Cespedes 766-1524-1-SM
Cespedes 766-1524-1-SM
Cespedes 766-1524-1-SM
Seung Ho Bang
Baylor University, Waco, Texas, U.S.A.
Email: [email protected]
Abstract: When the Japanese invaded Joseon (an ancient Korean dynasty from 1392 to 1897)
at the end of the sixteenth century, a Spanish Jesuit priest, Gregorio de Céspedes, S.J.
(1551–1611), stayed in the Japanese fortress in Ungcheon with Japanese soldiers. While
Céspedes is celebrated as the first European who allegedly came with an evangelical vision
of proselytizing the native Koreans, previous scholarship has inadequately acknowledged
Céspedes’ role without consideration of his concrete actions in the Japanese fortress and of
the broader context of sixteenth–century Spanish colonial expansion. An examination of
the Jesuit mission to sixteenth-century Japan, the role of the Spanish chaplains and their
activities in foreign expeditions, and Céspedes’ activities in Joseon indicate that Céspedes
was not a missionary sent to Korea, but rather an active chaplain (for the Japanese soldiers)
who played a role in the larger development of church and state collaboration under
Spanish colonialism.
Key Words: The Sixteenth Century, Christianity, Imjin War, the Japanese Invasion,
Céspedes, Hideyoshi, Jesuits, Korea, Spanish Colonialism, Mission
Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies, vol. 14, issue 40 (Spring 2015): 186-208
ISSN: 1583-0039 © SACRI
Seung Ho Bang An Assessment of the Role of Gregorio de Céspedes
Introduction
Just off the southeastern coast of the U.S., Fort Frederica of St.
Simons Island is a historic place preserving not only the mid-eighteenth-
century’s British colonial settlement, but also the first stop of John Wesley,
the founder of Methodism, on American soil.1 Visitors to the fort seldom
recognize the fact that there was a strong missionary presence in the
English settlements during the American expedition in the eighteenth
century. This phenomenon describes a particular kind of colonialism in
which conquest went hand in hand with evangelism. This model of
colonization is, in fact, preceded by a similar European practice dating to
the sixteenth century. Besides the numerous examples of “conquistadors”
during the early- to mid-sixteenth century, a similar phenomenon also
occurred when a Jesuit priest was present among the Japanese armies. At
the turn of the sixteenth century, Japan invaded Joseon2 and began the
Imjin War (the invasion of Joseon). One of the two leading Japanese
commanders in the invasion was a Christian who commanded many
Japanese Christian daimyō (territorial lords) and soldiers. Among them
was a Spanish Jesuit named Gregorio de Céspedes, S.J., who stayed in the
Japanese fortress in Joseon during the Imjin War. The presence of the
Jesuit priest at the Japanese fortress raises several critical questions: What
is the nature of Céspedes’ presence in the Japanese international military
expedition? How do we understand his work in the Japanese fortress in
Joseon within the larger framework of the sixteenth-century Spanish
colonial expansion? Finally, what implications does his stay have for
Korean, Japanese, and Spanish church histories?
Previously, sporadic brief assessments of Céspedes’ role in the
Japanese invasion of Joseon are not based on critical evaluation of the
evidence. These assessments can be roughly subdivided into two contras-
ting views. One group of scholars, who are predominantly Protestants
arguing for Céspedes’ role in the Japanese fortress as a military chaplain, 3
is reluctant to make a systematic statement apart from arguing that nei-
ther the Japanese army nor Céspedes introduced Christianity to Joseon but
that the initial introduction of Christianity to Joseon occurred two decades
later.4 The other major group, mostly comprised of Catholic scholars, has
made a significant step forward in establishing that Céspedes was not a
military chaplain, but a missionary.5 Although this group is not well
organized, one of its proponents, Chul Park, argues that Céspedes’ purpose
was purely missionary in nature—to convert the native Koreans and
spread the Gospel.6 In this way, Park strives to defend the significance of
Céspedes’ visit in the Korean Christian history, interpreting Céspedes as
the first European who came to Korea as the result of an ongoing
evangelical effort of the Jesuits. Otherwise, this title more likely belongs to
a Protestant missionary. Regardless of one’s position, however, the
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The duties of the chaplain are to provide for the spiritual needs of the
military community. That is, the chaplain ministers to a particular group—
military personnel.28 Within this particular community, the main role of
chaplains, in cases of war, “is to raise morale and to convince personnel
that God is on their side.”29 In a limited sense, these two criteria are
helpful in clarifying the role of Céspedes because he ministered to a mi-
litary community, and though it is difficult to pinpoint, we might be able
to find textual evidence in the currently available sources that he raised
the morale of the Japanese soldiers or performed other similar activities.
