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But not until 1549 was
any attempt made to proselytize Japan. On August 15th of that year,
Francis Xavier, a Jesuit priest, landed at Kagoshima. Before his
coming, the Portuguese traders had penetrated as far as Kyoto, which
they reported to be a city of some ninety-six thousand houses, and
their experience of the people had been very favourable, especially
with regard to receptivity of instruction. Xavier was weary of
attempting to convert the Indians, whom he had found "barbarous,
vicious, and without inclination to virtue," and his mind had been
turned towards Japan by a message from a Japanese daimyo (whose
identity and reasons for inviting him have never been explained), and
by a personal appeal from a Japanese, whose name appears in
Portuguese annals as "Anjiro," and who, having committed a serious
crime in Japan, had taken refuge in a Portuguese vessel, whose master
advised him to repair to Malacca and confess his sins to Xavier.
This man, Anjiro, already possessed some knowledge of the Portuguese
language, and he soon became sufficiently proficient in it to act as
interpreter, thus constituting a valuable aid to the Portuguese
propagandists. Xavier, with two fellow countrymen and Anjiro,
repaired to Kagoshima, where the Satsuma baron gave them unqualified
permission to preach their doctrine. Not that he had any sympathy
with Christianity, about which he knew nothing, but solely because he
wished to secure a share in the oversea commerce which had brought so
much wealth to his fellow barons on the main island. He thought, in
short, that the Jesuits would be followed by merchant ships, and when
Portuguese trading vessels did actually appear in the Satsuma waters,
but, instead of making any stay there, passed on to the comparatively
petty principality of Hirado, Xavier and his comrades were quickly
ordered to leave Kagoshima. It seems, also, that Xavier's zeal had
outrun his discretion. The Buddhist priests in Kagoshima were ready
at first to listen respectfully to his doctrines, but were quickly
alienated by his aggressive intolerance. They urged upon the Satsuma
baron the dangers that attended such propagandism, and he, already
smarting from commercial disappointment, issued an edict, in 1550,
declaring it a capital offence to embrace Christianity. The edict was
not retrospective. About one hundred and fifty converts whom Xavier,
aided by Anjiro, had won during his two years' sojourn, were not
molested, but Xavier himself passed on to the island of Hirado, where
he was received by salvos of artillery from Portuguese vessels lying
in harbour. Matsuura, the Hirado baron, had already been captivated
by the commerce of the newcomers, and seeing the marked reverence
extended by them to Xavier, the baron issued orders that respectful
attention should be paid to the teaching of the foreign propagandist.
Doubtless owing in large part to these orders, one hundred converts
were made during the first ten days of Xavier's residence in Hirado.
It was, in fact, evident that the attitude of the official classes
towards the new-comers was mainly influenced by the prospect of
trade, and that the attitude of the non-official classes towards the
foreign religion depended largely on the mood of their superiors.
Xavier argued that "if the favour of such a small prince was so
potent for the conversion of his subjects, it would be quite another
thing if he (Xavier) could have the protection of the Emperor." He
therefore, resolved to visit Kyoto. His journey took him in the first
place to Yamaguchi, capital of the Choshu fief. This town lay on the
northern shore of Shimonoseki Strait, and had long been the principal
emporium of trade with China and Korea. But the ruler of the fief,
though courteous to the new-comers, evinced no disposition to show
any special cordiality towards humble missionaries unconnected with
commerce. Therefore, finding that their preaching produced little
effect, Xavier and his companion, Fernandez, continued their journey
to Kyoto, which they reached after travelling for nearly two months
on foot in the depth of winter. It happened, however, that the
capital was then suffering sharply from the effects of internecine
strife, and the two missionaries failed to obtain access to either
the sovereign or the shogun.
Nothing remained, therefore, but recourse to street preaching, and
for this they were ill equipped, for Xavier, constitutionally a bad
linguist, knew very little of the Japanese language, and his
companion, Fernandez, even less, while as for Anjiro, he had remained
in Kagoshima. After devoting a few days to this unproductive task,
Xavier returned to Yamaguchi. He had not made any converts in Kyoto,
but he had learned a useful lesson, namely, that religious
propagandism, to be successful in Japan, must be countenanced by the
ruling classes. He therefore caused his canonicals to be sent to him
from Hirado, together with his credentials from the viceroy of India,
the governor of Malacca, and the bishop of Goa. These documents he
submitted to the Choshu baron, accompanying them with certain rare
objects of European manufacture, including a clock and a harpsicord.
