Bateren und Samurai

Abstract

Summary Bateren and Samurai.The Exchange of Knowledge by the Jesuit Mission in Japan This article focuses on the production and exchange of knowledge stimulated by the missionary work of the Jesuit Order in Japan’s „Christian century“ (Charles R. Boxer). The paper shows how the printing and dissemination of Jesuit travel reports and letters created a new image of East Asia, which slowly replaced the older one based mainly on Marco Polo’s book. „Zipangu“ was replaced by „Japan“. The journey of four young Japanese nobles through Portugal, Spain and Italy, misunderstood by European observers as a spectacular diplomatic visit, aroused an overwhelming public interest in their physical appearance, habits and cultural background and made dialogues possible that led to a more detailed knowledge of the Japanese islands. On the other side of the globe, the Japanese were fascinated by the material goods, daily practices and customs of the „Southern barbarians“ (namban-jin), which is what they called the (South) European merchants and missionaries. This namban boom did not last for a long time, but it had significant effects for the geographical knowledge and cartographical practice of the time. In particular, the so-called namban world map screens, highly decorative pieces of art, brought different cultural traditions together and reflected the transcultural interactions that the Jesuit missionaries had initiated.