Persecuted as Christians (History cont.)

"The exact motives for the persecution of the Christians are a little difficult to fathom. In part, the position of the Jesuits had been weakened by the arrival of the Franciscans and Dominicans from Manila, and by the manifest lack of unity among the missionaries themselves, still more by the arrival of the 'red heads', the Dutch and British, who lost no opportunity of carrying forward in Japan the feuds which divided their nations in Europe. The most remarkable of the British, Will Adams, who arrived in 1600, lived for many years in Japan and was employed by the shogun as the builder of his fleet. The Jesuits roundly blamed the Spanish Franciscans for the violent reaction against Christianity, and there is reason to think that the rash talk of the latter did suggest to the sensitive Japanese that they were there as forerunners of an army of conquest, and that Christian infiltration would be followed by political occupation. But, when all is said and done, Christians were persecuted because they were Christians and had introduced into Japan a law which turned the world upside down." (136-7)

Neill, Stephen. A History of Christian Missions. London: Penguin Books, 1990.

Some Background on Japanese Missions (Part III)

Xavier stayed some twenty-seven months in Japan. He left behind him three little groups of converts; how much they understood of the Gospel is questionable - they probably imagined themselves to have accepted a new and superior kind of Buddhism. The great thing, however, was that a beginning had been made and the way had been shown. A French scholar, Claude Maitre, has summed up in the following terms what Xavier had achieved:

With remarkable penetration he had grasped the social and political situation in Japan, and had settled on the methods which could ensure success. He had realized that it was both impossible and useless to gain access to the emperor or to the Shogun (Mayor of the Palace); and that on the other hand conversions among the lower classes would never be able to produce a great movement towards the Faith. The only way to secure permanent results was to win over the local rulers with their almost complete independence - this is what the daimyos were at that time - nothing, therefore, must be neglected with might help to win their favour, their confidence, and if possible, their conversion. He had understood that, if this proud, intelligent, logical people, with its passion for disputation, was ever to be won, it would be necessary to send missionaries of the highest quality, flexible enough to adapt themselves to the customs of the country to the limit of what was permitted by their faith, but strong enough in character to fashion their conduct according to the most rigid requirements of the faith which they taught.

Until 1593 the evangelization of Japan was entirely in the hands of the Jesuits. The number of missionaries increased rapidly, and their work was crowned with notable success. The first converts had been from among the poorer classes. In 1563 began the conversion of the daimyos; the first to receive baptism was Omura Sumitada, who remained faithful and active to the end of this life. His example was rapidly followed by others, and in many cases the conversion of the daimyo was followed by that of the majority of his subjects. This did not always take place immediately; in 1571 Sumitada had only 5,600 Christian subjects, but then the mass movement set in , and by 1575 the whole population of the region - amounting in all to more than 50,000 - had become Christian. Of the depth and sincerity of these conversions it is hard to judge. As in the case of other mass movements there were no doubt many weaknesses and shadows, but unquestionably there was in Japan an elite of convinced and devoted Christians.

Daimyo: feudal lords of the provinces, and generals of the Samurai class

In 1579 Japan was visited by Alessandro Valignono (1539-1606), and Italian Jesuit who had been appointed Visitor of all the eastern regions. He left his impress on the Japan mission in three remarkable ways.

He held very strongly the view that in all possible ways, especially in external matters, missionaries ad Christians must adapt themselves to local customs and prejudice. The then Superior of the Mission, Francis Cabral, did not see eye to eye with the Visitor on every point; the crucial issue - one that may seem utterly trivial to the Western reader, unfamiliar with the importance that may attach to such details in an Eastern country - related to the dress of the missionary: should this be of cotton or of silk? Cabral held that cotton was more in accordance with evangelical poverty; Valignano decided in favour of silk, and there can be little doubt that in the circumstances of the time he was right, since a missionary dressed in cotton was inevitably associated in local opinion with the poorer classes and denied access to the wealthy and the influential.

Secondly, Valignano decided that the time had come when selected Japanese should see for themselves the glories of the Christian world of which they had heard from the missionaries. Four young men of noble family in Kyushu were selected to make the hazardous journey to Europe, and set out in 1582 under the care of Valignano and of a Jesuit Father who travelled with them as their tutor. It was not until the year 1590 that they returned to Japan. In the course of their travels they were received by King Philip of Span and by Pope Gregory XIII; such an unusual group of travellers attracted great attention throughout the Christian world.

