The Life of St. Francis Xavier

Christian Communities in Japan

Arrival in Japan

 

Francis Xavier wanted to know more about Japan before he left Goa. He had a sure fountain of information in Paul who taught him that both the language and the religion of the Japanese came from China at the time that the Buddhist influence in China was quite strong.

 

Buddha had a magnetic personality. He was a dedicated teacher of his people. He taught them basic moral principles that were of daily use to them. There is a Buddhist legend which teaches that “God is present everywhere in the world in the same way the sun is. The sun is reflected in the water, whether the water be an ocean or a lake. Each of them reflects the sun, in the same way God is completely present everywhere.”

 

This is where the Christian message can begin. The God who is beyond our ability to know was made known to us by Christ. Christ also taught that all are one family, that all are equal, that all cannot be divided into classes or castes. “We should be like lotus blossoms which are born, grow and become beautiful flowers in stagnant dirty water… always opening their white petals to the light of the sun.”

 

The winds came on June 21, 1549, the 12th anniversary of Francis’ ordination to the priesthood. He boarded Domingo Diaz’ ship and set sail into a blue sea. The crossing proved to be very difficult. Finally, the high blue mountains of a new land could be seen on the horizon. They passed a wide beach located at the foot of a towering volcano. Then they saw wooded hills which would have delighted any artist. Here and there on the hills were small homes made of wood and the straw of rice plants. Rocks were being used to ornament the outside of the paddies, orchards of cherry trees, green gardens filled with flowers of many different colors, and above all this, temples with tiled roofs that shone beneath the summer sun.

 

The ship docked in Kagoshima, at the extreme end of the “Island of the Dolls,” on August 15, 1549. The three set out for Paul’s home which would become their first base of operation for bringing Christ to the people of the “Land of the Rising Sun.”

 

 

The Teacher from the West

 

The world Francis entered, was very different. In spotless homes with beautiful gardens, in narrow streets filled with people, the language he heard was derived from Chinese, but more difficult. Xavier immediately became interested in the nearby temples. He was the first person to call the Buddhist priests “bonzes.” Dressed in white with black capes and shaved heads, the Buddhist priests walked solemnly among the humble people who respected and even venerated them.

 

Francis also saw the proud samurai with deep frowns on their faces and long swords at their sides. He saw gracious women. He saw busy people in a hurry, and others who talked and talked. There were teenagers and children.

 

None of these people knew anything about Christ. Francis was anxious to begin instructing and baptizing them. From morning till night, Paul’s home was filled with visitors. The catechists took advantage of this, speaking continuously about Christ and his Church. Such was their enthusiasm that the visitors were first startled, and then, astonished. First to be baptized was Yagiro’s wife, his daughter and a number of his relations. The fame of “the teacher with the big nose” spread day by day.

 

The 15 year old daughter of one of the city’s important people died. He wept in anguish; a neighbor suggested he should visit the “foreign bonze.” The mourning father ran to Paul’s house, and between sobs, told Francis that his daughter had died. Leaving his friends, Francis gathered in prayer in the chapel. After some time, he told the crying father to go home, since his daughter was alive. And so it happened.

 

Once again the, a miracle recorded in the Gospels was repeated in Japan, and the number of those asking to be baptized increased each day.

 

 

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