Much has been written of the 'success' of the early missions to Japan during the decades immediately following the arrival of the first Jesuits in 1549. The subsequent 'failure' of the faith to put down roots strong enough to survive this initial wave of enthusiasm is discussed with equal alacrity. The papers in this volume, born of a Conference marking the centenary of the Japan Society of London, represent an attempt to reassess the contact between Christianity and Japan in terms of a symbiotic relationship, a dialogue in which the impact of Japan on the imported religion is viewed alongside the more frequently cited influence of Christianity on Japanese society. Here is a dynamic cultural encounter, examined by the papers in this volume from a series of political, literary and historical perspectives.

Zusammenfassung
This text studies the relationship between Christianity and Japan whereby the impact of Japan on the religion is viewed alongside the more frequently cited influence of Christianity on Japanese society. This encounter is examined from a series of political, literary and historical perspectives.

Inhalt
List of Illustrations - Chronology - Editors' Preface - Acknowledgements - Notes on the Contributors - Translations of Christian Terminology into Japanese 16-19th Centuries: Problems and Solutions; S.Kaiser - Early Western-Style Paintings in Japan; M.Cooper - New Perspectives on the Christian Prohibition; O.Sachiyasu - Acculturation among the Kakure Cirishitan: Some Conclusions from the Tenchi Hajimari no Koto; S.Turnbull - Beyond the Prohibition: Christianity in Restoration Japan; J.Breen - Christianity Encounters Buddhism: A Historical Perspective; N.Thelle - The Religion of the West Versus the Science of the West: The Evolution Controversy in Late Nineteenth Century Japan; H.Ballhatchet - Written and Unwritten Texts of the Kakure Kirishitan; C.Whelan - The Social Forms of Japanese Christianity; M.Mullins - From Out of the Depths: The Japanese Literary Response to Christianity; M.Williams - Select Bibliography - Index