In the third place Valignano held the view that the time had come for Japanese to be admitted to the priesthood. IN this, needless to say, he was opposed by the redoubtable Cabral. The Japanese, affirmed Cabral, are naturally proud; if they are put on the same level as the Europeans through admission to the priesthood, they will be swept away with intolerable arrogance. But Valignano had his way. A seminary was opened; the statistics for the year 1593 show that in that year fifty-six European priests and eleven lay brothers were active in the mission, and that the seminary had eighty-seven students together with five novices. Most of those who had attached themselves to the Jesuit Order served as dojuku, catechists of a higher order; only those were admitted to this rank who had taken the vow of celibacy and had pledged themselves to serve the mission till the end of their lives. In 1601 there were no less than 250 dojuku, but none had yet been ordained to the priesthood, for the simple reason that there was no bishop in Japan. A Jesuit had been appointed Bishop of Funai in 1587, but had died on the way. His successor, Pedro Martinez, arrived in Nagasaki on 14 August 1596, but found the mission in such confusion, through rivalries between between the Portuguese and the Spaniards who had recently come in from Manila, that he decided to return to Rome and seek guidance, and died on the voyage. Fortunately he had been provided with a suffragan bishop, Luiz de Cerquira, and it was he who on 22 September 1601 carried out the first ordination of Japanese priests. One was a secular; two were Jesuits - Sebastian Chimura, and Aloysius Niabara from Nagasaki; of these the former died as a martyr on 10 September 1622.

Tokugawa Ieyasu

For in the meantime a complete change had taken place in the political situation of Japan, and also in the situation of the Christian Church, which by the end of the century was reckoned to have 300,000 baptized believers. The chaos of the period of the daimyos was about to pass away. By about 1590 the first of the new centralizing rulers, Hideyoshi, had managed to subject the whole of Japan to his control, and was thus the first ruler for 500 years to bring the country once again to unity. He was followed after the brief reign of his son Hiyadori, by Ieyasu (1542-1616) and Iemitsu (1603-51), under whom persecution of the Christians reached such a level of ferocity that the flourishing work of half a century was demolished and the Christian problem solved by the death or apostasy of almost all the believers." (134-6)

Neill, Stephen. A History of Christian Missions. London: Penguin Books, 1990.

Some Background on Japanese Missions (Part II)

"The missionaries suffered severely from the cold -- they had no idea in advance what a Japanese winter could be like. They had difficulty in getting enough to eat. They wrestled with the daunting difficulties of language:

Now we are like so many strange statues amongst them, for they speak and talk to us about many things, whilst we, not understanding the language, hold our peace. And now we have to be as little children learning the language.


They gradually became aware of the imperfections of Yajiro's translations, in particular of the harm wrought by his choice of the wholly inappropriate Buddhist term Dainichi to represent 'God' -- a difficulty the missionaries then dodged by simply introducing Portuguese terms into Japanese to represent the Christian ideas. And yet friendship and understanding did develop, and in spite of all disappointments Xavier never lost his feelings of respect for the Japanese. In a letter of 5 November 1549 he writes:

Firstly the people whom we have met so far are the best who have as yet been discovered, and it seems to me that we shall never find among heathens another race to equal the Japanese. They are a people of very good manners, good in general, and not malicious; they are men of honour to a marvel, and prize honour above all else in the world.... They are a people of very good will, very sociable and very desirous of knowledge; they are very fond of hearing about the things of God, chiefly when they understand them.... They like to hear things propounded according to reason; and, granted that there are sins and vices among them, when one reasons with them, pointing out that what they do is evil, they are convinced by this reasoning.

These early contacts with the Japanese produced a change in Xavier's understanding of the nature of Christian missionary work which was to be of the greatest significance for the whole future of the enterprise. In earlier years he had been inclined to accept uncritically the doctrine of the tabula rasa -- the view that in non-Christian life and systems there is nothing on which the missionary can build, and that everything must simply be levelled to the ground before anything Christian can be built up. This was the general view of the Spanish missionaries in Latin America and the West Indies; in his dealings with the simple and illiterate fishers in South India, Xavier had seen no reason to modify it. But now that he was confronted by a civilization with so many elements of nobility in it, he saw that, while the Gospel must transform and refine and recreate, it need not necessarily reject as worthless everything that has come before. This new idea was to be fruitful in results -- and also in controversies." (132-3)

Neill, Stephen. A History of Christian Missions. London: Penguin Books, 1990.

