When the Cross Meets the Samurais (Part 1)

A nation torn asunder by raging battles

A nation plagued by intrigue and vengeance

A nation conquered by dissenting factions

A nation beleaguered by avarice for dominance

  

Such is the summarized description of the Land of the Rising Sun, when the nation existed amidst civil wars and political discord from the middle of the 15^th century to the beginning of the 17^th century. This period, historically known as the Sengoku Period (戦国時代, Sengoku-jidai) (1467 – 1573), marks the era when Japan was plagued with civil wars and political upheavals, without a definite central authority in place. Central powers once held by the Emperor and the shogunate (Japanese central government) deteriorated and were gradually replaced by daimyos (local territorial warlords) who exerted political influence over their respective territories. To make matters worse, these daimyos waged constant wars against one another, plunging the nation into deeper unrest.

It was during this era of turbulence that the renowned apostle of Catholic Christianity, Francisco de Jaso y Azpilicueta, better known as Saint Francis Xavier, ventured into Japan to bring the gospel and introduce Catholic Christianity.

A Japanese artwork depicting the Sengoku Period  (戦国時代, Sengoku-jidai) (1467 - 1573)

Saint Francis Xavier (1506 – 1552), a Catholic Christian missionary born in the town of Javier, Kingdom of Navarre (present-day Spain), is perhaps most famed for his extensive missionary activities in Goa of India, Malacca of present-day Malaysia and Ambon and Maluku Islands of present-day Indonesia. Nevertheless, some of you may actually be unaware of the fact that it is this noble saint who is also credited for introducing Catholic Christianity and laying its initial foundations in the far-east nation of Japan.

Being one of the founding members of the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits (a missionary order within the Catholic Church), Francis Xavier spent much time carrying out missionary activities in several regions in India and Southeast Asia. It was in Malacca that Father Xavier first heard about the Land of the Rising Sun and thus obtained the inspiration to bring the gospel to the nation.

 Saint Francis Xavier (1506 - 1552)

In December 1547, whilst in Malacca, a Portuguese captain by the name of Jorge Alvares brought a Japanese samurai named Anjiro (アンジロー) to meet Father Xavier. Apparently, Anjiro had killed someone back in his home country and was now fleeing Japan, accompanied by two of his servants. He boarded a Portuguese ship, whereby he met Captain Jorge Alvares. At the captain’s suggestion, Anjiro decided to meet the “Holy Father” to confess his sins, since his conscience was disturbing him. He then met Father Xavier, in whom he was greatly impressed at the “Holy Father’s” charisma and kindness. From Anjiro, Father Xavier learnt more about Japan and its people. In one of their conversations, Father Xavier asked Anjiro, “If I went to Japan, would the people become Christians?” Anjiro then replied:

“My people would not immediately become Christians, but they would first ask you a multitude of questions, weighing carefully your answers and your claims. Above all, they would observe whether your conduct agreed with your words. If you should satisfy them on these points, by suitable replies to their inquiries and by a life above reproach, then, as soon as the matter was known and fully examined, the king, the nobles and the educated people would become Christians. Six months would suffice; for the nation is one that always follows the guidance of reason.”

(Ropp, 1997)

Under Father Xavier’s guidance, Anjiro decided to accept Catholic Christianity. Anjiro was then sent to a missionary college in Goa, India, where he received baptism, learnt Portuguese and was trained as a Catholic missionary. Finally, after undergoing sufficient training and attaining passable proficiency in the Portuguese language, Father Xavier decided to set off for Japan with Anjiro.

 The voyages of Saint Francis Xavier

In August 1549, Father Francis Xavier, accompanied by Spanish missionaries Father Cosme de Torres (1510 – 1570) and Brother Juan Fernandez (d. 1567), as well as Anjiro and his two servants, landed in Kagoshima (鹿児島), the capital of the then Satsuma Province (薩摩国, Satsuma-kuni) on the Japanese island of Kyushu (九州). Upon arriving in Kagoshima, Father Xavier and his fellow missionaries were warmly welcomed into Anjiro’s home, in which they stayed throughout their time spent in the city. Father Xavier’s first impression of the Japanese was indeed favourable, in which he described them as such:

“The people with whom we have thus far conversed are the best that we have yet discovered; and it seems to me that, among pagan nations, there will not be another to surpass the Japanese. They are a race of very fine manners and generally good and not malicious, a people of an astonishingly great sense of honour, who prize honour more than any other thing.”

(Yusa, 2002)

Shortly after arriving in Kagoshima, Father Xavier was invited to meet the daimyo (territorial warlord) of Satsuma Province, Shimazu Takahisa (島津貴久) (1514 – 1571). It must be noted that, at that time, trade between Portuguese merchants and the Japanese was gradually growing, particularly around Kyushu Island. Hence, upon meeting Father Xavier, Takahisa was under the impression that he could acquire more trade from Portuguese merchants through the Jesuits. He thus gave them a very warm welcome. Without hesitation, the daimyo granted Father Xavier’s request of permitting the Jesuits to preach the gospel throughout Takahisa’s domain. Takahisa issued an edict ensuring freedom for the Jesuits to preach the gospel and permitting anyone within his domain to freely convert to Catholic Christianity.

