Research Paper on "Myths, Missions, and Mistrust: The Fate"

Research Paper 4 pages (1245 words) Sources: 3

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Myths, Missions, and Mistrust: The Fate of Christianity in 16th and 17th Century Japan" by John Nelson looks at the more accepted ideas pertaining to the persecution and demise of Christian/Catholic missions in 16th and 17th century Japan. A Mediterranean-based Christianity failed in Japan and Christianity came to be seen as a rather "disruptive" religion that had very strong bonds with colonialism and military opportunism -- both of which were very threatening to Japan as a political order at that time. It's rather difficult to believe that Christian Europeans in the 16th century thought that they could travel so far to Japan and convert the people there to follow their tenets laid out by the Catholic Church. Yet, the "Jesuits, Franciscans, Augustinians, and the Dominicans counted some 150,000 converts by conservative estimates and 450,000 by more liberal ones" by the year 1606 (Nelson 2002: 96).

In Andrew C. Ross's book, A Vision Betrayed: The Jesuits in Japan and China 1542-1742, Ross (2003: 98) notes when Xavier (together with Anjiro) went to Japan, it was an opportune time because it coincided with the rise to power of Oda Nobunaga, a warlord who had little tolerance for the influence of Buddhism. Nelson notes that for the early Jesuit missionaries, "the political chaos in Japan meant that if they lost favor with one daimyo or his power base shifted radically they could simply move to another's realm" (98). Xavier wrote that, "Japan…is always revolving like a wheel; for he who today is a great lord, may be a penniless nobody tomorrow" (Boxer 1951: 74; 98). Yet, when Xavier leaves Japan a little more than a year later, he had converted 1,000 Japanese to Christianity. His success was huge,

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according to Ross, and this would be only the beginning.

The Jesuits, as Xavier was, were more used to moving among people who had more influence while the Franciscans were trained to live among the people -- particularly the poor. There were major tensions between the two groups of Christians in Japan as the Jesuits converted more of the nobles while the Franciscans believed that their responsibility as Christians lay with the poor. Many Japanese, however, were shocked that there could be such a feud going on between groups who were supposedly of the same religion and thus they became enraged with the whole religion.

Indeed, Ross (2003: 24) notes that when Xavier first went to Japan, he had the idea that it was a united 'Empire' and that his primary duty was to obtain an audience with the Emperor and get his permission to preach the Gospel throughout his dominions. Japan was very far from being united, however, and was in the midst of the Sengoku Jidai (24). This time was similar to what had happened in Europe at various times during the medieval period; kings looked on helplessly as great feudatories battled with each other for land and power. While the Emperor lived in the capital of Kyoto with associations with nobility, he really did not have any political, administrative or military authority except that any formal title gave him.

Nelson (99) notes that even with the rapid growth in the number of missionaries, it is doubtful that they ever really trusted their converts' religious beliefs. An interesting element to the story, told by Nelson (99) is that Xavier, who spoke little Japanese, relied very heavily upon a former "pirate-turned-translator (Yajiro) who rendered Christian terms and concepts via the vocabulary of Buddhism. For the first two years, Christianity was seen as just another Buddhist sect" (99).

Ross's book shows the ambitious mission of the Jesuits in Japan, however, they were never able to get quite the results that the wanted. Most problematic for… READ MORE

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Quoted Instructions for "Myths, Missions, and Mistrust: The Fate" Assignment:

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Purpose

In the Critical Reading Assignment (CRA) you just completed, you were introduced to one scholar*****s position on a given subject. Before you can advance your own position on this subject, you must gain a fuller understanding of the subject by seeking out more information, evidence, and alternative or opposing points of view. In this Comparative Source Examination assignment, you will find and examine three (3) scholarly sources (either journal articles, essays, or book chapters) that give you a more complete understanding of the topic addressed in the CRA and make it easier for you to evaluate the scholar*****'s argument. You will write a review of these sources and explain how each of them adds to your understanding of the CRA source.

Academic Research: Three (3) sources

Find three (3) journal articles, essays, or book chapters that relate to some aspect of the source assigned in the CRA and that will help you to better evaluate the argument made in the source. The sources you select might provide additional or conflicting evidence to that contained in the CRA source; they might offer supporting or alternative claims, arguments, or conclusions. The important thing is to find sources that you believe will help you answer some of the questions or solve some of the problems raised while reading the CRA ***** things that need to be addressed before you can effectively critique the source. Be very deliberate about the sources that you select; you will be evaluated on how well you can articulate how these sources will help you write a better critique. You should choose sources published after 1980, since they are more likely to reflect current scholarship.

Writing the Comparative Source Examination Paper

write a carefully constructed essay that summarizes the argumentation in each of your three selected sources, just as you did in the Critical Reading Assignment. Your paper should:

1. Introduce your three sources and provide a brief reference to how these sources have added to or changed your understanding of the topic and the scholar*****s argument in the CRA.

2. Summarize each scholar*****s argument and how the argument is constructed in each source (consider the scholar*****s sources, research question, thesis, claims, and evidence)

3. Articulate what each source adds to your understanding of the topic and how the source relates to the original CRA source. Consider the following while examining each source and comment as relevant:

Does it support the argument made in the CRA source? Or does it provide an alternative hypothesis or counter-argument?

Does it add to or change your understanding of the topic or the argument made in the CRA source? If so, how?

Do the sources used by the author of this article differ in any meaningful way from those in the CRA source? If so, explain.

Does it provide supporting, alternative, or conflicting evidence to that in the CRA source? What is that evidence?

Does it support or challenge any of the claims made in the CRA source? If so, which claims and how?

Does it cause you to reflect differently on the significance or implications of the scholar*****s argument in the CRA source?

4. Conclude with a restatement of what these sources have contributed to your understanding of the topic and state how you are better able to critique the argument in the CRA source.

5. Attach a separate Works Cited page that lists, in proper MLA documentation style, the sources that you examine in this assignment

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[1] ”Myths, Missions, and Mistrust: The Fate”, A1-TermPaper.com, 2010. [Online]. Available: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/myths-missions-mistrust/5927244. [Accessed: 5-Oct-2024].

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1. Myths, Missions, and Mistrust: The Fate. A1-TermPaper.com. https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/myths-missions-mistrust/5927244. Published 2010. Accessed October 5, 2024.

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