Some Background on Japanese Missions (Part I)

"Basque Francis Xavier (1506-52) was to become the most famous of all Roman Catholic missionaries. To a passionate but disciplined nature, profound devotion, and an eager longing for the salvation of souls, Xavier added the wide outlook of the statesman and the capacity of the strategist for organization on a large scale.

Xavier, whose commission from king and Pope extended to the whole of the East, spent some months in this region (Malacca) in 1546 and 1547. But his eager mind was already ranging onwards, and was filled with thoughts of Japan.

Japan had for some centuries been unknown to the West only through the somewhat imaginative eyes of Marco Polo, who had never been there:

Chipangu is and Island towards the east in the high seas, 1,500 miles distant from the continent; and a very great Island it is. The people are white, civilized, and well-favoured. They are Idolaters and are dependent on nobody. And I can tell you the quantity of gold they have is endless.... Moreover all the pavement of the Palace, and the floors of its chambers, are entirely of gold, in plates like slabs of stone, a good two fingers thick; and the windows also are of gold, so that altogether the richness of this Palace is past all bounds and belief.

It seems that the first contact in historical times was made by a group of Portuguese mariners, who in 1542 were driven far out of their course by a storm and found themselves on the shores of the unknown land.

A certain Anjiro (Yajiro), who had killed a man in Japan, had escaped from justice and by devious ways had made his way to Goa (India). There Xavier met him in 1548, and learned from him something of the was of his country:

I asked him whether, if I went back with him to his country, the Japanese would become Christians, and he said that they would not do so, until they had first asked me many questions and seen how I answered and how much I knew. Above all they would want to observe if I lived in conformity with what I said and believed. If I did those two things, answered the questions to their satisfaction and so demeaned myself that they could find anything to blame in my conduct, then, after knowing me for six months, the king, the nobility, and all other people of discretion would become Christians, for the Japanese, he said, are entirely guided by the law of reason.

It is not surprising that the soul of Xavier became inflamed by the desire to preach the Gospel to this superior people. It was with high hopes that at last, on 15 August 1549, after many perils passed, he landed - together with two Jesuits and Yajiro and his Japanese attendants - at the port of Kagoshima, Yajiro's native town.

Mt. Kaimon-dake, Kagoshima, southern Japan

Yajiro proved indeed to be a broken reed: he had very little knowledge of his own country; he was not a highly educated man; his efforts at the translation of Christian terms into Japanese was to lead the missionaries into errors, which they were later to sorely rue, and his character was far from being altogether admirable. But the moment of the arrival of the missionaries was on the whole propitious. Japan was passing through a period of grave political disorder; there was no central authority, and the land was divided up among 250 daimyos, local rulers, each of whom claimed full authority in his own dominions. The country was open to the foreigner. The Japanese were eager for trade, and were especially interested in guns, which, once acquired, they set to work to copy in their own arsenals, with the remarkable Japanese capacity for imitation. Buddhism was in discredit; there was no strongly established form of national religion to resist the preaching of the Gospel, and there was genuine openness to new ideas." (127, 131-2)

Neill, Stephen. A History of Christian Missions. London: Penguin Books, 1990.

"Angkor of Faith: Share our Story & Sing to His Glory"
Christians from Japan, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, U.S.A., & Australia descend upon Siem Reap, Cambodia, for an International Christian Camp & Street Children Outreach.


Eyes opened. Hearts impacted. Lives changed. Without a doubt, taking a group of twelve Japanese young adults (four of them non-Christians) to Cambodia for what we called, "Angkor of Faith: Share our Story & Sing to His Glory," was by far one of the most incredible things that God, in His wisdom, put on our hearts to accomplish.


First of all, some of the "specs" of this mission trip:

*70 people, 8 countries represented.
*Daily Equipping Sessions: ("Preparing Your Hearts For This Week: Character is not a Surface Issue," "Missions 101: The Basics of Mission Work," "Let's Run the Race Together: Envisioning Asians to Expand the Kingdom Together," "Returning Renewed: Applying this Experience to Our Lives & Churches Back Home," "Knowing Who You Want To Be For God: Being Intentional About Growing & Helping Others Grow.")
*Street Kids Outreach: Ranging in age from 7 years to 18 years old, these are children who generally have homes and families, yet spend hours and hours each day on the street selling books, postcards, and bracelets to help support their family or so they can attend English school. Communication with them was in English, as most of them can at least speak a little. The Cambodian missionaries made a flier that we handed out to the children, inviting them to come and eat free food and enjoy some fun activities with us.