Location of Kagoshima (鹿児島), with Satsuma Province (薩摩国) coloured red

One of Father Xavier’s biggest problems in reaching out to the Japanese was the language barrier. To Xavier, Japanese was a difficult language to learn. For the first few months in Kagoshima, Father Xavier and his Spanish companions tried learning Japanese from Anjiro, but only Brother Fernandez could passably master the language. Xavier, on the other hand, relied mostly on Anjiro to serve as a translator when communicating with the locals.

Father Xavier also wrote a summary of Catholic Christianity, which was translated into Japanese with Anjiro’s assistance. Translating the summary was a major headache, as the Japanese language of that era hardly had any suitable terms to accurately express Christian teachings. Various Buddhist terminologies had to be adapted to express Christian concepts, in which some of these terminologies wrongly expressed the tenets of Christianity. Perhaps the most notable blunder in this matter was translating the name of God into Japanese. Back then, there was no Japanese term that could accurately express the biblical God, so Anjiro suggested the name Dainichi (大日) instead, which is actually the Japanese name of Vairocana, the celestial Buddha. As such, this became a source of confusion for the Japanese people when Father Xavier preached the gospel to them. He only realized this grave mistake when he was in Yamaguchi later during his mission in Japan.

Shimazu Takahisa (島津貴久) (1514 – 1571), daimyo of Satsuma Province

For the period of one year that Father Xavier stayed in Kagoshima, he did much in preaching the gospel to the Japanese, albeit with difficulty. He would frequently preach in public places for everyone to hear. Most of his preaching involved reading out aloud the translated summary in Japanese, occasionally adding in some additional information with Anjiro’s help for translation. Father Xavier’s public preaching attracted large crowds, which not only consisted of commoners, but also Buddhist monks and aristocrats under Takahisa. Initially, Father Xavier’s preaching caused much confusion, in which many people thought he was a Buddhist monk preaching a different sect of Buddhism. This was because of two reasons: firstly, he came, after all, from India, the birthplace of Buddhism and secondly, he mistakenly used the term Dainichi to refer to the biblical God.

Many a times, Father Xavier’s public preaching drew jeers of laughter and ridicule as a result of his poor pronunciation in the Japanese language, coupled with the facts that the summary was badly translated and that the gospel was a new and strange teaching in the eyes of the Japanese. Despite all these, Father Xavier was still able to convey the fundamental essence of the gospel to them, probably either by his charismatic personality or his powerful ability to preach. This was proven by the fact that, during the later months of his stay in Kagoshima, the local Buddhist monks started to realize that Father Xavier’s preaching was distinctly different from Buddhism, consequently pressurizing Takahisa to expel the Catholic missionaries from Satsuma Province.

An artist's impression of the arrival of Francis Xavier and his companions in Kagoshima

Initially, Takahisa chose to ignore the pressure from the local Buddhist monks and continued ensuring freedom for the propagation of Catholic Christianity within Satsuma. However, when more Portuguese merchants started docking their trade ships in Hirado (平戸) rather than Kagoshima, Takahisa was angered by this and subsequently banned Catholic Christianity throughout his domain. As a result, Father Xavier was forced to leave Kagoshima in August 1550, after spending one year there. Nonetheless, Father Xavier’s missionary activities in Kagoshima were not in vain. He successfully baptized approximately 150 Japanese there who accepted Christianity, some of whom were serving directly under Takahisa in his castle. Many others were impressed and convinced by Father Xavier’s message, but they did not accept baptism out of fear of the numerous, powerful and influential Buddhist monks.

Finally, in August 1550, Francis Xavier left Kagoshima on a Japanese ship, accompanied by Father de Torres, Brother Fernandez, Anjiro’s two servants and a Japanese Catholic convert bearing the Spanish name of Bernardo, who was a young samurai. (Bernardo’s actual Japanese name has been lost in history.) Before leaving, however, Father Xavier entrusted the spiritual care of the newly-founded Christian community in Kagoshima to Anjiro.

In the next part of this article, I will be describing Father Xavier’s subsequent journey throughout Japan.

Statues of Saint Francis Xavier (centre), Anjiro (left) and Bernardo (right) in Xavier Park, Kagoshima

Main References:

1)      Ropp, M. (1997), Francis Xavier and the Land of the Rising Sun, theRopps.com, viewed 5 July, 2010, http://www.theropps.com/papers/Winter1997/FrancisXavier.htm


2)      Yusa, M. (2002), Japanese religious traditions, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, N.J.

