By the 16th century, advances in navigation had created vast new possibilities for faraway travel. But missionaries had to do more than just arrive at a new territory. They also had to find a way to share a new religion within local customs.
The Jesuit mission to Japan had begun in August 1549. There were many difficulties, including obstacles to effective communication, as “Japan's culture was more foreign than any the [Jesuits] had yet encountered.”
When Fr. Alessandro Valignano came to Japan in 1579, he felt that the existing Jesuit mission had been too dismissive of Japanese culture and had alienated many people.
Fr. Valignano — a legal scholar and son of an aristocratic family from Naples — had joined the Jesuit order following an intense religious experience and was later sent to the Far East in a supervisory role.
Convinced that adaptation -- or what the Church refers to as inculturation -- was key to successful evangelization, he began to shift the Jesuit mission to reflect this conviction. One example of adaptation was that he had priests dress like Buddhist monks in order to blend in better with Japanese customs.
Such efforts may have had a favorable effect on the locals. But there were missionaries who felt that Valignano was going too far in his willingness to adapt. A few Jesuits even recommended that Europeans should conquer Japan. But Valignano would have none of that.
Instead, he emphasized the importance of Japanese language instruction so that Jesuits would not have to constantly rely on translators. And he mandated that Jesuits abandon any attempt at eating European-style food, choosing local cuisine instead. Also, each Jesuit was to have a tea house connected to his residence.
Beginning in 1580, the Jesuits had a headquarters at Nagasaki. In ensuing years, Nagasaki became such a Catholic stronghold that it drew comparisons to Rome.
Fr. Valignano's ultimate goal was that the European missionaries would eventually recede into the background and the Japanese themselves would run the Church in Japan.
This setup would require a native Japanese clergy. Fortunately, he was able to convince the Japanese to let him establish seminaries dedicated to training native-born priests.
Aside from their religious duties, the Jesuits served as negotiators between the Japanese and European traders who came to Nagasaki.
As missionaries, the Jesuits were reluctant to take on this commercial role, but the local feudal lords were insistent. Also, the financial benefits involved were necessary to continue funding their mission; the Japanese custom in which hosts present gifts was placing heavy financial strain on the Jesuits, who had numerous visitors.
When Valignano left Japan in 1582, there were about 150,000 Catholics as well as strong momentum for a homegrown Church. His achievements later saw him described as “the greatest man of the [Jesuit] missions in the East after Francis Xavier.”
Following his tenure in Japan, Valignano spent several years in India and Macao. He also returned to Japan twice, serving in a diplomatic role to placate autocratic rulers.
In January 1606, Valignano, then age 66, died at Macao as he was preparing to visit Jesuits on mainland China. By then, Japanese authorities were starting to crack down brutally on Christianity. Its growing popularity and influence had become too much of a threat.
The story of Fr. Valignano underscores an issue missionaries worldwide have faced for centuries, and one in which the Church continues to urge her children to develop.
