confessors now recognize their own ancestors, in the picture galleries
of Italian nobles, and in Christian churches see lettered tombs bearing
familiar names, or in western museums discern far-eastern works of art
brought over as presents or curiosities, centuries ago.

Roughly speaking, Japanese Christianity lasted phenomenally nearly a
century, or more exactly from 1542 to 1637, During this time, embassies
or missions crossed the seas not only of Chinese and Peninsular Asia,
circumnavigating Africa and thus reaching Europe, but also sailed across
the Pacific, and visited papal Christendom by way of Mexico and the
Atlantic Ocean.

This century of Southern Christianity and of commerce with Europe
enabled Japan, which had previously been almost unheard of, except
through the vague accounts of Marco Polo and the semi-mythical stories
by way of China, to leave a conspicuous mark, first upon the countries
of southern Europe, and later upon Holland and England. As in European
literature Cathay became China, and Zipango or Xipangu was recognized as
Japan, so also the curiosities, the artistic fabrics, the strange things
from the ends of the earth, soon became familiar in Europe. Besides the
traffic in mercantile commodities, there were exchanges of words. The
languages of Europe were enriched by Japanese terms, such as soy, moxa,
goban, japan (lacquer or varnish), etc., while the tongue of Nippon
received an infusion of new terms,[2] and a notable list of inventions
was imported from Europe.

We shall merely outline, with critical commentary, the facts of history
which have been so often told, but which in our day have received
luminous illustration. We shall endeavor to treat the general phenomena,
causes and results of Christianity in Japan in the same judicial spirit