In 1585, at the height of Jesuit missionary activity in Japan, which was begun by Francis Xavier in 1549, Luis Frois, a long-time missionary in Japan, drafted the earliest systematic comparison of Western and Japanese cultures. This book constitutes the first critical English-language edition of the 1585 work, the original of which was discovered in the Royal Academy of History in Madrid after the Second World War. The book provides a translation of the text, which is not a continuous narrative, but rather more than 600 distichs or brief couplets on subjects such as gender, child rearing, religion, medicine, eating, horses, writing, ships and seafaring, architecture, and music and drama. In addition, the book includes a substantive introduction and other editorial material to explain the background and also to make comparisons with present-day Japanese life. Overall, the book represents an important primary source for understanding a particularly challenging period of history and its connection to contemporary Europe and Japan.

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Yes, you can access The First European Description of Japan, 1585 by Luis Frois SJ, Daniel T. Reff, Richard Danford, Robin Gill in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Ethnic Studies. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Publisher

Routledge

Year

2014

ISBN

9781317917809

Edition

Topic

Social Sciences

Subtopic

Ethnic Studies

Index

Social Sciences

Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Figures and maps
Preface by Joy Hendry, Series Editor
Acknowledgments
Critical introduction by Daniel T. Reff
Jesus [&] Mary
1 Concerning men, their persons, and their clothing
2 Women, their persons and customs
3 Concerning children and their customs
4 Concerning the bonzes and their customs
5 Concerning [Buddhist] temples, images and things pertaining to the practice of their religion
6 The Japanese way of eating and drinking
7 Japanese offensive and defensive weapons and warfare
8 Concerning horses
9 Diseases, doctors, and medicines
10 Japanese writing and their books, paper, ink, and letters
11 Houses, construction, gardens and fruits
12 Ships, seafaring and dogus
13 Japanese plays, farces, dances, singing and musical instruments
14 Various and extraordinary things that do not fit neatly in the preceding chapters
References cited
Index