return, he behaved very differently, and was given permission to evangelise.

We are given a very pro-Xavier account of his meetings with priests of the Shingon sect. What had happened?

d) pp. 234-236
This part deals with what Xavier taught Japanese converts at Yamaguchi, and an issue that troubled the converts. What was it?

e) pp. 280-290
This contains a report concerning questions asked about Christianity by people at Yamaguchi after Xavier had left, along with the answers given by Xavier's colleagues. What sort of questions were being asked? Were the answers adequate?

Class 4 (See the two readings at "04" on the education support system.)

Reading one: Extract from the section on Christianity in Japan (titled "The Evangelic Furnace") in Wm. Theodore de Bary, Carol Gluck, and Arthur Tiedemann, comp., Sources of Japanese tradition, 2nd ed., Vol. 2, 1600 to 2000 (New York: Columbia University Press, 2005)
The section is edited by Jurgis S.A. Elisonas, who has also done the translations.

The extract is part of the first Jesuit attempt to describe and evaluate Japanese religion, thought to be by one of the two companions of Xavier who remained in Japan: Father Cosme de Torres and Brother Juan Fernandez. It was completed by 1556. The extract describes and evaluates Shinto (and Shugendo) from a missionary point of view. The summary/evaluation in the bottom two paragraphs of p. 152 (by Elisonas) is an excellent introduction. The original document is from a collection by Ruiz de Medina, as mentioned on p.155.

How is this sort of attitude to Japanese religion likely to influence the way in which the Jesuits acted in Japan?

Reading two:
Extracts from Schutte, Josef Franz, Valignano's mission principles for Japan, 1, From his appointment as visitor until his first departure from Japan (1573-1582), part 2: The Solution (1580-1582), trans. John J. Coyne (St Louis: Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1985)
This is a detailed study of Alessandro Valignano. The missionary strategy he developed for Japan. (Note that the study never went beyond the two-part first volume from which these extracts are taken.) Once again, the author is himself a Jesuit.

Japanese translations of Valignano's writings are available in the library, for example:
ヴァリニャーノ著、『東インド巡察記』、高橋裕史訳

In this week's class, I will mention Brother Lourenço, one of the Xavier's converts. He was a partially sighted biwa hoshi. (They were travelling performers who recited literary tales, accompanying themselves on the lute-like biwa. They mainly performed The Tale of the Heike, the tragic epic of the defeat of the Taira by the Minamoto. The narrative emphasizes the Buddhist themes of impermanence and the law of cause and effect, and the biwa hoshi themselves had close connections to Buddhism. Like Lourenço, they were often blind or partially sighted. Lourenço became a skilled evangelist, and presumably used the techniques he had learned as a biwa hoshi in his preaching.
If you wish to listen to a biwa hoshi performing the first lines of The Tale of the Heike, click here. In the translation by Helen McCullough, he is chanting: "The sound of the Gion Shoja bells echoes the impermanence of all things; the color of the sala flowers reveals the truth that the prosperous must decline. The proud do not endure, they are like a dream on a spring night; the mighty fall at last, they are as dust before the wind." (via Wikipedia)

Class 5 (See the 3 readings at "05" on the education support system.)
Reading 1
Section on "Discussion and Debate" from Cooper, Michael (ed.), They came to Japan: An anthology of European reports on Japan, 1543-1640, chapter 21 (London: Thames and Hudson, 1965).
These are translations of missionary reports of discussions and debates, mainly with Buddhist monks. They are not objective accounts, but give us some idea of the religious dialogue that was going on.
Note:
1. The writer of the first account is a Dominican, Jacinto Orfanel. O.P stands for Order of Preachers, the official name of the Dominicans. The "Bl." stands for "Blessed". This is a rank given to dead people who are considered particularly holy. Orfanel has this rank since he died as a martyr in 1622.
2. S.J. means "Society of Jesus", in other words, Jesuit.
3. The "Discussion with Zen monks", "The Nature of the Soul", and "Questions" are all extracts from the letter about Yamaguchi which was included in the readings for Class 3.
4. O.F.M. means Order of Friars Minor, in other words, Franciscan.
What do these missionary reports reveal about the relationship between missionaries and Japanese? How well do they understand each other?

