The Samurai and the Cross
The Jesuit Enterprise in Early Modern Japan
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press Inc
Published:23rd Sep '22
Should be back in stock very soon
In 1614 the shogunate prohibited Christianity amidst rumors of foreign plots to conquer Japan. But more than the fear of armed invasions, it was the ideological threat--or "spiritual conquest"--that the Edo shogunate feared the most. This book explores the encounter of Christianity and premodern Japan in the wider context of global and intellectual history. M. Antoni J. Ucerler examines how the Jesuit missionaries sought new ways to communicate their faith in an unfamiliar linguistic, cultural, and religious environment--and how they sought to "re-invent" Christianity in the context of samurai Japan. They developed an original "moral casuistry" or "cases of conscience" adapted to the specific dilemmas faced by Japanese Christians. This volume situates the European missionary "enterprise" in East Asia within multiple geopolitical contexts: Both Ming China and "Warring States" Japan resisted the presence of foreigners and their beliefs. In Japan, where the Jesuits were facing persecution in the midst of civil war, they debated whether they could intervene in military conflicts to protect local communities. Others advocated for the establishment of a "Christian republic" or civil protectorate. Based on little-known primary sources in various languages, The Samurai and the Cross explores the moral and political debates over religion, law, and "reason of state" that took place on both the European and the Japanese side.
The monograph successfully resets the history of the Jesuit enterprise in Japan in its conflicts and challenges, leading to a significant reassessment of how their efforts, decisions, and strategies are understood...The Samurai and The Cross is an excellent guide for those interested in the intellectual work of Jesuits in Japan. * Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, Journal of Early Modern History 27 *
Those who are taking their first steps into the Jesuits' history in early modern Japan will find The Samurai and the Cross a pleasure to read and most rewarding... In The Samurai and the Cross, a rich historical record replete with valuable references awaits the readers. One of the strengths of Ucerler's book lies in the care taken to provide in the endnotes bibliographical data not only on the primary sources discussed (especially frequent of the Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu (ARSI) collections), but also to include - where available - their critical editions or translations in several languages (in most cases Spanish or Portuguese). * Sophie Takahashi, Contemporary Japan *
Ucerler's book is praised for its comprehensive approach and its contribution to ongoing scholarly discourse, offering insights that resonate with contemporary academic interests in imperialism, nationalism, and their ideological underpinnings. * Akihiko Watanabe, Journal of Jesuit Studies *
Ucerler's text endows the reader with a much-needed nuanced picture vis-á-vis religious expansion and Western imperialistic ambitions on Asian soil during the early modern era, elegantly enumerating and pointing out the significance of various practical considerations the Christian decision-makers had to take into account in order to be successful and efficient in a slowly modernizing, essentially non-Christian East Asian environment. * Lehel Balogh, Religious Studies Review *
ISBN: 9780195335439
Dimensions: 163mm x 237mm x 27mm
Weight: 748g
472 pages