***

Part 1 – Francis Xavier’s arrival in Japan & initial missionary activities in Kagoshima

Part 2 – Francis Xavier’s subsequent missionary activities and travels throughout Japan

Part 3 – Missionary activities carried out in Kyushu, central and northern Japan by subsequent missionaries arriving in Japan

Part 4 – Reception of Christianity by the Japanese people of the era

Part 5 – Persecution and decline of Christianity

When the Cross Meets the Samurais (Part 2)

In the previous part of this article, I have described Francis Xavier’s initial arrival in Japan, in which he was accompanied by Father Cosme de Torres, Brother Juan Fernandez, Anjiro and his two servants. I have also described Father Xavier’s initial missionary activities while he was in Kagoshima, after which he was forced to leave when the daimyo of Satsuma Province, Shimazu Takahisa reversed his pro-Christian policies. Leaving the new Christian community that he had founded in Kagoshima under the care of Anjiro, Francis Xavier then set sail with Father de Torres, Brother Fernandez, Anjiro’s two servants and the young samurai Bernardo.

A few days after setting sail from Kagoshima, Father Xavier and his party subsequently arrived in the port-city of Hirado (平戸). There, he met the daimyo of Hirado, Matsuura Takanobu (松浦隆信) (1529 – 1599). Takanobu was extremely delighted with the presence of the Catholic missionaries in his domain, thus he subsequently granted them full permission to spread the gospel in Hirado. Within the short period of time that they spent in Hirado, the Catholic missionaries preached in several public places and read out the summary that Father Xavier wrote in Kagoshima. Reception towards the gospel there was more positive. Just within a short period of 10 days, approximately 100 people accepted Christianity.

 

Francis Xavier's journey from Kagoshima to Hirado (平戸), with Hizen Province (肥前国, Hizen-kuni) coloured red

At this juncture, Francis Xavier had one wish: to journey all the way to the imperial capital of Japan, that is Kyoto, in order to have an audience with the Emperor of Japan himself. Having decided so, Father Xavier then left Hirado after 10 days from his arrival there. Father Xavier took Brother Fernandez and Bernardo with him, while Father de Torres and Anjiro’s two servants stayed behind in Hirado to continuously spread the gospel there.

Journeying the strenuous journey by foot, Francis Xavier and his party then arrived in Yamaguchi (山口), one of the richest and largest cities in Japan at that time. They decided to stop there momentarily to propagate the gospel to the inhabitants of the large city. Hence, Father Xavier and the others spent many days there preaching in public locations. Once again, his preaching mainly involved reading out the translated summary of Catholic Christianity. However, with Brother Fernandez’s improvement in the Japanese language, preaching in public became easier and they were able to express the gospel more freely with less reliance on the summary.

Public response towards the gospel was poor in Yamaguchi, as hardly anyone accepted Christianity there. This may have been due to the fact that the Catholic missionaries were poorly clad, and thus they were often looked down upon. Their strenuous journey from Hirado worn them all out, and their clothing wasn’t spared either. In addition to that, they did not bring many supplies with them when they left Hirado. As a result of all these, the missionaries frequently appeared in public clothed in poor clothing.

An artist's impression of Francis Xavier preaching to the Japanese people

In spite of that, the Catholic missionaries managed to attract the attention and interest of some aristocrats towards the gospel, who then invited the missionaries into their homes in order to learn more about the “new teaching.” Not long after, Father Xavier and his companions even received an invitation to have an audience with Ouchi Yoshitaka (大内義隆) (1507 – 1551). Yoshitaka was one of the most powerful and influential daimyos at that time, whose large domain included Yamaguchi itself. As expected, the Catholic missionaries presented themselves before Yoshitaka in poor clothing. Yoshitaka was interested to know more about the gospel, asking the missionaries many questions and listening to them reading out the translated summary. The meeting, however, bore no fruits, as Yoshitaka was disagreeable and, in fact, greatly angered by the teachings of the gospel. Coupled with the fact that the missionaries appeared before him very shabbily, he ordered them out of his residence without saying a word.

 

 Francis Xavier's journey from Hirado to Kyoto (京都)

Since the Catholic missionaries’ work in Yamaguchi at that time bore very little success, they decided to leave the city after a few months. They then continued their journey towards the imperial capital of Kyoto (京都), in order to have an audience with the Emperor of Japan, Emperor Go-Nara (後奈良天皇, Go-Nara Tennou) (1497 – 1557). They travelled an exhausting journey by foot all the way to Iwakuni (岩国). From there, they subsequently went to Sakai (堺) by ship, after which they made the final stage of their journey to Kyoto in the entourage of an aristocrat.

Nonetheless, after arriving in Kyoto, Father Xavier was utterly upset with the condition of the city and the position of the Emperor. Apparently, Kyoto at that time was badly devastated by the civil war and the Emperor himself was reduced to such a powerless man living in an impoverished house. In trying to get an audience with Emperor Go-Nara, Father Xavier and his companions were barred from doing so. This was because they did not have any luxurious gifts to present before the Emperor, since they had left almost everything they had back in Hirado.

