The fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Turkish conquests in Asia Minor and the Balkan Peninsula, and the end of Europe's caravan trade with China through Central Asia and Mongolia as a result of the collapse of the Mongol empire closed the trade route to the East through Asia Minor and Syria for Europeans. The Hanseatic League monopolized trade in Northwestern Europe, and Venice dominated the Mediterranean.

The search for a sea route to Asia via the Atlantic Ocean was first undertaken by Portugal and Spain. As early as 1415, after seizing the Moroccan port of Ceuta, the Portuguese moved south along the west coast of Africa. In 1487, Bartolomeu Dias reached the Cape of Good Hope, rounded it and entered the Indian Ocean. Five years later, Christopher Columbus, who was trying to find the shortest route from Europe to Asia across the Atlantic, discovered a previously unknown continent - America. Since Columbus was absolutely sure that he had reached the coast of India, the Portuguese, by right of the Treaty of Alcazovas in 1479, began to prepare a military expedition to seize the lands discovered by Columbus. The dispute between Spain and Portugal was resolved by a special papal bull, on the basis of which, in 1494, the Treaty of Tordesillas was signed between them, establishing a dividing line stretching 370 leagues 1 (about 2 thousand km) west of the Cape Verde Islands and dividing their colonial possessions in the Atlantic 2.

For 30 years after Columbus discovered America, the Spaniards captured almost the entire east coast of America and went to the west, crossed the Pacific Ocean. But the results of the Magellan expedition, which opened a new sea route from Europe to Asia, again led to an aggravation of contradictions between the two powers. Treaty of Zaragoza, 1529 Spain gave up the Moluccas, retaining only the Philippines. The entire Asian mainland, including the Japanese Islands, fell under Portugal's sphere of influence.3

Mention of the country of Zipangu, unknown to Europeans (there are also names like Zipangu or Chipangu), first appeared in the notes of Marco Polo. He gave absolutely fantastic information about her. The Columbus Library in Seville has preserved a copy of the book of Marco Polo with Columbus ' notes, in particular, in those places where it was mentioned about the golden palaces of Zipangu. On the maps that I studied before the voyage

Volosyuk Olga Vilenovna-Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor at the Peoples ' Friendship University of Russia.

League-1 a measure of length that had different meanings in Western European countries. The Spanish League is 5572 m 77 cm.

2 For more information about the terms of this agreement, see Rumeau de Armas A. El Tratado de Tordesillas. Madrid, 1992.

3 Las relaciones entre Portugal y Castilla en la epoca de los descubrimientos y la expansion colonial. Ed. A.M. Carabias Torres. Salamanca, 1994.

Popov K. M. 4 Japan. Essays on the development of national culture and geographical thought, Moscow, 1964, p. 89.

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Magellan, the eastern part of Asia was still very roughly marked. The image of the Japanese Islands appeared on the map of J. R. R. Tolkien. Gastaldi in 1550, and in the new atlas of A. Ortelius "The Spectacle of the globe" ("Theatrum orbis terrarum") in 1584, there were already outlines of the Korean Peninsula and the "Iapan Islands"5.

On September 23, 1543, a Chinese sailboat was washed up in a typhoon on the small island of Tanegashima, located at the southern tip of Kyushu. The three Portuguese men on board - Antonio da Mota, Francisco Seymotu and Antonio Peixotu-were the first Europeans to set foot on Japanese soil. Since that time, the "discovery" of Japan by Europeans began.6

In the mid-1540s, the Ruy Lopez de Villalobos expedition, sent from New Spain to settle the zones of influence of the two powers in the Pacific Ocean, crossed the Pacific Ocean. A member of this expedition was the nephew of the famous conquistador Pedro de Alvarado, royal agent and inspector Garcia Escalante de Alvarado. He compiled the first description of Japan, based on the accounts of the Spanish sailor Pero Diaz, who claimed to have visited Japan in 1544.7 "The land is very cold," said Diaz, " the people who live there are small in stature, and each island has its own ruler.. These people are friendly, well-mannered, white, with shaved heads and very brave... They read and write like Chinese, and their language sounds like German... The peasants wear cloth clothes ... and the people of noble origin - silk, kamchatka, satin. The women are mostly white-faced and beautiful, ride horses, and dress like Spaniards, depending on their position in cloth or silk clothing. Their houses are made of stone and clay, plastered on the inside, with tiled roofs and high windows. Their country has the same food available as the mainland ... but they don't eat beef. The land is cultivated with a plow with buffaloes... They wear leather shoes and silk hoods on their heads. There are a lot of fish on the islands. They have a lot of silver, which they keep in small bars. " 8

Lopez de Villalobos died in April 1546 on the Moluccas island of Ambon. He received his last communion from the Jesuit Francis Xavier, 9 who came there to convert the native population to Christianity.10

Gil Fernandez J. 5 Hidalgos y samurais. Madrid, 1991, p. 31. The modern name of Japan entered European languages thanks to the Portuguese physician Tom Pires, who lived in Malacca, who designated it as Jampon in notes from 1512 to 1515. This name was consonant with the Malay Japun or Japang, as well as the Chinese Jihpenkuo. - Boxer C.R. The Christian Century in Japan, 1549 - 1650. Berkeley - Los Angeles, 1951, p. 14.

Boxer believed that the Portuguese appeared on the Ryukyu Islands in 1542. In Portuguese and Spanish sources of the time, these islands were called the Lycaean Islands, where the Ryukyu State was located, which was dependent on China. - Boxer C.R. Op. cit., p. 26.

7 Pero Diaz is also mentioned by the famous Russian orientalist V. V. Barthold. See Barthold V. Istoriya izucheniya Vostoka v Evrope i v Rossii [History of Studying the East in Europe and in Russia]. SPb., 1911, p.87.

8 Relacion del viaje que hizo desde la Nueva Espana a las Islas de Poniente Ruy Gomez de Villalobos, hecha por Garcia Descalante Alvarado (1° de Agosto de 1548). - Coleccion de documentos ineditos relativos al descubrimiento, conquista у organization de las antiguas posesiones espafiolas en America y Oceania sacados de los Archivos del Reino, у muy especial del de Indias, por D. Luis Torres de Mendoza, t. 1 - 42. Madrid, 1864 - 1884; t. V, p. 202 - 203.