The concept of a chaplain in the sixteenth-century Spanish colonial
days would have been similar to the earliest use of the term “chaplain”
during the fourth century.30 The presence of clergymen in military and
commercial expeditions was widely practiced in the sixteenth century.31
Among the numerous examples of this phenomenon, Juan Díaz’s activities
are particularly noteworthy. In 1518, Díaz accompanied the Yucatan
expedition of Juan de Grijalva.32 Díaz served as Grijalva’s chaplain and
wrote a chronicle of the expedition. Later, he returned to Mexico with
Hernán Cortés (1485–1547).33 Díaz not only conducted ministerial work,
but also actively involved himself in the expedition’s goals. At some point
in the expedition with Grijalva, Díaz complained about Grijalva’s lack of
initiative.34 In fact, it is not surprising that a conquistador attributed the
failure of the expedition to the lack of priests.35
A socio-political perspective sheds light on another dimension of the
missionaries in the context of Spanish colonialism. The effort of the
missionaries to convert non-Christian natives was part of a bigger political
agenda. Conversion was a legal requirement for justifying conquest.36 The
collaboration of church and state, known as patronato real, helps us to
correctly comprehend what lay behind the role of missionaries during the
sixteenth century. The hierarchical structure of the viceregal adminis-
tration of Colonial New Spain during 1519–1786 well illustrates this rela-
tionship. Eclesiástico, a local office of parish ministers and monasteries,
was under the “Vice-Patron,” one of the five offices of viceroy of New
Spain.37 In this political division, the kings appointed the higher church
dignitaries, while viceroys and governors nominated parish priests.38 This
church and state collaboration was designed to conceal political and terri-
torial motivations under a religious guise; thus, their colonial ambitions
were called the Sacred Expedition.39 The collaboration was established in
1508 by Pope Julius II (1443–1513) with his Papal Bull, Universalis Ecclesiae.40
According to the binding relationship between church and state in the
bull,
The state assumed responsibility for the
conversion of the natives in return for papal
support of the Crown’s colonial expansion and
concessions permitting royal intervention in
ecclesial affairs of the colonies.41
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Seung Ho Bang An Assessment of the Role of Gregorio de Céspedes
The collaboration between church and state can be seen during the
subsequent eighteenth century. For example, the priests and the Fran-
ciscans in California had a completely symbiotic relationship with the
Spanish civil government — as if they were an extension of the govern-
ment.42 George Tinker states,
The [eighteenth-century] missionaries were di-
rectly on the payroll of the viceroy and effectively
functioned as a branch of the civil service in their
mission endeavors.43
Therefore, we can safely conclude that Céspedes, regardless of his
pure religious intention of proselytizing native Japanese and Koreans, was
a small piece within the larger Spanish socio-political puzzle. That is, he
could not have decided what he wanted to do; he took on a more restricted
religious role in Spanish colonialism.
Accordingly, in this Spanish colonial period, the concept of military
chaplain is obviously different than that of modernity. The sixteenth-
century chaplain most likely would not have held two different offices:
ministerial and military capacities. They could be appointed by a higher
ecclesiastical office to accompany a certain group of explorers. Theo-
retically, even Universalis Ecclesiae made it possible that a local colonial
official could appoint and/or hire a clergyman as his chaplain. With these
considerations in mind, Park’s apologetic attempt to view of Céspedes’
visitation of Joseon with an evangelical perspective cannot be substan-
tiated. Even Konishi’s personal invitation can be broadly situated within
the conventions of sixteenth-century Spanish colonialism.
