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Home , Arima Harunobu, Ashikaga shogunate, Francis Xavier, Southern Netherlands, Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Bulletin of Portuguese - Japanese Studies ISSN: 0874-8438 [email protected] Universidade Nova de Lisboa

Proot, Goran; Verberckmoes, Johan Japonica in the Jesuit Drama of the Southern Bulletin of Portuguese - Japanese Studies, núm. 5, december, 2002, pp. 27-47 Universidade Nova de Lisboa Lisboa, Portugal

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JAPONICA IN THE JESUIT DRAMA OF THE SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS

Goran Proot and Johan Verberckmoes University of Louvain

1. Theatrical practice in the provincia Flandro-Belgica

There was no lack of drama in the Jesuit colleges of the provincia Flandro-Belgica 1. This province, which was established in 1612 by the divi- sion of the provincia into the provincia Flandro-Belgica and the provincia Gallo-Belgica, at its height had eighteen colleges. Four of them lay in what is now northern (Bailleul, Cassel, Bergues and ), another four in what is now the southern part of the Netherlands (Breda, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, and ). We now know of almost 2000 shows put on in this area. Most of these were college plays. From the foundation of the schools, pupils performed plays. The school year, which ended in September, was always concluded with a colourful theatrical performance. The pupils also performed a play around Lent, and in many colleges the separate classes each put on a more modest show once each year. The performances were an integral part of the education provided. The pupils spoke Latin on stage, just as they had to in the school. Sometimes they wrote the script themselves, sometimes they were helped by teachers. Plays involved more than memorizing the lines. It was also a question of posture and gesture, of learning to speak in public, of imaginative identifica- tion with characters and situations. Apart from the usual school drama, the Jesuit fathers also put on parades, processions and a whole range of occasional celebrations. In many cases a city magistracy or another secular authority requested the fathers to

1 On Jesuit drama in the Southern Netherlands see the useful study of Leonardus van den Boogerd, Het jezuïetendrama in de Nederlanden, Groningen, 1961, and K. Porteman’s short but useful article, “9 september 1616. De heilige Jan Berchmans speelt te Mechelen de rol van de H. Nathalia. Het jezuïetentoneel in de Zuidelijke Nederlanden”, in R. L. Erenstein, ed., Een theatergeschiedenis der Nederlanden, Amsterdam, 1996, pp. 170-177. Initial results of recent research are to be found in the articles of Goran Proot, “Toneelprogramma’s in het Jezuïetenhuis te Heverlee”, Archief- en Bibliotheekwezen in België, 58 (1997), no. 1-4, pp. 313-355; Goran Proot, “Contribution au théâtre des jésuites flamands. Les pièces perdues, les titres retrouvés”, Archief- en Bibliotheekwezen in België, 59 (1998), no. 1-4, pp. 111-171; Goran Proot, “Het Brugs jezuïeten- toneel in de 17de en 18de eeuw”, V.R.B. Informatie 30 (2000), no. 1-4, pp. 3-19. 28 Goran Proot and Johan Verberckmoes add lustre to particular festive occasions. After all, the Jesuits showed them- selves to be not only good organisers with an ear for the euphonious and an eye for the tasteful, but also exceptionally reliable masters of ceremonies. Finally, a number of programmes or other sources (civic accounts, letters or college histories) bear witness to theatrical performances by members of sodalities or fraternities and catechetical groups under Jesuit direction. These pieces may well have been performed in the . Few complete scripts survive, far more programmes. The plot summaries, known as periochen, were distributed among the audience. They usually contain, besides a general statement of the theme, a short summary of each act, or sometimes even each scene. Some programmes provide a cast list or a summary of the interlude, which was often divided and performed between the acts of the main play. Many programmes were in Latin, but there are some in the vernacular, for spectators who knew no Latin. Jesuit drama was, just like their education, free of charge, and thus reached a broad public. Fifty-odd plays are set in the overseas missions: , Cochinchina, Congo and Monomotapa. Most of the plays with overseas settings, however, are set in , the eastern mission that was by far the most popular. They are the subject of this article.

2. The Jesuits in the land of the rising sun 2

On 15 August 1549, set foot on land at , a city in southern Kyushu, the southern-most of the four large islands which make up Japan 3. Xavier quickly received permission to proclaim his faith there. He had great regard for the highly developed Japanese culture, which in many respects compared favourably with European culture 4. He stayed in Japan for two and a half years. In Kagoshima, Xavier and his European companions devoted them- selves to the study of Japanese. He also preached to the people, but once a number of converts had been made there was soon resistance from Buddhist

2 This historical survey is based on C. R. Boxer, The Christian Century in Japan, 1549-1650, Berkeley & Los Angeles, University of California Press, 1951; Richard Henry Drummond, A History of in Japan, Michigan, Eerdmans Grand Rapids, 1971; William V. Bangert, A History of the , St. Louis, 1972; John Whitney Hall, ed., The Cambridge , Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1991 (vol. 4), and Marius B. Jansen, The Making of Modern Japan, Cambridge, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2000. On Francis Xavier’s activities in Japan see the third volume of the second part of Georg Schurhammer, Franz Xavier. Sein Leben und seine Zeit, Freiburg-Basel-Wien, Herder, 1955-1973 (2 parts). 3 See Schurhammer, op. cit., part II, vol. 3, p. 54. Japonica in the Jesuit Drama of the Southern Netherlands 29 priests 5. Xavier decided to plead his case before the emperor in person 6. The emperor resided in Myako, now , on the central island Honshu. There Xavier found only a decayed and powerless court and he decided to approach matters differently. In , a city in southwestern Honshu, which he had passed through on his journey to the imperial court, he obtained the permission of the local military lord or daimyo 7 to preach and to dispose over a disused Buddhist temple 8. The work progressed well, and after an invitation from the daimyo of Bungo 9, now Oita in northeastern Kyushu, he returned to to put things in order there. He also took up again the plan of converting . The proud Japanese had a deep respect for Chinese cultural achievements, which led Xavier to see the conversion of China as a necessary first step for the conver- sion of Japan 10. After many wanderings he ended up on the island Sancian in the Bay of Canton, just a few miles from the Chinese mainland, and he died there on 3 December 1552 11. The groundwork for the popular Japanese mission had been laid 12. The political and military situation on the islands of Japan was, however, excep- tionally chaotic, so that the Jesuit mission could develop only with difficulty. The then had only limited power 13. The country was divided into 66 provinces, which were ruled by their military governors as little principalities. Although they were all in principle under the emperor’s rule, the local rulers were in constant battle with one another. This sometimes worked to the advantage of the , and sometimes forced them to move their operations to other areas. Their greatest progress was made on the island of Kyushu. The population was relatively poor 14, and the success was largely due to the trade which Portuguese merchants

