Il Novissimo Ramusio 12

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Il Novissimo Ramusio

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Alle mie educatrici, Hermanas Carmelitas de la Caridad de Vedruna

La ociosa espada sueña con sus batallas Otro es mi sueño. Jorge Luis Borges “Diecisiete haiku-9”, La cifra, Milano, Mondadori, 1996

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SOCIETÀ GEOGRAFICA ITALIANA ISMEO – ASSOCIAZIONE INTERNAZIONALE DI STUDI SUL MEDITERRANEO E L’ORIENTE

Il Grande Viaggio La missione giapponese del 1613 in Europa

a cura di Teresa Ciapparoni La Rocca

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Questo volume è stato pubblicato con un contributo del:

– Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali e per il Turismo – Progetto MIUR “Studi e ricerche sulle culture dell’Asia e dell’Africa: tradizione e continuità, rivitalizzazione e divulgazione”

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INDICE

Nagasaki Teruaki (Ambasciatore del Giappone presso la Santa Sede) ..... IX Filippo Bencardino (Presidente SGI) ...... XI Adriano Rossi (Presidente ISMEO) ...... XIII Umberto Vattani (Presidente Fondazione Italia-Giappone) ...... XV Nishibayashi Masuo (Direttore Istituto Giapponese di Cultura)...... XVI Ringraziamenti ...... XVII Avvertenze ...... XVII

T. Ciapparoni La Rocca, Introduzione ...... 1

IL GIAPPONE DEL SECOLO NANBAN (1543-1640)

A. LA SITUAZIONE SOCIO-CULTURALE P. Culeddu, Il Giappone fra guerra e pace: innovazione e ricerca di stabi- lità all’inizio del XVII secolo ...... 9 D. Sadun, Il chashitsu: luogo dello spirito, luogo del potere ...... 15 L. Spita, Un’estetica del necessario e dell’indispensabile: cha-no-yu la cerimonia del tè ...... 21 F. Scaroni & B. Vieira Amaro, Nanban Religious Architecture. A Forgotten Heritage ...... 25 D. Sestili, Le musiche giapponesi ai tempi della missione Hasekura ...... 33 S. Scholz-Cionca, Performing Arts in the Wake of the Tokugawa Period – A Survey ...... 37 P. Schwemmer, Japanese Jesuit Literature and the Kōwaka Ballad ...... 41 P. Kornicki, Printing in Late 16th Century Japan ...... 47

B. L’AMBIENTE RELIGIOSO 1. A. Tollini, La situazione religiosa in Giappone tra fine XVI e inizio XVII secolo ...... 53 0 Frontespizio_Layout 1 03/02/20 11:05 Pagina VI

T. Tosolini, Lo Shintoismo durante il secolo 1543-1640 ...... 61 D. Frison, The Jesuit Monopoly of the Souls in Japan from 1549 to 1593 69 M.T. Canducci, OFM, Attività dei Francescani in Giappone nel cosiddetto “secolo cristiano” ...... 77 G. Buffon, Cacciatori di imperi. L’originalità agiografica della missione francescana in Giappone nell’opera di B. Berezzi (1608) ...... 87 C. Pelliccia, Gesuiti e frati mendicanti in Giappone nel “secolo cristiano”: tra rivalità e ambizioni ...... 97 M.Ch. Migliore, Nihonwa shinkoku taru tokoro – Il Giappone è la terra degli dèi ...... 107 S. Vita, Le misure contro i cristiani e il viaggio di Hasekura Tsunenaga .. 113

LA MISSIONE

A. IL CONTESTO INTERNAZIONALE

A. D’Ascenzo, I primi grandi viaggi tra l’Europa e il Giappone. Carto- grafie, relazioni, missioni ...... 129 A. Cattaneo, I Gesuiti e gli spazi della missione ...... 137 L. Lo Basso, Navi e navigazione ai tempi della missione Hasekura (sec. XVII) ...... 147 D. Petrella, Il Giappone e il mare: l’architettura navale dalla preistoria al periodo Edo ...... 157 A. Spagnoletti, Monarchie e repubbliche europee nell’Oceano Indiano e nel Pacifico. Secoli XVI-XVII ...... 165 U. Iaccarino, Il passaggio del Galeone di Manila al largo delle coste del Giappone: rischio od opportunità? ...... 173 D. Lauro, Teppō: the Wondrous Technology from the West that Changed Japan? ...... 181 G. Pizzorusso, Tra missioni e ambascerie: Roma e il mondo nell’epoca di Paolo V ...... 189

