Abstract

The Jesuits became reputed commissioners of orientalia, during the 16th and the 17th centuries. Their commission of orientalia included exotica, rarita, and naturalia. Due to the fact that they were members of a religious order, a considerable part of orientalia had a religious character. At least, at the beginning, those objects were destined mainly to the liturgy in the missions. Nevertheless, the Jesuits quickly developed an exquisite collectionism taste of those objects and as traders. Among the orientalia that arose the greater interest among the Jesuits, reference shall be made to Japanese silk and silver transported by the Nau do Trato, Indian rarita, such as jewellery and ivory sculpture, and also naturalia and exotica, such as pearls and bezoar stones. The Jesuits moreover joined immediately the interest for Chinese porcelain and lacquerware. The Jesuits were fundamental agents from a technical viewpoint. They are credited with the creation of the Goa stones and the introduction of the Cassius purple. Jesuit authors further wrote important technical treatises. The trade and collectionism of orientalia by the Jesuits were often excessive. However, the repetition of the interdictions by both the General Claudio Acquaviva and the General Everardo Mercuriano clearly illustrates the incapacity of the authorities to put an end to inappropriate practices to religious men of owning luxurious objects and fomenting the taste for luxury, through the offer of orientalia.

Abstract

This essay deals with the collective episodes of Christian martyrdom that took place in Japan in the Early Modern Time. On February 5, 1597 six Spanish Franciscans, seventeen Japanese catechists and three Japanese Jesuits, a priest and two brothers were martyred by crucifixion on the Nishizaka Hill, Nagasaki. This episode of collective martyrdom of Christians was the first of many such episodes that occurred to a great extent during the so-called Christian Century or Namban Era (1549-1639). The formation of communities of Kakure Kirishitan (Hidden Christians) or Sempoku Kirishitan (Underground Christians) was a main consequence of these episodes. The Kirishitan communities developed a very syncretic religiosity marked by the veneration of their ancestors killed for their faith. In 1627 the martyrs of Nagasaki in 1597 were declared blessed, as an overall recognition of this episode within a time characterised by such gruesome episodes in Europe and beyond. The atomic bomb thrown over Nagasaki in 1945 revived the memory of past martyrdoms dating back to 1597 among the local Christian communities. In June 1962, the Twenty-Six Martyrs Museum and Monument built on the spot of their martyrdom on the Nishizaka Hill in Nagasaki, Japan, opened to commemorate the centenary of the canonization of these martyrs. The subject remains actual in the 21st century. Hundred and eighty-eight Kirishithan martyred for their faith, and who were mostly laypersons, were declared blessed in 2008. The film Silence directed by Martin Scorsese and based on the novel by Shisaku Endo opened the debate on the significance of Christianity and martyrdom in early modern Japan to the wide public in 2016.