4 See Klaus Schatz, “Die ersten 50 Jahre Jesuitenmission”, Stimmen der Zeit 127 (2002), no. 6, p. 393; Schurhammer, op. cit., part II, vol. 3, p. 87. 5 See Schurhammer, op. cit., part II, vol. 3, p. 132. 6 See Schurhammer, op. cit., part II, vol. 3, p. 210 vv. 7 On the meaning of this term, see Ivan Morris, The nobility of failure: tragic heroes in the history of Japan, Penguin books-Harmondsworth, 1980, p. 465. 8 See Schurhammer, op. cit., part II, vol. 3, pp. 232-233. 9 See Schurhammer, op. cit., part II, vol. 3, pp. 251-252. 10 See Schurhammer, op. cit., part II, vol. 3, p. 333. 11 See Schurhammer, op . cit., part II, vol. 3, p. 677. 12 See Boxer, op. cit., p. 80. 13 See Boxer, op. cit., p. 43. 14 See Morris, op. cit., p. 147; J. F. Moran, The Japanese and the Jesuits. Alessandro Valignano in sixteenth-century Japan, London-New York, Routledge, 1993, p. 130. 30 Goran Proot and Johan Verberckmoes brought to the ports. The Jesuits acted as mediators and brokers. Not infre- quently a local daimyo would convert to Catholicism with trading benefits at the back of his mind 15. As custom dictated, they were followed in conversion by their subjects, and in this way the new religion quickly spread across the whole island 16. In the meantime, the military leader (1534-1582) had started the subjection of the daimyo. His centralising policies were continued after his death by (1536-1598), a general of lowly birth, and consolidated by (1542-1616). The was to rule the country well into the nineteenth century 17. Although Kyushu’s location had enabled it to escape the growing centralisation of Nobunaga’s rule and keep the identity it had maintained for centuries, in 1587 the island had to submit to his successor Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi was not best pleased with the position that the Jesuits had acquired on Kyushu. Not only had the fathers brought about mass conversions in several provinces since 1574, they had even acquired sovereign authority in a number of cities, such as and Mogi 18. In 1580 they had opened a seminary in Arima which was attended by the children of the nobility from throughout Kyushu 19. The province of Bungo was also developing into a bulwark of Catholicism 20. A college had been opened in Funai, the capital of Bungo, and a noviciate had been established in Usuki 21. After the invasion of Kyushu and the subjection of the recalcitrant daimyo, Hideyoshi set about limiting the power and freedom of the Catholic religion. The political and religious opponents of Catholicism had, after all, for some time seen it as a potential threat to the sovereignty of Japan. The first edicts to describe Catholicism as a damaging religion were issued in 1587. In practice there was still room for Christians to live their faith 22. But the coming of other reli- gious orders, such as the arrival in 1593 of , accompanied by

15 See Drummond, op. cit., p. 47 vv. 16 For example the ruler of Amakusa in 1577, see Morris, op. cit., p. 147, or in 1580, see Moran, op. cit., pp. 64-65. Later, early in the seventeenth century, most converts had other motiva- tions, see Arnulf Camps, “Das Christentum aus chinesischem und japanischem Blickwinkel während der ‘Jesuitischen Epoche’ der Missionsgeschichte Asiens (1549-1773)”, in Johannes Meier, ed., “... usque ad ultimum terrae” Die Jesuiten und die transkontinentale Ausbreitung des Christentums 1540-1773, Göttingen, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2000, pp. 121-136, esp. pp. 122-123. 17 See Jansen, op. cit., p. 3 18 See Jurgis Elisonas, “Christianity and the daimyo”, p. 330, in Hall, op. cit., pp. 301-372. 19 See Moran, op. cit., p. 12-13; Hall, op. cit., p. 334. 20 See Elisonas, op. cit., p. 350. 21 See Elisonas, op. cit., p. 343. 22 See Elisonas, op. cit., p. 364. Japonica in the Jesuit Drama of the Southern Netherlands 31

Spanish merchants, disturbed the fragile balance 23. After a number of inci- dents the persecution of Christians was increased. The first victims of the revised policy fell in Nagasaki on 5 February 1597, when 26 religious were crucified. These executions marked the beginning of a long and increasingly rigid persecution, which was to reach its highpoint under the rule of Ieyasu (1600-1616). In 1614 new edicts were issued, obliging Christians to leave Japan or renounce their faith. Furthermore, the shogun forced local rulers to implement the policy of persecution actively. Nevertheless, the Jesuits continued their mission as well or ill as they could, despite the circumstances with increasingly fruitful results 24. From 1633 the shogunate implemented increasingly strict laws to close Japan to the Western world 25. The mission- aries were put out of the country, the Spaniards and Portuguese were forced to stop their trade and the remaining Christians were forced to renounce their faith or practice it secretly.

3. The dramas of Japanese constancy

The subject of these dramas was not so much missionaries as Japanese Christians themselves 26. The complex history of the persecution of Japanese Christians was well known from printed accounts 27, and around it crys-