B. IL VIAGGIO

A. Tamburello, Dal Giappone a Roma attraverso il Pacifico ...... 199 Tanaka Hidemichi, La partenza della missione di Hasekura per Roma ..... 205 G. Quartucci, La misión Keichō en México ...... 211 M.T. Montes de Oca Choy, Estancia Habanera de Hasekura ...... 221 J.M. Suárez Japón, El tránsito por España de la embajada Keichō ...... 225 G. Siary, La missione Hasekura a Saint-Tropez ...... 235 C. Bitossi, L’ambasceria giapponese nelle fonti archivistiche e diaristiche genovesi ...... 241 0 Frontespizio_Layout 1 03/02/20 11:05 Pagina VII

M.T. Bergamaschi, Le scritture contabili sulla delegazione giapponese alla corte di Paolo V ...... 249 T. Ciapparoni La Rocca, La missione Hasekura a Roma ...... 259 C. Sodini, La missione giapponese a Firenze nel gennaio del 1616 ...... 263

C. I LASCITI

Sendai City Museum, Keichō Era Mission Materials Related to the Europe 275 E. Barlés & D. Almazán, Arte nanban en España: Historiografía, colec- ciones y exposiciones ...... 279 F. Cid Lucas, Llegada y consecuencias artísticas y literarias de la embajada Keichō en España ...... 289 A. Curvelo, Japanese Painting: the nanban Folding Screens Depicting the Southern Barbarians ...... 299 O. Poncet, Gli echi francesi dell’ambasciata giapponese a Roma (1615) 307 M.G. Sarti, L’ambasciata giapponese a Roma del 1615: la ‘costruzione’ di un’immagine ...... 313 P. Fedi, Sulla testimonianza della missione giapponese del 1615 a S. Maria Maggiore ...... 323 S. Favi, “È giunto l’Ambasciatore del Giappone”. Tracce della missione in biblioteche e in archivi veneziani ...... 331 A. Manieri, Le lingue, gli interpreti, i sussidi linguistici nel periodo della missione Hasekura ...... 335 D. Cucinelli, Echi culturali della missione del 1613 nel Giappone contem- poraneo ...... 341

APPENDICI

A. PERSONAGGI SALIENTI Akiko Harada, Profili dei personaggi salienti legati alla Missione ...... 351

B. DOCUMENTI Relatione della solenne entrata fatta in Roma da D. Filippo Francesco Faxicura, trascrizione del testo conservato in Biblioteca Angelica, Roma ...... 359 Memorie di privilegio di aggregazione in cittadino romano, traduzione dal latino di Andrea Pagano del testo conservato in Biblioteca, Archivio Capitolino, Roma ...... 367 G. Centamori, La missione Hasekura attraverso gli “Avvisi di Roma”...... 369

C. LA MISSIONE NELLE BIBLIOTECHE ROMANE Alessandrina, scheda a cura di E. Lozzi ...... 383 Angelica, scheda a cura di C. Giobbio ...... 385 0 Frontespizio_Layout 1 03/02/20 11:05 Pagina VIII

Casanatense, scheda a cura di G. Florio ...... 387 Gregoriana, scheda a cura di M.C. De Marino ...... 389 Hertziana, informazioni di M. von Bernstorff...... 391 Lincei e Corsiniana, scheda a cura di E. Antetomaso ...... 393 Nazionale, schede a cura di R. Mazza e V. Longo ...... 395 Romana, scheda a cura di M. Monticelli ...... 403 Urbaniana, scheda a cura di M.A. Rostkowski ...... 405 Vallicelliana, informazioni di P. Lolli e E. Caldelli ...... 409