A permit to preach Christianity was now obtained without difficulty,
and the Yamaguchi officials went so far as to issue a proclamation
expressing approval of the Western religion and granting entire
liberty to embrace it. An empty Buddhist monastery was assigned as a
residence for Xavier and his companions, and the fact is certainly an
eloquent testimony to the magnanimity of the Buddhist priests.
Many converts were now made, and fresh proof was obtained that the
road to success lay in associating propagandism with commerce. It was
nearly a decade since the Portuguese had effected their first landing
on Tanegashima, and throughout that interval trade had flourished in
their hands. They had not sought any new markets on the main island;
first, because their ignorance of the coasts rendered navigation
risky; and, secondly, because internecine war raged throughout almost
the whole of the main island, whereas Kyushu enjoyed comparative
tranquillity. Xavier now took advantage of a Portuguese vessel which
called at Yamaguchi en route for Bungo, a province on the eastern
littoral of Kyushu. His intention was to return for a time to the
Indies, but on reaching Bungo he learned that its ruler, Otomo,
wielded exceptional power and showed a disposition to welcome the
Jesuit father.
This Otomo was destined ultimately to act a leading part on the stage
of Christianity in Japan. Xavier now had recourse to methods
suggested by his recent experiences. On a visit to Otomo he caused
himself to be escorted by a large number of the Portuguese crew, who
wore rich garments, carried arms, and flaunted banners. This
procedure seems to have weighed cogently with Otomo, who was keenly
desirous of attracting foreign traders and obtaining from them not
only wealth but also novel and effective weapons of war. Seeing that
Xavier was almost deified by the Portuguese, Otomo naturally applied
himself to win the good-will of the Jesuits, and for that purpose not
only accorded to them entire liberty to teach and to preach, but also
despatched a messenger to his younger brother (who had just succeeded
to the lordship of Yamaguchi), advising him to protect the two
Jesuits then residing there, namely, Torres and Fernandez. Xavier
remained four months in Bungo and then set sail for Goa in February,
1552. He died in December of the same year, and thus his intention of
returning to Japan was defeated. His stay in Japan had lasted
twenty-seven months, and in that interval he and his comrades had won
some 760 converts.
RESULTS OF PROPAGANDISM
It is worth while to recapitulate here the main events during this
first epoch of Christian propagandism in Japan. It has been shown
that in more than a year's labours in Kagoshima, Xavier, with the
assistance of Anjiro as an interpreter, obtained 150 believers. Now,
"no language lends itself with greater difficulty than Japanese to
the discussion of theological questions. The terms necessary for such
a purpose are not current among laymen, and only by special study,
which, it need scarcely be said, must be preluded by accurate
acquaintance with the tongue itself, can a man hope to become duly
equipped for the task of exposition and dissertation. It is open to
grave doubt whether any foreigner has ever attained the requisite
proficiency. Leaving Anjiro in Kagoshima, to care for the converts
made there, Xavier pushed on to Hirado, where he baptized a hundred
Japanese in a few days. Now, we have it on the authority of Xavier
himself that, in this Hirado campaign, 'none of us knew Japanese.'
How, then, did they proceed? 'By reciting a semi-japanese volume' (a
translation made by Anjiro of a treatise from Xavier's pen) 'and by
delivering sermons, we brought several over to the Christian cult.'
"Sermons preached in Portuguese or Latin to a Japanese audience on
the island of Hirado in the year 1550 can scarcely have attracted
intelligent interest. On his first visit to Yamaguchi, Xavier's means
of access to the understanding of his hearers was confined to the
rudimentary knowledge of Japanese which Fernandez had been able to
acquire in fourteen months, a period of study which, in modern times
with all the aids now procurable, would not suffice to carry a
student beyond the margin of the colloquial. No converts were won.
The people of Yamaguchi probably admired the splendid faith and
devotion of these over-sea philosophers, but as for their doctrine,
it was unintelligible. In Kyoto, the same experience was repeated
with an addition of much physical hardship. But, when the Jesuits
returned to Yamaguchi in the early autumn of 1551, they baptized five
hundred persons, including several members of the military class.
Still Fernandez with his broken Japanese was the only medium for
communicating the profound doctrines of Christianity. It must be
concluded that the teachings of the missionaries produced much less
effect than the attitude of the local chieftain."*
*Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition; article "Japan," by
Brinkley.