Emperor Go-Nara (後奈良天皇, Go-Nara Tennou) (Reigned 1526 – 1557)

Only in Kyoto did Father Xavier finally realize the true political status of Japan during that era: that Japan was amidst a series of civil wars in which the central authorities of the Emperor and the shogunate (central government) had been greatly diminished. In place of these central authorities were the numerous daimyos who attempted to exert influence over their own domains and conquer the domains of other daimyos by waging successive wars. Prior to his attempts to meet the Emperor, Father Xavier thought that, by seeking the Emperor’s favour and permission, the Catholic missionaries could then freely spread the gospel anywhere throughout the land of Japan. Nevertheless, with the Emperor’s poverty and powerlessness amidst uncontrolled civil wars, what was the worth in gaining the Emperor’s consent and favour?

Father Xavier did not want to waste their long trip to Kyoto. He and his companions remained there for a few days and tried preaching publicly in the city. Once again, to their disappointment, reception was very poor and hardly anyone came to listen to the missionaries. After remaining in Kyoto for about 10 days, they left the imperial capital and made their journey back to Hirado by foot.

 Saint Francis Xavier Memorial Church, Hirado (平戸ザビエル記念教会, Hirado Zabieru Kinen Kyōkai), built in commemoration of Francis Xavier's arrival in Hirado

In March 1551, Father Xavier, Brother Fernandez and Bernardo arrived back in Hirado. In Father Xavier’s absence, Father de Torres had made some success in spreading the gospel in Hirado, whereby the latter had baptized about 40 more people. After arriving back in Hirado, Father Xavier did not give up, but decided to change his strategy in spreading the gospel in Japan. Before this, he thought that gaining Emperor Go-Nara’s favour would be a great boost for the propagation of Catholic Christianity throughout Japan; now, in order to encourage the spread of the gospel, he set his heart on gaining the favour of one of the most powerful and revered daimyos of that time – Ouchi Yoshitaka.

Ensuring that nothing would go wrong this time, Francis Xavier carefully packed many exotic gifts on a ship. Accompanied by Brother Fernandez and Bernardo, Father Xavier left almost immediately after returning back to Hirado. The missionaries travelled in the ship and sailed back to Yamaguchi, where they once again had an audience with Ouchi Yoshitaka.

Not wanting to repeat his mistake of appearing in poverty before the great daimyo, Father Xavier dressed himself in luxurious attire and introduced himself as the ambassador of the Portuguese Viceroy of India and the Bishop of Goa, bringing with him two official letters from them respectively. This, combined with the numerous exotic gifts from the great missionary, tremendously impressed and delighted Yoshitaka. The great daimyo then granted full permission for Father Xavier and his companions to propagate the gospel throughout his vast domain, guaranteeing also their protection. In addition, Yoshitaka provided a residence in Yamaguchi for the usage of the missionaries.

 An European painting depicting Saint Francis Xavier preaching to the masses

This time, Father Xavier’s strategy bore much fruits, as Yoshitaka’s continuous support and protection for the missionaries made the works of spreading the gospel a lot easier. Hardly a day passed by when the missionaries’ residence was not filled with people of all walks of life, including aristocrats, samurais and highborn ladies, who came to listen to Father Xavier’s teaching. Almost every day, the great missionary would not only talk about the gospel and the teachings of Christianity, he would also teach knowledge about Western sciences, mathematics and astronomy to everyone who visited his residence.

If you recall what I’ve written in Part 1, you’d remember that Anjiro suggested the usage of the term Dainichi to refer to the biblical God, since there was no Japanese term at that time that could suit the meaning of the biblical God. Not knowing that Dainichi was actually the Japanese name of Vairocana, the celestial Buddha, Father Xavier continued using this term when spreading the gospel.

It was at this time in Yamaguchi when Father Xavier finally realized the true meaning of the term Dainichi. From his discussions and conversations with Buddhist monks in Yamaguchi, he then realized the true meaning of Dainichi and concluded that it was definitely not a suitable name to refer to the biblical God. He immediately stopped using the term Dainichi and instead reverted back to the Latin word for God, Deus. The Buddhist monks in the city were greatly angered by this, as they now saw Christianity as a totally foreign religion that would bring harm to the Japanese. Many a times did the monks try to harm the Catholic missionaries in opposition, but Yoshitaka’s support and protection prevented any major harm from befalling upon them.

In spite of all the opposition faced by the missionaries, about 500 people throughout Yamaguchi accepted Christianity and were baptized. This included not only commoners, but also aristocrats, samurais and learned scholars. Even after Father Xavier left the city, the Christian community in Yamaguchi continued to grow, with its members being very devoted to their newfound faith.

 Saint Francis Xavier Memorial Church, Yamaguchi (山口ザビエル記念聖堂, Yamaguchi Zabieru Kinen Seidō), built in commemoration of Francis Xavier's arrival in Yamaguchi

In August 1551, Father Xavier was informed that a Portuguese ship had anchored in Bungo Province (豊後国, Bungo-kuni). Wishing to meet the captain of the ship in order to check if any important mail had arrived for him from the Portuguese settlement in India, Father Xavier immediately prepared to leave Yamaguchi. Before leaving, however, he summoned Father de Torres from Hirado and entrusted the task of caring for the Christian community in Yamaguchi to the latter and Brother Fernandez. Father Xavier then left the city with Bernardo and a few new Japanese believers.

