OS JESUÍTAS NO JAPÃO E A ARTE DO CHÁ在日本的耶穌會士與茶藝

The article analyzes the presence of the Jesuits in Japan between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, discussing how missionary practice was articulated simultaneously with the theological-rhetorical objectives of the Counter-Reformation and with the geopolitical and economic interests of the I...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Review of Culture
Main Author: Rui Rocha
Format: Articles
Published: Instituto Cultural de Macau 2014
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Online Access:https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40046/2393
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Summary:The article analyzes the presence of the Jesuits in Japan between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, discussing how missionary practice was articulated simultaneously with the theological-rhetorical objectives of the Counter-Reformation and with the geopolitical and economic interests of the Iberian monarchies. Drawing on a historiographical approach centered on the epistolary documentation produced by the Society — whose narrative and classificatory structure was standardized by Ignatius of Loyola and Juan de Polanco — the text argues that the Jesuit letters functioned as a device of an "information society" that organized local realities ethnographically. This ethnography includes cosmography, economy, social organization, calendars, and ritual descriptions, enabling both internal discipline and network coordination as well as the formulation of evangelization strategies. The article then relates this knowledge to the economic dimension of the missions, situating them within the search for alternative routes to those controlled by Mediterranean intermediaries and within the need to protect commercial monopolies and privileges in the face of Protestant European competition. As a result, it concludes that the "art of tea," as a Japanese cultural practice, must be understood at the intersection of the Catholic interpretation of the Other, the circulation of information, and the reconfiguration of imperial interests, evidencing the close convergence between material culture and historical projects of power.
ISSN:1682-1106