Reading 2
Extracts from Elison, George, Deus destroyed: The image of Christianity in early modern Japan (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1973).
The first extract gives two anti-Christian declarations by Tokutomi Hideyoshi. One is the edict that was presented to the missionaries in July 1587. The second is a memorandum that they probably never saw. This gives us more insight into the aspects of Christianity that were thought to be controversial.
(I assume that the Japanese originals can easily be found in textbooks of Japanese history etc.)
Note that "Bateren" is the Japanese rendering of "padre" (priests). Tenka (天下) is equivalent to "realm" and "bonze" means Buddhist priest.
What is Hideyoshi actually banning (and what is he not banning)? What reasons does he give?
The second extract is Hai Yaso 「排耶蘇」, an account by Hayashi Razan 林羅山 of a 1606 debate with the Japanese Jesuit, Fabian Fukan (不干). This is interesting for two reasons. First, we can compare Hayashi's anti-Christian version of a debate with the pro-Christian Jesuit versions of Reading 1. Second, Hayashi Razan was a leading Neo-Confucian (朱子学) scholar who was adviser and tutor to the early Tokugawa shoguns. Unfortunately, however, it is possible that the debate never took place, and that this account is merely a later piece of anti-Christian propaganda.
The Japanese original can be found in: 海老沢有道[ほか]校注、『キリシタン書・排耶書 』、日本思想大系　25、岩波書店、１９７０．
Note: Doshun 道春 is Razan, Nobuzumi 信澄 his younger brother. I-hsing (Yi Xing 一行) and Shen Kua (Shen Kuo 沈括) are famous Chinese astronomers. The Wang chih (『王制』) is a Confucian text. Myotei mondo (『妙貞問答』) is a dialogue that Fucan had written in order to explain Christianity. Li is 理 , t'i is 體 and yung is 用.
Compare this dialogue with the Jesuit versions of dialogues.

Reading 3
Extract from the section on Christianity in Japan (titled "The Evangelic Furnace") in Wm. Theodore de Bary, Carol Gluck, and Arthur Tiedemann, comp., Sources of Japanese tradition, 2nd ed., Vol. 2, 1600 to 2000 (New York: Columbia University Press, 2005)
The section is edited by Jurgis S.A. Elisonas, who has also done the translations.

This contains an extract from Fabian Fucan's Myotei mondo (『妙貞問答』), referred to above. The pdf. begins with an introduction to Fucan and the dialogue by Elisonas. He does not add that Fucan seems to have been a religious advisor to the unofficial religious community of nuns (headed by Naito Juria, mentioned in Lecture no. 3) referred to on p.176. Since the dialogue involves a Christian nun explaining Christianity to another woman, it may well have been written as a guide to members of the community.

(Elisonas suggests that one reason for Fabian's departure from the Jesuits may have been his feelings for one of the nuns. However, there is no evidence for this beyond accusations made by the missionaries, who were obviously annoyed by his defection.)

On p. 175, Elisonas criticises Fabian's approach in Myotei mondo. Of course, this is only an extract, but what do you think?

Reading 4
Appendices I and II from Higashibaba, Ikuo, Christianity in Early Modern Japan: Kirishitan Beliefs and Practices, (Leiden: Brill, 2001).
Appendix 1 is the section explaining the seven sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church from the Japanese catechism (『どちりいなきりしたん』, 1591). The Japanese version is not a simple translation but has been adapted to Japanese circumstances.
The Japanese original can be found in: 海老沢有道[ほか]校注、『キリシタン書・排耶書 』、日本思想大系　25、岩波書店、１９７０．
Note the following:
1. "D." stands for "disciple" and "M." for "master". In European catechisms the priest asks questions in order to test the knowledge of the candidates for baptism or holy communion. In the Japanese version, however, the disciple asks the questions.
2. The Spanish and Latin words are words that are used in the original Japanese version (instead of Buddhist or other non-Christian equivalents).
3. Note the amount of space given to the explanations of transubstantiation (the real presence of the body and blood of Christ in the bread and wine of holy communion) and marriage. The disciple is even allowed to object to the ban on divorce.
How are the sacraments explained? What can the catechism tell us about the way in which missionaries were teaching Christianity, and the way in which Japanese were responding?
Appendix 2 is a statement of the basic tenets of Christianity , reduced to 11 articles (「もろもろのきりしたんしるべき条々のこと」). It is part of a book of prayers (『おらしょの翻訳』, 1606).
The Japanese original is available as 林重雄編、 『ばうちずもの授けやう・おらしよの飜訳 : 本文及び総索引』 、 笠間索引叢刊　77、 笠間書院 , 1981.
How are the basic teachings of Christianity explained? What can the catechism tell us about the way in which missionaries were teaching Christianity, and the way in which Japanese were responding?

Class 6 (See the reading at "06" on the education support system.)
There are lot of readings this week, but most of them are short!
Reading 1
Extract from the section on Christianity in Japan (titled "The Evangelic Furnace") in Wm. Theodore de Bary, Carol Gluck, and Arthur Tiedemann, comp., Sources of Japanese tradition, 2nd ed., Vol. 2, 1600 to 2000 (New York: Columbia University Press, 2005)
The section is edited by Jurgis S.A. Elisonas, who has also done the translations.