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Seung Ho Bang An Assessment of the Role of Gregorio de Céspedes
with the trafficking of Japanese girls.49 In any case, this process generally
fits into the aforementioned concept of the Spanish chaplain during the
sixteenth century. Regardless of the possibility that Konishi had fore-
knowledge about Universalis Ecclesiae, Konishi as a high-ranking Japanese
commander in chief exercised the same role as conquistadors, who
customarily took priests on their expeditions. Japanese scholars support
this explanation by arguing that Konishi’s invitation of a Jesuit priest was
an extension of his effort to change the defeatist mentality of the soldiers
who were stuck in the prolonged war and to boost their morale with the
hopes of winning the battle.50 In fact, this is not the first time that Konishi
invited Céspedes (as a priest) to his jurisdiction. Previously, in 1586,
Céspedes had worked in Shodoshima before the Imjin War.51
What Céspedes did upon his arrival at Konishi’s fortress in Ungcheon
substantiates the point that Céspedes was Konishi’s personal chaplain.
Céspedes’ pastoral work was exclusively for Japanese Christian soldiers.
Céspedes’ second letter written in Joseon in 1594 informs this critical
aspect of his ministerial work.52 Céspedes began his ministry when Konishi
arrived in the fortress. Before that, he had not been able to visit anyone
due to Konishi’s request. This demand is probably based on the fact that
not all the Japanese soldiers were Christians and Hideyoshi’s expulsion
edict was still in effect.53 After Konishi’s arrival, Céspedes could begin his
ministry and was able to go out of the Ungcheon fortress at various times.
Yet all of these occasions were to visit other Japanese fortresses and their
Christian daimyō.54 Therefore, Céspedes’ ministerial work was restricted
by Konishi, and Céspedes faithfully observed Konishi’s authority. Sig-
nificantly, the Vice-Provincial Gómez’s summary of Céspedes’ stay in
Joseon up to October 1594 remarks on this fact.55
Since Céspedes’ pastoral work was limited to the Japanese Christian
soldiers,56 his ministry would hardly have extended to native Koreans. In
fact, pastoral care for Japanese soldiers was his specified duty, which he
successfully carried out. Even if Céspedes wanted to meet the native
Koreans to convert them, his wish could not have been realized because of
Konishi’s restrictions: Céspedes was kept in confinement in the fortress
among the Christian daimyō.57 Furthermore, his presence with the Japa-
nese invaders would have greatly hindered him from proselytizing the
native Koreans if he had ever had a chance to meet any Koreans.58 Cés-
pedes was most likely considered as a Spanish collaborator in the Japanese
invasion. During that time, the native Koreans retreated by the order of
the king, without making any contact with the Japanese.59 It would have
been virtually impossible for Céspedes to encounter and interact with
native Koreans, except possibly for limited chances to meet Korean POWs
who were providing forced labor for the construction of the fortresses. If
this were the case, Céspedes would have likely described the purported
episodes of the proselytization of native Koreans in his letters in order to
report his ministry in Joseon. Such an event would probably have had a
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Seung Ho Bang An Assessment of the Role of Gregorio de Céspedes
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Seung Ho Bang An Assessment of the Role of Gregorio de Céspedes
sidered Joseon’s naval activities that destroyed the Japanese ships carrying
supplies as a hindrance to maintaining life in the fortresses. Ironically, the
admiral Yi Sunsin (1545–1598), who led Joseon’s naval force and inflicted
heavy damage upon Japanese navy, reported the Japanese activity in the
fortresses, which presents a radically different look at what the Japanese
were doing while they were retreating to the southern coast of Joseon.
The admiral wrote on March 10, 1594:
Even today the ferocious Japanese hordes, far
from stopping their brutalities, still occupy the
southern coasts instead of sailing home as they kill,
rape, and steal in a [crueler] manner than before.66
This assessment regarding the Japanese retreat to the southern part
of Joseon is quite different from that of Céspedes. Did Céspedes have a
different perspective of the Imjin War or the actions of the Japanese
because he was on a different side from the admiral?
Discussion
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Seung Ho Bang An Assessment of the Role of Gregorio de Céspedes
cuted on the other side of the world during the early-sixteenth century.74
His faulty argument begins with the assumption that Gaspar Vilela, S.J.
had already planned the mission to Joseon in 1566. Instead of presenting
historical or textual evidence, Park quickly jumps to the conclusion that
Céspedes’ visit was the result of the Jesuits’ ongoing missionary efforts in
Joseon.75 Why is the argument of continuity so important? According to
this line of thought, we arrive at one of the most significant historical
landmarks—that Céspedes was the first European to set foot on the Korean
Peninsula and that he was also the first Westerner who brought the gospel
to Joseon, as his visit was the first fruit of the Jesuits’ long-cherished
endeavor. Undoubtedly, based on the currently available documentation,
Céspedes was most likely the first European who visited Joseon. But was
he a missionary? What do we know of Céspedes’ role? Following Gonoi’s
approach, this should be reconstructed on the basis of what Céspedes did
in Joseon.