9 There are various spellings of the name of this Spanish Jesuit. He is of Navarrese origin, and in the original his name is written as Francisco Xavier, so it should be translated as Francisco Xavier or Francisco Xavier, since it was in the XVI century that the pronunciation of the letter "x" changed from "w" to "ks". At the same time, the Spaniards themselves refer to him as Francisco Javier, which in some Russian-language works is translated as Francisco Javier. There is also a Russian version of the XIX century-Francis Xavier, but traditionally use the French pronunciation of the name - Francis Xavier.

Ortuno Sanchez-Pedreno J.M. 10 La expedition de Ruy Lopez de Villalobos a las Islas del Mar del Sur y de Poniente. Estudio historico-juridico. - Anales de Derecho de la Universidad de Murcia, N 23, 2005, p. 290.

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It is difficult to say whether Xavier was familiar with the text of Alvarado's message, but it is known, more or less reliably, that in December 1547 in Malacca, he met two Portuguese: the sailor Jorge Alvares and the traveler Fernand Mendes Pinto, which the latter mentions in his book "Wanderings" 11. In Malacca, writes Mendes Pinto, " we found Father Master Francis Xavier, the principal rector of the Order of Jesus in India, who had arrived from the Moluccas a few days earlier... Francis Xavier spent part of the day with us, eagerly inquiring about everything that could contribute to the cause of the Lord and his glory in these parts, and receiving from us information about everything that he wanted to know. " 12

Whether Diaz's description of the Japanese-who are at a higher stage of development than the indigenous population of the Moluccas or the Malabar coast, and who are similar to the Chinese, but do not suffer from Chinese xenophobia - or Mendes Pinto's passionate stories about the still unknown places north of the Spice Islands convinced Xavier of the favorable outcome of the Christianization of the Japanese population but it was he, a missionary, a Jesuit, who became the next Spaniard to set foot in Japan.

Christian missionaries appeared in Asia almost simultaneously with the Portuguese conquistadors. The idea of converting the inhabitants of countries under the Portuguese crown to Christianity took hold of King Joao III, who was convinced that the natives would only become good subjects when they began to honor the Pope. When he learned of the creation of the Jesuit order and its aims, he decided to use it to strengthen Portuguese influence in the conquered Asian possessions and instructed his envoy in Rome to ask the founder of the order, Ignatius Loyola, for missionaries to send them to India. One of them was a Spaniard of Navarrese-Basque origin, Francis Xavier.

John III gave him considerable powers: Xavier was appointed papal vicar in India; he could control all the powers of the Portuguese authorities in the Asian colonies, from the Cape of Good Hope to the Ganges, for the conversion of pagans; and the Portuguese authorities in Asia were to cooperate in every possible way with the activities of the Jesuit. This was supported by papal breves obtained from Paul III.13

In 1541. Xavier sailed from Lisbon to India and arrived in Goa on May 6, 1542. For three years he preached in India and Ceylon. In 1545-1546. He moved to the Moluccas, where he met Villalobos and the members of his expedition 14. There, in 1546, he met Cosme de Torres, a Spanish priest, with whom he returned to Cochin in 1548. In India, Torres joined the Jesuit order. Soon the first group of Jesuits, which included Xavier, Torres, and another Spaniard, Juan Fernandez, as well as three Japanese baptists, one of whom, Yajiro, served as Xavier's interpreter, left for Japan.15 August 15, 1549 They disembarked at the port of Kagoshima in Satsuma Province on July 16.

Xavier spent about two years there. If Escalante de Alvarado received second-hand information, then Francis Xavier could already form his own, fairly accurate idea of Japan. He described it in numerous letters to the leadership of the order, as well as to the Jesuit brothers who remained in Goa.

The first of these letters was written on November 5, 1549, almost three months after the Jesuits landed in Japan. On the one hand, Xavier had already been in the country long enough to summarize his first impressions of a strange country,

Boxer C.R. 11 Op. cit., p. 36.

12 See. Mendes Pinto F. Wanderings, Moscow, 1972, p. 10.

Griesinger T. 13 Jesuits. A complete history of their overt and covert activities from the foundation of the Order to the present. Minsk, 2004, pp. 94-95.

Ortuno Sanchez-Pedreno J. -M. 14 Op. cit., p. 249 - 292.

Frois L. 15 Historia de Japam, v. 1-4. Lisboa, 1976-1984; v. 1. 1549-1564, p. 18, n. 3. See also: Boxer C. R. Op. cit., p. 36.

Frois L. 16 Op. cit., p. 18, n. 3.

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but on the other hand, until October 1550, he did not leave Kagoshima, and his letters are compiled only on the basis of the Kagoshima period of stay in Japan.

Xavier touches on various aspects of Japanese life, social traditions, and the mentality of the island's population. Their lifestyle greatly admires the author. He describes Japanese people as pleasant to talk to, mostly kind and unsophisticated. They are polite, but they "will not tolerate the slightest offense, or even a carelessly spoken word." Their natural reserve and politeness, according to Xavier, is largely due to the fact that they value weapons and rely on them. Both nobles and commoners, he notes, "always carry swords and daggers with them from the age of fourteen." 17

"They are sociable and eager to learn," Xavier continued. - A lot of people can read and write. They have only one wife." The Japanese, according to his observations, "are moderate in food, but slightly intemperate in drink. They drink rice wine because there is no real wine in these parts." In Japan, " they don't kill or eat what they raise. Sometimes they eat fish. There is rice and wheat, though not much. There are a lot of herbs that they eat and fruits."

Xavier talks at length about the status of Japanese society, drawing attention to the way of life of Japanese samurai. This segment of the population is close to the author, who, being a poor Spanish hidalgo, could choose two paths in life-either a military or a church career. He chose the latter, as did many other Spanish hidalgos who formed the backbone of the conquistadors and missionaries and provided Spain with prosperity and glory for centuries to come. Xavier sees the problems of the samurai through the prism of his own position. "Poverty , whether among the nobility or others, is not considered a disgrace, "he writes, adding that"people of noble birth, no matter how poor they may be, are honored by the common people as if they were very rich." He approves of the fact that members of the upper classes of society marry only women of their own circle, since it is believed that a relationship with a person from a lower caste leads to a loss of honor.