23 See Pedro Lage Reis Correia, “Alessandro Valignano attitude towards Jesuit and Franciscan concepts of evangelization in Japan (1587-1597)”, Bulletin of Portuguese/Japanese Studies 2 (2001), pp. 79-108. Compare Moran, op. cit., pp. 49-50 and 79-94. 24 See Elisonas, op. cit., p. 368. 25 See Jansen, op. cit., pp. 87-88 and 91-95. 26 On Japanese heroes elsewhere in Europe see Thomas Immoos, “Japanische Helden des europäischen Barocktheaters”, Maske und Kothurn. Vierteljahresschrift für Theaterwissenschaft, 27 (1981), pp. 35-56. Two plays set in Japan were edited by Masahiro Takenaka & Charles Burnett, eds., Jesuit Plays on Japan and English Recusancy, , , The Renaissance Institute, 1995. 27 The most important contemporary historical accounts concerning Asia and Japan were: Nicolas Trigault, De christianis apvd Iaponios trivmphis, Monachii, Sadeler, 1623. This work was translated by Pierre Morin as Histoire des martyrs dv Iapon dépuis l’an MDCXII. iusques a MDCXX, , Sébastien Cramoisy, 1624. François Solier’s book, Histoire ecclésiastique des isles et royaume du Japon, Paris, Sebastien Cramoisy, 1627, was nowhere explicitly mentioned in the theatre programmes discussed below, but was the basis for Abbé de T(ressac) [= Jean Crasset], Histoire de l’église du Japon, Paris, Estienne Michallet, 1689. The second edition of this last work appeared in 1715 (Paris, François Montalant) under the author’s real name. One of the most influential accounts was that of Cornelis Hazart, Kerckelycke historie vande gheheele wereldt, Antwerpen, Michiel Cnobbaert, 1667-1671 (4 vols.). A second edition of the first part appeared in 1682 with the same printer. Françoise Pélisson-Karro, “Sources théâtrales, sources historiques: l’apprentissage de l’histoire de l’Orient sur la scène jésuite”, Littératures classiques, 30 (1997), pp. 239-253 goes into greater detail about historical sources for dramatic literature. 32 Goran Proot and Johan Verberckmoes tallised various stories and characters, that worked through into the eigh- teenth-century theatre. Given the Jesuit preference for working with local elites, it is no coincidence that these characters almost all came from the upper nobility of Japan 28. Takayama Ukon was one of the most loyal generals of Oda Nobunaga, and subsequently of Toyotomi Hideyoshi 29. He was born to a Christian family and was given the baptismal name Justus, so that among the Portuguese he was sometimes known as Dom Justo Ukondono 30. Despite his religious convictions he could count on the sympathy of kampaku (impe- rial regent) Hideyoshi, who looked on Christianity with suspicion. The contin- ually recurring dramatic event in plays about Ukon was his forced exile. In the night of 24 July 1587 Hideyoshi sent a messenger to Ukon with a heart- rending dilemma: either renounce Christianity or go into exile 31. This bitter choice was suggested to Hideyoshi by his court physician, Seiyakuin Hoin. Hoin represented the advance of Christianity as a vanguard for European powers, preparing the ground for occupation 32. This conspiracy theory had already circulated among Japan’s non-Christian rulers for some time 33. Justo Ukondono resolutely opted for exile. His friends, who according to Japanese custom would be exiled with him, in vain strove to change his mind. Hideyoshi suggested a compromise, but that too Justo resolutely rejected. Upset at such constancy and self-sacrifice, Hideyoshi flew into a rage and banished his general. In the story worldly and divine authority are juxta- posed, and loyalty to the “emperor” and to God are weighed against one another in exemplary manner 34. This story was acted four times in the provincia Flandro-Belgica 35. The first performance took place in Bergues (September 1689) 36. The piece was repeated in Kortrijk two years later (10 September 1691), without any adap-

28 See Ana Fernandes Pinto, “Japanese elites as seen by Jesuit missionaries”, Bulletin of Portuguese/Japanese Studies 1 (2000), pp. 29-43. 29 According to Drummond, op. cit., p. 77 he was “chief of his [= Hideyoshi’s] household guard”. 30 See Johannes Laures, Takayama Ukon und die Anfänge der Kirche in Japan, Münster, Aschen- dorff, 1954, p. 21. 31 See Laures, op. cit., p. 201. 32 See Laures, op. cit., p. 199. 33 See Laures, op. cit., p. 200. 34 According to Valignano this was Hideyoshi’s only attempt to change the religious confession of an individual; see Moran, op. cit., p. 66. 35 The analysis of the plays is always based on the periochen, unless otherwise indicated. For each of the periochen is mentioned where a copy is preserved. 36 Copy consulted: Kortrijk Stedelijke Openbare Bibliotheek (Municipal Public Library, hence- forth SOB), GV 9437. Japonica in the Jesuit Drama of the Southern Netherlands 33 tation of the text 37. The programmes for this version refer to the same histor- ical source: the Kerckelycke historie (Ecclesiastical history) of Cornelius Hazart, the first volume of which had been reissued in 1682. The dramatisation follows Hazart’s text fairly faithfully, although far from all the details were retained and not everything is historically accurate. In this piece the court physician bears the name Iacuinus and is also referred to by the title bonze (Buddhist priest). Hideyoshi is called Emperor Taycosama, derived from the honorific title taiko (imperial regent in retirement) 38 which he adopted in 1592 39, and by which he was generally referred to in the Jesuit correspondence 40. For the sake of dramatic force, the second act begins with a dream warning Justo of ill fortune. The play is interspersed with three satires, which warn the viewer not to make the same mistake as “Iapon, qui adore les morts, les bétes & demon”. The third satire accuses Christians who take no heed of God and follow only their own passions of being “true Japonians”:

“Changez de nom chrètiens: vous estes vraij Iapons Quand vous tenez pour Dieu vos propres passions.”

At the end of the seventeenth century there were two more performances of the Ukon material, in (25 May 1699) and in (2 March 1700) 41. The text of these two programmes is pretty much identical. They cite both the work of Hazart and the history of Japan by “Abbas de Tressac”. The latter refers to the Histoire de l’église du Japon (1689) by Jean Crasset, whose first edition appeared under an anagram of his name. The events of the first three acts run parallel to the versions discussed above. In the fourth and fifth acts the readiness of Justo’s family to die for the Faith is again emphasised. A second attempt by the emperor to change his mind again has no result, and thereupon the family depart into exile. They find shelter in a neighbouring prefecture, where Justo ultimately dies in the most miserable conditions possible. These last additions also have a historical basis, although the adap- tation fails to mention that Justo Ukondono only died 28 years later, during a second exile, in Manila 42.

