Nanban Trade and the Arrival of Firearms

In the mid-16th century, Europeans (mainly Portuguese and Spanish) came to Japan. Firearms and Christianity were introduced, completely changing the nature of the Warring States period.

Basic Knowledge

Against the background of world history, Europe entered the Age of Exploration (late 15th century-) and Portugal and Spain advanced into Asia. The sequence was Columbus reaching the American continent in 1492, Vasco da Gama reaching India in 1498, and Europeans reaching Japan in 1543.
In 1543, Portuguese merchants who drifted ashore on Tanegashima (Kagoshima Prefecture) introduced firearms. The lord of Tanegashima, Tanegashima Tokitaka, purchased two guns. Firearm production later began in Negoro and Saika in Kishu, Kunitomo in Omi, and Sakai in Izumi.
Firearms spread rapidly and completely changed military tactics. Battles shifted from the traditional focus on one-on-one combat to group warfare by ashigaru firearm units. At the Battle of Nagashino in 1575 (the allied forces of Oda and Tokugawa vs. Takeda Katsuyori), Nobunaga is said to have used 3,000 firearms in three rotating ranks (there are different theories), destroying the Takeda cavalry.
In 1549, the Jesuit missionary Francisco Xavier landed in Kagoshima and introduced Christianity. Xavier preached in Yamaguchi, Kyoto, and Oita, and believers spread mainly throughout Kyushu.
In the Nanban trade (trade with Portugal and Spain), imports included Chinese raw silk, silk textiles, firearms, and gunpowder, while exports included silver (Iwami Silver Mine), swords, and lacquerware. Nagasaki, Hirado, and Funai (Oita) became centers.

In Depth (Background and Effects)

Firearms were one factor that determined the winners of the Warring States period. The daimyos who could obtain many firearms were those with the economic power to buy them with silver or gold and those who controlled production centers. Nobunaga controlled Sakai, Kunitomo, and Negoro. He could also obtain large numbers of firearms using the economic power of the Iwami Silver Mine and the Kinai region, giving him powerful military strength.
Christianity spread rapidly, and Christian daimyos appeared. Otomo Sorin (Bungo), Arima Harunobu (Hizen), Omura Sumitada (Hizen, the first Christian daimyo), and Takayama Ukon (Settsu), among others, were baptized. In 1582, three Kyushu daimyos (Otomo, Arima, and Omura) sent four boy envoys to the pope in Rome (Tensho Embassy, including Ito Mancio).
The influence of Nanban culture was extensive. Words such as pan, kasutera, tempura, kappa, tobacco, and button entered the Japanese language. Movable-type printing (Christian editions), astronomy, geography, medicine, and painting were also introduced.

Points to Note (Easily Confused)

① Be sure of the dates and order of the arrival of firearms (1543) and the arrival of Christianity (1549). “I-go-yo-san” (1543), “I-go-yoku” (1549).
② Nanbanjin = Portuguese and Spanish; Komojin = Dutch and English. They were distinguished during the Edo period.
③ Society of Jesus (Xavier’s order) = a Catholic religious order of the Counter-Reformation. It led missionary work in Japan.
④ Do not confuse the Tensho Embassy (1582-1590, four boys) with the later Keicho Embassy (1613-, sent by Date Masamune, Hasekura Tsunenaga).

Practice

1. State the year and place where firearms arrived in Japan and the country that introduced them.
2. State the name of the missionary who introduced Christianity to Japan in 1549.
3. State the names of the boy envoys sent by the three Christian daimyos of Kyushu to the pope in Rome in 1582.