*Home Groups & International Groups: "Home Groups" are the people from your home nation. The purpose is to speak within your own heart language what you are experiencing and to discuss how you will apply these things upon returning home. "International Groups" are people from each of the different countries getting together to share the story of their faith & lives.
*Singing Class: For an hour each day, Jonathan & Joel taught us four songs (Shout to the Lord, God is Here, I Praise You Lord, and Ode Yen Koh) that we took to the streets and sang for the children & all the passersby (click here for the recordings: http://www.eggma.org/music/S2S4A/ ).
*Cultural Spots: Visits to Angkor Wat, Tonle Sap Lake & The Landmine Museum gave us a deeper appreciation of the Cambodians history, living conditions, and current challenges. Some of us were also able to visit children's homes and one of the schools.
*Evening Devotionals: Young adults lead these devotionals, as we focused on the theme, "Lord, I Want To Know You More." Surprisingly, some of the street children began to come to the devotionals from the second day on. They became regulars with us in just about everything we were doing.


Secondly, a story:

On the first day, we went out and met the street kids, gave them fliers and told them to invite their friends. There was lots of just hanging out and trying to get to know them. Some of them remembered those of us who came last year. They especially remembered Robert. That touched me. Of all the thousands of tourists that come through, how did they remember Robert? When we were in Siem Reap for the Asian Missions Forum, Robert would go down to the market to meet the kids. There he would talk with them, affirm them, and spend time with them. Is that so rare -- for someone to cut through all the "shop talk" and get to know who they are?


These children experience an adult life – a business of selling from noon to 1am, and most of that rejection from tourists. The rejection is easy to understand because these children are relentless in their tactics to get you to buy their “something.” People that come to Siem Reap simply want to buy a souvenir or relax in a restaurant, not be bothered by these children. I even saw one guy violently shake off a kid who was hanging on his arm as he yelled, “Get away from me!” Can you imagine being one of these children? And in the midst of all that, someone comes and talks to you. He has all kinds of questions about you. He compliments you, “Your English is very good!” He tells you that you have great potential. He says that you don’t have to sell books your whole life. You can be a tour guide, or work in a fancy hotel someday. He laughs with you and plays a game with you. He comes back the next day and the two of you talk. He talks to the other kids, too, and seems to enjoy them. He buys shirts for everyone and everyone wears their shirt from “Uncle Robert.” It’s a cup of cold water to a small child. You don’t forget something like that. They didn’t forget Robert, and since Robert brought some of us along, they remembered us too. For some reason last August, some of the children called me “Harry.” When we went back this time, a girl was asking Robert, “Where’s Harry?” Robert, in turn, asked me, “Who’s ‘Harry’?” And I remembered. Wow! How could they recall after so many people had been in and out of their city? Later I shared these thoughts with my Home Group. It occured to me: although many had been through their city, only a few people had been in their lives.

Our time in Cambodia was dwindling to a few precious hours. Ten children joined us in the upper balcony of our lodge for one final devotional together. "What song do you want to sing?" we asked. "Number one!" they said, and started to sing it, "Lord, I want to know you more...." There was crying from the very beginning. Ray, a young boy from Vietnam, tried to keep it light by making jokes, but it just turned into a strange mixture of tears and laughter. One boy was holding on to Joel, sobbing. Another little girl, Srey, collapsed into Judith's arms, a continual stream of tears running down her face. Earlier, one of the girls had said, "I miss you all. When you come back?" Now, emotions were raw because parting was so near. Jonathan said to them, "You know that we didn't come here just to buy something. We came here for you." "We know," a couple of kids managed to say. "We have to leave tomorrow," Jonathan continued, "but we want you to know that Jesus loves you and he will never leave you."


Thirdly, and finally, more on Cambodia:

Jonathan began a website called, "Shoulder 2 Shoulder 4 Asia." This is a place where you can see more stories from Cambodia, hear our song recordings, see pictures, and so much more! To view, click on http://s2s4a.com/ and continue to be inspired by what God has done, is doing, and will do! Thank you to all who were so diligent in prayer for this life-changing mission.

"Then Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.'" John 6:35