In general, the author emphasizes, the Japanese are "people of amazing honor, who appreciate it more than anything else in the world." And " honor means more to them than wealth... The people we've talked to here are better than anyone we've discovered so far. And it seems to me that among the unbelievers there is not a single nation that has advantages over the Japanese. " 18

Xavier's optimism was largely due to the strength of his spirit and attitude, as well as the situation that developed in Japan when the Jesuits arrived there. Japan in the second half of the 16th century was a state consisting of disparate appanage principalities ruled by large daimyo feudal lords. Even during the Mongol invasion undertaken by Kublai Khan in the late 13th century, the central government of Japan spent large amounts of money on strengthening the south-western borders of the state, which were threatened by the Mongols. This strengthened the local princes both economically and militarily.19 Over time, the ruling princes felt strong enough and powerful enough to feel independent from the center and not take into account the central authority. The daimyos of the southwest also tried to secure a preferential position in trade transactions with foreign merchants who brought goods of European and Asian origin to Japan.

17 This letter was addressed to the Jesuit brothers at St. Paul's College in Goa. There, the original letter was copied in case of possible loss on the way and sent to Europe. It was first published in 1565 in Coimbra, Portugal. See Kim E. G. A brief date. Christian Mission in Japan (1549-1614). - A book of Japanese customs. Comp. by A. N. Meshcheryakov, Moscow, 1999, p. 220.

18 Xavier's letter to the Order's headquarters, Kagoshima, November 5, 1549. See The Book of Japanese Customs, pp. 236-237, 242.

Iskenderov A. A. 19 Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Moscow, 1984, p. 164.

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Portuguese merchants introduced Japan to the achievements of science and military art of the time, including gunpowder and firearms. Local princes sought to acquire these weapons, which would give them a huge advantage over their neighbors and rivals in the struggle for power. Portuguese ships brought Chinese silk and other fabrics, mercury, cast iron, metal products, various medicines, of which only a third were European-made goods, in exchange for copper, gold, silver, Japanese swords and other items. They entered the southern ports of Japan with goods from Goa, Malacca, Liampo (Ningbo), which were in great demand in the Japanese market. Previously, intermediary trade in the region was concentrated in the hands of Chinese merchants, but fleeing from attacks by Japanese pirates on cities on the Chinese coast, the Ming emperors, under pain of the death penalty, banned any commercial relations with Japan. The Portuguese became intermediaries in the Japanese-Chinese trade 20.

However, the Portuguese knew neither Japanese, nor local conditions, nor customs, so the Jesuits played a significant role in the expansion of Portuguese-Japanese trade, acting both as intermediaries and translators, and in the conditions of military operations, indicating to sailors which ports were unsafe for them to enter. 21

The missionaries began to preach Christianity on the island of Kyushu. Xavier had been in Kagoshima for over a year. In the autumn of 1550, he reached Hirado, the capital of Hizen Province on Kyushu Island. Things went well there, and in 20 days he was able to baptize many more residents than in Kagoshima in a year. Nevertheless, he did not expect much success until he had converted the emperor himself, or obtained permission from him to baptize his subjects. So, leaving Cosme de Torres in Hirado, he went to the imperial capital of Kyoto in the hope of an audience with the emperor. However, I was rejected. Seeing the failure of his efforts in Kyoto, Xavier moved to Yamaguchi, a small town in Nagato Province in southwestern Honshu. Four months later, the number of Catholics here was about 500.22 The new religion was adopted by many of the daimyos themselves: Otomo Sorin of Bungo Province, Arima Harunobu of Hizen Province. The patron saint of Christianity was one of the shoguns-Ashikaga Yoshiteru. At the baptism of the daimyo, the head of an influential Samurai family, all his vassals also accepted Christianity, and in many places the daimyo forcibly forced his subjects to convert to Catholicism.23

Xavier soon learned that Buddhism, the religion of the Japanese, had come to them from China. He decided that he would make rapid progress in Japan if he first converted the Chinese to Christianity, and in November 1551 he left Japan. Xavier died on December 2, 1552 on the island of Hong Kong near Canton. In 1622, he was canonized as a saint.

By the time Xavier left Japan, the number of Japanese converts to Christianity was about 2 thousand, in particular, in Kagoshima-about 1 thousand, in Yamaguchi 500 - 600 people, in Hirado-180, in Bungo province-50 people.24 Xavier left his closest associate, Padre Cosme de Torres, at the head of the Jesuit mission.

At this time, Oda Nobunaga (1565-1582) entered the Japanese political scene. Nobunaga was originally from Owari Province on Honshu Island. In 1559, he united the lands of Owari, and in 1567 he took over the province of Mino. After the assassination of Shogun Yoshiteru, the patron saint of Christianity, in 1565, Nobunaga captured Kyoto in 1568 and proclaimed his protege Ashikaga Yoshiaki as the new shogun, thus becoming the real ruler of the country. He significantly limited the powers of the shogun, and in the future this greatly complicated their relationship.

Boxer C. R. 20 Op. cit., p. 7-8; Feinberg E. Ya. The beginning of the expansion of European powers in Japan (1542-1640). - Scientific Notes of the Institute of Oriental Studies, vol. 23. [b. m.], 1959, p. 26; Popov K. M. Decree. soch., p. 110.

Iskenderov A. A. 21 Edicts. soch., pp. 166, 170.

22 Ibid., pp. 164-165.

23 Ibid., p. 166.

24 Ibid., p. 165.

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In 1570, Nobunaga began a campaign against Echizen Province. Taking advantage of this, Ashikaga Yoshiaki sent secret letters calling for the overthrow of Nobunaga to the heads of the Asakura, Azai, Takeda, Mori, and Miyoshi clans, as well as the Enrya-ku-ji and Ishiyama Hongan-ji Buddhist monasteries. An "anti-Nobunaga coalition" was formed, which was actually ruled by Yoshiaki. Nobunaga's successful actions led to the defeat of the coalition: in 1573, the last shogun of the Ashikaga dynasty was deposed and the institution of shoguns was eliminated, and Nobunaga was no longer only the actual, but also the legal ruler of Japan. 25

As a result of the actions of the "anti-Nobunaga coalition", Nobunaga became a consistent opponent of Buddhism and the political actions of the Buddhist clergy. The implacably harsh stance he took on the Buddhist monasteries was dictated by the danger they posed as opponents of his plans to unify the country, fearing the loss of their independent position due to the strengthening of a strong centralized power. 26 Logically continuing this policy, Nobunaga began to patronize European missionaries, seeing Christianity as an unexpected opportunity for weakening the country. influences of powerful Buddhist circles. Catholics were given the best land plots for the construction of churches and monasteries. Nobunaga helped organize two seminaries, a college, and more than 250 churches with two hundred thousand believers. In Nobunaga's struggle against the Buddhist bonzes, both those daimyo who supported his unification line and those who received possessions from his hands joined.

