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Authors: S. W. J. O'Malley
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more peaceful Guaranà was an exception, and it was among them that the Jesuits developed the famous reductions,permanent settlements that were meant to protect the Indians from slave traders, teach them skills so that they might support themselves and pay the onerous taxes imposed by the government, and, finally, provide an atmosphere conducive to the practice of Catholicism.
Although Madrid set down the firm policy that none but Spaniards emigrate to âthe Spanish Indies,â the Jesuits somehow circumvented it. Their work there almost from the beginning had a remarkably international character, reflective of the international character of the Society of Jesus itself. Of those sent to Mexico, for example, between about 1575 and 1625, thirty-seven of the Jesuits came from Italy, seventeen from Portugal, seven from France, five from the Low Countries, and others from other places, including Denmark and Ireland. In the latter part of the seventeenth century, the influx of German Jesuits especially in the Viceroy of Peru was considerable.
Regarding international staffing, the Portuguese were more tolerant than the Spaniards. The crown had no problem, for instance, that Xavier, a Spaniard, was the first priest to open the mission to Japan, where he arrived on August 15, 1549, accompanied by Father Cosmé de Torres, Brother Juan Fernández, and a Japanese recently converted to Catholicism named Paul of the Holy Faith. After several ill-advised ventures in trying to reach persons of authority who might help him, Xavier approached Ouchi Yoshitaka, daimyo of Yamagochi, a prince of real power, who, Xavier immediately realized, would be impressed only with a display of grandeur.
Xavier abandoned the simple clerical attire he had worn elsewhere and appeared in court finely robed. He presented his credentials as an ambassador of Portugal and gave Yoshitaka anelaborate assortment of gifts, including a clock, eyeglasses, a music box, wine, and more still. The daimyo, fascinated and delighted with the gifts, gave Xavier permission to preach and also put an unused Buddhist temple at his disposal.
With that incident the Japanese mission got under way and did so with considerable success almost from that moment. Official approval of these visitors from a strange land made the difference. Xavier was deeply and favorably impressed with the Japanese. He wrote back to Goa that the Japanese âare the finest yet discovered. ⦠They are good and not malicious, with a marvelous sense of honor and esteem for it.â 1 Xavierâs assessment was shared by others and made the Japanese mission attractive to members of the Society. Within thirty years, some sixty Jesuits were active there, an unmistakable sign of a successful venture. An even more unmistakable sign was the thousands of converts the Jesuits won.
In 1579 the young, talented, and decisive Italian Jesuit Alessandro Valignano arrived, armed by the superior general with the official title of Visitor, which gave him almost plenipotentiary powers. As he assessed the situation in Japan, he too was struck by the high level of Japanese culture and the need for a policy that took it into account. He determined that the missionaries abandon European dress, diet, and customs so as to conform themselves as far as possible with the culture of Japan. He opened a novitiate for the training of Japanese recruits to the Society, for he saw that the future of Christianity in Japan rested with a native clergy. In 1602 two Japanese Jesuits were ordained priests. More followed.
The most visible and physical evidence of the degree to which the Jesuits tried to adapt to their new land was the way they built their churches, which were utterly different from any style prevailing in Europe. They adopted many features of Buddhist templesand built in the Japanese style of post-and-lintel wooden architecture, with hipped-gable roofs. Rather than a single freestanding building, the church
Although Madrid set down the firm policy that none but Spaniards emigrate to âthe Spanish Indies,â the Jesuits somehow circumvented it. Their work there almost from the beginning had a remarkably international character, reflective of the international character of the Society of Jesus itself. Of those sent to Mexico, for example, between about 1575 and 1625, thirty-seven of the Jesuits came from Italy, seventeen from Portugal, seven from France, five from the Low Countries, and others from other places, including Denmark and Ireland. In the latter part of the seventeenth century, the influx of German Jesuits especially in the Viceroy of Peru was considerable.
Regarding international staffing, the Portuguese were more tolerant than the Spaniards. The crown had no problem, for instance, that Xavier, a Spaniard, was the first priest to open the mission to Japan, where he arrived on August 15, 1549, accompanied by Father Cosmé de Torres, Brother Juan Fernández, and a Japanese recently converted to Catholicism named Paul of the Holy Faith. After several ill-advised ventures in trying to reach persons of authority who might help him, Xavier approached Ouchi Yoshitaka, daimyo of Yamagochi, a prince of real power, who, Xavier immediately realized, would be impressed only with a display of grandeur.
Xavier abandoned the simple clerical attire he had worn elsewhere and appeared in court finely robed. He presented his credentials as an ambassador of Portugal and gave Yoshitaka anelaborate assortment of gifts, including a clock, eyeglasses, a music box, wine, and more still. The daimyo, fascinated and delighted with the gifts, gave Xavier permission to preach and also put an unused Buddhist temple at his disposal.
With that incident the Japanese mission got under way and did so with considerable success almost from that moment. Official approval of these visitors from a strange land made the difference. Xavier was deeply and favorably impressed with the Japanese. He wrote back to Goa that the Japanese âare the finest yet discovered. ⦠They are good and not malicious, with a marvelous sense of honor and esteem for it.â 1 Xavierâs assessment was shared by others and made the Japanese mission attractive to members of the Society. Within thirty years, some sixty Jesuits were active there, an unmistakable sign of a successful venture. An even more unmistakable sign was the thousands of converts the Jesuits won.
In 1579 the young, talented, and decisive Italian Jesuit Alessandro Valignano arrived, armed by the superior general with the official title of Visitor, which gave him almost plenipotentiary powers. As he assessed the situation in Japan, he too was struck by the high level of Japanese culture and the need for a policy that took it into account. He determined that the missionaries abandon European dress, diet, and customs so as to conform themselves as far as possible with the culture of Japan. He opened a novitiate for the training of Japanese recruits to the Society, for he saw that the future of Christianity in Japan rested with a native clergy. In 1602 two Japanese Jesuits were ordained priests. More followed.
The most visible and physical evidence of the degree to which the Jesuits tried to adapt to their new land was the way they built their churches, which were utterly different from any style prevailing in Europe. They adopted many features of Buddhist templesand built in the Japanese style of post-and-lintel wooden architecture, with hipped-gable roofs. Rather than a single freestanding building, the church
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