Deus Destroyed: The Image of Christianity in Early Modern Japan

by George Elison

Japan’s “Christian Century” began in 1549 with the arrival of Jesuit missionaries led by Saint Francis Xavier, and ended in 1639 when the Tokugawa regime issued the final Sakoku Edict prohibiting all traffic with Catholic lands. “Sakoku”―national isolation―would for more than two centuries be the sum total of the regime’s approach to foreign affairs. This policy was accompanied by the persecution of Christians inside Japan, a course of action for which the missionaries and their zealots were in part responsible because of their dogmatic orthodoxy. The Christians insisted that “Deus” was owed supreme loyalty, while the Tokugawa critics insisted on the prior importance of performing one’s role within the secular order, and denounced the subversive doctrine whose First Commandment seemed to permit rebellion against the state.

In discussing the collision of ideas and historical processes, George Elison explores the attitudes and procedures of the missionaries, describes the entanglements in politics that contributed heavily to their doom, and shows the many levels of the Japanese response to Christianity. Central to his book are translations of four seventeenth-century, anti-Christian polemical tracts.

Genres: History, Japan, Christianity, Religion

542 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1973

Reviews

[Tony Dib · Rating 4 out of 5]

❝ First of all, [...] let's find out just why [Deus] might have created humans. What could his purpose have been, I ask you? For it couldn't possibly have been no purpose at all. So was it to have a plaything, like a pet bird, say? Or perhaps felt lonely by himself and created Man in order to have a confidant, a partner in conversation? Or a jester? [...] My second objection is this. If it were true that Deus created human beings, why then did he not at the same time establish one religion for all the people encompassed by heaven and the Four Seas? So now he has to face the dangers of a journey of thousands-nay! tens of thousands of miles, all for the sake of spreading his doctrine to this little land. What a stupid Buddha he must be! And, of course, bereft of superpowers. [...] Without anybody asking him, Deus created human beings, and then he also created Paraiso and Inferno, paradise and hell. And now he lifts humans up or drops them down, ruled only by his own caprice and fancy. [...] Perhaps they nailed him to the cross because of the grudge they bore him for causing this suffering. At any rate, this Deus looks like a devil to me. ❞

—Excerpts from a debate in the late 1500s between a Christian monk (Kirishitan Iruman) and a Japanese monk (who seemed to have perceived Christianity as a distorted version of Buddhism) [pp. 345-347].

It is one of those old, rare, buried gems upon which I stumbled by sheer accident.
My first introduction to the history of Christianity in Japan was through the film Silence (2016), based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Shūsaku Endō, and I HATED its irritating Hollywood spin.
Since then, I don't remember coming across this subject or having any interest in reading up on it. Nevertheless, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to do so after having found a well-researched and nicely written book that tells the story of the first encounters with Christian missionaries academically from the Japanese perspective.
It explores the strategies of Christian missionaries in Japan and the challenges they faced due to cultural differences and political entanglements. The multifaceted response of Japanese society to Christianity and how it ranged from curiosity and acceptance to suspicion and outright vicious opposition that culminated in pogroms was certainly an interesting read. In that regard, Elison discussed how political decisions influenced the acceptance or rejection of Christian ideas, and highlighted the tensions between the Tokugawa shogunate and the Christian community, which led to persecution.

[Gaze Santos · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at when Christianity was trying to lay down roots in Japan, and why it didn’t succeed. This is done by examining English translations of 15th century Anti-Christian chapbooks written by former members of the clergy. These translations form the last third of this book.

The book itself is composed of three parts. Part 1 is a historical look at how Christianity came to Japan, tracing its origins to the mid 1500s when Japan was in the midst of a civil war, where many warlords were vying for control of the nation. St. Xavier arrives in Satsuma, the most southern region of Kyushu, and eventually brings his Jesuit brothers wth him to try and grow a Christian church. Part 2 looks at the rejection of Christianity, how and why it came about, and how the Christians in Japan were handled in the aftermath. This second half was definitely the inspiration for Martin Scrosese’s film “Silence” which takes place during this period of Christian prosecution in Japan. The third part are English translations of the Anti-Christian chapbooks mentioned earlier. It is important to note that the writers of these chap books are former Christians both European and Japanese, who renounced Christianity and took up Buddhism. The writer George Elison took these chapbooks as the launching pad for this entire project. And the first 2 parts of the book help set up the context for the translations at the end.

Throughout the three parts, a portrait of a religious double agent of sorts emerges in the form of Fabian Fucan.... Although his past is not entirely clear, his command of Buddhist theology seems to imply he used to be a member of the Buddhist clergy before converting to Christianity. From studying the Christian theological texts, he was able to write and release a chapbook defending Christianity to the lay people of Japan. But eventually, dissatisfied with how the Jesuits were treating him, he eventually converted back to Buddhism. He then writes another chapbook denouncing Christianity, and this is included in this book as one of the translations in the third part.

Be warned, this is not an easy read. It is quite dense in two ways. The first two parts of the book are packed with historical information and people. And a knowledge of the Sengoku period of Japan goes a long way to make sense of all the events and names that are dropped one after another throughout. George Ellison does try to help you out with a few endnotes, but frankly there is a lot of info packed into each chapter. The translations are also opaque with references to both Christian and Buddhist theology... Again the endnotes will help somewhat, but a lot of them will be lost on someone who is not familiar with either religion’s system. Part of the problem is that in either case the religions are represented in a distorted fashion... A lot of the different Buddhist sects are mixed together and the terminologies of these different sects are mixed together... Likewise, Christian concepts are simplified and sometime purposely distorted for the sake of the argument. These books were meant to be anti-Christian propaganda and this should be kept in mind when reading through them.

All in all, a fascinating and academic book looking at why Christianity failed to take hold of Japan.

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a pretty difficult book to read and understand.