Park employs Ruiz-de-Medina’s eight points in order to prove that
Céspedes was not a military chaplain for the Japanese Christians in Joseon.
The eight points are: (1)Céspedes was among the persons expelled by
Hideyoshi’s edict promulgated in 1587; (2)Céspedes was dispatched to
Konishi’s fortress in order to help the Japanese Christian soldiers perform
their basic religious obligations, but no one officially appointed him as a
chaplain to them; (3)Céspedes did not come to Joseon with Konishi when
he invaded Joseon, but Céspedes came with the Japanese soldiers while
they were retreating to the southern coast of Joseon and sought a peaceful
outcome to the expedition with Ming; (4)Céspedes’ presence was kept
secret; (5) Céspedes was isolated from the Japanese soldiers and was only
in contact with Christians who wanted to have Holy Communion;
(6)Céspedes left the Ungcheon fortress only in order to visit other
Japanese Christian daimyō; (7)Céspedes ministered to ordinary Japanese
Christian soldiers only during the night in order to keep his presence
secret; and (8)Céspedes did not establish fellowship with other soldiers in
the fortress.
Despite Park’s attempt to demonstrate Céspedes’ missionary/non-
chaplain status with the abovementioned eight points, these points in rea-
lity support the notion that Céspedes was a military chaplain. Not only did
virtually no Jesuits leave after the promulgation of Hideyoshi’s edict, but
the Jesuits in Japan also seldom stopped what they were doing (although
for the sake of safety they tried to avoid any possible conflict with
Hideyoshi). From the available documents, Céspedes seems not to have
been officially appointed as a military chaplain to the Japanese soldiers in
Joseon. But here what is at stake is what Céspedes did, not who appointed
him as chaplain at that time. Apparently, Céspedes was dispatched to
perform ministerial work for the Japanese Christians in Joseon, and he
fulfilled their religious needs. Even though Céspedes was not officially
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Seung Ho Bang An Assessment of the Role of Gregorio de Céspedes
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Seung Ho Bang An Assessment of the Role of Gregorio de Céspedes
and after his visit to Joseon.81 Park illegitimately equates or replaces Cés-
pedes’ ministerial work for Korean POWs in Japan with his work in the
Japanese fortress in Joseon. In fact, Park also acknowledges that
So far no direct evidence testifying that Céspedes
spread the gospel to the native Koreans can be
found. It is on account of the discovered documents
and letters that one cannot help but think that Cés-
pedes was only spreading the gospel around the
Japanese fortresses.82
Strictly speaking, this statement is also false, since Céspedes stayed in
the Ungcheon fortress and only left the fortress in order to visit other
Japanese fortresses in Joseon.
Without mentioning the Jesuits’ mission in Mesoamerica along with
its larger historical context of Spanish colonialism during the sixteenth
century, Park wrongly perceives Céspedes as a missionary who had inten-
tions of proselytization and actually proselytized the indigenous Koreans
in Joseon. Céspedes may have proselytized Koreans while he was in Japan,
but apparently not in Joseon. Céspedes’ unofficial status may not accord
with the view that sees Céspedes as a chaplain, but seems to support Park’s
opinion that Céspedes was a civilian missionary. Whether one believes
that Céspedes was a missionary or chaplain, neither accord with the
historical circumstances, as Hideyoshi would have not allowed the Jesuits
to accompany his army. Yet, as I have argued above, there is another
possibility that solves this quandary: Céspedes was Konishi’s personal
chaplain. During the Imjin War, Christian daimyō and their Christian
soldiers had been without Communion and confession since they left
Japan. It would not have been easy to solve the problem given Hideyoshi’s
edict. It is possible that Hideyoshi might have tacitly allowed the Jesuits to
send priests. Nonetheless, Konishi’s later reaction following Hideyoshi’s
discovery of a Jesuit priest in his army does not support this option either.