The success of Christianity in Japan was preceded by the difficult and not always successful work of Jesuit missionaries. In the 20 years that Torres spent in Japan leading a Christian mission there, 27 Jesuits established themselves in half of the states that then made up Japan. The number of Japanese converts reached 200,000, not counting 28 women and children.

Unlike Xavier, whose activities were mostly motivated by propaganda goals, Torres was engaged in the daily and hourly routine work of converting Japanese "pagans"to Christianity. The Portuguese Jesuit Luis de Al-Meida, who met Torres in 1553 and served alongside him for many years, noted: "I have constantly observed the zeal and delicacy with which Padre Cosme de Torres delivered the word of God to these people; he took special care of the children." 29

Torres, like Xavier, sent a series of letters outlining the missionaries ' goals and objectives in Japan, as well as the results of their activities. Like Xavier, at first he gave the most general information: "Japan has the same climate and is located at the same latitude as Spain. Its territory extends for 600 leagues. The land here is extremely fertile, yielding two crops a year... wheat is harvested in May, and rice is harvested in September. In summer, rain is as frequent here as in India. Vegetables and fruits are plentiful here, much like in Spain. Many silver mines"30.

Like Xavier, Torres gave high praise to Japanese civilization and culture. He wrote that the Japanese are much more inclined than other peoples "to accept the holy faith in Jesus Christ, they are self-contained and guided by reason, they have an inexhaustible thirst for knowledge, for the salvation of souls and the service of the Lord. They don't gossip much, they're not envious... In their spare time, they exercise

25 Ibid., pp. 97-98.

26 Ibid., p. 171.

27 Torres died in 1570 in the town of Siki (modern day). Reihoku) on Amakusa Island.

Griesinger T. 28 Decree. soch., p. 106.

Pacheco D. 29 El hombre que forjo a Nagasaki. Vida del P. Cosme de Torres. Madrid, 1973, p. 107 - 108.

30 Cartas que los padres y hermanos de la Compafiia de Jesus, que andan en los Reynos de Iapon escriuieron a los de la misma Compafiia, desde el afto de mil y quinientos y quareta y nueue hasta el de mil y quinientos y setenta y uno. Alcala de Henares, 1575, p. 97v. - 98.

page 30
they are extremely skilled with weapons, as well as with poetry, and most men practice versification. If I had to describe all their virtues, I wouldn't have enough space. " 31

"The people here are very belligerent," Torres continues, " and in matters of honor they are like the ancient Romans. They worship honor as much as they worship their idols: it causes wars, it causes people to die. They even kill themselves if they think they've lost it. Honor obliges them to renounce sinful actions: they have no theft, adultery; honor obliges them to honor their parents and remain faithful to their friends. " 32

The degree of optimism or pessimism in the description of the Japanese depended on the results of missionary activity. Having studied Japanese character traits better than Xavier, Torres also noted their negative aspects. He wrote, for example, that the Japanese treat other peoples with contempt, 33 that, having a sharp mind, they "mock all foreigners, both in words and gestures, in order to humiliate them, because, in their opinion, there is no nation that surpasses them in knowledge and in concept honor"34.

While Padre Torres was preaching in Japan, a new king, Philip P., ascended to the throne of Spain.During the lifetime of his father, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, the young infante gained considerable political experience: in the absence of Charles, he was entrusted with the management of the country. In 1548-1551. he toured Europe, visited Italy, Germany and the Netherlands, where he met his future subjects. After marrying Mary Tudor in 1554, he moved to London. In 1555-1556. Philip, being already an experienced statesman, after the abdication of Charles V, received control of the Spanish kingdoms with overseas possessions, most of Italy and the Netherlands. Having inherited many diverse possessions, Philip, unlike Charles V, considered Spain as the center of his state and tried to strengthen its role as a world power. Huge distances were a serious problem for managing the Spanish Monarchy. This led to a lack of information even about the Spanish territories proper and their populations, not to mention the more remote American and Asian possessions.35

Like his father, Philip II was a deeply religious man, and his duty to God determined the most important of his decisions. The religious and the political have always been an indissoluble unity for him. He revered the precepts of his father, who urged him to promote the policy of the Catholic Church. As ruler of the most powerful nation in Western Europe, Philip II supported the spread of Catholicism - even to the most remote places of his colonial possessions - and supported monastic orders, in particular the Jesuit order recently created by Ignatius of Loyola. In Spain, the Jesuits were patronized by the sister of Philip II, who returned from Portugal and the mother of Sebastian I, who ascended the Portuguese throne in 1557, Joana of Austria, who protected them from the attacks of the Dominicans.36

Since its inception, the order has been under the special patronage of the Portuguese Crown. Although the central body of the Jesuits was located in Rome, the Jesuits who traveled to East and Southeast Asia were part of the Portuguese embassy.37 If they were Spanish or Italian, they were learning Portuguese,

31 Ibid., 48v.

32 Ibid., p. 97v. - 98.

33 Ibid., p. 48v.

34 Ibid., p. 49v.

35 For more information, see History of Spain, vol. 1. From ancient times to the end of the XVII century, Moscow, 2012, pp. 465-470.

