Tanegashima - The Arrival of Europe in Japan

Download or read book Tanegashima - The Arrival of Europe in Japan written by Olof G. Lidin and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2003-12-16 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The year 1543 marked the beginning of a new global consciousness in Japan with the arrival of shipwrecked Portuguese merchants on Tanegashima Island in southern Japan. Other Portuguese soon followed and Japan became aware of a world beyond India. After the merchants came the first missionary Francis Xavier in 1549, beginning the Christian century in Japan. This is not a new story, but it is the first time that Japanese, Portuguese and other European accounts have been brought together and presented in English. Their arrival was recorded by the Japanese in Tanegashima kafu, the Teppoki and the Kunitomo teppoki, here translated and presented together with European reports. Includes maps, and Portuguese and Japanese illustrations.