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Reseña De" Christianity in Early Modern Japan. Kirishitan Belief

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Reseña De Bulletin of Portuguese - Japanese Studies ISSN: 0874-8438 [email protected] Universidade Nova de Lisboa Portugal Jorissen, Engelbert Reseña de "Christianity in Early Modern Japan. Kirishitan Belief & Practice" de Ikuo Higashibaba Bulletin of Portuguese - Japanese Studies, núm. 8, june, 2004, pp. 107-115 Universidade Nova de Lisboa Lisboa, Portugal Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=36100806 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative BPJS, 2004, 8, 107-130 Book Review 107 BOOK REVIEW Ikuo Higashibaba convert to Christianity in early mod- ern Japan. Christianity in Early Modern Japan. Ikuo Higashibaba starts his in- Kirishitan Belief & Practice, quiry from the background of such (Brill's Japanese Studies Library, questions. He wants to move away edited by from a traditional research which H. Bolitho and K. W. Radtke, focuses on historical events and fig- Volume 16, ures and ends up by measuring the Leiden, Boston, Koln, Brill, 2001) effect and results of the early Catho- lic mission in Japan according to the During an international confer- exspectation of the missionary, come ence held on occasion of the 450th from outside, and within the frame of commemoration of the arrival of the a European understanding of Chris- first Portuguese in Japan in, as far tianism, Christians and Christian as it seems today, 1543, there was behaviour. Instead, Higashibaba as- one contribution about Otomo Sorin serts: “We need to explore the his- as a crucial figure in the history of torical experiences of these people, early Japanese Christianity. At the whose existence has been so often end of his explanations the speaker ignored in the traditional histories of asserted the audience that Otomo the Christian century” (p. xiv). And Sorin, for the Jesuits as well Dom in the conclusion of his study he says Francisco, once having been baptized, that he has given "an example of how had remained up to the end of his a people accepted a foreign religious life “a good Christian”. Seen from system and developed it within their the speaker's personal view this may own religious, social, and political have been so. However, problems circumstances” (p. 164). To this pur- may arise if one begins to reflect pose Higashibaba concentrates on one upon what is a good Christian, and text, that is the Dochiriina Kirishitan does so with historical perspectives, published first in Japanese in 1591 regarding aspects of cultural anthro- and in a revised edition again in 1600, pology, with respect to sociological what underlines the importance of facts, and this again with respect to the text (cf. Higashibaba p. 53). two different socio-cultural-historical The Japanese version of the backgrounds of the European Chris- Dochiriina Kirishitan is basically a tian missionary and the Japanese translation of the Doctrina Christa 108 Book Review written by the Jesuit Marcos Jorge, Chapter Three. He then reflects upon a catechism, after the fashion of that the attractivity of Kirishitan teach- time put into the form of a dialogue ings for the contemporary Japanese and published first in Lisbon in 1566, and on some of their practices in however with decisive alterations comparison with traditional Japa- for use in Japan (for the history and nese religious concepts and prac- description of the text cf. Higash- tices, focusing on “Afterlife... Sal- ibaba, Chapter Three, pp. 50 ss) vation” and “[t]he Kirishitan Divin- Considering the conception of the ity”, Chapter Four, and on “Ritual Dochiriina Kirishitan and attempt- Practice[s]”, as e.g. “Baptism and ing to reconstruct the reception of Penance”, Chapter Five. In Chapter this text, together with some other Six he outlines the beginning and catechetical texts, by the Japanese progress of “Anti-Kirishitan Policy” converts, the Kirishitan, Higashibaba and looks at forms of Kirishitan life tries to approach to what Kirishitan “under the Tokugawa Persecution”. daily life might have looked. As Discussing aspects of “Apostasy, Un- Higashibaba writes, compared with derground Practice, or Martyrdom" Jorge's text “the Japanese Dochiriina Higashibaba tries as well to draw is not simply the same text translated conclusions about possible forms of into another language” (p. 56). And Kirishitan communal life before the as becomes clear from his analysis policy of persecution began (all cita- this has further implications, that is, tions here from the table of Contents, that the translation, in the sense of pp. vii-viii). transfer, of Christianism and Chris- Higashibaba underlines the fact tian faith as a whole into another cul- that Christianity was not the first reli- ture is a much more complex process gion imported to Japan from abroad. than rendering them into another He describes how the arrival and language. Higashibaba consequently acceptance of Buddhism in Japan had calls the Japanese