37 Copy consulted: Kortrijk SOB, GV 7926. 38 See Jansen, op. cit., p. 18: “retired kanpaku”. 39 See Drummond, op. cit., p. 78. 40 See Josef Franz Schütte, Monumenta Historica Japoniae I. Textus catalogorum Japoniae, Romae, apud Monumenta Historica Soc. Iesu, 1975, p. 1304. 41 Copies consulted: Heverlee Archief SJ, 110 O 8 1655/T no. 83 and no. 63. On this volume, see Proot, “Toneelprogramma’s ...”. 42 In 1615; see Laures, op. cit., p. 364; Schütte, op. cit., p. 1305. 34 Goran Proot and Johan Verberckmoes

The adaptations of the Ukon story had, all in all, a short performance history, but they did produce echoes among the rhetoricians of Kortrijk. The Fonteinists, as these rhetoricians called themselves, performed an adaptation in 1698 that strongly resembles the Brussels version 43. It is not clear whether this is a case of direct influence from Jesuit theatre (an earlier, undocumented performance), or of the use of a common source (Hazart). In the year that Justo Ukondono was banished, Hideyoshi issued the first edict against Christians. He did not, however, pursue an active policy of persecution. Only on 5 February 1597 was the taiko to perform an act which echoed round Europe and was brought onto the stage there: the in Nagasaki of the Japanese Jesuits Paul Michi, John de Gota and Didacus Guizai. These three Japanese Jesuits were recognised as martyrs by Urban VIII on 10 July 1627 44, and the following year the events were commemorated with performances in Dunkirk (7 February 1628) and Bruges (8 February 1628), not coincidentally only a few days after the anniversary of the deaths. Only the programme of the first adaptation has survived 45. The title, Het Christen-saet van Iaponien (The Christian-seed of Japonia), from the famous saying of (Apologeticum 50,13), refers to the fruitful effect of martyrdom for Christianity. The play relates in three acts how “Emperor Taïcosama” (taiko Hideyoshi) prohibits the exercise of the Christian faith, but to his frustration sees the new religion growing in numbers. When Paul, John and Didacus show that they cannot be brought from the profession of their faith by either promises or threats, they are imprisoned, and ultimately crucified. During the second act a number of children appear on stage encouraging one another to the same steadfastness, even should it lead to their imprisonment and death. The servants of the emperor try to chase away the children, but “are themselves overcome by their constancy, and put to shame” (“worden selve door hare standvasticheyt verwonnen, ende beschaemt”). The play is one long ode to constantia (constancy). There is no reference to the historical context at any point. The immediate cause of the crucifixion (suspicion of a Spanish conspiracy), and the deaths of six Franciscans and seventeen other Christians, go unmentioned. The introduction of the children into the play was presumably intended to indicate the importance of an acquaintance with Christianity at as early an age as possible. That was itself one of the foremost reasons that the Jesuits dedicated themselves to education.

43 Copy consulted: Kortrijk SOB, GV 9406. 44 See Drummond, op. cit., p. 86. 45 Copy consulted: Kortrijk SOB, GV 4463. Japonica in the Jesuit Drama of the Southern Netherlands 35

The shaky position of Christianity under the rule of Hideyoshi was given a final blow under his successor, Tokugawa Ieyasu. After the total prohibition of Christianity in 1614 there was no way back: either one converted to , or one made the supreme sacrifice for one’s faith. Having to make the choice was only a question of time, and over the course of years the accounts of martyrdom mounted up. Many of these stories involved Kyushu, the island that had been most intensively Christianised in the previous decades. Five tragedies are set in Arima, a town in the province of Hizen on Kyushu. They all revolve around Harunobu, the local daimyo. With the sole purpose of regaining a piece of ancestral land, Harunobu married his son Naozumi to an adopted granddaughter of Ieyasu. Naozumi, who had earlier converted to Christianity and was already married, informed Ieyasu of his father’s plan. This led to the execution of Harunobu in 1612 46. Naozumi then rejected the Catholic faith and was given rule over the territory of Arima. He promptly launched his own persecution of Christians. In the plays about this episode in Japanese history the characters are always referred to by their baptismal names. Harunobu is called Joannes Protasius, his son Naozumi is called , his wife is Martha. Ieyasu is always referred to as Daifusama 47. A decade after the facts, the persecution which Michael, son of Joannes Protasius, unleashed against the Christians in his territory was adapted as a play in Ypres (1625). The title points to the recent nature of the events. This is all we know, for the programme does not survive. Three years later, in 1628, the Jesuits of Mechelen also put on a play about Joannes Protasius of Arima, who “was killed by the deceit of his son” (“door het bedrog van zijn zoon werd gedood”) 48. This play, performed to give lustre to the end of the school year, can be consid- ered a political drama in which treachery and murder are central. It is, more- over, one of the few exotic pieces in the Jesuit repertoire that takes a historic event as its point of departure and faithfully reproduces it on stage. The whole story is used: Joannes Protasius’s plan, the wedding of Michael and the emperor’s granddaughter, Michael’s coup, the trial of Protasius. Only the scenes with paupers receiving alms after the regaining of the ancestral territory, and with the slaves who comically deflate the opportunism of the nobles at court, strike a merry note. The choruses end each of the first four acts with a moral lesson; the fifth act ends with the murder of Michael’s brothers.

46 See Schütte, op. cit., p. 1132. 47 See Moran, op. cit., p. 33. 48 Copy consulted: Paris Arsenal Rf 75.664, no. 14. 36 Goran Proot and Johan Verberckmoes

The play Arimandus, which the pupils in Ypres performed in 1717, concentrates on a single aspect of the events: Michael’s treason in the impe- rial palace 49. In this version the Daifusama’s ally and confidant, Sifoius, plays a central role. Sifoius seizes any opportunity to put Arimandus, as Joannes Protasius is called in this adaptation, in a bad light. His wicked scheme succeeds, and after the father has been sent into exile with his wife Justa, the emperor transfers the kingdom of Arima to Michael. Michael’s marriage to the granddaughter of Daifusama continues. Arimandus is no crafty oppor- tunist, but a general who is received in the palace after a military victory. In accordance with the martyrdom genre, Arimandus has a presentiment of the conspiracy against him, and in the hour of his downfall calls upon his companions to be steadfast in their faith. His own exemplary constancy is equalled by that of his wife, Justa. Between 8 and 29 June 1776 the rhetoricians of Otegem gave eight performances of a Protasius drama entitled “The life, wonderful conversion and glorious martyrdom of Protasius, first king of the kingdom of Arima, in Japonia, converted to the Christian Faith by Alexander Valignanus, a father of the Society of Jesus, in the year 1579, and receiving the crown of martyrdom in 1612, under the unequalled tyrant Daifusama, emperor of all Japonia” (Het leven, wonderlycke bekeeringe en glorieuse martelie van den heyligen Protasius, eersten koning in het rijk van Arima, onder Japonien, bekeerd tot het christen geloove, door Alexander Valignanus, pater der societeyt Jesu, in het jaer 1579, ende ontfangen de kroone der martelie 1612, onder den noyt gehoorden tyran Daifusama, keyzer van heel Japonien). The Jesuit accounts had clearly not lost much of their potency even towards the end of the eighteenth century. The persecution of Christians by Michael, King of Arima, is the subject of the tragedy Thomas Japon, which was put on in Kortrijk in 1745 50. Thomas is a Christian nobleman who is invited to the palace and, during a banquet, killed. The murder of Thomas and his kin is, in this version, inspired by the ministers of the king, in particular by Paulus, whose goal is nothing other than making Christians suffer. In this story too, the main character is fore- warned of his coming fate by a dream. In the above plays the link with historical reality becomes increasingly vague, even though the programmes expressly make mention of the works of

