Customer Reviews

A Vision Betrayed: The Jesuits in Japan and China, 1542-1742

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The subject of the introduction of Christianity into China and Japan in the late 1500's is a fascinating one. Both missions ultimately failed, despite very promising beginnings and a remnant who held onto the faith in secret (the kakure kirishitan of Japan). My problem with the book is that there are mistakes in the Japanese which make it clear that the author could not have consulted any Japanese materials in the original. For example, the artist for the screen on the slipcover is listed as "Namban Byobu". This is not actually a personal name, but the term for "Screens of the Southern Barbarians" (as western foreigners were called). Also, some of the personal names of Japanese people are romanized in two different romanization systems (si and shi; both stand for the same sound) within the same word. It is not likely that a person competent in Japanese reviewed the manuscript. One wonders what other factual errors exist.

Nonetheless, for anyone with an interest in the subject, this is a fascinating tale, including details such as the discovery of a tablet which recorded the Nestorian existance in China hundreds of years previously, which gave additional credibility to the "new" faith.

The general theme of the book seems to be a corrective of previous books which seem to have not adequately presented the case of the Jesuits. Their approach to localizing the faith (enculturation) was not sufficiently thorough in Japan and forbidden by the Shogun, and though thorough in China, ultimately forbidden by the Church in the "Rites Controversy". No wonder it was published by Maryknoll, who uses this once-discredited approach in many different cultures.

"A Vision Betrayed" is the most comprehensive, honest, and thorough evaluation of Catholic Missions to the east in the 16th,17th, and 18th century. Ross blends the fascinating stories of such great men as Francis Xavier, Matteo Ricci, and Alesandro Vilagano with the current political, and religions situations indeigenous to Japan and China. His closing chapter is a brilliant observation on what led to the collapse of these missions. This book is a must read for anyone interested in missionary work either Catholic or Protestant. These early Jesuits understood the necessity of understanding a foreign culture before bringing the faith. It is a shame that many American missionaries today lack the knowledge and grace to bring only the faith to the East not our culture.