The entourage’s arrival in Funai (府内) (present-day Oita [大分]), the capital of Bungo Province, was warmly welcomed by the Portuguese ship. Shortly after arriving there, the great missionary also had a chance to meet the daimyo of Bungo Province, Otomo Sorin (大友宗麟) (1530 – 1587), who maintained close friendship with the Portuguese and was very keen to know more about Christianity. Immediate permission was granted by Sorin for Catholic missionaries to preach the gospel in his domain. Although Sorin did not personally accept Christianity at that time, he later became one of the few daimyos who converted and received baptism 27 years later.

 Location of Funai (府内), with Bungo Province (豊後国, Bungo-kuni) coloured red

Father Xavier did not stay long in Funai to propagate the gospel, for he was anxious to go back to Goa and Europe to update himself on the state of affairs there. Before leaving Funai, Father Xavier received devastating news from Father de Torres and Brother Fernandez, who were in Yamaguchi. Some of Ouchi Yoshitaka’s subjects organized a rebellion against the great daimyo, in which he was defeated and subsequently committed harakiri (腹切り) (ritual suicide). As a result, Yamaguchi went into chaos and the Christian community there was not spared either. Father de Torres and Brother Fernandez, however, managed to escape safely. Fortunately, Ouchi Yoshinaga (大内義長) (1532 – 1557), who succeeded Yoshitaka as daimyo over his domain, continued ensuring protection for the Christian community and missionaries in Yamaguchi, thus Christianity could still flourish in the city.

 Otomo Sorin (大友宗麟) (1530 – 1587), Christian daimyo of Bungo Province

Finally, in November 1551, Francis Xavier left Japan for Goa in the Portuguese ship, after spending approximately 2 years propagating the gospel in the Land of the Rising Sun. The great missionary vowed to return to Japan the following year with more Jesuit missionaries to enhance the spreading of the gospel in the land. Nonetheless, he never returned, after having succumbed to an illness and consequently died in December 1552 in Shangchuan Island, China.

 

Artist's impression of Francis Xavier at his deathbed in December 1552 in Shangchuan Island, China

Francis Xavier may not have been able to realize Anjiro’s six-month prediction for the whole of Japan to accept Christianity, but the great missionary had definitely laid down the foundation for the spread of the gospel into the land. With Father Xavier’s pioneering work in introducing the gospel into Japan and subsequently establishing Christian communities in several cities, the propagation of Christianity could thus be carried out more easily and effectively by missionaries who later followed in his footsteps. Having said this, feel free to proceed to Part 3 to learn more about this matter.

Main References:

1)      Cieslik, H. (1954), Early Jesuit missionaries in Japan 1, Sophia University Private Home Page Service, viewed 5 July, 2010, http://pweb.sophia.ac.jp/britto/xavier/cieslik/ciejmj01.pdf


2)      Ropp, M. (1997), Francis Xavier and the Land of the Rising Sun, theRopps.com, viewed 5 July, 2010, http://www.theropps.com/papers/Winter1997/FrancisXavier.htm

When the Cross Meets the Samurais (Part 3a)

Francis Xavier, the renowned and revered Jesuit missionary who is most famed for his efforts in spreading Catholic Christianity in Goa of India, Malacca of present-day Malaysia and Maluku and Ambon Islands of present-day Indonesia, is commonly hailed to this day as the “Apostle to Japan.” Indeed, being the first missionary of his era to introduce Christianity to a land where the gospel was literally non-existent, Father Xavier paved the way and laid the bare foundations for subsequent missionaries to propagate the gospel in the Land of the Rising Sun. The works and travels of the great missionary, from Kagoshima to Funai, have been covered in the previous parts of this article.

Being the pioneer in the Christian mission in Japan at that time, Father Xavier could only attain a moderate degree of success in establishing Japanese Christian communities in several places in southwestern Japan. What he could not achieve, however, was accomplished with considerable success by his successors who found it easier to propagate the gospel throughout the land after the great missionary had broken the ice. The Catholic mission in Japan grew tremendously and Christianity flourished magnificently in several regions. In this part of the article, I will attempt to cover these missionary activities according to the geographical regions in which they were carried out, namely:

a)      Kyushu Island (southwestern Japan)

b)      Central Japan (Kansai / Kinai region)

c)      Northern Japan

 Map of Japan highlighting Kyushu Island (southwestern Japan), the Kansai region (central Japan) and the Tohoku region (northern Japan)

After his departure from Japan in November 1551, Francis Xavier’s role of being the Mission Superior, or the head of the Jesuit mission in Japan, was taken over by his loyal companion, Father Cosme de Torres. If you recall what I’ve written in Part 2 of this article, you’d remember that Father de Torres stayed in Yamaguchi to care for the Christian community and to propagate the gospel there after Father Xavier’s departure from that city. Despite a rebellion against Ouchi Yoshitaka which placed Father de Torres, Brother Fernandez and the Yamaguchi Christian community in peril, both the missionaries were able to escape to safety. The rebellion resulted in Ouchi Yoshitaka committing harakiri, thus the Christian community there lost their main protector and patron. For a brief period after that, it seemed as if all hope had been lost for the young and growing Japanese Christian community in Yamaguchi.