49 Copy consulted: Antwerp UFSIA Centrum voor Renaissance Drama (henceforth CRD), Ren Dra, no. 26. 50 Copy consulted: Ghent Universiteitsbibliotheek (henceforth UB), De Vliegende Bladen fonds I C 347, [no. 3]. Japonica in the Jesuit Drama of the Southern Netherlands 37

Trigault, Hazart and Crasset. In the course of the eighteenth century the plots and characters were treated with increasing liberties. A play from Kortrijk from 1681 again bears witness to the exemplary courage and constancy demonstrated by the undaunted Thomas, his wife Justina and their sons. In an adaptation produced in Aalst in 1729 by the “daughters of the under the direction of the fathers of the Society of Jesus” (“dochters van den catechismus onder de bestieringe vande paters der societeyt Jesu”), the only element still recognisable is the location, the kingdom of Arima 51. In this version, all the characters except Daifusama, , and Thomas, King of Arima, are female: Justa, the wife of Thomas, Martha, his mother, Isabella and Clara, his daughters. The full cast was made up of girls, who played both the male and female parts. The events take place during the persecution in Japan, and almost all the characters are gloriously destroyed by the emperor’s cruelty. A number of elements are reminiscent of earlier pieces: the craftiness of a certain princess, the premonition of the protagonist and the murder taking place during a meal. The play ends with Justa’s expres- sion of her feelings of gratitude that her family should have been able to make such sacrifices for the Faith. The only martyrdom narrative that ends on an entirely positive note is Sicatora princeps Japoniae, performed in Antwerp in 1697 on prize day 52. In this the incorrigible Christian-hater Mandana, Queen of Bungo and nick- named Jezebel, is so impressed by the constancy of the pious Sicatora and the conversion of her own son to Catholicism that she grants pardon to both of them 53. Unusually for the genre, this story, which goes back to Crasset’s history of Japan (part 1, book 6), ends without bloodshed.

4. Titus Japonus

The favourite “matter” of the Flemish Jesuit theatre was that of the Japanese nobleman Titus. In 1614, the year that persecution broke out in full fury, this hero from Bungo showed himself an exceptionally steadfast Chris- tian. Fairly soon his fame reached Europe by way of the Jesuits’ annual letters, and he became the subject of stage plays 54. The layered themes further ensured that the play was regularly restaged. Besides the “feudal” dilemma,

51 Copy consulted: Antwerp UFSIA CRD, Ren Dra, no. 240. 52 Copy consulted: Antwerp UFSIA CRD, Ren Dra, no. 219. 53 See Elisonas, op. cit., p. 336f. 54 See Immoos, op. cit., p. 47. 38 Goran Proot and Johan Verberckmoes in which loyalty to God was placed diametrically against loyalty to the emperor – the same struggle faced by Justo Ukondono – another dilemma comes into play. Titus was torn by the choice between the love of God and his love for his own family. In this drama the one seems to exclude the other. Natural paternal affection is ultimately subordinated to the supernatural love of God. In such circumstances, in which not only one’s own blood was at stake, but that of one’s innocent descendants, it is even harder to stand firm. As will be seen from the following overview, this gave sufficient material for variation, in which not only could elements be changed, but the focus could shift from one aspect to another. Besides the richness of the themes, the regular appearance of historical works must also have given the story lasting familiarity. The story of the Japanese nobleman Titus as it was brought to the stage, is a faithful reproduction of the version given by Nicolaus Trigault in his De christianis apud Iaponios triumphis (1623, liber III, caput XI). The events again take place in the province of Bungo on the island of Kyushu, where “”, as the Japanese called Roman Catholicism, was widest-spread. The daimyo of Bungo demands that his subjects renounce Christianity. Among them is the nobleman Titus, who refuses to follow his ruler’s command. To put pressure on Titus, the daimyo has his nine-year-old son summoned, but apparently little Matthieu is no more susceptible to the threats of his ruler. Thereupon Titus receives news of his son’s execution and his daughter Martina is called to the palace. Titus obeys this order without hesitation. After a short time the report of her death is brought and the oldest son, Simon, is summoned. The events repeat themselves and finally Titus is asked to send his wife Marina to the palace. Again the news of her death is brought, and lastly Titus himself is to appear before his ruler. The insensitivity with which Titus has sent his family to their deaths, is to be punished with his own life. In the palace the nobleman remains composed: threats, promises and pleas are equally incapable of shaking him. The prince is finally so impressed with the constancy of the cruelly treated believer, that he grants him his freedom. The members of his family are also released unharmed. The news of their deaths was a ploy to break Titus’s constancy. The subject quickly made its way onto the stage, and was long a favourite. The first performance, which took place in Mechelen on 4 December 1623, is dedicated to Saint Francis Xavier, whose help and support are invoked several times in the course of the story 55. This poetic addition was undoubt-

