The Similarities and Differences of 17th Century Europe and Japan (

The Similarities and Differences of 17th Century Japan and Europe (1500 to 1700) Japan, from 1500 to almost 1700, was undergoing a major transformation. The Society of Jesus was founded by Ignatius Loyola and approved by Pope Paul III as a religious order within the Catholic Church in 1540. Francis Xavier was the first Jesuit sent to preach religion outside of Europe. Three Portuguese traders whose ship was blown to Japan in 1542 or 1543 are the first Europeans known to have set foot there. Only a few years after their arrival, Francis Xavier made it to Japan in 1549; however, he died in 1552. Alessandro Valignano was another prominent European figure in Asia and especially in Japan and was a member of the Jesuits (Society of Jesus). In 1614 the persecution of Christians in Japan began. Yamaga (1622-1885), a man with vast intellect and a believer of independence of thought, initiated the bushido (the way of the warrior) creed. Yamaga was worried about the immobilization of the Samurai under the peaceful rule of Tokugawa. The bushido creed derives from the ethics of Confucianism and the Japanese feudal tradition. During the Tokugawa rule Christianity was proscribed, Japan had no contact with the outside world, and a centralized feudal state was established. Once, Japanese women enjoyed a fair amount of status because they could own land, although they were not allowed to participate in politics and had no real voice in anything. However, by the 17th century, women had become oppressed because of feudalism, the teachings of Confucianism and Buddhism ensued, and thus began a developing military society. Japanese women eventually came into a very low status because Confucianism, Buddhism, and the military society degraded women. With Europe’s early modern era (1500-1789) new developments were brought about which changed many Europeans way of thinking. Reformation, the Renaissance, and expansion all played major roles

References: Encyclopedia of Religion (n.d.). Yamaga Soko. Retrieved November 9, 2007, from http://www.bookrags.com/Yamaga_Soko Moran, J.F. (1993). The Japanese and the Jesuits: Alessandro Valignano in sixteenth-century Japan. New York: Rutledge-Taylor and Francis Group. Sekicho (2002, October 1). Japanese women. Retrieved November 10, 2007, from, http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1367504 Sherman, D., Grunfeld, A. T., Markowitz, G., Rosner, D., & Heywood, L. (2006). World civilizations: Sources, images, and interpretations (4th ed.). (Vol. 1). Boston: McGraw-Hill Learning Solutions. Youngren, K. & Hillbo, P. M. (Ed). (1997, March 5). Francis Xavier attempts to enter China: 1549. Retrieved November 11, 2007, from http://thenagain.info/webchron/Christianity/Xavier.html