A Layman's Account of Japanese Christianity (1619)

Abstract

The merchant and apostolic notary Bernardino de Ávila Girón was present in Japan from 1595 to 1598 and from 1607 to about 1619. He witnessed the martyrdom of six Franciscan missionaries and twenty Japanese Christians, and the 1614–19 Christian uprisings against the ruler Tokugawa Ieyasu. After the 1614 expulsion of the missionaries and the persecution of Christians, Ávila became a witness of clandestine Japanese Christianity. His Relación is unique not only because it is the most extensive and profound analysis of Japan and its peoples written by a layman. Ávila highlights the shared Catholic identity with the Japanese Christians and transcends the explicit distinction between European and Japanese, which had dominated the first part of the work.

Matched Nanban terms

• people Tokugawa Ieyasu

Provenance

• openalex (W4400513850)
  2026-04-30T19:58:43.469104+00:00

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