55 Copy consulted: Brussels Koninklijke Bibliotheek (henceforth KB), kostbare werken II 11797 A RP, no. 29. Japonica in the Jesuit Drama of the Southern Netherlands 39 edly inspired by Xavier’s recent canonisation in 1622. Otherwise the story is followed faithfully. Like most martyrdom tragedies, the tragicomedy ends with great optimism, and furthermore with all the main characters having survived the struggle for their faith. Forty years later the play was taken up again, first in Brussels (on 23 May 1663) 56, then in Antwerp (on 10 and 11 September 1663). Of the latter staging only the title survives. The Brussels version, put on by the pupils of the third year (grammatica), is more condensed than the show in Mechelen. The courage and ardour shown by the children of Titus gives occasion to an interlude. These virtues are compared to the bravery of the French children who went on the Children’s Crusade against the Turks and were killed by pirates and Saracens. A year later the grammatica class at the Jesuit college in Aalst reworked the story 57. Remarkably enough, both the daughter and the wife of Titus disappear from the play, a change repeated in later performances. This speeds up the action of the play. Besides constancy, emphasis is placed on the “natural love” (“naturelijcke liefde”) with which Titus has to struggle. When, however, he is falsely told that his sons have renounced their faith, he pulls himself together and disowns his children. Ultimately the deceit is discovered and the willingness of Titus and his sons to sacrifice themselves remains undi- minished. Out of admiration for so much constancy the “tyran” grants the family of Titus their liberty “to live in the Christian faith” (“om in’t christen gheloove te leven”). In the Kortrijk version of 1665, again by the grammatica, all the charac- ters are again on stage, including Titus’s daughter and wife 58. The chronolog- ical order of the events is mixed up in this adaptation, presumably to increase dramatic tension. First the younger son, here called Mattheus, is summoned to the palace. To impress the family, Mattheus’s bloody clothes are returned to Titus. Then the mother, Marina, is summoned. The emperor thereupon sends Titus news, that his wife has renounced Christ. Reacting to this, the older son at once desires “to wash away his mother’s shame with his blood” (“dese schande zyns moeders met sijn bloedt uyt-wasschen”). With such tricks the emperor keeps building up the psychological pressure. In the third act, when Titus himself finally arrives at the palace, “artificial hands and feet (suppos- edly) of his wife and children” (“de ghemaeckte handen ende voeten van

56 Copy consulted: Kortrijk SOB, GV 9462. 57 Copy consulted: Kortrijk SOB, GV 9413. 58 Copy consulted: Kortrijk SOB, GV 9460. 40 Goran Proot and Johan Verberckmoes vrouw ende kinderen”) are cast to the ground before him. But even the sight of this cruelty cannot make the nobleman waver:

“Titus treckt blyde doodt; ende nu verwachtende den doode- lycken slagh, wort hem, om zyne standvastigheyt, gheschoncken het leven, hvysvrouwe, kinderen, ende vryheyt van religie.” (Titus gladly goes to his death; and now expecting the deadly stroke, he is, for his constancy, given life, wife, children and freedom of religion.)

The last play in this series of performances is particularly interesting because of the interlude. It was put on by the fourth class (syntaxis) in Ghent in 1672 59. The bloody clothes of Mattheus, sent to Titus’s family to frighten them into submission, brings joy not only to the father, who sees in it the sign of his martyrdom, but also to Simon, who determines to win an equal triumph. A similar piece of clothing, giving rise to great Christian constancy, has a central function in the interlude. The scenes of the play were alternated with a story from the Acta Sanctorum of 8 March concerning the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Diocletian 60. The interlude introduces Apollonius the Christian, who tries to save his life by getting somebody else to sacrifice to the non-Christian deities on his behalf. Philemon, a comic actor, puts on Apollonius’s robe, but is stopped by the guards because they take him for a Christian. In putting on the robe, Philemon apparently became so imbued with the Christian faith that he was prepared to die for it. This interlude is exceptionally instructive about the sort of theatre that the Jesuits were aiming for. It goes against the negative discourse about the theatre that was then current. According to certain moralists, play-acting was a form of deceit, and the portrayal of pagan characters and carrying out of sinful deeds on stage was to be rejected on that ground alone. Comic actors in particular belonged to the most suspect category of actors, because they denied their true selves whenever they portrayed profane characters. This story, however, shows that dressing as another can also have good effects. The robe of Apollonius is, after all, more than just a theatrical costume. It enabled Philemon to recognise his Christian self and live this identity. And that is precisely what the Jesuits aimed for with their school

59 Copy consulted: Kortrijk SOB, GV 9477. 60 See Joannes Bollandus & Godefridus Henschenius, eds, Acta Sanctorum, Martii, tomus primus, Antverpiae, apud Jacobum Meursium, 1668. Japonica in the Jesuit Drama of the Southern Netherlands 41 drama. By having the pupils perform the roles of historically real constant Christians, it was hoped that they would learn to live Christianity to the full and to recognise occasions for adopting the role in their own lives. There was, therefore, no ground for comparing them with professional actors, who feigned their role, since the Jesuit collegians lived the truth 61. After this period of frequently repeated performances of Titus – at least five in nine years – it was a while before the theme again appeared on stage. All the productions just mentioned refer to the same work, Nicolaus Trigault’s De christianis apud Iaponios triumphis (1623), but the following two adapta- tions drew on Cornelius Hazart’s Kerckelycke historie. The most recent Titus known to us (Bergues, 1729), mentioned the French, second edition of Jean Crasset’s Histoire ecclesiastique. The appearance of this publication seems to have infused new life in the Titus material. In the performance by the pupils of the second class (figura) in Ghent (1703), the mother and sons are central 62. The daughter is lacking from this version, and Titus appears only incidentally. In the Ghent performance of 1705 only the daughter is missing 63. The Bergues version (1729) was simpli- fied even further, with only Titus and the two sons appearing 64. These three eighteenth-century adaptations are much less layered and interesting than the seventeenth-century versions. They barely contain novel elements, and the simplification of the plot produces no corresponding psychological depth.

5. The virtue of the young

In three simpler stories for and by children the virtuousness of youth is central. The Jesuits attached great importance to the education of the young and saw it as one of the most important weapons against Protestant powers. The title of the play, Liefde tot het Cruys Christi in het seven-jaerigh kint Ludovicus Japonois (Love of the Cross of Christ in the seven-year-old child Ludovicus the Japanese) gives a good summary of the contents. As the prologue indicates, the purpose of the performance was to show the persecu- tion of Christian children by the “Japonoisen”. Ludovicus has a fiery desire to

61 The college pupil as Christian actor is illuminated by Ruth Olaizola, “Les jésuites et l’utopie du ‘comédien honnête’ aux XVIe et XVIIe siècles”, Revue de synthèse, 120, 4th ser. (1999), no. 2-3, pp. 381-407. 62 Copy consulted: Heverlee Archief SJ, 110 O 8 1655/T, no. 91. 63 Copy consulted: Heverlee Archief SJ, 110 O 8 1655/T, no. 100. 64 Copy consulted: Antwerp UFSIA CRD, Ren Dra no. 243. 42 Goran Proot and Johan Verberckmoes die a martyr. His determination can be shaken neither by the devil, who comes to badger the child in his dreams, nor by his own friends. The cast list describes the piece as a “bly-eyndende treur-spel” (happily- ending tragedy). In a Christian view the tragedy does indeed end happily, for Ludovicus stands firm in his faith and provides an example to others. In the first instance to the other members of the Sodality of the Infant Jesus in Ypres, which staged this edifying play on 1 April 1716 65. The choice of story was presumably also made with the audience in mind, there probably being many children present who could identify with the main character or with one of his friends. The second story, about the brothers Joannes, Michael and Ignatius, supposed to have taken place during the persecution of Christians in 1630, appeared twice: in Ypres (1732) and in Ghent (1749) 66. It is a classic martyrdom tragedy, in which the children of Agatha, despite the pressure put on them by the emperor, cling to their convictions. Both divine love and their mother support the constancy of the three brothers, even though it means their certain death. Agatha ultimately collapses under the weight of her grief and falls among the corpses of her children. The Ypres performance, put on by the catechism class, ends with this epilogue, revealing the motivation for the show:

“Die goedt saet heel vroegh doet saeyen, Die sal vroege vruchten maeyen.” (Who sows good seed very early, Will reap early fruits.)

