Francis Xavier's arrival in Japan in 1549 initiated a radically different approach to the spread of Christianity, one which was to distinguish the Jesuits from all other Europeans for the next two hundred years: his insistence that his missionaries should respect and understand Japanese culture. Alessandro Valignano then developed this approach, both in Japan and in China, where Jesuits gained Confucian scholar status as an introduction to their missionary life, and even became key figures in the Chinese civil service.
Highly readable and stylishly written, this long-awaited book is the first to recount the absorbing story of the Jesuit missions in both civilisations. It shows how the Jesuits' sensitivity to Japanese and Chinese culture directly and consciously contradicted the imperialism of the Spanish and the Portuguese, and allowed the possibility of dialogue between East and West which other European stances excluded. It is a richly detailed account, exploring the first attempt by western European Christians to realise the universality of Christianity outside European culture, and will be welcomed by students of Japanese and Chinese History, Church History, Religious Studies and Missiology.