Japan on the Jesuit Stage

Description

Jesuits in the East were a major source of European information on Japan from the late 16th to early 17th century. Not only were they active as missionaries, they also produced linguistic, religious and cultural tracts, regional chronicles, and thousands of Latin plays written in imitation of classical Greco-Roman theatre. An intriguing yet underexplored segment of Jesuit school theatre is that which stages non-classical, non-Western subjects such as Japan, and this volume is the first to present Latin texts of two of these plays alongside full English translations, commentaries and an extensive introduction.
The plays in question – Martyrs of Japan and Victor the Japanese – were performed in Koblenz and Munich, in 1625 and 1665 respectively, and have been collected from original 17th-century manuscripts. They were based on specific events which took place in Japan in 1597 and 1613, and their main characters are historical Japanese Catholic converts of the warrior class and their pagan peers.
The juxtaposition of the Latin texts and new English translations makes the plays newly accessible to a wide readership, shedding light on the ways in which Western classical humanism rooted in ancient Mediterranean theatre became intertwined with momentous historical developments both in Japan and Europe to produce these unique spectacles. The introduction and commentary examine the historical, cultural and literary contexts and provide guidance on interpretative and stylistic issues, allowing for a rich appreciation of the plays both as loci of classical receptions and as particular receptions of the exotic Orient in early modern Europe.

Akihiko Watanabe is Professor in the Faculty of Comparative Culture at Otsuma Women’s University, Japan.

Introduction
Texts and Translations I. Martyrs of JapanII. Victor the JapaneseCommentaryI. Martyrs of JapanII. Victor the Japanese Bibliography
Index

Additional information