One of the viable options is that the Christian daimyō would have un-
officially invited the priest as his (their) personal chaplain. As I mentioned
earlier, this option is historically feasible. The fact that Céspedes worked
in Shodoshima in 1586 and 1596 to convert a population upon Konishi’s
request strongly supports this interpretation.83
Conclusion
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Seung Ho Bang An Assessment of the Role of Gregorio de Céspedes
Notes:
1
Korean and Japanese words are transliterated according to the Revised
Romanization of Korean and the Romaji Systems unless standardized generic
romanized words are formerly known. If there are multiple Romanized notations,
I chose one among them. In case of personal names, I also transliterated the
names unless romanized name are given by them.
2
In this study, I prefer to use Joseon in order to refer to the name of the state in
the Korean Peninsula during the sixteenth century. Nevertheless, I will use
“Korean” to refer to Korean people who lived during the period of the Joseon
dynasty. This is the most appropriate way to avoid ethnophaulism, since the word
Joseonin was used derogatorily to refer to Koreans by the Japanese imperialists
during their illegitimate occupation of Korea (1910–1945) and continues to be
used by Japanese ultranationalists nowadays.
3
Alban Butler and Sarah Thomas, Butler’s Lives of the Saints: September (Collegeville:
Liturgical Press, 2000), 191; Jai-Keun Choi, The Origin of the Roman Catholic Church in
Korea (Cheltenham: Hermit Kingdom Press, 2006), 16–17; James Grayson, Korea: A
Religious History (New York: Routledge, 2002), 140; William Griffis, Corea, the Hermit
Nation (New York: C. Scribner’s Sons, 1907), 121; Kim Yangsun, “Imjinwaeran
jonggunsinbu seseubeteseuui naehanhwaldonggwa geu yeonghyang.” Sahakyeon-
gu 18 (1964): 705–739; Samuel Moffett, A History of Christianity in Asia, Vol. 2
(Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1998), 143; Chang-Won Park, Cultural Blending in Korean
Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies, vol. 14, issue 40 (Spring 2015) 198
Seung Ho Bang An Assessment of the Role of Gregorio de Céspedes
Death Rites (London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2010), 195 fn. 2;
Ryoji Torizu, Konishi Yukinaga: “massatsu” sareta Kirishitan daimyō no jitsuzō (Tokyo:
Yagi Shoten, 2010), 152, 327.
4
Griffis, Corea, 123.
5
Antton Egiguren Iraloa, OFM, True Confucians, Bold Christians (Amsterdam: Rodopi,
2007), 187; López-Gay Jesús, S.J., “Gregorio Céspedes,” in Biographical Dictionary of
Christian Missions, ed. Gerald Anderson (New York: Macmillan, 1998), 122; James
Murdoch and Isoh Yamagata, A History of Japan: During the Century of Early Foreign
Intercourse (1542–1651) (Kobe: The Office of the “Chronicle,” 1903), 348; Chul Park,
Seseuppedeseu: hanguk bangmun choecho seoguin (Seoul: Seoganghaksulchongseo,
1993), 37; Park, “Hangukbangmun choecho seoguin seseuppedeseue daehan
saeroun pyeongga,” Asian Journal of Latin American Studies (1988): 107–08; Juan
Ruiz-de-Medina, S.J., The Catholic Church in Korea: Its origins 1566–1784 (Seoul: Seoul
Computer Press, 1991), 48.
6
Park, Seseuppedeseu, 37; Park, “Hangukbangmun choecho seoguin,” 107–08.
7
Takashi Gonoi first employed this approach in his assessment of Céspedes’ role
in the Imjin War, although he did not elaborate upon his evaluation. In fact,
hardly any of the previous studies viewed Céspedes within a broader socio-
religious context. See Takashi Gonoi, “Ilpon Yesuhoewa waeran.” Nuriwa
malsseum 6 (1999): 68–94.
8
Gratitude is due to Dr. Myeong Hee Choe, who read and translated several
Japanese sources that are crucial to this research. Without her help, I could have
not incorporated the Japanese sources and perspectives into this essay.