Thankfully, things soon changed for the better after the rebels decided to select Ouchi Yoshinaga to succeed Yoshitaka as daimyo. Yoshinaga continued ensuring protection and patronage for the Jesuit missionaries and the Christian community in the city. As a result, Christianity could still flourish in Yamaguchi. While staying in Yamaguchi, Father de Torres managed to baptize more than 2000 people, besides building the first ever church in the city. He was always compassionate towards the poor and needy in the city, ever willing to give up even his life savings to help them, regardless of whether they were Buddhists or Christians.

Nonetheless, Father de Torres could only remain in Yamaguchi until 1556, after which Yoshinaga was defeated and the city was taken over by Mori Motonari (毛利元就) (1497 – 1571), a daimyo controlling a neighbouring domain. Motonari was undoubtedly against Christianity, thus Father de Torres was left with no choice but to leave the city and head towards Bungo Province, which was the domain of Otomo Sorin. (Recall that I’ve mentioned Otomo Sorin in Part 2.) Sorin was the last daimyo whom Father Xavier met in 1551 before he left Japan. Sorin was also supportive of having Catholic missionaries preaching the gospel throughout his domain.

Christianity in Kyushu Island (southwestern Japan)

 Map of Japan, with Kyushu Island circled in black, Bungo Province coloured in red and various locations indicated

Kyushu is the southwestern-most island of Japan. During Father Xavier’s era, Kyushu and the archipelago of smaller islands surrounding it were collectively known as the Saikaido (西海道) region. In all of Japan, it was this region in which Catholic Christianity attained the most reception during the era when Jesuit missionaries were active in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Missionary activities in Kyushu had long begun since Father Xavier’s arrival in Kagoshima in 1549. After his departure from Japan in 1551, Father Xavier made explicit requests to the Jesuit missionary centres in Goa to send more missionaries to Japan in order to spread the gospel and care for the newly established Japanese Christian communities there. Indeed, there were many missionaries who responded to this call in the decades to come. Nevertheless, it is impossible for me to cover each and every one of them here, so I’ll only be introducing to you a few prominent ones in this part of the article, namely Fathers Balthasar Gago, Gaspar Vilela, Louis Frois and Alessandro Valignano.

 A Japanese painting depicting the arrival of Jesuit missionaries in Japan

Fathers Balthasar Gago, Gaspar Vilela and Louis Frois were among the earliest missionaries to respond to this missionary call to Japan. Father Balthasar Gago (1520 – 1583), who was born in Lisbon, Portugal, was the earliest among the three, whereby he first landed on Japanese soil in August 1552, in Kagoshima. Father Gaspar Vilela (1525 – 1572), who was born in Avis, Portugal, reached Funai (present-day Oita) in 1556, whereas Father Louis Frois (1532 – 1597), who was also born in Lisbon, arrived at the port of Yokoseura (横瀬浦, Yokose-ura) in 1563.

Now that I’ve introduced you to these three missionaries who tirelessly and painstakingly gave all their best to propagate the gospel in Japan, I will now cover each one of them in separate sub-sections to make it easier for you to trace their footsteps in Kyushu. But first, let us finish tracing Father de Torres’ footsteps.

A) Father Cosme de Torres

As I’ve mentioned earlier, Father de Torres had no choice but to move to Bungo Province after Mori Motonari, an anti-Christian daimyo, conquered the prosperous city of Yamaguchi. Father de Torres’s moving to Bungo Province also meant that the centre of Christian activity and propagation in Japan now moved to Funai, the capital of the province. Whilst in Bungo, the daimyo of the province, Otomo Sorin, was pleased to provide whatever assistance he could to encourage the spread of the gospel in his domain.

Otomo Sorin, Christian daimyo of Bungo Province

One of Sorin’s greatest contributions was to provide a piece of land and a residence for Father de Torres and the Jesuit missionaries. The residence was used as a centre for Christian activity, where many people came to hear Father de Torres preach and to ask various questions. The piece of land, on the other hand, was used to build a missionary-run hospital that attended to many patients in the region, regardless of religion.

As far as the Christian community in Bungo was concerned, Father de Torres was particularly concerned about education for the Japanese Christian community there. He did much in order to ensure that the Christian community received adequate education with regards to their faith and culture. In order to familiarize the Japanese Christians to the Bible, he frequently organized classes and shows; whereas for Christian children, he organized classes in which the children could not only acquire knowledge about the Bible and their faith, but also learn how to read and write fluently in the Japanese language.