APPARATI

Bibliografia essenziale sul periodo missionario ...... 415 Tavole cronologiche ...... 425 Cronologia giapponese ...... 425 Cronologia del “secolo cristiano” ...... 426 Cronologia della Missione ...... 427 Glossario essenziale ...... 429 Mappe del Giappone ...... 431 Authors Profiles ...... 433 Album ...... 443 5 Scaroni 25-32_Layout 1 03/02/20 11:21 Pagina 25

FEDERICO SCARONI & BÉBIO VIEIRA AMARO

Nanban Religious Architecture. A Forgotten Heritage

Within the context of cultural exchanges between Westerners and Japanese during the Nanban period, a correct historical evaluation of mutual influences in the field of architecture has always been a particularly difficult endeavor. More than once, dozens, or even hundreds of Christian facilities (churches, hospitals, cemeteries, large crosses on public paths) were destroyed and rebuilt in a short timeframe. Descriptions of those facilities in Western and Japanese sources are often fragmen- tary or ambiguous while also, as a prelude to the Sakoku period, the Tokugawa gov- ernment made a considerable effort to destroy any remains of those facilities. Some recent studies have already disproved the stereotyped notion that the Chiesa del Gesù was the de-facto model for Jesuit architecture across the colonial world.1 In fact, the more we approach the Far East regions of China and Japan, the less European influences were felt in the locally-produced architecture.2 In the period between the arrival of Francis Xavier in 1549, and the expulsion of Portuguese merchants in 1639, there never was a specific model or typology for Christian churches in Japan, although the Jesuit Alessandro Valignano (the “Visitatore gene- rale delle missioni delle Indie Orientali”) did attempt to establish such a model. In fact, what has become increasingly clear from recent researches is the sheer variety of situations and spaces in which Christian rituals occurred. The “Japanese Christian space” was usually characterized by a mobile nature. Missionaries would occupy a room in a private house or an abandoned temple do- nated by the locals, removing or destroying every “idols” and other objects that might offend God. Once accomplished this operation, they would prepare a small altar with a religious image or a portable retable, and then decorate the space as best as they could, either with small plants, or with religious decorative objects depicting Christian motifs and messages, such as silk cloths, rugs, paintings, and chalices. These were often manufactured in India, China, or even Japan itself.3

1 Cf. J.H. Alexander, “Shaping Sacred Space in the Sixteenth Century: Design Criteria for the Collegio Borromeo’s Chapel,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 63, 2, June 2004, University of California Press, pp. 164-179; S. Diniz, “A Arquitectura Da Companhia De Jesus no Japão: A Criação De Um Espaço Religioso Cristão no Japão Dos Séculos XVI e XVII.” Master Thesis, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2007. 2 Cf. S. Diniz, “Jesuit Buildings in China and Japan: A Comparative Study,” Bulletin of Portuguese / Japanese Studies, 3, December, 2001 (107-128), p. 107. 3 R. Arimura, “El Ajuar de las Iglesias Kirishitan: Interculturalidad y Construcción de una Identidad Cristiana,” Isupanika, 56, 2012, pp. 205-229; Id., “The Catholic Architecture of Early Modern Japan: Between Adaptation and Christian Identity,” Japan Review, 27, 2014, pp. 53-76. 5 Scaroni 25-32_Layout 1 03/02/20 11:21 Pagina 26

26 Federico Scaroni & Bébio Vieira Amaro

Once the rites were done, missionaries were usually packing up everything and travel to another village. European construction methods and materials were completely inappropriate for disaster-prone Japan, as well as for the demanding requirements of Japanese etiquette. Furthermore, the skill of wooden architecture was already in such an impressive state of maturity and specialization, with a long-established and detailed system of proportions and measures that the missionaries realized it was mostly futile to interfere with it.4 At first, Christian concepts and vocabulary were overwhelmingly translated in Japanese through the use of Buddhist terms. This caused many misinterpreta- tions by both Jesuits and Japanese Christians.5 As a result, during the first years the Jesuits were often considered by the general population to be just another Bud- dhist sect. Although this state of confusion was somewhat unintended by Xavier and his successor Cosme de Torres, they had to tolerate it since it would be difficult to convert the Japanese otherwise. Around 1555, the missionaries gradually introduced Portuguese and Latin terms, so as to avoid any further ambiguities. However the only architectural foreign terms introduced, were igreja/ecclesia and altar, written in Japanese as イゲレジャ, 恵化連舎, and アルタル. We only have written evidence for these terms from the 1580s onwards, but given their importance in the context of Chris- tianism, we can assume that they were introduced already in 1555 or shortly after. There are also texts from the mid-late Nanban period which use the Buddh- ist term tera or ji 寺 as “church.” In fact, the evidences suggest that tera and igreja/ecclesia were interchangeable, although tera was used more often.6 In the 1550s and 1560s, about half of the churches were Japanese temples, and the rest were new buildings, made of brand-new materials. Until the mid 1580s, it is never explicitly mentioned whether the floor plan was longitudinal just like Eu- ropean churches, but it is clear that some of the new buildings had a rectangular shape. We might cautiously hypothesize that, at first, when the Christian community was small, there was no problem in using the temples without modification, but once that community expanded, it made more sense to build new churches with longitudinal layout.7