9
Masaki Anno, “Bateren tsuihōrei,” in Bateren tsuihōrei: 16-seiki no Nichi-Ō taiketsu
(Tokyo: Nihon Editā Sukūru Shuppanbu, 1989), 125–27; Mary Berry, Hideyoshi
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1982), 92; Otis Cary, A History of Christianity
in Japan (Rutland: C. E. Tuttle Company, 1976), 98; Neil Fujita, Japan’s Encounter with
Christianity (New York: Paulist Press, 1991), 110; Johannes Laures, The Catholic
Church in Japan (Rutland: C. E. Tuttle Company, 1954), 110–11; Moffett, Christianity
in Asia, 71; George Sansom, A History of Japan, 1334–1615. (Stanford: Stanford
University Press, 1961), 346.
10
George Elison, Deus Destroyed (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1973), 112;
Laures, The Catholic Church in Japan, 117; Neil McMullin, Buddhism and the State in
Sixteenth-Century Japan (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1984), 229–230;
Sansom, History of Japan, 347.
11
Hideyoshi’s Bateren tsuihōrei バテレン追放令, see the original expulsion edict in
either Matsuura ka bunsho 松浦家文書 or Goshuin shi shoku kokaku
御朱印師職古格. Bateren tsuihōrei that I read for this study is from Masaki Anno
and Kiichi Matsuda, see Anno, “Bateren tsuihōrei,” 124; Kiichi Matsuda, Toyotomi
Hideyoshi to Nanbanjin (Tokyo: Chōbunsha, 1992), 60.
12
Contrary to the abovementioned scholars, another group of scholars, leaves the
question of why Toyotomi issued the edict of expulsion more or less unexplained;
see C. R. Boxer, The Christian Century in Japan, 1549–1650 (Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1974), 49–50; Kentarō Miyazaki, “Roman Catholic Mission in Pre-
Modern Japan,” in Handbook of Christianity in Japan, ed. Mark Mullins (Leiden: Brill,
2003), 10; Jozef Jennes, A History of the Catholic Church in Japan (Tokyo: Oriens
Institute for Religious Research, 1973), 60–61.
13
Cary, Christianity in Japan, 104; Fujita, Encounter with Christianity, 118; Moffett,
Christianity in Asia, 81. See Jesuit Francisco Passio’s letter sent to Rome, Matsuda,
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Seung Ho Bang An Assessment of the Role of Gregorio de Céspedes
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Seung Ho Bang An Assessment of the Role of Gregorio de Céspedes
as sacred relic of Frankish Gaul, a priest (capellani) went along as custodian of the
cappella. Bosch, Capa, 24; Preble and Asnis, The American Flag, 104. Later, some
priests involved in religious service on military contexts carried “holy relics
(patrocinia sanctorum) into battle for the purpose of winning supernatural support
for the army.” Bachrach, Early Carolingian Warfare, 150. According to the story of
St. Martin, a priest, who was not a military member, later became a symbol of the
cappella and accompanied military campaigns.
31
Roy J. Honeywell, Chaplains of the United States Army (Washington: Office of the
Chief of Chaplains, Department of the Army, 1958), 10–29.
32
Edward Channing, “Critical Essay on the Sources of Information,” in Narrative
and Critical History of America, Vol. II, Part 1, Edited by Justin Winsor (Boston: The
Riverside Press, 1886), 215.
33
J. Benedict Warren, “An Introductory Survey of Secular Writings in the
European Tradition on Colonial Middle America, 1503–1818,” in Handbook of Middle
American Indians: Archaeology of Southern Mesoamerica, Vol. 13, Part 2, Edited by
Howard Cline (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1964), 64.
34
Beatriz Bodmer, The Armature of Conquest (Stanford: Stanford University Press,
1992), 57.
35
Philip Means, History of the Spanish Conquest of Yucatan and of the Itzas (Cambridge:
The Museum, 1917), 40.
36
Ross Hassig, Mexico and the Spanish Conquest (Norman: University of Oklahoma
Press, 2006), 75.
37
Peter Gerhard, “Colonial New Spain, 1519–1786: Historical Notes on the
Evolution of Minor Political Jurisdictions,” in Handbook of Middle American Indians,
Vol. 12, Part 1, Edited by Howard Cline (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1972), 64–
69, fig. 2.
38
Gerhard, “Colonial New Spain”, 66.
39
James Sandos, Converting California (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004), 3.
