perspektywy kultury / perspectives on culture Varia numer 21 (2/2018) Robert Danieluk SJ Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu (ARSI, Rome)
[email protected] Long Way to Japan – Short Way to Martyrdom: Wojciech Męciński, S.J., and His Letters in the Jesuit Roman Archives ABSTRACT The Jesuit Wojciech Męciński (1598-1643) was probably the first Pole to arrive in Japan. He died in Nagasaki in circumstances that are well remembered by the recent movie by Martin Scorsese, entitled Silence. The history of the missionary is inscribed in the history of Christian ity in Japan, where Evangelization began in 1549, on the initiative of St. Francis Xavier, and which stopped with the brutal persecution in the early 17th century. The Polish Jesuit, and the story of his fellow co-religionists in Japan are known and already have their own litera ture, to which the present article is a mere contribution. Its aim is to publish Męciński’s correspondence preserved in the Roman Archives of the Society of Jesus. His original letters archived there, although known and quoted by various authors, have never been published in full, which is the purpose of the article. KEYWORDS: Wojciech Męciński, Japan, Jesuits, missions, seventeenth century 89 perspektywy kultury (nr 21) Varia STRESZCZENIE Długa droga do Japonii prostą drogą do męczeństwa: Wojciech Męciński SJ i jego listy w Rzymskim Archiwum Towarzystwa Jezusowego Polski jezuita Wojciech Męciński (1598-1643) to zapewne pierwszy Po lak, który dotarł do Japonii. Zginął w Nagasaki w okolicznościach, które dobrze przypomniał niedawny film Martina Scorsese Silence. Historia misjonarza wpisuję się w dzieje chrześcijaństwa w Kraju Wschodzą cego Słońca, którego ewangelizację rozpoczął w 1549 r.