converts always become an enrichment to the people “Kirishitan” and speaks as well of (pp. xxiii-xxxi). Higashibaba stresses “Kirishitanization” (e.g. p. 14). This the fact that it would be “seriously means Higashibaba's book is as misleading” if one would assume well a contribution to the study of the Japanese Christian in 16th-17th translation of culture(s) (cf. as well century Japan would have seper- Higashibaba, p. 16). ated Shinto and Buddhism, and that After giving a brief overview of “the ‘seperate-tradition model’ that the early Jesuit mission in Japan, stresses the independence of reli- Chapter One, and first receptions gious traditions based on doctrinal of the Jesuit missionaries and their difference” (p. xxx) should be given message, Chapter Two, Higashibaba up. Such presuppositions make him describes the Dochiriina Kirishitan, compare the acceptance of Christi- Book Review 109 anity with that of Buddhism, that is Christianism as a religion became a above all with various forms of amal- sort of shared social identity, as in gamation, and to propose to think of the case of the ikko ikki movement a new form of Christianity as there (pp. 156 ss). had developed “Japanese Buddhism” Chapter One deals with the crucial (p. xxx). That is, Higashibaba's wants question of translating in a double demonstrate a distinctiveness of ear- sense. That is first of translating in ly modern Japanese Christianity due literal sense. Anjiro from Kagoshima to a Japanese tendency of combining who introduced Xavier to Japan, up and amalgamating “... indigenous to today has been repeatedly made and foreign organized religious and responsible for difficulties the first folk elements ...” (p. 162, this is a missionaries found themselves con- citation from Byron Earhart's “Ge- fronted with when explaining Chris- datsu-kai and Religion in Contempo- tian messages in Japanese (Higash- rary Japan: Returning to the Center ibaba, pp. 6 ss). Here, especially the (Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana Univer- translation of “God” with “Dainichi” sity Press, 1989), 10”, Higashibaba, has become famous. Higashibaba p. 163.1). shows the mechanisms which must As an additional factor for the have led to the misunderstandings. 'change' of Christianism Higashiba- It was not only the lack of knowledge ba mentions at various places how in about Japanese religion that created the early time of the mission insuf- problems, he stresses, it was indeed ficient capacity of language and the the fact that “Anjiro ... probably had lack of written texts enhanced mis- more knowledge of Christianity, understandings, and how through which he learned in a college [i.e. the whole time of early modern in Goa], than he had of Japanese re- Christianism the number of mis- ligion”. It was exactly this knowlege sionaries was insufficient, with the which made him explain Japanese exception of certain periods and spe- religion, which he will have done “in cific regions. That means that many Portuguese”, in “Christian terminol- Christians who had participated in ogy”. The missionaries on their side, mass conversions could not obtain again, used “Buddhist terminology” adequate teaching of Christian doc- to explain the Christian message” trine which would have made clear (p. 10). its difference from already existing Another aspect of translation is, forms of cult and religion in Japan. then, demonstrated with the Jesuits' In addition Higashibaba points to method of adaptation to Japanese the interaction of the development of customs. In order to be acceptable secular communal life and religious for the common Japanese the foreign activitity. Integration into a commu- missionaries had to find their place nal system could mean as well that in Japanese society, and for this they 110 Book Review had to adopt Japanese customs to a by Valignano and Francisco Cabral certain degree. Here Higashibaba respectively, what, of course, is men- cites Valignano's: “Now we have no tioned by Higashibaba. However the rules in Japan to guide us in these limitedness of the Jesuits', including forms of etiquette and social inter- Valignano's, willingness for accomo- course save those which were in dation to superficial things in every- vogue with the Japanese themselves day life could have been stressed between lay folk, and their priests, more strongly, for example by citing the bonzes” (p. 19). However before Valignano's Iruman kokoroe no koto, the missionaries understood where where Valignano is very critical they should place themselves in about the character of the Japanese Japanese society, so Higashibaba, members and stresses the necessity their “status as a padre or an irmao ... of their accomodation to European had to be translated and redefined”, ways of thinking and acting. Some and before doing so, they had even passages in that text make me re- to “define who they were before they member even an often cited phrase began adopting Japanese manners” from Thomas Babington Macaulay's (p.
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