Just as answers to the questions raised affect our approach to working here, they might also affect the way you approach praying for Japan. To help you in praying, this article will give you some glimpses into the history of the last 450 years. It does not include the history of WEC in Japan. That will be coming to you next year, which will in fact be WEC's fiftieth year working here. Also not included this time is any attempt to analyse or summarise what has prevented there from being a greater responsiveness. It is quite possible that every Japanese worker and even WEC missionary here, might have differing answers, so I'll leave you to prayerfully seek some of your own!
In the beginning
Francis Xavier (a Jesuit Priest) was returning from what we now know as Indonesia to Goa in India. On route in December of 1547 he stopped in Malaysia where he met three Japanese. From these meetings he became convinced that the opportunities to spread the gospel in Japan were greater than those in India. One reason being that he understood that the Japanese had, "an eager desire for knowledge and instruction."
Xavier arrived in Kogoshima, Japan, on August 15th 1549, with him were two other priests, two servants and three Japanese including Yajiro, one of the three Japanese that Xavier had met in Malaysia and then sent for theological training in Goa. They were generally welcomed by the feudal Lords, although sometimes with the understanding that this would help secure and develop trading links with the Portuguese. A trade which was exceedingly profitable.
Xavier prepared a lengthy exposition of Christian doctrine in Portuguese, which together with the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer and other prayers, Yajiro put into Japanese. Xavier also worked hard to prepare a longer exposition - which began with the creation of the world, pre-Christian scriptural history, a detailed account of the life of Christ, and finally declared the certainty of the last judgement.
Xavier had many conversations with Buddhist monks through his interpreter. Some of them he respected highly. On other occasions he was horrified by not uncommon homosexuality among the Buddhist monks and so he attacked this practice as well as Buddhist doctrines. This caused some opposition, which increased as the number of Christian converts grew within a year to 100. At this point a second Portuguese trading vessel arrived at Hirado, the port of an enemy to the feudal Lord of Kogoshima. Angered by his failure to secure a monopoly he expelled Xavier and his co-workers.
Moving to Hirado, they were once again welcomed and again able to see around a hundred converts within a year. Following a visit to Kyoto, Xavier went to Yamaguchi ken, where they were received by the daimyo Ouchi Yoshitaka - the most powerful lord of western Honshu.
Yoshitaka granted the missionaries an unoccupied Buddhist temple for their residence and gave them freedom to preach. He had however believed they were Buddhist monks from India, of a sect unknown in Japan.
Twice a day the missionaries preached a formal sermon to large crowds, and each sermon was followed by a discussion that lasted in some cases a few hours. Buddhist priests and others came to hear them, as well as laymen of every class. Many penetrating questions were asked, but the missionaries had unbounded confidence in their ability to refute all opponents. Yet more effective than their theological explanations was the selfless sacrificial love and concern which they showed to every man, which gave their answers a force beyond their rational powers. The association of Christian faith with the most advanced scientific knowledge also added further strength. Consequently, about 500 converts were baptised at Yamaguchi within 2 months, and baptisms continued daily, a large proportion of the candidates being of the samurai class. Xavier left Japan in November of 1551. He never returned, having died in China on December 1552, at the age of 46.
This period of Japanese history particularly welcomed a new religious faith. Buddhism had yet to acquire the sociological power it later had. Confucianism was limited to only a few scholars. Shinto had not kept pace with the developing cultural sophistication of the nation. Added to this the lack of political unity and the consequent cultural fluidity also contributed to an openness that Japan was not to see again until the latter half of the 19th century (even then the openness never equalled that of the 16th century)
For 20 years beginning in 1590, a remarkable series of booklets and books - catechetical, devotional, linguistic and even Japanese classics were printed. These books were designed to serve both missionaries and Japanese Christians. The Jesuits were the first to develop a system of romanisation for the Japanese language. However, no translation of the Bible as a whole or even of the New Testament was included among the books printed.
In spite of the apparently mechanical way in which many were converted (vassals following their lords), a surprising number held their faith with fervour and tenacity. The missionaries forthrightly proclaimed the righteousness as well as the mercy of God, and considerable evidence exists that Japanese Christians took their ethical responsibilities very seriously.
Fear of Christian criticism of the structure and moral values of feudal society helped to develop the suspicion, hostility and subsequent repressive actions of Hideyoshi and his successors. The result of this process, which took several decades to mature, was the edict of persecution issued on 27 January 1614. Yet in the years prior to 1614, averages of 5000 baptisms were reported each year.
The Edict of 1614 directly charged the Christians with intent to change the government and to obtain possession of the country. It also proclaimed the necessity of expelling the foreign missionaries and of extirpating the faith from Japanese soil.
All foreign missionaries and Japanese professional religious personnel were expelled. All Christian churches were destroyed, and Japanese Christians were forced to renounce their faith and return to the ancient religions of the land.
An important element of enforcement was that the local Buddhist priesthood was to supervise certain aspects of the religious life of every Japanese. For the first time in Japanese history, each individual was compelled to belong to a specific Buddhist temple, which became his family temple, and to posses a document which certified this. The chief priest of each temple was to evaluate the religious conformity of his parishioners to the authorities several times a year. From 1614-1643, the estimate of the number of martyrs varied from 2000 to 5000.