An artist's impression of the presence of Jesuit missionaries in Japan

Father de Torres, being the head of the Jesuit missionaries in Japan, always tried his best to ensure that Christian communities throughout Japan were given adequate spiritual guidance and pastoral care wherever possible. One instance of this was regarding the fact that the Japanese Christian community in Hirado, which I’ve mentioned in the preceding part of this article, was left without any pastoral care for a few years after Father de Torres’ departure from that port-city in 1551. Hence, in 1555, he sent Father Balthasar Gago, followed by Father Gaspar Vilela in 1558, to tend to the spiritual needs of the Christian community in Hirado. (I will be covering more about this as you read further.) When a riot broke out in Hirado shortly after, which resulted in the expulsion of all Jesuit missionaries from the port-city, Father de Torres sent the Jesuit missionaries out to explore other regions in the vicinity where the Jesuits could establish another centre for Christian activities, and where Portuguese trade ships could anchor for trading. Eventually, the port of Yokoseura was found to be most suitable.

Yokoseura (横瀬浦) as seen today

Yokoseura was situated within the domain ruled by the daimyo Omura Sumitada (大村純忠) (1533 – 1587). Sumitada, who had earlier read a book on Christianity by Father Vilela and was impressed by it, willingly granted the permission for the Jesuit missionaries to propagate the gospel freely throughout his domain, besides offering the port of Yokoseura for Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries to carry out their activities.

Perhaps one of the most prominent achievements throughout Father de Torres’ life as a missionary in Japan was the conversion and baptism of Omura Sumitada, who thus became the first ever Christian daimyo in Japanese history. In 1563, several years after the Jesuits began propagating the gospel in Sumitada’s domain, the daimyo himself, along with many of his subordinates, came willingly to Father de Torres to seek baptism, subsequently stabilizing the status of Christianity further in the Omura Domain (大村藩, Ōmura-han) and Kyushu in general.

An artwork depicting the baptism of Omura Sumitada (大村純忠) (1533 – 1587), the daimyo of Omura Domain, and his subordinates

Father de Torres died in 1570 in Amakusa (天草), leaving behind a great legacy, in which he was said to have baptized approximately 30,000 Japanese and established over 50 churches and some mission schools throughout the Land of the Rising Sun.

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When the Cross Meets the Samurais (Part 3b)

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B) Father Balthasar Gago

Lisbon-born Father Balthasar Gago set out from Goa in April 1552 and landed in the city of Kagoshima in August of the same year. However, he did not remain long in Kagoshima and soon after took another ship to Bungo Province, in which he arrived there a month later. Upon his arrival in Bungo, he was, like many other Jesuit missionaries, welcomed warmly by the daimyo of the region, Otomo Sorin, being provided with a residence, financial support and assurance of freedom to propagate the gospel.

At the time of Father Gago’s arrival in Japan, Father de Torres was still in Yamaguchi with Brother Fernandez. Realizing the fact that Father Gago and the new missionaries with him would require, amongst others, language assistance in order to propagate the gospel effectively, Father de Torres sent Brother Fernandez from Yamaguchi to accompany Father Gago. Besides acting as translator, Brother Fernandez also actively taught Father Gago and his missionaries the Japanese language, and just like his teacher, Father Gago was able to master the language soon after.

Father Gago and Brother Fernandez frequently visited Sorin’s court on a goodwill basis, sharing with him the teachings and tenets of the gospel, amongst others. Although Sorin did not, at this point of time, convert or receive baptism, he listened politely to everything that the missionaries wanted to say and also assured them continuous support and protection.

 Christian daimyo Otomo Sorin, daimyo of Bungo Province

During the duration of his stay in Bungo, Father Gago tirelessly propagated the gospel to the various villages within Sorin’s domain. Indeed, within the span of 3 years up to 1555, Father Gago managed to increase the Christian population in Bungo to no less than 1000.

As I’ve mentioned before, Father de Torres always tried his best to ensure that all the established Japanese Christian communities throughout the land were provided with adequate spiritual guidance and pastoral care, wherever possible. The Japanese Christian community in Hirado, which was one of the earliest ones established by Francis Xavier, was left without any pastoral care since Father de Torres’ departure from the port-city in 1551. Bearing this fact in mind and having adequate manpower to fulfill this need now, Father de Torres thus sent Father Gago in 1555 to Hirado to attend to the needs of the Christian community there, besides continuing the missionary activities that had already been started there.

 A view of present-day Hirado (平戸)

After three years in Hirado, Father Gago then went to the prosperous commercial city of Hakata (博多) (part of present-day Fukuoka) in 1558 to establish a new missionary centre there, under the request of Father de Torres. Father Gaspar Vilela was thus chosen to replace Father Gago in Hirado. Whilst in Hakata, Father Gago succeeded in constructing a new house and chapel with the generous financial support provided by Sorin. Despite all these, the newly-established mission in Hakata was short-lived. Not long after Father Gago began missionary activities there, a major rebellion broke out, in which Father Gago and his co-workers were forced to leave the city in dire circumstances.

Father Gago’s poor health did not permit him to continue his missionary activities in Japan. Subsequently, Father de Torres requested him to return to Goa, since someone was needed to provide an account of the Japanese mission to their superiors in Goa. Thus, much to the dismay of the many Japanese Christians who adored him and held him with high regard, Father Balthasar Gago left Japan in 1560, whereby he never returned and died in Goa in 1583.