36 Ibid., pp. 471-473.

37 The institutions of the society-residences, missions, colleges, houses of probationers (novitiates), houses of full members (professions) - formed the so-called province, governed by provincials. From the provinces, assistants were drawn up within the framework of large states-France, Italy, Portugal, etc.

page 31
to communicate and write in Portuguese later. All of them sailed from Lisbon, stopped at the Portuguese possessions in Mozambique and Goa, and then went on to Malacca, Macau or Japan. During the journey, the Spaniards and Italians were imbued with a truly Portuguese spirit. They sent their correspondence to the general of the order or his assistants in Rome, to the Jesuit brothers in Portugal, or to the same brothers who preached in the neighboring Asian possessions of Portugal. None of the Spanish Jesuits who preached in the Portuguese dominions reported their achievements to the Spanish king. This made their position in Asia fundamentally different from that of the Jesuits in the Philippines, and the representatives of other ecclesiastical orders - the Franciscans, Dominicans, and Augustinians-who sent their reports to Philip II. The latter, representatives of the mendicant orders, went to Asia from Seville, and their way lay not through the Portuguese possessions, but through Mexico and the Philippines. 38

The appearance of representatives of mendicant orders in Japan was facilitated by a certain weakening of the influence of the Jesuits there. This was largely due to the fact that after the death of Torres in 1570, Padre Francisco Cabral (1570-1580) was appointed head of the mission, who began to act in accordance with the principles based on the traditional colonial policy pursued by missionaries in America in India. Over time, dissatisfaction with the Jesuits ' policies and even their very presence began to accumulate in Japan.

The first of the mendicant orders in Japan were Augustinian monks. In 1565, as part of an expedition led by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, five Augustinians-Andres de Urdaneta, a pre-monastic mariner familiar with the waters of the Pacific Ocean, Andres de Aguirre, Diego de Herrera, the astrologer Martin de Herrada and Pedro de Gamboa-arrived in the Philippines and began their missionary work there. 39 Legazpi launched a mission to the Philippines. extraordinary activity. In 1567, he wrote to Philip II that he planned to build six galleys in order to "reach the coast of China"40. However, eight years passed before the Spaniards had the opportunity to be in China. In 1575, the Chinese arrived in the Philippines for the pirate Ling Feng captured by the Spaniards, and in gratitude, on the way back, they delivered the Spanish embassy to China on their ship, which they landed in Fuhian Province. The embassy consisted of Augustinians Martin de Rada and Jeronimo Marin, military personnel Miguel de Luarca and Pedro Sarmiento. They were the first Spaniards to enter China.41

Rada and Luarka left detailed notes about their trip to China 42. In the" History of China " compiled by Luarca, there is also information about Japan. Based on the Luarca text, a History of China was published in 1585, written by the Spanish Augustinian Juan Gonzalez de Mendoza, who was sent to China by Philip II in 1580. Scholars disagree about whether Mendoza was in China or not, but they all agree that Mendoza's data on Japan represent a complete and systematic history of the country. In many ways, it repeats those that have already become known through letters

Alonso Romo E.J. 38 Pedro Morejon: vida, obra e itinerario transoceanic de unjesuita castellano. -Los jesuitas: religion, politica у education (siglos XVI-XVIII), v. 3. Madrid, 2012, p. 1571.

Castro A.M. de. 39 Misioneros agustinos en el Extremo Oriente, 1565 - 1780. (Osario venerable). Madrid, 1954, p. 99 - 100.

40 Miguel Lopez de Legazpi a Felipe II el 23 de julio de 1567. - Hernandez Hortiguela J. Felipe II у la conquista politica, militar у espiritual de China. Revista Filipina, t. XIII, N 3, otono 2009. http:// www.revista.carayanpress.com/conquista.html

Vila L. 41 La Historia del Gran Reino de la China de Juan Gonzalez de Mendoza. Hacia un estudio de las cronicas de Oriente en la Espana del Siglo de Oro. - Boletin Hispanico Helvetico, N 21, 2013, p. 76.

Rada M. de. 42 La Relacion verdadera de las cosas del Reyno de Taibin, por otro nombre China, у del viaje que a el hizo el muy Reverendo padre fray Martin de Rada; Loarca M. de. La Relacion del viaje que hecimos a la China desde la ciudad de Manila en las del poniente. Luarca, 2002.

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the Jesuit facts, however, are worth quoting, as they reflect the specifics of the European perception of Japan.

"The Japanese islands (there are many of them, and they are all united in one state, divided between different rulers) are located at a distance of 300 leagues from China," Mendoza begins the story....They include 76 kingdoms, or provinces, each headed by kings or, better put, rulers. But even though they are called kings, they are not-neither in relation to them, nor in terms of wealth, which they have little... These islands are densely populated, and the people who live there are not much different in face and build from the Chinese. And it seems to be true (as it is written in the history of the Chinese state) that the Japanese used to be Chinese and moved to these islands from China. In ancient times, the Japanese were subjects of the Chinese state, but now they are no longer. Moreover, they often make fun of the Chinese. " 43

Mendoza's arguments about the status of women are interesting. "Japanese women," he writes, " live as recluses and rarely leave the house, in which they resemble Chinese women. There are several of them in each house, because their laws allow them to have as many wives as they can support, and they are so prudent that they co-exist peacefully with each other. " 44

Mendoza, who has never been to Japan, retells other people's observations, and sometimes distorted. Thus, he writes about the militancy of the Japanese and points out that they "are inclined to plunder and war, for them this is a common practice. Therefore, they never stop and civil wars... This, as well as their constant military exercises and looting, give them a reputation for being belligerent people who keep their neighbors at bay. " 45

In conclusion, he gives an assessment of the success of Christianization and comes to a very important conclusion for him and his fellow members of the order: "Despite all this, thanks to the correct teaching and example of the holy fathers, they (the Japanese) have become better Christians than the Indians of the Eastern Indies. But there are still many who have not had time to be baptized because of the lack of missionaries, and this can be corrected by sending clergymen belonging to other ecclesiastical orders there so that they can help the Jesuit fathers. " 46

This last remark about monks of other orders was the seed that fell on the prepared ground. In 1580. Spain annexed Portugal. After the death of King Sebastian I of Portugal, the question of the Portuguese inheritance arose. Sebastian was succeeded by his great-uncle, Cardinal Enrique. When the cardinal died in early 1580, Philip II, who was the grandson of King Manuel, declared his claim to the throne and sent troops to Portugal under the command of the Duke of Alba. The Portuguese Cortes officially recognized Philip as king, and the Spanish monarchy became the largest power that history had ever known.47

Having annexed the richest Portuguese possessions, Philip did not force the unification of government there according to the Castilian model. The Spaniards did not interfere in the affairs of Portugal and its colonies. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, a Dutchman once quipped that the Spanish king (this was already Philip III, but this did not change the case) treated the Spanish possessions "with exceptional jealousy, as if they were his lawful wife," and the Portuguese possessions as if they were his kept woman.48 Nevertheless, the question of strengthening one's own ideological influence in Asia has long occupied the thoughts of Philip I

The incredible wealth of Portugal, which owned Asian territories, did not give rest to all European monarchs. However, military and naval domination, trade monopoly and Catholic propaganda of the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean region did not help.

