ot molloy "...Europeans (and Christianity didn't arrive until the 1500's
- Japan was never predominantly Christian...
the following site and article may help explain an alternate view (historical view that is - don't know why you have a problem with the fully documented view of some noted historians). i will locate the article i read on the subject (much more detailed than the following) if you're truly interested. the article i read concurs with this internet site article but gave the actual dates that Christianity actually arrived in Japan; somewhere before the 1300s, possibly as early as the 1100s - not the 1500s you state - the Jesuits arrived after 1500. nevertheless, the following article and site may assist you in your quest for information.
the sect, known as the "Krishtans" was not localized in one area, but spread throughout Japan at their peak. the following article states that at it's peak at least 3 million Japanese were Christians out of a total population of 10 million. the article i read stated that the Japanese government has made it difficult, due to the embarrassing slaughter of Christians, to come to terms with a full report on the history (it was written by a historian currently residing in Japan). they've found Christian artifacts they believe date back as early as the 1100s. many theories abound as to how Christianity arrived in Japan so early. as you see from the Keikyo Institute site the following admittance:
members.aol.com
"...The Kirishtan were discovered in 1549 A.D. when Francis Xavier, the Jesuit missionary, arrived in the island nation. He had apparently heard of these early Christians in Japan. He suspected that they had probably lost the fundamentals of faith, having been separated from the remainder of the Church for hundreds of years."
so, no, the Jesuits "discovered" Christians already in Japan when they arrived around 1549, this agrees with the current Jesuit history of Japan. historians estimate that the Christians came to Japan via China and Korea via the Middle East.
when the Jesuits preached to this early sect, calling for a return to their early faith, their number apparently increased dramatically:
"...Within a year, nearly 10,000 had experienced a revival so dramatic that, by 1600 A.D., the Christian Kirishtan comprised the single largest organized religious community in Japan...
and
"...The influence of the revival of the Kirishtan was profound. Three out of every four Daimyo, or area military rulers, converted. Three million Japanese, out of a population of 10 million, were estimated to have become a part of the Kirishtan movement. In Japan, the time was dubbed "The Christian Century..."
although this article states the following in commemoration:
"...to the nearly one million indigenous Japanese Christians who were martyred for their faith in the Kirishtan Holocaust over a 250-year period beginning February 5, 1597...
the article i read stated that other historians believe it was possible up to 2 to 3 million Japanese were killed - including those who lived in Korea and the few in China. the article stated that the slaughter moved to China which is apparently a another story. by the early 20th century the number of Japanese Christians went from their peak of 3 to 4 million to less than 200,000.
despite all the above, it still does not belie the fact that over 2/3(?) of the mobile phone cell parts production for Asia appears to occur in Japan. i do not know the exact number, as Korea and Taiwan continue to comprise a large portion as well. "As Japan goes...so goes the world" someone stated. i simply modified that "as Japan goes...so goes Asia." i don't believe anyone knows for 100% certain how all this will play out. but we have a good idea.
(in my previous post i should have noted that Christians first ARRIVED in Japan bw 1100-1300. the slaughter occurred bw 1600 and 1900) |