Agatha may be missing from the title of the play, but her name is in the cast list. On top of that, this important role is played by a girl, while the remaining parts – all male characters – are taken by boys. The Ghent version barely differs from that of Ypres. Both texts go back to the same source: the history of Japan by Jean Crasset. The emperor is here no longer called Taycosama, but “Xogun” (shogun). There were also cuts to the cast, but the course of events remains unchanged. The performers were the pupils of the second year (figura). During the lordship of emperor Daifusama (Shogun Ieyasu) three Japanese brothers develop a drastic plan to help their needy mother. They

65 Copy consulted: Kortrijk SOB, GV 7854. 66 Copies consulted: Ghent UB, Acc 1244 (1-38) no. 17, and G 6145 (0-43), no. 41. Japonica in the Jesuit Drama of the Southern Netherlands 43 present one of themselves to the judge as a cutpurse, and so obtain the prom- ised reward, with which they can buy food for their mother. According to Japanese custom, however, thieves are executed without much ado 67, and the sympathy of the brothers for the supposed criminal betrays them. When the judge discovers the noble motive for their deception, he provides the family with an annual pension for their maintenance. This is the story, which supposedly took place in Myako in 1604. Although it only appears once in the provincia Flandro-Belgica, it was early one of the frequently performed items in the repertoire of Jesuit theatre elsewhere in Europe. The facts were first described by a Jesuit in the annual letter for 1604, and were later included in the Histoire ecclesiastiqve des iles et royavme dv Iappon (1629) by the French Jesuit historian François Solier. Cornelius Hazart has it in his Kerckelycke historie, and that is the source given in the hand-written programme from Kortrijk (1683) 68. The version by the grammatica pupils (the third year) at the Jesuit college in Kortrijk reproduced the story fairly faithfully. The emphasis is placed on the tragic inventiveness of the children inspired by filial piety, and not on the criminal nature of their plan. The love of the children for their parents is central. The poverty-stricken mother of the Japanese original seems to have been adapted to the paternalistic schemes of Western thought and changed into a father. That this alteration was probably not inspired by the regulation formally forbidding female roles can be seen from the many plays that did include female parts. In these three “children’s plays” there is a link with the Japan mission, although it has no influence on the course of the plays. The last story is, more- over, not really Christian at all. In his Histoire ecclesiastique, François Solier explicitly states:

“En la ville de Meaco arriua cete année vn cas, lequel m’a semblé digne de memoire, quoi qu’il ne le passàt entre les Chrestiens.” (Part II, p. 337.)

That non-Christian Japanese could be motivated by such filial piety is neither emphasised nor denied in the play, so that whoever does not know the original story will simply assume the characters to be Christians. The only

67 See Boxer, op. cit., p. 34; compare Michael Cooper, ed., They came to Japan. An anthology of European reports on Japan, 1543-1640, London, Thames and Hudson, 1965, pp. 160-161; Traité de Luís Fróis, S.J. (1585) sur les contradictions de mœurs entre Européens et Japonais. Premières informations sur le Japon, J. Alvares and N. Lanzillotto, eds., Paris, Chandeigne, 1993, p. 112. 68 Copy consulted: Kortrijk SOB, Cod. 400/2-5. 44 Goran Proot and Johan Verberckmoes element which might have seemed out of place in a Jesuit school play (the mother) is removed from the production.

6. Francis Xavier, Apostle to the East

Exceptionally, a member of the Society of Jesus was the subject of a number of plays. This was not just any missionary, but the founder of the Eastern Mission himself: Francis Xavier. In the 1660s three plays were performed within a short space of time, all stringing together the most important of Xavier’s achievements. The Brussels performance of Sanctus Franciscus Xaverius apostolus Indiae et Iaponiae (1660) recounts the glorious story of Xavier’s conversions in India, the invita- tion from the daimyo of Bungo, his departure for China and his death on the island of Sancian 69 The play celebrates his activities among the Paravas and Macuans on the South-East coast of India. Francis has the idols destroyed and the evil spirits are driven out 70. In Bungo he convinces the most learned Buddhists in a debate about the superiority of Christianity. The same story was staged in Kortrijk two years later, in 1662, again on the occasion of prize day in September 71. The text contains all the ingredients of the Brussels version, but is augmented in a number of places. Thus Xavier’s prophetic gifts are illustrated, and a number of the missionary’s miraculous deeds are dealt with. The interventions of a chorus, gods and allegorical figures give the performance more . Half a year earlier, in February 1662, the second and third year of the college in Cassel had put on the same story as had been played in Brussels 72. The text was, however, much simplified and all nuances or references to historical locations and characters were dropped to improve clarity. The interlude shows “den dwaesen dienst der afgodisten” (the foolish service of idolaters), Xavier simply “roeyt (...) de afgoderije uit” (roots out idolatry) and the “valsche goden” are sent into exile. Christianity is victorious on all

69 Copy consulted: Korrijk SOB, GV 9448. 70 On the difference in approach to the conversions in Southern India and Japan, see Schatz, op. cit and also Josef Wicki, “Zur Missionsmethode des hl. Franz Xaver”, Neue Zeitschrift für Missionswissenschaft, 2 (1946), pp. 85-103. Drummond, op. cit., p. 59 points out the unadapted, “medieval” character of this ritual as a component of a method of conversion contrary to Japanese customs. This would have increased hostility towards Christians. 71 Copy consulted: Kortrijk SOB, GV 7909. 72 Copy consulted: Kortrijk SOB, GV 9449. Japonica in the Jesuit Drama of the Southern Netherlands 45 fronts. In the epilogue pupils of the third year choose St. Francis Xavier as their .