4 This is especially clear in 1580, when Valignano claims that previous attempts by Jesuits to design churches had often been unsuccessful: J.F. Schütte, ed., Il Cerimoniale per i Missionari del Giappone: Nuova edizione anastatica con saggio introduttivo di Michela Catto, Roma, Edi- zioni di Storia e Letteratura, 2011, p. 270. 5 U. App, “St. Francis Xavier ’s Discovery of Japanese Buddhism: A Chapter in the Euro- pean Discovery of Buddhism (Part 1: Before the Arrival in Japan, 1547-1549),” The Eastern Buddhist, 30, 1, 1997, pp. 53-78. 6 Doi Tadao, Kirishitan Bunken-kō, Tōkyō, Sanseidō, 1963, pp. 15, 183, 223, 270. 7 We can see the same situation in the use of basilicas with circular/square floor plans such as San Lorenzo in Milano: B. Vieira Amaro, Kōshi Nagasaki ni okeru Kirishitan shisetsu ni kansuru kenkyū. PhD Thesis, Tōkyō Daigaku, Graduate School of Engineering, 2016, pp. 38-44. 5 Scaroni 25-32_Layout 1 03/02/20 11:21 Pagina 27

Nanban Religious Architecture. A Forgotten Heritage 27

It was common for the missionaries to use western architectural terms in their letters to Europe, when in fact they were referring to Japanese architectural elements (see the use of the European term cubicle instead of zashiki 座敷, a Japanese-style room);8 this means that it is crucial to not take missionaries’ descriptions at face value, and seek additional confirmation from other sources. The arrival of the new Superior, Francisco Cabral, in 1570 marked a moment of partial rupture with the previous policy of cultural adaptation. As a result, in the Kyūshū region, residences were built only according to Jesuit requirements for a communal life, without considering Japanese etiquette and customs, except for the Kinai region, where Luis Frois and Organtino Gnecchi-Soldo temporarily de- fied Cabral’s orders, building residences and churches fully adapted to Japanese customs.9 The keyword here is “hierarchical space:” for example, according to Japanese custom, there should be a building for guests with multiple zashiki connected by sliding doors, so that the guests can be assigned to a certain zashiki, depending on their rank and status. Furthermore, the sitting position of each person inside each zashiki is determined not only by their rank, but also by the location of the kitchen used to prepare tea or other appetizers. In front of the zashiki, there must be a bal- cony (engawa, 縁側) and a garden known as niwa (庭), which define key positions where the host must welcome the guests, and also bid farewell to them. When Alessandro Valignano arrived in Japan in 1579, he heard harsh criticisms from Christian lords such as Ōmura Sumitada and Ōtomo Sōrin regarding Cabral’s policies. They felt profoundly disgusted whenever they had to visit the Jesuit residences, because there were no spaces in which the lords could be treated honor- ably, according to Japanese custom. Also, the rooms and eating tools were filthy, and animals were raised and killed for cooking European-style food. Since most Japanese rarely or never ate meat, this was a cause of embarrassment and irritation for them.10 Valignano replaced Cabral with Gaspar Coelho, and revived the policy of cultural accommodation, by stressing the importance of following Japanese customs. Furthermore, Japanese carpenters should be consulted when preparing the buildings’ design. He also elaborated a basic set of rules for churches: namely, a longitudinal floor plan with one or three naves, with zashiki rooms on both sides of the chapel, and external guest rooms where women could be received without disturb-