40
George Tinker, Missionary Conquest (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993), 43. Also
see John Niles and L. T. Pease, History of South America and Mexico, Vol. 1 (Hartford:
H. Huntington, 1838), 71–72. For a copy of the original Latin text, see Francisco
Hernáez, Coleccion de bulas, breves y otros documentos relativos a la iglesia de America y
Filipinas, Vol. 1 (Bruselas Vaduz: Klaus Reprint, 1964, 1879), 24–25.
41
Tinker, Missionary Conquest, 43.
42
Tinker, Missionary Conquest, 43.
43
Tinker, Missionary Conquest, 43.
44
Park, Seseuppedeseu, 45; Testimonios literarios, 61–62.
45
Choi, The Roman Catholic Church in Korea, 16; Hawley, The Imjin War, 348; Torizu,
Konishi Yukinaga, 149.
46
Park, Seseuppedeseu, 39; Testimonios literarios, 59.
47
See the reports of Gómez, Fróis, Guzmán, Testimonios literarios, 60.
48
Petrucci maintains that the friendship between Konishi and Céspedes might
have begun in 1579 in Okayama, see Maria Petrucci, “In the Name of the Father,
the Son and the Islands of the Gods” (M.A. thesis, The University of British
Columbia, 2005), 14.
49
Toshio Yanagida, “Bunroku-Keicho no Eki to Kirishitan Senkyoshi,” Shigaku 52, 1
(1982): 28 n. 14. Boxer mentions that one of the reasons for Hideyoshi’s expulsion
edict in 1587 was slave trafficking. C. R. Boxer, “The Affair of the ‘Madre de Deus,’”
in Papers on Portuguese, Dutch, and Jesuit influences in 16th- and 17th-century Japan:
Writings of Charles Ralph Boxer, edited by Michael Moscato (Washington: University
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Seung Ho Bang An Assessment of the Role of Gregorio de Céspedes
Publications of America, 1979), 45. In another article, he also mentions the Jesuits’
involvement in the slave trafficking, which eventually produced the order that
prohibited slave trafficking by the Portuguese King Sebastian in 1570. Also see
Boxer, “Some Aspects of Portuguese Influence in Japan, 1542–1640,” in Papers on
Portuguese, Dutch, and Jesuit influences in 16th- and 17th-century Japan: Writings of
Charles Ralph Boxer, ed. Michael Moscato (Washington: University Publications of
America, 1979), 101–02.
50
Gonoi, “Ilpon Yesuhoewa waeran,” 69–73; Torizu, Konishi Yukinaga, 152.
51
Torizu, Konishi Yukinaga, 327.
52
Park, Testimonios literarios, 87.
53
Torizu, Konishi Yukinaga, 152.
54
For example, Park, Seseuppedeseu, 56; Ruiz-de-Medina, S. J., The Catholic Church in
Korea, 50.
55
Ruiz-de-Medina, S.J., The Catholic Church in Korea, 50.
56
Choi, The Roman Catholic Church in Korea, 16–17; Charles Dallet, Histoire de l’église
de Corée, précédée d’une introduction sur l’histoire, les institutions, la langue, les moeurs et
coutumes coréennes (Paris, V. Palmé, 1874), 2, 4.
57
Hawley, The Imjin War, 393.
58
Chai-Shin Yu, The Founding of Catholic Tradition in Korea (Mississauga: Korean and
Related Studies Press, 1996), 141.
59
Ruiz-de-Medina, S.J., The Catholic Church in Korea, 203–04. See the letter sent by
Valignano to Claudio Aquaviva, the 5th Superior General of the Society of Jesus in
Rome, on January 1st, 1593.
60
Ruiz-de-Medina, S.J., The Catholic Church in Korea, 51.
61
Ruiz-de-Medina, S.J., The Catholic Church in Korea, 51.
62
Contra. Ruiz-de-Medina, S.J., The Catholic Church in Korea, 51 fn. 79.
63
Ruiz-de-Medina, S.J., The Catholic Church in Korea, 52.
64
Stephen R. Turnbull, The Samurai and the Sacred, (Oxford; New York: Osprey,
2006), 109; Turnbull, Japanese Castles in Korea (Oxford; New York: Osprey, 2007), 39.
A sentiment similar to that of Céspedes also can be found in Valignano’s letter
sent to Claudio Aquaviva on January 1st, 1593. Valignano mentions, “And in
addition to that, with the fleets they dispatched by sea, made up of many taller
and stronger ships than those of the Japanese, they did much damage to them;
and things reached such a point that in October, when we were setting out from
these [Nagasaki], the Japanese were losing hope of succeeding in their
enterprise.” Ruiz-de-Medina, S. J., The Catholic Church in Korea, 204.