Gonzalez de Mendoza J. 43 Historia del Gran Reino de la China. Roma, 1585, p. 333, 334v.

44 Ibid., p. 337v. -338.

45 Ibid., p. 336 - 336v.

46 Ibid., p. 337.

47 History of Spain, vol. 1, pp. 484-485.

Lynch J. 48 Spain under Habsburgs. V. 2. Spain and America, 1598 - 1700. Oxford, 1981, p. 65.

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left them with no hope of getting in. The first attempt to "move" Portugal in its extremely successful business was made by Philip I. The path to Spanish domination in East and Southeast Asia was to be paved by barefoot missionaries.

On October 27, 1583, Philip II sent a letter to the Augustinians who had established themselves in the Philippines, in which he expressed the wish that they, in addition to this archipelago, explore other nearby lands.49 In May 1584, a new governor, Santiago de Vera, arrived in the Philippines. And in July, in accordance with the instructions of the Spanish king, two Augustinians and two Franciscans set out from Manila on a Portuguese ship engaged in trade with Macau, to explore new lands. The aim of this missionary expedition was the peaceful introduction and consolidation in China of the influence of the Augustinians and Franciscans, who were under the protection of Spain.50

During the entire journey, the sea was stormy, and the ship with the Spanish missionaries managed to dock only in the southwestern part of Japan, in the city of Hirado. The Spanish missionaries spent two months in Japan, unable to sail to Macau.51 However, being forced to stay in Japan proved extremely useful in informing the Spanish monarch about the situation on these remote and little-known islands. Here, in Hirado, the Spaniards were able to see firsthand the success of the spread of Christianity, and this provided unprecedented opportunities for further evangelization of the population.

From Macao, they sent Philip II a series of letters describing the riches of Japan, the prospects for missionary work there, and the possibility of reaching this country from New Spain via the Philippines, bypassing the Portuguese sea routes.52

Thus, in a letter addressed to Philip II, dated March 1, 1588, the Prior and Vicar General of the Augustinians in the Philippines, Francisco Manrique, wrote:: "Having completed his business here (in the Philippines) in July 1584. - O. V.), my colleague and I set out to fulfill the task that you have set for us." During the two months he was forced to stay in Hirado, Manrique reported, he "tried to understand what this land is like and what is happening on it." Japan, according to him, is larger than Spain, and is located at about the same latitude. The country consists of 15 kingdoms, one of them is headed by the emperor, and everyone else recognizes this. Four rulers already profess Christianity, "but not all of them yet, because there is no one to restore order in this matter." Manrique is willing to develop the latter thesis further. In his opinion, representatives of mendicant orders will be able to restore this order. "And many of us have asked for it," he adds. The Japanese, according to the Augustinian, are ready to become Christians if there is someone who will engage in their conversion. Two dozen monks will be needed, he writes, and "otherwise we will not achieve any results in these lands."

Manrique notes that the Japanese are not happy with the Jesuits, because they do not treat them well. In addition, the Jesuits helped the Portuguese move the arrival of ships with goods to the port of Nagasaki, thereby hurting the trade interests of Daimyo Hirado Omura Yoshiaki. Manrique had several conversations with him and his father Omura Sumitada, and they both expressed the wish that the Augustinians and Franciscans would replace the Jesuits in their lands. To Manrique himself, if he decided to stay in Hirado, they promised to provide all possible assistance, build a monastery and give a village with peasants. Omura Yoshiaki was even planning to send an embassy to the governor

49 This letter is referred to by F. See Carta a S. M. de Fr. Francisco Manrique, OSA., Prior del convento agustiniano de Macao, haciendo relacion del Reino del Japon, de su viaje a China y de lo mal recibido que fue de los Portugeses y jesuitas. - http:// www.upf.edu/asia/projectes/che/sl6/manrl588.htm.

Sola E. 50 Historia de un desencuentro: Espana у Japon, 1580 - 1614. Madrid, 1999, p. 25.

51 Carta a S. M. de Fr. Francisco Manrique.

Sola E. 52 Op. cit., p. 26.

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The Philippines and representatives of the Augustinian Order there to inform them of this decision 53.

It should be noted that the short stay of the Augustinians in Japan brought quick results. At the end of 1585, an embassy arrived from Omura Yoshiaki to the Governor of the Philippines, Santiago de Vere. On behalf of the Daimyo, the ambassadors requested that the Spanish side send Augustinian and Franciscan monks to preach Christianity in the Hirado lands.54

The active work of the Spanish monks was closely followed by those who were already firmly settled in these lands: Portuguese merchants and Jesuits. They were not only suspicious of the arrival of potential rivals, but also tried to prevent their activities. In 1579, the Vicar General of the Jesuit Order, Alessandro Valignano, arrived in Japan. He stayed in the country for a little more than two years, and on his return to Macau, he wrote the work "Summary of the situation in Japan"in 1583. Note that although none of the monks of the mendicant orders had yet made it to Japan, Valignano had already inserted a separate chapter in this work called " Why representatives of other religious orders should not come to Japan." His efforts to prevent competitors from entering the land of the Rising Sun were also reflected in letters sent to the General of the Jesuit Order in Rome. Valignano asked him to request a special breve from the Pope, which all but the Jesuits would be forbidden to preach in Japan. This breve, according to the author of the letter, should be published in Macau and Luzon to inform those who want to go to Japan, as well as for local authorities, who will have to ban such trips. 55

