The Dream of Christian Nagasaki

Nagasaki, on the west coast of the Japanese island of Kyushu, is known in the West for having been the target of an atomic bomb attack on August 9, 1945. Less well known is that the city was founded by Europeans, Jesuit missionaries who arrived in the area in the second half of the 16th century. The Jesuits came with an evangelizing mission and converted to Christianity several Japanese lords or daimyo, who soon profited from trade with the Portuguese. To harbor Portuguese ships, the port of Nagasaki was established in 1571, a joint venture of the traders, the Jesuits and the daimyo. This book is the first comprehensive history in any language of the rise and fall of Christian Nagasaki (1560-1640). The author provides an engaging narrative of the city's early years from both the European and Japanese perspective.