HIST4010 · History

The Samurai and the Cross: Christian Encounters with Japan (1549?1945)

Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences

Fulfills the LAMA requirement for History Majors and Minors.This course is an introduction to the dramatic history of Christianity in Japan, from its founding by Francis Xavier during the age of samurai warriorsin the 16th century, to the remarkable survival of the Hidden Christians during the Edo period (16031868), and the struggle for religiousfreedom during the earlyMeiji period (18681912). From its establishment by the Jesuits and Portuguese merchants in 1571 until 1945, when the atom bomb was dropped over Urakami Catholic Cathedral, the international port city of Nagasaki has played a central role in this story. How and why Japan first embraced and subsequently rejected this new religion, its culture, and its adherents will be the focus of our study. The course will be held at the Ricci Institute building so that students can work directly with the unique material and visual culture of the period (rare books, manuscripts, maps, artifacts, and artwork) in the Institute's collections that bear witness to these complex intercultural encounters and clashes. We will also makeuse of rare materials at the Burns Library.