The Jesuits had unlimited influence over Pope Gregory XIII, and on February 28, 1583, he issued a brevet, which was later confirmed by the next Pope, Sixtus V. According to this regulation, no one except the Jesuits was allowed to engage in missionary work in Japan. Philip II, confirming his official position on the delimitation of the possessions of the two parts of his dualistic monarchy, sent orders of a similar nature to the colonial authorities in Portuguese India. On April 12, 1586, after receiving the papal brevet in Goa, the Viceroy of India, Duarte de Menezes, forbade any missionaries other than the Jesuits to enter China and Japan, allowing anyone found there to be deported to Macao.56

Spanish missionaries were not going to submit to papal prohibitions. They did not give up trying to find themselves in Japan. However, Manrique and the Franciscan Martin Ignacio Loyola, in a letter dated July 6, 1587, complained to Philip I that "not one of the Portuguese captains dares to take us on board." 57 The missionaries asked the king to allow them to preach in Asian lands and to oblige the Portuguese administration officials and Jesuits not to interfere with them. The Jesuit fathers, they wrote, "convince everyone here that if others (missionaries - O. V.) arrive, it will harm Christianity; they demonstrate the papal breve, according to which no one has the right to be in Japan, not even a bishop, to carry out their activities... We also have logs that weigh a lot more, but no one wants to even look at them... because we are Castilians 58.

The Spanish court has taken some measures to resolve this situation. Thus, in the Archives of the Indies in Seville, there is a note sent on July 4, 1587 to the Council of the Indies. Among other things, it ordered the issuance of a decree that would allow missionaries to reach Japan and other Asian states through the Philip-

53 Carta a S.M. de Fr. Francisco Manrique.

Sola E. 54 Op. cit., p. 27- 28.

Boxer C.R. 55 Op. cit., p. 156 - 159.

56 Ibid., 159 - 160; Sola E. Op. cit, p. 29.

Sola E. 57 Op. cit., p. 29.

58 Ibidem.

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It was also necessary to ask the Pope to revoke the breve issued to the Jesuits.59

The growing complexity of the missionaries ' situation in Japan and the difficulties of missionary activity in the 1580s were not only due to the position of Rome - to a much greater extent, this was influenced by the change in the policy of the Japanese authorities.

On May 29, 1582, Oda Nobunaga was killed by his closest associate, General Akechi Mitsuhide. His successor, General Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1582-1598), did not openly oppose Christianity at first. Some of his associates were Christians and held high positions in the Jesuit hierarchy. He himself more than once favourably received high-ranking Jesuits. Several of the Shogun's banners even bore a Christian cross.60 Continuing to pursue the Nobunaga line, however, he became increasingly negative about the missionary work of Europeans, who were strengthening and expanding their positions in Japan. According to Valignano, in the early 1580s, there were already 150 thousand people in Japan. Christians, 200 churches and two seminaries. After the capture of Kyushu in 1587, when Hideyoshi firsthand saw how powerful the Jesuit influence was among the local Daimyos, he began to fear that Christianity might become the basis of an alliance directed against him.61 On June 19, 1587, a decree was passed prohibiting missionary activity and expelling missionaries from Japan, but later Hideyoshi did not take any serious steps to control the implementation of this decree, and the activity of missionaries in Japan even expanded due to the arrival of monks of the Augustinian and Franciscan mendicant orders.

The new Spanish governor of the Philippines, Gomez Perez Dasmarinhas, who succeeded Sebastian de Vera in 1590, received an emissary from Hideyoshi in 1591, who brought a threatening letter. "Acknowledge my dominion," it said, "and if you do not come to honor me and stand before my eyes, I will send my army to destroy you and lay waste your land." 62 According to Ch. Boxer, in fact, Hideyoshi was interested in establishing trade with the Spanish Philippines, and for this purpose was even willing to allow Spanish missionaries to enter the country.63

Perez sent an embassy to Hideyoshi to find out the reasons for the Japanese Shogun's harsh message, as well as to improve relations with the Japanese and thus avoid their attack on the Philippines. It included the Dominican friar Juan Cobo, Captain Lope de Llano, and two Chinese Christians as interpreters. In June 1592, the embassy arrived in Satsuma Province. The negotiations were successful. Kobo even managed to negotiate the resumption of preaching the gospel in Japan. But on the way back, his ship was washed up in a storm at Formosa, he was killed there, and the results of his mission never reached the Spanish governor.64

Hideyoshi, in turn, did not receive any response from the Spaniards, and sent another emissary to them. Perez Dasmarinhas, realizing that the Spanish possessions would be completely defenseless in the event of a Japanese attack, sent a second mission to Japan. On May 26, 1593, the Spanish embassy, headed by the Franciscan friar Pedro de Bautista and consisting of four people, split up and sailed from the Philippines to

59 I found this note in the archive of A. Sol. - Sola E. Op. cit., p. 30.

Skvortsova E. L. 60 "The Christian Age" in Japan. K probleme vzaimodeystviya natsional'nykh kul'tury [On the problem of interaction of national cultures], Man and World in Japanese Culture, Moscow, 1985, p. 122.

Iskenderov A. A. 61 Edict. soch., pp. 201-202, 205-206; Grisheleva L. D. Formation of Japanese national culture late XVI early XX century Moscow, 1986, p. 26; Skvortsova E. L. Edict. soch., p. 122.

Ribadeneira P.M. de. 62 Historia de las islas del archipielago filipino y reinos de la gran China, Tartaria, Cochinchina, Malaca, Siam, Cambodge y Japon. Madrid, 1947, p. 357 - 358.

Boxer C.R. 63 Op. cit., p. 160 - 161.

Sanchez C. 64 Viaje у estancia de San Pedro Bautista en Japon, en Santuario. Arenas de San Pedro (Avila), 1997, p. 21 - 22, n. 113.

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Japan on two ships. The journey was long and dangerous: during the storm, the ships lost sight of each other and almost went down. Only on the 39th day of the journey, on July 4, 1593, the ship on which Bautista was located docked in the port of Hirado. The second ship anchored in Amakusa, south of Nagasaki 65.

In late September 1594, as negotiations with Hideyoshi were drawing to a close, another group of Franciscans arrived in Hirado from Manila, including Agustín Rodríguez, Marcelo Ribadeneira, and Jeronimo de Castro.66 The delegation was kindly received by Hideyoshi, and the envoys were allowed to settle in Kyoto, but they explained that the Japanese showed them such hospitality as ambassadors of a foreign power, and not as religious preachers.

