Evangelization and Indigenous Communities in Japan: 1549–1600
- Book Title:
- The Palgrave Handbook of the Catholic Church in East Asia
- Book Editor:
- Format:
- Book Chapter
- Year:
- 2021
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Place published:
- Singapore
- Language:
- Abstract:
This chapter explores the opening of the first Roman Catholic mission to Japan in 1549 and its history until 1600. It explores the historical European and Asian contexts which made the establishment of a mission to Japan possible, before focusing on the development of the mission during the tenures of Francis Xavier, Cosme de Torres, Francisco Cabral, Gaspar Coelho, and Pedro Gomez. While exploring the evolution of the mission and evangelization under the leadership of these figures, the chapter investigates how mission policy, the limitations acting upon the mission, and the Jesuits’ efforts to mitigate these limitations influenced the beliefs and practices of the converts that they made. Partially following the conclusions of Ikuo Higashibaba, the chapter suggests that early converts primarily engaged with the symbols and rituals of their new religion, while the expansion of the mission’s education system and the founding of a mission press increased converts’ doctrinal and theological understandings.
- Who (Jesuits):
- What (Subjects):
- Where (Locations):
- When (Centuries):
- Publisher URL:
- ISBN:
- 9789811593659
- DOI:
- Comment:
- Online only, as of March 2022