Lesson 137

Christianity in Japan

1 Christianity was introduced into Japan in 1549 by the Spanish missionary, Francis Xavier.

1 By 1581 a few dozen missionaries made nearly 150,000 converts mainly in Kyuushuu.

1 At first favored by Oda Nobunaga (1543-1582), the Christian missionaries were later, in 1587, placed under a ban by Hideyoshi (1536-1598).

When the Tokugawa Shoogunate was established, still stricter measures were adopted, especially after the Shimabara Rebellion in 1637 in which nearly 37,000 Christians lost their lives.

Christianity had no hope of prospering under the rigorous government policy of exclusion.

Christianity, however, was never entirely eradicated in certain parts of Kyuushuu, as is proved by the remarkable fact that within a month after the erection of a Roman Catholic Church at Nagasaki in 1865 there occurred the memorable scene known as ’’The Finding of the Christians,”

when thousands of Christians, from and about the village of Urakami (now a part of Nagasaki), who had secretly kept the faith transmitted to them by their forbears through successive generations for about 225 years, made open confession of their religion. In

1 1914, A Roman Catholic Church, with accommodations for 6,000 persons, was established at Urakami. It was destroyed by the atomic bomb in August 1945.

1 When Commodore Perry, the American envoy came to Uraga in 1853, he demanded a friendly commercial treaty with Japan.

This request was finally granted by the Shogunate Government not only to America, but to Russia, England, France and Holland, and the three ports of Kanagawa, Nagasaki, and Hakodate were then opened to foreign trade.

A number of American missionaries were the first to avail themselves of the opportunity thus offered to them.

The Protestant missions were thus started about 1859, meeting at first with greatest obstacles to their work, for the people were still strictly forbidden to believe in the ‘’Evil Christian Religion.”

When the Tokugawa feudal system collapsed in 1867, a program of great reforms, political, social and otherwise, was adopted and the doors were also thrown open to Christian teaching.

In 1873 missionaries were officially permitted to establish schools, publish religious tracts, and preach their doctrines in

all the seaports open for foreign trade.

1 The old edicts prohibiting Christianity were removed from the noticeboards in February, 1873, and in April of that year exiled Christians were permitted to return to their homes and were free to entertain any religious belief they chose.

in the preceding year a Christian Church was established in Yokohama which was the beginning of the Union Church.

1 In the year following, a sister church was organized at Tsukiji, Tokyo, the first Christian church in the metropolis.

The vernacular translation of the Bible was undertaken early in the Meiji Era; the New Testament was completed in 1879, and the Old Testament in 1886.

Between 1885 and 1889, when the country was swept by a great tide of reforms inspired from Europe, Christianity made phenomenal progress.

1 Later it suffered from the reaction due to nationalism, under which, largely through native leadership, the Christian churches became filled with the growing self-consciousness of the nation.

The Constitution, promulgated in 1889, granted full freedom of religious belief, and Christianity now plays an increasingly important part in the

life of the country.

1 The Greek Orthodox Church in Japan traces its beginning to the arrival in 1861 of Father Nicolai as Chaplain to the Russian Consulate at Hakodate.

He was for half a century, or until his death, the center of a great Christian movement, being assisted by a devoted band of Japanese clergy.

Guide for Free Conversation and Exercise

1 Topics:

a Talk about the following topics with your classmates in Japanese,

(1) Christianity in Japan before the Meiji Era.

(2) Christianity in Japan today.

(3) Activities of Christianity in Japan.

2 Exercise:

a Interpretation exercise

1 When was Christianity introduced to Japan?

1 キリスト教が 伝わったのは 西暦一五四九年でした。

2 Who prohibited Christianity?

2 豊臣秀吉です。

3 When was the ban for Christianity lifted?

3 一八七三年に キリスト教 信仰の 禁止も とかれて、信教の自由が 認められました。

4 About how many Christian adherents are in Japan?

4 日本には キリスト教 信徒が 六十七万人ぐらい 居ます。

5 What does the Roman Catholic Church do?

5 諸種の 学校、慈善協会、病院などを 経営して 社会のために 活動します。

Homework

1 Study the Narration thoroughly and memorize the vocabulary.

2 Read the Guide for Free Conversation and do the exercises given.

3 Learn to read and write the new Kanji.

4 Read the Cultural Notes.