Marcelo Ribadeneira stayed in Japan and preached in Kyoto, Osaka, and Nagasaki. The Franciscans opened several monasteries, schools, and hospitals. The success of their missionary work was explained by the fact that they conducted their propaganda mainly among the lower strata of the population, while the Jesuits sought to convert to the "true faith" primarily daimyos and representatives of the Japanese aristocracy. However, Hideyoshi's" peaceful coexistence " with Christians ended two years later. The reason was the incident with the Spanish galleon "San Felipe".

On October 19, 1596, the San Felipe, en route from Manila to Acapulco with a cargo estimated at more than 1.5 million silver pesos, was driven off course by a violent storm and wrecked near the village of Tosa on Shikoku Island. The Spaniards barely managed to save people and pull the cargo ashore. Samurai Shikoku confiscated the cargo-according to Japanese customs, it became the property of the emperor. The Spaniards sent a delegation with a complaint to Hideyoshi. Interested in trading with the Spaniards, he received them cordially, but since at that time, according to some researchers, he was in great need of money, which was being drained by the war with Korea, he hesitated for several days, promising to return the goods. 67

The conflict could have been resolved peacefully if not for the navigator of the ship Francisco de Olandia. Apparently to impress Hideyoshi, he said in a rather brusque manner to the Shogun that the work of missionaries in distant countries greatly facilitates the Spanish colonial conquest. This wasn't too far off the mark, but the navigator's statement made an unexpectedly strong impression on Hideyoshi, coinciding with what the Japanese bonzes had repeatedly told him. If he hadn't paid any attention to their warnings before, now he was wary of them. It is not known for certain whether this episode influenced the resumption of the anti-Christian course, but Hideyoshi's further actions turned out to be very harsh.

On December 9, 1596, six Spanish Franciscan friars and three Portuguese Jesuits were arrested in Kyoto and tortured. Hideyoshi demanded that the missionaries also hand over the Japanese Christians to the authorities. After a while, all of them-26 people-were taken out of the city. Tormented by torture, they had to walk hundreds of kilometers to Nagasaki. On February 5, 1597, they were crucified on crosses in Nagasaki. The city was not chosen by chance. At that time, there were more foreign missionaries and merchants there, and more merchant ships in the bay than anywhere else in Kyushu. Thanks to the activities of the missionaries, Nagasaki gave the impression of being "almost a Portuguese city","a city that became like a foreign possession" 69.

Hideyoshi's brutal treatment of Christians should have shown that he was serious about banning the Christian religion altogether. On June 19, 1597, he issued a decree strictly prohibiting Christianity in Japan. Not only the preaching of Christianity, but also any activity of foreign missions was prohibited. In tech-

65 Ibid., p. 22 - 24.

66 Ibid., p. 24 - 25.

Boxer C.R. 67 Op. cit., p. 164 - 165.

68 Ibid., p. 166.

Navlitskaya G. B. 69 Nagasaki, Moscow, 1979, pp. 30, 34.

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The Catholic missionaries had to leave the country within 20 days. Representatives of the Japanese authorities began to destroy churches. The daimyo was forbidden to be baptized on pain of death, and also to shelter missionaries. More than 80 missionaries were arrested and 70 executed.

Padre Ribadeneira witnessed the martyrdom of Nagasaki. On March 21, 1597, he sailed from Nagasaki to Macao, and in January 1598 reached Manila, where he described his impressions and reflections in a book entitled "History of the Islands of the Philippine Archipelago and the kingdoms of Greater China, Tartary, Cochinchina, Malacca, Siam, Cambodia and Japan." Japan proper is given only a few pages in this solid work, but compared to the descriptions of Japan in the letters of missionaries, these pages are very deep and systematic.

According to tradition, Ribadeneira begins his story with the peculiarities of the geographical location of the country. The Kingdom of Japan, he writes, is made up of many islands, lies two hundred miles north of Greater China, and is located at approximately latitude 34 degrees north. Summer here also follows winter, but in winter the winds are piercing. The area is mountainous, covered with dense forests. The plains are extremely fertile, where rice is grown - the main food product of this state.71

If geographical and everyday features gave Europeans a general idea of this country, then information about its state system was of crucial importance for building a line of interstate relations. "In Japan, from its very beginning, there has always been only one sovereign who is descended from the god Wo, or Dairi," Ribadeneira reported. "And since the Japanese have no right to see their sovereign or communicate with him, he is always inside his palaces, where all sorts of gifts are brought to him. In order to govern his state, he needed captains( capitanes. - O. V.), whose lands became more and more independent. As a result, the state was divided into 66 kingdoms, although their rulers are not kings in the full sense of the word. They are not treated as such. In Japanese, they are called "tono", which means"senior". They are usually at war with each other, and the one who wins is the one who rules. He is called "the sovereign", rarely remembering the presence of his divine sovereign... In recent years, it is in this way that the Taikosma 72 has risen, subjugating the other rulers. " 73

Ribadeneira gives many more facts from the life of Japanese society - about the peculiarities of religion, about addiction to weapons, nutrition, attitude to one's health. Much of his narrative repeats the information given by the Jesuits and Augustinians - the author was familiar with their works. Many things were seen with their own eyes, but they were still impressions of the bearer of the European mentality.

To the missionaries, Japan was a country of totally unfamiliar and exotic culture. At the same time, its exoticism aroused their interest and admiration, which was the rare case when the "alien" is not rejected, is not perceived with hostility or distrust.

Just over a year has passed since the execution of Christians in Nagasaki. On September 13, 1598, King Philip II of Spain died in Escorial, and 5 days later, on September 18, 1598, Toyotomi Hideyoshi died at the other end of the earth, in Fushimi Castle. The reign of two great sovereigns of the second half of the XVI century ended. The period of establishing the first contacts between the two countries, which were carried out through Spanish Christian missions, has also ended.

70 According to the Jesuits, there were about 150 of them. - G. B. Navlitskaya Decree. op., p. 34.

Ribadeneira P.M. de. 71 Op. cit., p. 350.

72 In 1591, the Emperor granted Toyotomi Hideyoshi the highest court title, taiko, which was usually given to the father of the emperor's chief adviser or chief adviser. - Gil Fernandez J. Op. cit., p. 36.

Ribadeneira P.M. de. 73 Op. cit., p. 351.

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