Christianity In Japan Summary

Christianity at the end of the late medieval period in Japan was in decline. Though Jesuit missionaries in Japan studied Confucianism and Buddhism to more effectively proselytize, popularity dwindled for a variety of reasons. Scholars have written extensively on the history of Japan during this era, how Christianity influenced the Japanese people, and how they practiced their religion during and after the “Statement on the Expulsion of the bateren” closed churches, expelled missionaries, and banned Christian practices. Scholars disagree over the reasons why Christianity rapidly went from one most popular religions in Japan to near obscurity, but generally attribute it to cultural dissonance, miscommunication, and officials’ fears of delegitimization

Despite early attempts by Jesuit missionaries to reconcile the two, Confucianism conflicted with Christianity on some fundamental issues. Brother Fukan Habian (1565–1621), a prominent Kirishitan writer, wrote Myōtei mondō, a series of hypothetical dialogues between a Kirishitan woman and a Confucian woman that critiqued native Japanese religions and exposed the ideological conflicts between Christian and Japanese religious scholars. Ward believes that because of this publication, Japanese women were able to participate in religious discourse to an unprecedented degree. Hayashi Razan (1583–1657), an influential Confucian politician, accused Fabian of proselytizing to other politicians and encouraging religious discourse among noblewomen. Japanese officials saw this as a national security concern, which contributed fear of Christianity among Japanese religious and government officials. Ward uses the Myōtei mondō to examine how Christianity and Confucianism interacted with and reacted to one another. According to Ward, the eventual religious and cultural dissonance that resulted made Japanese officials more suspicious of

Dutch traders, for instance, pretended to be English so they could participate in illicit activities without sullying their own country’s reputation, resulting in initial distrust of the English by the Japanese. The English used similar misleading tactics, engaging in a long campaign to tarnish the reputation of the Dutch. For example, they claimed that the Dutch were Catholic and, while mostly false, this rumor resulted in a more negative Japanese perception of the Jesuits, who then became associated with Dutch lawlessness. Both English and Dutch diplomats, however, argued that the Spanish were primarily interested in evangelizing, and not trading with, Japan, further tarnishing Hispano-Japanese relations. According to Screech, conflicts such as English disdain for Catholicism and an eager desire to upend Dutch trading in the region resulted in the gradual decline of Christianity and its regard in