Natural Law and the Jesuit Mission in Japan: An Analysis of Missionary Discourse during the Early Period (1549–1570)

Abstract

This article aims to analyse the representations produced by Jesuit missionaries concerning Japanese Buddhism in the sixteenth century, focusing on the role of the concept of “natural reason” in the interpretation of Japanese society and in the formulation of evangelization strategies. To this end, the article analyses primarily missionary letters, with particular emphasis on the accounts of Father Francis Xavier (1506–1552), the first superior of the Japanese mission, and Father Cosme de Torres (1510–1570), whose writings reveal how the Japanese were described as particularly rational, which would justify their ability to recognize the truth of Christian law. This perception underpinned the use of dialogue and persuasion as the principal methods of conversion. The article also analyses the debates between Jesuits and Zen monks, particularly through the records of Juan Fernández (1526–1567), which reveal disagreements on metaphysical issues but greater convergence on moral matters. The analysis demonstrates that the missionaries employed categories drawn from European theology, especially those related to natural law, to interpret Japanese religiosity. Finally, it is observed that this theological vocabulary served both to legitimize the mission and to guide concrete evangelization practices, while also revealing the diversity of discourses among the missionaries themselves and the adaptation of these ideas to the Japanese context.