8 Compare the use of “cubiculos” and “camara” by Luis Frois vs. Valignano’s use of the term zashiki in the following works: L. Frois, J. Wicky, História de Japam, Vol. 4, Lisboa, Bi- blioteca Nacional, 1976-1984, p. 424; Iid., Historia de Japam, Vol. 2, p. 62; A. Valignano, “Obe- diencias do Padre Alexandre Valignano Vizitador da Provincia de Japao e China, revistas e concertadas pello Padre Francisco Passio Visitador da mesma provincia, para instrucção dos Reytores. Anno de 1612,” Jesuitas na Asia, cod. 49-IV-56, v.II-3-E-105, volume (4-II-25) nos.1- 62, Tōyō Bunko Archive, fol. 160r. 9 J.F. Schütte, Valignanos Missionsgrundsatze Fur Japan, Erster Band 1573-1582, Zweiter Teil 1580-1582, Roma, Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 1958, p. 466, 471. 10 Vieira Amaro, op. cit., pp. 63-79. 5 Scaroni 25-32_Layout 1 03/02/20 11:21 Pagina 28

28 Federico Scaroni & Bébio Vieira Amaro

Fig. 1 - Kanō Sōshū. Fan of late 16th century representing a Christian Temple (Nanban Temple - Nanbandera) in Kyoto, probably the “Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.” Courtesy Kobe City Museum.

ing the private quarters of the Jesuits. Some of these characteristics could already be found in previous churches such as “Our Lady of Assumption”, built in Kyoto in 1577 (Fig. 1). Overall, his proposals show a clear influence from both Organtino and the Christian daimyō Ōtomo Sōrin. Under Gaspar Coelho’s term, churches became more sumptuous and large, with the use of gilded metal fixtures and folding screens (byōbu 屏風) as decorative elements. We can also confirm the use of expensive roof tiles, similar to the ones from large temples and fortresses.11 The first anti-Christian edict in 1587 led to the destruction of almost all the churches in Japan, and until 1599 almost no new ones were built. The arrival of the Franciscans in 1592 further complicated the situation, as they accused the Je- suits of being so attached to Japanese customs that they had lost their own identity. Although most of their criticisms were related to the Jesuit methods of performing the rites, there are some implicit references to architecture. First, there was the fact that Japanese Christians were allowed to sit on the tatami floor during the whole mass, instead of standing up to worship the Lord at specific moments, as is the norm in Europe. Actually, for the Japanese, to stand up before a superior was considered to be an insult; therefore the Jesuits allowed them to worship in the way that they considered the most honorable. Another crit- icism was on the Jesuit focus on entertaining Japanese guests with tea ceremonies and guest rooms. In both of these aspects, even the Franciscans themselves had to

11 Ibid., Appendix C. 5 Scaroni 25-32_Layout 1 03/02/20 11:21 Pagina 29

Nanban Religious Architecture. A Forgotten Heritage 29

compromise, although they assured that their guest room was humble, in accor- dance with their vows of poverty. In contrast to the so-called “opulence” of Jesuit churches, the Franciscans were keen to stress the honorable poverty of their church (also known as “Porciúncula”) in Miyako describing it as “humble” and built with poor materials.12 Nevertheless Jesuits Francisco Pasio and Pedro Gomez insisted on Franciscans to actually real- ize a large church with three chapels and choir, while surrounding the whole com- plex of Myōmanji (a prestigious site which used to belong to a temple) with a “sumptuous wall.”13 In their view, it violated the poverty vow and was also an act of defiance to Hideyoshi, who had explicitly forbidden the Franciscans of building churches and spreading the Christian law. Even as the mendicant orders partially adapted to Japanese culture, they also forced the Jesuits to implement more Western elements; since the 1600s, there are references to impressive churches with three naves, lateral chapels and retables large enough to occupy the entire main chapel. Nevertheless, Japanese architectural elements were still predominant. There are some images and folding screens that purport to depict Christian churches in Japan: a few of them are from the 1580s, but mostly from 1600 onwards. All of them show incongruences and inconsistencies in varying degrees, when com- pared with documental sources. For example, an often-divulged image across Eu- rope is the depiction of four Jesuit buildings, in the book dedicated to the life of Gregory XIII, showing a strong European influence; anyhow these depictions are completely fictional and bear no clear relationship with contemporary descriptions.14 Regarding the nanban folding screens, they usually contain many fictional elements, and only a minority is reliable as historical source. Generally speaking, their depictions of Westerners (Nanban-jin) are basically accurate, but other aspects such as the kurofune (Portuguese silk trading ship), the topography of the region, street layout, and the design of churches, are not always consistent with other historical sources. For instance, a byōbu attributed to Kanō Naizen (Fig. 2) has long been assumed to represent the main church of Nagasaki, but its depicted architectural features go against contemporary textual evidence.15 The graphical information contained in the less reliable screens suggests that the churches and the surrounding landscape were painted based on hearsay, or by copying elements from other folding screens. They are “conceptual maps” and the artists probably heard from their clients some basic descriptions of the loca- tions/churches (guest rooms/game rooms, or part of a church spreading into the