65
While no Christian priests were officially with the Japanese army, three years
later, a Japanese monk, Keinen, came to Joseon as the physician of a general
named Ota Kazuyoshi from Usuki and recorded the war in his diary. See, Keinen,
Chosen nichinichiki o yomu: Shinshuso ga mita Hideyoshi no Chosen shinryaku (Kyoto:
Hozokan, 2000).
66
Yi, Imjinjangcho, 162.
67
See Valignano’s letter written on October 17th, 1586 and Organtino’s letter on
March 10th, 1589.
68
Gonoi, “Ilpon Yesuhoewa waeran,” 69–73. Contrary to the information that he
presents, Gonoi surprisingly concludes that no Jesuits actively supported or
justified the Japanese invasion of Joseon. Gonoi, “Ilpon Yesuhoewa waeran”, 90.
69
Gonoi, “Ilpon Yesuhoewa waeran,” 74.
70
Gonoi, “Ilpon Yesuhoewa waeran,” 74.
71
Gonoi, “Ilpon Yesuhoewa waeran,” 86.
Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies, vol. 14, issue 40 (Spring 2015) 202
Seung Ho Bang An Assessment of the Role of Gregorio de Céspedes
72
Gonoi, “Ilpon Yesuhoewa waeran,” 86.
73
Park, Seseuppedeseu, 171–78.
74
Chul Park, “Ilbon yesuhoewa waerane daehan nonpyeong,” Nuriwa malsseum 6
(1999): 95.
75
Chul Park, “Ilbon yesuhoewa waerane daehan nonpyeong,” 95.
76
Chul Park, “Ilbon yesuhoewa waerane daehan nonpyeong,” 97.
77
Chul Park, “Ilbon yesuhoewa waerane daehan nonpyeong,” 98.
78
Chul Park, “Ilbon yesuhoewa waerane daehan nonpyeong,” 98.
79
Chul Park, “Ilbon yesuhoewa waerane daehan nonpyeong,” 101.
80
See Céspedes’ pro-Japanese perspective on the Imjin War in his letters
mentioned above.
81
Chul Park, “Ilbon yesuhoewa waerane daehan nonpyeong,” 100.
82
The statement in the quotation is my literal English translation. The original
statement written in Korean is not entirely clear. It seems to me that he tries to
say the reason why there is no direct record is that Céspedes was only spreading
the gospel around the Japanese fortresses. Therefore, my English translation
might misrepresent Park’s opinion. Chul Park, “Ilbon mit hangukgwa gwall-
yeondoen yesuhoe jaryoui seonggyeok,” In Proceedings of the 16th Conference of Busan
Research Institute of Church History (Busan: Busan Research Institute of Church
History, 1997), 29–55.
83
Torizu, Konishi Yukinaga, 327. These two reports contradict Boxer’s report that
Tadaoki invited Céspedes and that Céspedes worked with him before and after the
Imjin War. It is difficult to verify the information regarding Céspedes’ work in
either Buzen in 1601 or Shodoshima in 1586 and 1596. At this point, it could be
one or two separate incidents but erroneously transmitted into two or three
events, or it is entirely possible that Céspedes indeed worked at Shodoshima in
1586 and 1596 after the Imjin War, and Buzen in 1601.
84
A. Hamish Ion, “The Cross under an Imperial Sun,” in Handbook of Christianity in
Japan, Edited by Mark Mullins (Leiden: Brill, 2003), 77–82. Also see Ion, The Cross in
the Dark Valley, Vol. 3, The Cross and the Rising Sun (Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier
University Press, 1999), 14–15.
85
While the Japanese army was campaigning in Southeast Asia, Christian
chaplains had been with them. Ion, “The Cross under an Imperial Sun,” 77.
Therefore, Takayoshi Matsuo particularly describes the Japanese missionaries’
efforts in Korea as the “religious spearhead of Japanese imperialism.” Takayoshi
Matsuo, “Nihon Kumiai Kirisutokyōkai no Chōsen dendō”, Shisō 529 (1968): 951
cited in Ion, “The Cross under an Imperial Sun,” 79.
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