C) Father Gaspar Vilela

Father Gaspar Vilela first landed on Japanese soil in 1556 when he landed in Funai, which was part of Otomo Sorin’s domain in the Bungo Province. For some time, Father Vilela stayed in Bungo to deepen his understanding of Japanese culture and master the Japanese language, without being significantly involved in propagating the gospel in that region. It was only after a few months staying in Bungo when he became more actively involved as a Jesuit missionary.

 A Japanese woodblock print depicting Bungo Province

As mentioned before, when Father Gago moved to the commercial city of Hakata to begin a new mission there in 1558, Father Vilela took over Father Gago’s responsibility of running the mission and tending to the needs of the Japanese Christian community in Hirado. During his short but fruitful stint in Hirado, Father Vilela made remarkable progresses in expanding the Christian community there, in which he was said to have succeeded in baptizing about 1300 persons before a riot broke out against the Jesuit missionaries and Christian community there. As a result of the riot, the mission in Hirado was somewhat destroyed and Father Gago had no choice but to leave the port-city. Having done so, he was then sent to the imperial capital of Kyoto the following year to establish a mission there. I will be discussing this further in this part of the article.

After returning from Kyoto in 1566, Father Vilela then concentrated most of his missionary efforts in the newly established missionary centres throughout the Omura Domain, ruled by the daimyo Omura Sumitada, whom I’ve already mentioned before this. He spent most of his time travelling from one place to another within the Omura Domain, propagating the gospel diligently regardless of where he was. Among the places within the domain that Father Vilela travelled to was Amakusa, in which he managed to baptize about 600 people there.

 Map of Japan, with Omura Domain (大村藩, Ōmura-han) circled and Hizen Province coloured in red

Nonetheless, Father Vilela perhaps achieved his most remarkable missionary feat in the then insignificant hollow port-village of Nagasaki (長崎). In 1568, Father Vilela was sent to Nagasaki to establish a new missionary centre and propagate the gospel there. In just over a year that he spent in the port-village, he managed to convert the entire population of 1,500 in Nagasaki and construct a large church there.

Due to deteriorating health, Father Vilela could no longer sustain much of his missionary activities as time passed. Coincidentally, since someone was required to update the Jesuit superiors in Goa about the Japanese mission, Father Vilela was thus entrusted with this task, so that he could also return to the Jesuit headquarters in Goa to be given lighter assignments that would not put too much stress upon his health. Therefore, Father Gaspar Vilela set sail for Goa in 1570, after which he spent the final years of his life up to 1572 there.

D) Father Louis Frois

 Louis Frois (1532 - 1597), Portuguese missionary to Japan

The renowned historian-cum-missionary Father Louis Frois first arrived at the port of Yokoseura in 1563 with Father John Baptist de Fonte, an Italian priest. Their arrival was celebrated with much joy by the Christian community in Yokoseura amidst a time when Christian communities throughout Japan were in dire need of more priests and missionaries for pastoral care and spiritual guidance. As a matter of fact, Father Frois described his arrival in his writings as such:

“Under the circumstances, the arrival of the new priests was the source of extraordinarily great consolation to Father de Torres and this was proven not only by the tears of joy he shed on that occasion but also by his remark that now he could die peacefully since God had sent new workers at a time when they were so badly needed. He also remarked on the fact that he was very old, worn out and sick and had to use a crutch until a few days before. He added that in order to say Mass as required by the devotion of the people he had to support his diseased foot on a little stool since he could not stand otherwise.”

 Japanese artwork depicting the Jesuit missionaries in Japan

With regards to the propagation of the gospel in Kyushu, Father Louis Frois perhaps contributed only a little compared to the other missionaries whom I’ve mentioned before this. Nonetheless, it is fair to say that his contributions to the expansion of Christianity in the imperial capital of Kyoto are undoubtedly far from little. Hence, I will only be covering more about him in a subsequent section of this article regarding the spread of the gospel in central Japan.

(Continued in next part)

A Portuguese trade ship used for trading purposes in Japan

Main References:

1)      Cieslik, H. (1954), Early Jesuit missionaries in Japan 2: Balthasar Gago and Japanese Christian terminology, Jesuits of Japan, viewed 29 November, 2010, <http://pweb.sophia.ac.jp/britto/xavier/cieslik/ciejmj02.pdf>

2)      Cieslik, H. (1954), Early Jesuit missionaries in Japan 3: Gaspar Vilela: The apostle of Miyako, Jesuits of Japan, viewed 29 November, 2010, <http://pweb.sophia.ac.jp/britto/xavier/cieslik/ciejmj03.pdf>

3)      Cieslik, H. (1954) Early missionaries in Japan 4: Father Louis Frois: Historian of the mission, Jesuits of Japan, viewed 29 November, 2010, <http://pweb.sophia.ac.jp/britto/xavier/cieslik/ciejmj04.pdf>