Luis Frois: First Western Accounts of Japan's Gardens, Cities and Landscapes
Authors: Castel-Branco, Cristina, Carvalho, Guida
Free Preview- Gathers the first descriptions of 22 16th century Japanese gardens (unpublished until 1984) and compares with their present stateShares the Portuguese Rennaissance accounts on Japanese gardens, cities and landscapesHighlights the mutual interest and peaceful Japanese encounter with the West, as recorded in the Namban Screens and in Frois’s descriptions
Buy this book
- About this book
-
This book focuses on Luis Frois, a 16th-century Portuguese Jesuit and chronicler, who recorded his impressions of Japanese gardens, cities and building practices, tea-drinking rituals, Japan’s unification efforts, cultural traditions, and the many differences between Europe and Japan in remarkable manuscripts almost lost to time. This research also draws on other Portuguese descriptions from contemporary sources spanning the years 1543 – 1597, later validated by Japanese history and iconography. Importantly, explorer Jorge Alvares recorded his experiences of discovery, prompting St. Francis Xavier to visit Japan in 1549, thus ushering in the “Christian Century” in Japan.
During this long period of accord and reciprocal curiosity, the Portuguese wrote in excess of 1500 pages of letters to European Jesuits that detail their impressions of the island nation—not to mention their observations of powerful public figures such as Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Sen no Rikyu. In addition to examining these letters, the authors translated and researched early descriptions of 23 gardens in Kyoto and Nara and 9 important cities—later visited by the authors, sketched, photographed and compared with the imagery painted on 16th-century Japanese screens.
However, the data gathered for this project was found mainly within five large volumes of Frois’ História do Japão (2500 pages) and his Treaty on Contradictions—two incomparable anthropological works that were unpublished until the mid-20th century for reasons detailed herein. His volumes continue to be explored for their insightful observations of places, cultural practices, and the formidable historical figures with whom he interacted.
Thus, this book examines the world’s first globalization efforts that resulted in profitable commerce, the introduction of Portuguese firearms that changed Japan’s history, scientific advances, religious expansion, and many artistic exchanges that have endured the centuries.
- Table of contents (8 chapters)
-
-
Introduction: Japanese-Portuguese Sixteenth-Century Encounter
Pages 1-14
-
Portuguese Presence in Japan (1543–1600)
Pages 15-57
-
Seventeen Kyoto Gardens Described by Frois and Vilela
Pages 59-131
-
Six Gardens in Nara Described by Frois and Others
Pages 133-155
-
Nine Cities and Landscapes Described by Frois and Others
Pages 157-198
-
Table of contents (8 chapters)
Recommended for you
Bibliographic Information
- Bibliographic Information
-
- Book Title
- Luis Frois: First Western Accounts of Japan's Gardens, Cities and Landscapes
- Authors
-
- Cristina Castel-Branco
- Guida Carvalho
- Copyright
- 2020
- Publisher
- Springer Singapore
- Copyright Holder
- Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
- eBook ISBN
- 978-981-15-0018-3
- DOI
- 10.1007/978-981-15-0018-3
- Hardcover ISBN
- 978-981-15-0017-6
- Edition Number
- 1
- Number of Pages
- XLIII, 241
- Number of Illustrations
- 7 b/w illustrations, 77 illustrations in colour
- Topics
