Xavier's Legacies: Catholicism in Modern Japanese Culture - Brossura

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0774820225 ISBN 13: 9780774820226

Casa editrice: Univ of British Columbia Pr, 2012

Riassunto

Japan has had three Catholic prime ministers, and its current empress was raised and educated in the faith. How did a non-Christian nation come to foster more Catholic leaders than the United States, particularly when Protestantism is said to define Christianity in Japan and Catholicism is believed to be but a fleeting element of the country’s so-called Christian century?

Far from being a relic of the past -- something brought to Japan by sixteenth-century missionaries such as Francis Xavier and then forgotten -- Catholicism offered, and continues to provide, an authentic way for Japanese to shape their own cultural identities. This volume documents the appeal of Catholicism not only among farmers and fishers but also among scientists, diplomats, novelists, and members of the imperial household who have answered the challenge of Christianity and found inspiration in Catholicism since the late nineteenth century. Associated with the past, Catholicism has offered many Japanese an alternative way to maintain tradition and negotiate modernity.

This path-breaking exploration of Catholicism’s long-term influence on Japan challenges the deep-seated tendency to juxtapose the traditional, non-Christian East with the modern and Christian West.

Contributors: James R. Bartholomew, Kevin M. Doak, Ann M. Harrington, Mariko Ikehara, Mark R. Mullins, Toshiko Sunami, Mark Williams, Yoshihisa Yamamoto, and Yoshimitsu Yoshihiko (with Charles C. Campbell)

Su questo libro

L'autore:

Kevin M. Doak is the Nippon Foundation Chair in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Georgetown University. He is co-editor of the Journal of Japanese Studies and sits on the executive board of the Society for Japanese Studies.

Dalla seconda/terza di copertina:

Japan has had three Catholic prime ministers, and its current empress was raised and educated in the faith. How did a non-Christian nation come to foster more Catholic leaders than the United States, particularly when Protestantism is said to define Christianity in Japan and Catholicism is believed to be but a fleeting element of Japan's so-called Christian century? This volume reveals that, far from being a relic of the past--something brought to Japan by missionaries and then forgotten--Catholicism offered, and continues to provide, an authentic and alternative way for Japanese believers to maintain “tradition” and negotiate modernity.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Univ of British Columbia Pr
• Data di pubblicazione: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0774820225
• ISBN 13: 9780774820226
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 217
• Redattore: Doak Kevin M.