"Statement on the expulsion of the Bateren". This is excellently introduced by Elisonas.
Compare this to the reasons given by Hideyoshi in his anti-Christian statements.

"Deus destroyed" This is an extract from 『破提宇子』 (Ha Daiusu [Deus destroyed]) published by Fabian in 1620, after his defection.
Compare this to the arguments that Fabian used in support of Christianity

(The last document in this reading is a Buddhist criticism of Christianity that was published around 1664. Please read this if you want to. It would be interesting to compare this to a) Hayashi Razan's Confucian criticisms in Hai Yaso and b) the populist criticisms of Kirishitan monogatari.)

Reading 2
This is a list advising faithful Japanese Christians how to act in various situations that were likely to occur during the period of persecution from 1614. The list was first published with a collection of related writings in 1924. The source is not clear, but it is accepted as genuine. The translator suggests that it was produced before the "great persecution" of 1622, since after that the situation was so severe that apostasy was the only alternative to imprisonment and probable death. The translation is by Anesaki Masaharu, taken from "Writings on martyrdom in Kirishitan literature", Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan 44 (1931), pp. 20-65, in a reprint by Edition Synapse. Note the careful differentiation between acceptable and unacceptable ways of avoiding exposure as a Christian, and the instructions about how to behave in order to achieve true martyrdom.

What does the document suggest about the mindset of Japanese Christians who were tortured and/or died without apostasing? (It should also be considered in reference to the behaviour of underground Christians. [Week 7])

Reading 3
Extracts from Elison, George, Deus destroyed: The image of Christianity in early modern Japan (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1973).

The first extract is a translation of the seventh document in Kirishito-ki 契利斯督記, a collection of documents related to Christianity and the activities of the shumon aratame yaku 宗門改役, the official appointed to enforce the anti-Christian policy of the Tokugawa period. The collection seems to have been compiled to aid the first holder of this office to train the second.
The Japanese original is available in国書刊行会編、『續々群書類従』 第１２、東京 : 続群書類従完成会.

The extract gives information about how to detect hidden Christians and get them to give up their faith (apostatize).

Note:
1. In part 5., jejum refers to the practice of fasting, for example during Lent.
2. In part 6, Kobinata means the place in Edo where a group of missionaries who arrived in Japan in 1643 were kept after they had all apostatized.
3. In part 7, the bugyo 奉行 is a high-ranking official.

The second extract is a translation of Kirishitan monogatari 切支丹物語, an anti-Christian tract written for popular consumption, dated 1639. Again, the Japanese original is available in 国書刊行会編、『續々群書類従』 第１２、東京 : 続群書類従完成会.

Note the following:
1. The first "Southern Barbarian" to arrive in Japan came earlier than the Koji period, which ran from 1555 to 1558.
2. Urugan is a distorted version of the first name of one of the Jesuit missionaries, Organtino Gnecchi-Soldo.
3. The "Eight Sorrows" and "Eight Impediments" are Buddhist concepts, the first being negative aspects of human existence such as illness and death, the second being obstacles to the attainment of Buddhahood, such as hell, where it is impossible to practise religious behaviour.
4. The middle paragraph on p. 329 contains distorted descriptions of popular traditional Roman Catholic religious practices. The text is wrong to mention quaresma (Lent), but striking one's breast while reciting certain words was/is an act of contrition for Roman Catholics. The hand movements are presumably an attempt to explain the Sign of the Cross. Japanese Christians seem to have been zealous practitioners of self-flagellation, another act of contrition. This is the reason for the reference to flogging. "Zensumaru" means "Jesus, Maria". The two paragraphs after this contain a similarly distorted description of a church and the religious services that were held there.
5. The one-eyed tortoise and the floating tree feature in a Buddhist parable about how difficult it is to achieve enlightenment.
6. The section that starts on p.332 refers to the arrival of Franciscans ("Furaten") in 1593 and the events that culminated in the marytrdoms at Nagasaki in 1597.
7. "The Eight Schools and Nine Sects" means Buddhism in Japan.
8. "Kato Lord Higo" is Kato Kiyomasa. After Sekigahara, he was able to add the adjoining territory of the Christian daimyo Konishi Yukinaga to his territory, and proceeded to wipe out Christianity there. (The chronology of this section is strange since the Genna period ran from 1615 to 1624, but Tokugawa moves against Christianity had begun before then.)
9. The straw sacks episode is based on an incident that actually took place in Kyoto in 1614. As they lay helpless in the sacks the Christians, women as well as men, were tortured with sharp implements such as hooks. "Fall away" is Elison's translation of 「転ぶ」, "apostatise".

For Week 7 onwards, click here.