Japanese Christianity Grows in Kyushu

1557

Jesuits operating out of Nagasaki, Hirado, and Bungo saw steady conversions among the Kyushu daimyo, who appreciated Portuguese trade as much as Catholic theology. Some sixty thousand Japanese Christians now attended Mass in tatami-floored chapels. Japan had the largest Catholic population outside Europe and Latin America. Daimyo who converted often did so for commercial advantage, seeking Portuguese firearms, though many converts' sincerity was genuine.