12 Fray Pedro Bautista, Carta a D. Luis Pérez Dasmariñas, Letter from Miyako, 13 October 1594, in L. Perez, Cartas y Relaciones del Japón. I. Cartas de San Pedro Bautista, Madrid, Archivo Ibero-Americano (nos. XII, XVI-XVII), G. López del Horno, 1916, p. 58. 13 Francisco Pasio, 1594-10-17, Jap. Sin. 12-II, fol. 198v; Pedro Gomez, Nagasaki, Jap. Sin. 12-II, 1595-02-03, fol. 242r. 14 M. Ciappi, Compendio Delle Heroiche, Et Gloriose Attioni, Et Santa Vita Di Papa Greg. XIII..., Rome, Stamperia degli Accolti, 1596. 15 Vieira Amaro, op. cit., Appendix B. 5 Scaroni 25-32_Layout 1 03/02/20 11:21 Pagina 30

30 Federico Scaroni & Bébio Vieira Amaro

Fig. 2 - Kanō Naizen. Namban Six-fold Screen representing traded goods unloaded on Japanese shores and a procession through a merchant district toward a Christian temple, 16th-17th century. Courtesy Kobe City Museum.

sea).16 Based on these incomplete descriptions, each artist freely copied elements from other screens, while adding others from his own imagination. As a result, they painted the same basic buildings, or architectural elements, in completely different ways. The two most plausible folding screens are the ones owned by the Kyūshū Na- tional Museum (九州国立博物館), and the Suntory Museum of Art (サントリー美術館). The former (and most reliable) appears to depict the College of Saint Paul in Nagasaki during the 1590s while the latter appears to depict the same location after the 1600s. If we compare their contents, there are similarities and differences. Both agree on the approximate position of the two buildings, as well as in terms of their general size and roof shape but, despite the strong similarities, the buildings do not look identical. They may be cautiously identified as the main building of Saint Paul College, and a smaller structure next to it which appears to be a stage for dancing or theatrical performances (buden 舞殿). The reliability of these screens can only be fully confirmed by archeological excavations, which are ongoing at slow pace. To summarize, while folding screens should certainly not be discounted as historical materials, a considerable amount of care is necessary when making any interpretations based on them. Looking at the Kyūshū and Suntory screens, we can say that Shinto architectural elements are absent, while elements common in Buddhist temples and Japan- ese residential architecture are widely used. For example: hip-and-gable roofs known as irimoya 入母屋, gable pediments featuring a grilled mesh: kizure-gōshi 木連格子 or a structural framework known as kōryō-taiheitsuka 虹梁大瓶束;

16 This was the case with the main chapel of the Church of Our Lady of Assumption, built in Nagasaki in 1601. The chapel was projecting outside of the cliff into the sea, supported by a large wooden structure. 5 Scaroni 25-32_Layout 1 03/02/20 11:21 Pagina 31

