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Francisco Xavier And Japan
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Chapter Summary
The first Europeans arrived in Japan in 1543. The year 1993 marks the 450th anniversary of first contact between Japan and the Western World. Of all the Christian orders scrambling to be the first to spread the word, one had a significant edge: the newly formed Society of Jesus, thanks to its close ties with Portuguese royal family. Francisco Xavier, a high-ranking priest in Society of Jesus, was not Portuguese, but he did manage to lay foundations of Christianity in the two years he was in Japan. Missionary work was eventually prohibited by law, and it soon became illegal to practice the faith. 'The Examination of the Sects', a system used to scrutinize religious practice in wake of Tokugawa's strict ban on Christianity has proved an extremely valuable reference point for demographic historians. Records of Examination were produced every year until the ban on Christianity was finally lifted.
Keywords: Christianity; Francisco Xavier; Japan; missionary work; religious practice; Society of Jesus; Tokugawa Ieyasu
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