But the Jesuits have not left any misgivings on record.
any attempt made to proselytize Japan. On August 15th of that year,
Francis Xavier, a Jesuit priest, landed at Kagoshima. Before his
coming, the Portuguese traders had penetrated as far as Kyoto, which
they reported to be a city of some ninety-six thousand houses, and
their experience of the people had been very favourable, especially
with regard to receptivity of instruction. Xavier was weary of
attempting to convert the Indians, whom he had found "barbarous,
vicious, and without inclination to virtue," and his mind had been
turned towards Japan by a message from a Japanese daimyo (whose
identity and reasons for inviting him have never been explained), and
by a personal appeal from a Japanese, whose name appears in
Portuguese annals as "Anjiro," and who, having committed a serious
crime in Japan, had taken refuge in a Portuguese vessel, whose master
advised him to repair to Malacca and confess his sins to Xavier.
This man, Anjiro, already possessed some knowledge of the Portuguese
language, and he soon became sufficiently proficient in it to act as
interpreter, thus constituting a valuable aid to the Portuguese
propagandists. Xavier, with two fellow countrymen and Anjiro,
repaired to Kagoshima, where the Satsuma baron gave them unqualified
permission to preach their doctrine. Not that he had any sympathy
with Christianity, about which he knew nothing, but solely because he
wished to secure a share in the oversea commerce which had brought so
much wealth to his fellow barons on the main island. He thought, in
short, that the Jesuits would be followed by merchant ships, and when
Portuguese trading vessels did actually appear in the Satsuma waters,
but, instead of making any stay there, passed on to the comparatively
petty principality of Hirado, Xavier and his comrades were quickly
ordered to leave Kagoshima. It seems, also, that Xavier's zeal had
outrun his discretion. The Buddhist priests in Kagoshima were ready
at first to listen respectfully to his doctrines, but were quickly
alienated by his aggressive intolerance. They urged upon the Satsuma
baron the dangers that attended such propagandism, and he, already
smarting from commercial disappointment, issued an edict, in 1550,
declaring it a capital offence to embrace Christianity. The edict was
not retrospective. About one hundred and fifty converts whom Xavier,
aided by Anjiro, had won during his two years' sojourn, were not
molested, but Xavier himself passed on to the island of Hirado, where
he was received by salvos of artillery from Portuguese vessels lying
in harbour. Matsuura, the Hirado baron, had already been captivated
by the commerce of the newcomers, and seeing the marked reverence
extended by them to Xavier, the baron issued orders that respectful
attention should be paid to the teaching of the foreign propagandist.
Doubtless owing in large part to these orders, one hundred converts
were made during the first ten days of Xavier's residence in Hirado.
It was, in fact, evident that the attitude of the official classes
towards the new-comers was mainly influenced by the prospect of
trade, and that the attitude of the non-official classes towards the
foreign religion depended largely on the mood of their superiors.
Xavier argued that "if the favour of such a small prince was so
potent for the conversion of his subjects, it would be quite another
thing if he (Xavier) could have the protection of the Emperor." He
therefore, resolved to visit Kyoto. His journey took him in the first
place to Yamaguchi, capital of the Choshu fief. This town lay on the
northern shore of Shimonoseki Strait, and had long been the principal
emporium of trade with China and Korea. But the ruler of the fief,
though courteous to the new-comers, evinced no disposition to show
any special cordiality towards humble missionaries unconnected with
commerce. Therefore, finding that their preaching produced little
effect, Xavier and his companion, Fernandez, continued their journey
to Kyoto, which they reached after travelling for nearly two months
on foot in the depth of winter. It happened, however, that the
capital was then suffering sharply from the effects of internecine
strife, and the two missionaries failed to obtain access to either
the sovereign or the shogun.
Nothing remained, therefore, but recourse to street preaching, and
for this they were ill equipped, for Xavier, constitutionally a bad
linguist, knew very little of the Japanese language, and his
companion, Fernandez, even less, while as for Anjiro, he had remained
in Kagoshima. After devoting a few days to this unproductive task,
Xavier returned to Yamaguchi. He had not made any converts in Kyoto,
but he had learned a useful lesson, namely, that religious
propagandism, to be successful in Japan, must be countenanced by the
ruling classes. He therefore caused his canonicals to be sent to him
from Hirado, together with his credentials from the viceroy of India,
the governor of Malacca, and the bishop of Goa. These documents he
submitted to the Choshu baron, accompanying them with certain rare
objects of European manufacture, including a clock and a harpsicord.
