Japan: A Late Bloomer
The purpose of this blog post is to show that Japan was a late bloomer in terms of an index which will be explained later.
From a Western viewpoint, “Japan didn’t exist” until the 16th century CE when the first encounter with the West occurred. I will discuss the views of two individuals on Japan: Francisco Xavier and Alessandro Valignano. Both were missionaries. Although their mission was far from successful, there are several reasons why I focus on them:
a. They were highly educated elites of European at the time, capable of describing things as they were.
b. Their observations are well documented. Despite their primary goal being missionary work, their records are invaluable for studying 16th-century Japan, even for nonspecialists like myself.
c. Some of their views are shared.
d. Both visited other Asian countries before visiting Japan, allowing them to place Japan in a relative perspective.
e. Their observations align with at least one quantitative data, which will be explained later.
Fransisco Xavier
Francis
Xavier, dated to the 17th century.
Unknown
author
Portrait
of St. Francis Xavier
Wikipedia
Public domain
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Franciscus_de_Xabier.jpg
(re-translation into English by the author of this blog)
Francisco Xavier (1506 CE -1552 CE) was a Jesuit priest. Since Xavier’s journey was extremely long, let us fist look at how he arrived in Japan. He left Lisbon on April 7, 1541 CE. It took him at least a year to arrive in Goa, India.
Fig.
Xavier Trajectory to Goa
Source: Google earth m0dified by the author
Fig. Xavier Trajectory to Goa
shows his footprint.
Q: Why did he go such a long way to Goa, India, in the
first place?
A: Going to Goa in the mid-16th century was a significant
move for someone like Xavier, especially considering his elite status in
European society. It should be noted that Portugal and Spain at the time were
world hegemons and Goa was already a colony of Portugal. He was highly educated and belonged to a prominent religious
order that played a significant role in European and global affairs during the
16th century. The Jesuits were known for their rigorous intellectual training,
missionary work, and influence in both religious and political spheres. Goa was
not just a remote outpost but a vibrant, strategic, and economically significant
location that offered numerous opportunities for an elite European like Xavier.
Q: Why did he go another long way to Japan, Far East?
The term “Far East” is a highly Eurocentric concept that persists into the 21st century. For a European in the 16th century, Siberia would have been perceived as the end of the world, with Japan lying even further beyond.
Xavier seemed dissatisfied with his achievements in Goa and other parts of Asia. In Malacca, he encountered a Japanese man named Anjiro, who had accidentally killed someone and fled Japan, burdened by guilt. Although little is known about Anjiro’s background, he might have been a merchant involved in international trade, as he spoke Portuguese. Through his conversations with Xavier, Anjiro found relief from his suffering. Originally having no intention of traveling to Japan, Xavier was ultimately persuaded to embark on his journey there after talking to Anjiro, whose stories intrigued him. If Xavier had not met Anjiro, Japan's encounter with the West might have been delayed.
Alessandro Valignano
.jpg)
Fig.
Portrait of Alessandro Valignano; book inscription: PRO CHRISTO LEGATIONE
FUNGIMUR - "We are ambassadors for Christ" (2 Cor. 5:20)
Date 17th century
In the public domain.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AlessandroValignano.jpg
Alessandro Valignano (1539 CE -1606 CE) was a Jesuit Inspector of Asia who visited Japan three times. He made several detailed descriptions of Japanese in [3] where he says (re-translation into English by the author of this blog)
Note that this observation was shared by Xavier described above.
One of my intensions of this blog post is to check if Xavier -Valignano- observations are consistent with at least one quantitative data. To do this, I plotted Real GDP per capita in 1600 CE, where the data is from [4], the Maddison historical economic data. Fig. Real GDP per capita Comparison (a) is of 1600 CE which was around the time when Xavier and Valignyano went to Japan. The countries contained in the figure, except Japan, were world superpowers or very powerful at least once in the past 500 years. Other superpowers were not included mainly because there is no corresponding single country for each of them in the 21st century. For example, there is no single country in the 21st century that corresponds to the Ottoman Empire. Data for Russia in 1600 CE was not available in the database. Japan was added because this blog is on Japan.
Provided that the data base is reasonably reliable, Xavier and Valignano accurately captured the reality at his time. It should be noted that in 1600 CE, India and China were advanced civilizations. Fig. Real GDP per capita Comparison (b) is of 2022 CE. The 2022 data is the most current data in the Maddison database.
(b) 2022 CE
Fig. Real GDP per capita Comparison
Source: Maddison Project Database 2023 [4]
https://www.rug.nl/ggdc/historicaldevelopment/maddison/releases/
maddison-project-database-2023
Japan was added for comparison purposes since this blog focuses on Japan.
This database appears reasonably reliable among the specialists. I am well aware that economic indices are not the only measure for the well-being of people. However, I consider it would be worth to see at least one economic index. This index reflects individual’s quality of life instead of a country as a whole.
The Maddison database provides extensive data even before 1600 CE, allowing one to observe the trajectories of the index over 2000 years. However, graphical representation of these trajectories is challenging because it is difficult to decipher the nature of 2000 data points for 10 countries in a single graph. If we choose two countries, several points could be discernible if appropriate countries are selected. Fig. Germany-Japan shows the target index of Japan and Germany from 1600 CE to 2022 CE. Data of Japan before late 19th century was not available in the Maddison database.
Fig. Germany-Japan
There are two reasons for choosing Germany for a comparison purpose. First, Germany was also late in the Industrial Revolution, although it was earlier than Japan. Second, Germany’s economic growth was similar to that of Japan in the post-war period of WW. For most of the 420 years, Germany dominated Japan with respect to this index. It was only for about a decade in the 20th century that Japan surpassed Germany. After this period, Japan entered the so-called “lost decades,” which many people are concerned about. While this is a legitimate concern, this period is not unique to Japan’s economy in that Japan's economy was not too good.
Eventually Japan banned Christianity. Thus the missionary endeavors of Xavier and Valignano were far from being successful. However, the detailed reports by Xavier and Valignano still shine brightly. They would not have imagined that their documents are read 420 years later by somebody who has very little with what they intended.
Concluding Remarks
[1] seseragi site:
[2] Milward, P., “Japan viewed by Xavier”, Kodansha, Tokyo, 1998
[3] Valignano, A., “Sumario de las Cosas de Japon”, translated into Japanese by K. Matsuda et. al.,
[4] Maddison Project Database 2023:
https://www.rug.nl/ggdc/historicaldevelopment/maddison/releases/maddison-project-database-2023
"Real GDP per capita in 2011$" refers to the economic output of a country with respect to 2011$, adjusted for inflation, divided by the population. It is used to compare living standards across countries and over time. Specifically, it consists of three concepts:
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): This measures everything a country produces in a year. The components of GDP are personal consumption, business investment, government spending, and exports minus imports.
Real GDP: This is GDP adjusted for price changes. Because inflation can make ‘nominal’ GDP look higher, Real GDP is a more accurate way to compare the economy over time.
Per Capita: This means ‘per person’. Real GDP is divided by the population to calculate
Real GDP per capita:This is a good way to compare economic indicators (like GDP) for countries with very different population sizes.
Therefore, “Real GDP per capita in 2011 US dollars” means the Real GDP per person, expressed in terms of the price level with respect to 2011 US dollars. It has been adjusted for inflation and calculates economic output per person at 2011 price levels. This measure is often used to compare economic activity and living standards across time and countries.
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