Japanese Reactions to Christian ‘Reason of State’

Abstract

Chapter 10 looks at how the Japanese reacted to the missionaries following the unification of Japan and the establishment of the Edo shogunate. Tokugawa Ieyasu pressured Spain to begin trade with Japan via Mexico. But the Spaniards remained wary of the Japanese in the aftermath of the 1597 martyrdoms at Nagasaki and the shogunate’s refusal to accept missionaries on the grounds of ideological and religious incompatibility. Sebastian Vizcaino’s delegation from Mexico arrived in 1611. His request to survey the Japanese coast would be subsequently interpreted as a proof of hostile intent. A corruption scandal that led to the execution of the Christian daimyo Arima Harunobu, in 1612, together with a number of alleged conspiracies and plots to undermine the shogunate with the aid of foreign troops, seemed to confirm Japanese suspicions. These were seized upon by the English and the Dutch in Japan to accuse the Jesuits of treasonous intent.

Matched Nanban terms

• people Arima Harunobu
• people Tokugawa Ieyasu

Provenance

• openalex (W4283313756)
  2026-04-30T19:58:45.203661+00:00

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