A permit to preach Christianity was now obtained without difficulty,
and the Yamaguchi officials went so far as to issue a proclamation
expressing approval of the Western religion and granting entire
liberty to embrace it. An empty Buddhist monastery was assigned as a
residence for Xavier and his companions, and the fact is certainly an
eloquent testimony to the magnanimity of the Buddhist priests.
Many converts were now made, and fresh proof was obtained that the
road to success lay in associating propagandism with commerce. It was
nearly a decade since the Portuguese had effected their first landing
on Tanegashima, and throughout that interval trade had flourished in
their hands. They had not sought any new markets on the main island;
first, because their ignorance of the coasts rendered navigation
risky; and, secondly, because internecine war raged throughout almost
the whole of the main island, whereas Kyushu enjoyed comparative
tranquillity. Xavier now took advantage of a Portuguese vessel which
called at Yamaguchi en route for Bungo, a province on the eastern
littoral of Kyushu. His intention was to return for a time to the
Indies, but on reaching Bungo he learned that its ruler, Otomo,
wielded exceptional power and showed a disposition to welcome the
Jesuit father.
This Otomo was destined ultimately to act a leading part on the stage
of Christianity in Japan. Xavier now had recourse to methods
suggested by his recent experiences. On a visit to Otomo he caused
himself to be escorted by a large number of the Portuguese crew, who
wore rich garments, carried arms, and flaunted banners. This
procedure seems to have weighed cogently with Otomo, who was keenly
desirous of attracting foreign traders and obtaining from them not
only wealth but also novel and effective weapons of war. Seeing that
Xavier was almost deified by the Portuguese, Otomo naturally applied
himself to win the good-will of the Jesuits, and for that purpose not
only accorded to them entire liberty to teach and to preach, but also
despatched a messenger to his younger brother (who had just succeeded
to the lordship of Yamaguchi), advising him to protect the two
Jesuits then residing there, namely, Torres and Fernandez. Xavier
remained four months in Bungo and then set sail for Goa in February,
1552. He died in December of the same year, and thus his intention of
returning to Japan was defeated. His stay in Japan had lasted
twenty-seven months, and in that interval he and his comrades had won
some 760 converts.
RESULTS OF PROPAGANDISM
It is worth while to recapitulate here the main events during this
first epoch of Christian propagandism in Japan. It has been shown
that in more than a year's labours in Kagoshima, Xavier, with the
assistance of Anjiro as an interpreter, obtained 150 believers. Now,
"no language lends itself with greater difficulty than Japanese to
the discussion of theological questions. The terms necessary for such
a purpose are not current among laymen, and only by special study,
which, it need scarcely be said, must be preluded by accurate
acquaintance with the tongue itself, can a man hope to become duly
equipped for the task of exposition and dissertation. It is open to
grave doubt whether any foreigner has ever attained the requisite
proficiency. Leaving Anjiro in Kagoshima, to care for the converts
made there, Xavier pushed on to Hirado, where he baptized a hundred
Japanese in a few days. Now, we have it on the authority of Xavier
himself that, in this Hirado campaign, 'none of us knew Japanese.'
How, then, did they proceed? 'By reciting a semi-japanese volume' (a
translation made by Anjiro of a treatise from Xavier's pen) 'and by
delivering sermons, we brought several over to the Christian cult.'
"Sermons preached in Portuguese or Latin to a Japanese audience on
the island of Hirado in the year 1550 can scarcely have attracted
intelligent interest. On his first visit to Yamaguchi, Xavier's means
of access to the understanding of his hearers was confined to the
rudimentary knowledge of Japanese which Fernandez had been able to
acquire in fourteen months, a period of study which, in modern times
with all the aids now procurable, would not suffice to carry a
student beyond the margin of the colloquial. No converts were won.
The people of Yamaguchi probably admired the splendid faith and
devotion of these over-sea philosophers, but as for their doctrine,
it was unintelligible. In Kyoto, the same experience was repeated
with an addition of much physical hardship. But, when the Jesuits
returned to Yamaguchi in the early autumn of 1551, they baptized five
hundred persons, including several members of the military class.
Still Fernandez with his broken Japanese was the only medium for
communicating the profound doctrines of Christianity. It must be
concluded that the teachings of the missionaries produced much less
effect than the attitude of the local chieftain."*
*Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition; article "Japan," by
Brinkley.
But the Jesuits have not left any misgivings on record.
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