Conclusion

The glorious deeds of the Apostle of the East naturally provided the subject for the many shows put on in 1621-1622 on the occasion of the canon- isation of Xavier and of the Society’s founder, Ignatius. And in the enormous productions organised on the occasion of the Society’s first centenary, he appeared together with many princes from foreign lands. Apart from the unavoidable Francis Xavier, the king of Monomotapa and Gonzalus Silveira, or the famous missionary to , Josephus Anchieta, who is not mentioned in a single other play, were held up for admiration in a number of perform- ances. In the Antwerp festivities, which with a cast numbering over 340 must have been the largest, there were also the emperor of China in the company of the Italian Jesuit and scientist , the Japanese emperor, the emperor of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and many others. In general one can say that the way in which the Japanese people and culture were presented in these major spectacles differs little from in the plays we have already discussed in detail. The outlandishly costumed princes of the East functioned as colourful crowd-pullers. When reading the plays it is difficult to escape the impression that they were little more than a trophy of a proselytising Catholicism active both within Europe and beyond. The great- ness, power and display of the converted kings and emperors reflected the greatness of the Catholic faith and its defenders. If this occasionally required dramatic licence with the historical facts, that was justified by the result. Almost all the shows deal with kings, emperors, princes and princesses. Undoubtedly the rules of tragedy go some way to account for this. On the other hand, the Jesuits by preference did target their strategy of evangelisa- tion at social elites. But children and slaves also appear when appropriate: to liven up the play, or to provide points of identification for the performers and the intended audience. After all, young people were one of the most important target groups of Jesuit theatre and the fathers of the Society left no means untried to increase the attractiveness of the drama. The performances did not provide many details about distant peoples and cultures and the inhabitants were only of interest if they were good Chris- tians, otherwise they were quickly dismissed as idolaters. Only a few pieces from the early seventeenth century were conceived as dramatised historical overviews, such as the political conflict of Joannes Protasius staged in Mechelen (1628), and the Mechelen Titus of 1623. These first versions gener- 46 Goran Proot and Johan Verberckmoes ally contain numerous details, but in later adaptations the plot was often simplified and altered. The eighteenth-century adaptations lack all the local detail of the originals. In many cases the alterations can be explained by the circumstances in which the plays were to function. Complicated histories lend themselves to lustrous productions at the end of the school year or for an important festivity, when the budgeting is more generous. Roles were cut or altered when there were not enough good actors available, as in the lower classes or the sodali- ties; male characters were changed to female when the girls of the catechism class adapted a piece. These changes also raise the plays to a higher, more abstract level, giving them a more universal application independent of the coincidental, contin- gent circumstances of the moment. Yet the possibilities which this opened up were seldom used to give greater depth of characterisation. Most foreign rulers are portrayed as tyrants who, not content with the lives of their disobe- dient subjects, want their souls. In the beginning the Japanese people aroused great interest. Not only was the structure of their society in many ways similar to the European, the Japanese had a civilisation that the missionaries saw as inferior in very few respects 73. These similarities make it no surprise that Japan was the setting most frequently resorted to. Furthermore, it was in this mission that by far the most blood was spilt. The country produced a disproportionate number of martyrs, partly because Christianity grew very rapidly there in a short period of time and was afterwards mercilessly suppressed. At the end of the sixteenth century Japan had at least 300.000 Christians, as many as the Chinese Church at its early-modern zenith a century later. Many Christians did not let themselves be intimidated, although those in power contrived the cruellest persecutions. Thanks to a steady flow of annual letters and histories of Japan, their constancy quickly found response in Europe 74. Heroic stories were to be had in every possible size and shape. More gripping stories of martyrdom were hardly imaginable. The Jesuits understood as much, and put the fascina- tion for such tales to optimal use in their propaganda for the true faith.

73 See bijvoorbeeld Moran, op. cit., pp. 97-101. 74 On the different sorts of Jesuit correspondence and its functions see Reinhard Wendt, “Indi- gene Bevölkerung zwischen Selbstbehauptung, Staatsbildung und Mission: Spanische Jesuiten berichten aus dem muslimischen Süden der Philippinen”, pp. 225-228, in Ulrich van der Heyden & Heike Liebau, eds., Missionsgeschichte, Kirchengeschichte, Weltgeschichte. Christlische Missionen im Kontext nationaler Entwicklungen in Afrika, Asien und Ozeanien, Stuttgart, Franz Steiner Verlag, 1996, pp. 225-238; compare Moran, op. cit., pp. 35-36. Japonica in the Jesuit Drama of the Southern Netherlands 47

Abstract

The Jesuit colleges of the provincia Flandro-Belgica actively promoted theatrical performances. Two and a half percent of these shows (some 50 out of nearly 2000 plays), as performed in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, concerned overseas themes, most of these dealing with Japan. Exceptionally, Jesuit missionaries were the subjects of these plays, in particular Franciscus Xaverius. The majority of the perfor- mances focused, however, on Japanese Christians and their fate in times of adversity and persecution. Takayama Ukon, the in Europe much publicized crucified Christians of February 1597, the Arima martyrs, Titus from Bungo and a series of others exempli- fied virtues such as constancy and love of God and one’s parents. The plays were often adapted for the young cast and audience. The tragic historical circumstances added fascination to the examples of Christian piety, which the college pupils were expected to follow.

Resumo

Os colégios jesuítas da provincia Flandro-Belgica promoveram activamente os espec- táculos teatrais. Nos séculos XVII e XVIII 2,5% destes espectáculos (cerca de 50 em 2000 peças de teatro) diziam respeito a temas relativos ao Ultramar, sobretudo temas relacionados com o Japão. Somente em casos excepcionais, como acontece com Fran- ciscus Xaverius, os Jesuítas eram o tema dessas peças. A maioria dos espectáculos teatrais centrava-se nos cristãos japoneses e na Fé que estes mantinham em momentos de adversidade e de perseguição. Temas como Takayama Ukon, o conhe- cido martírio de Fevereiro de 1597, os mártires de Arima ou Tito de Bungo exemplifi- cavam virtudes como o amor filial, a perseverança e o amor a Deus. Estas peças eram, frequentemente, encenadas para um público jovem. O trágico cenário histórico, em que se desenrolava a acção destas peças, conferia um fascínio aos exemplos de uma piedade cristã que devia ser seguida pelos alunos dos colégios.