Nanban Religious Architecture. A Forgotten Heritage 31

roof tiles with gargoyle faces known as oni-ita 鬼板 and onigawara 鬼瓦; sliding doors in the shape of koshi-shōji 腰障子 and akari-shōji 明障子; surrounding bal- conies known as engawa 縁側; or windows in the shape of lotus flowers: katō- mado 花頭窓. The existence of these ornamental elements can be explained by the fact that they do not represent deities, and were not objects of worship; therefore they could not be used for idolatry. Following the missionaries’ expulsion of 1614, Japanese Christians continued to worship the ruins of former churches. This fact led the Tokugawa authorities to adopt an even harsher attitude, often burning every piece of wood, removing foun- dation stones, and throwing ashes into the sea so that they could not be retrieved. The few Western architectural elements introduced by missionaries were of no use to the authorities and nothing was preserved, hence leaving no heritage for any possible following architectural inspiration. The missionaries returned to a condi- tion of secretly preaching inside private houses while the worship spaces of the “Hidden Christians” (Kakure Kirishitan) had no traces of Western architectural elements, except for the presence of semi-circular tombstones in cemeteries, and other Christian imagery such as that of a cross.17 To summarize, there is no conclusive evidence that Western missionaries influ- enced Japanese architecture or urbanism during the Christian period, but it has become generally accepted by Japanese scholars that Dutch merchants successfully introduced some stone construction techniques, with a representative example being the bridge of Megane Bashi in Nagasaki, built sometime around or after 1634.18 At best, we can admit that the introduction of weapons such as arquebuses (first by the wakō and soon after by the Portuguese),19 or light artillery, encouraged the daimyō to rebuild their fortresses so as to increase the distance between the outermost stone walls and the fortress itself. There is no evidence that westerners in Europe adopted any architectural influences from Japan during that period, since only a few folding screens arrived in Europe from Japan, and even those were not particularly appreciated by the Eu- ropean audience as we can guess from the comments of Teodozio Panizza, who saw the byōbu of Azuchiyama (the short-lived capital built by Oda Nobunaga) given to the Pope during the first Japanese embassy of 1585.20

17 For more information on Christian tombstones, see the following studies: Ōishi Kazuhisa, “Les pierres tombales des premiers chrétiens et la tradition japonaise des monuments funéraires,” Histoire et missions chrétiennes, 11, 2009, pp. 67-108; Kataoka Yakichi, “Nagasaki-kenka kirishitan bohi Sōran,” Kirishitan Kenkyū, 1, 1942, pp. 109-246. 18 Cf. the study by Hayashi Kazuma, “9031 Nagasaki Megane-bashi no Gijutsu-teki Genryu: Wagakuni Hondo ni Okeru Aachi Kakō-hō no Denrai Keiro,” Summaries of Technical Papers of Annual Meeting Architectural Institute of Japan. F, Urban Planning, Building Economics and Housing Problems, History and Theory of Architecture, 1989, 10, pp. 713-714. 19 J.S. Elisonas, “Nagasaki: The Early Years of a Early Modern Japanese City,” in L.M. Brockey, ed., Portuguese Colonial Cities in the Early Modern World, Farnham, Ashgate, 2008. 20 Cf. M. McKelway, Capitalscapes: Folding Screens and Political Imagination in Late Medieval Kyoto, Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press, 2006, p. 167. 5 Scaroni 25-32_Layout 1 03/02/20 11:21 Pagina 32

32 Federico Scaroni & Bébio Vieira Amaro

European phenomena such as “Japonisme” or “Chinoiserie” only began to man- ifest themselves at a much later date, through Dutch trading of art and ceramics. The second wave of Christianism during the Meiji period did not take any influence from the Nanban period and was essentially of a Western nature, as the hidden Christians had no recollection of the image of Nanban churches. Also, the colonialist impetus of foreign powers, the urge of Japanese authorities to learn from the West, and advances in construction technology had made brick and stone architecture feasible in Japan.

Summary

The prayer space of missionaries in Japan consisted in a first phase of the use of rooms inside private houses or abandoned temples adapted for the purpose; a second phase saw the construction of buildings based on European standards. In a last phase, religious premises returned to forms more in keeping with their Japan- ese context, in which rectangular building plans are the most widespread. Because of the temporary nature of these structures and the following religious repression, few remains of these buildings survive; moreover the graphic representations on the folding screens are often unreliable because they do not correspond to contemporary written descriptions.