Portuguese Influence On Japanese Culture

Christianity began to make its presence known in Japan towards the end of the Muromachi era. It was the Portuguese who first led the European maritime explorations during the fifteenth century down the Cape of Good Hope and touched India in 1498. Fifteen years later, they reached China, where they created a permanent trading station in Macao in 1559 (Varley 143). Portuguese traders first set foot on Japanese soil around 1543; they landed on the small island of Tanegashima off of the coast of Kyushu. At the time, Europe was aflame with the fervor of the Counter Reformation, and the King of Portugal had recently formed a military Society of Jesus. Around this time the Europeans introduced the gun to the Japanese, which would forever change
In most cases the Portuguese were drawn with small heads, thin legs, and huge pantaloons, and the Jesuits were shown in flowing black clerical robes. In some of the namban screens, the Portuguese are accompanied by black servants. The Japanese called these Europeans at first “southern barbarians” since they came from the seas to the south. Namban art developed after the first Portuguese ships arrived (148). While Christian icons and other objects were produced, the namban screens were created by artists from the Kano school. The Westerners also introduced the linear perspective and alternative materials and techniques to art. The linear perspective is a representation on a flat surface, or an image as it is seen by the
Paintings and scrolls created of past events have elicited strong feelings of devotions to one’s art and faith. When it comes to Christian Europeans and Buddhism, both used art as a way to express their religious views and symbolism. The earliest Christian-related images were based on symbols of faith associated with Jesus, while in Buddhist art there was the iconic footprints of Buddha. During the Muromachi era, Japanese Zen Buddhist artists Tenshō Shūbun and¬¬¬ Sesshū Tōyō both created paintings depicting emotional ties to their faith such as seclusion in nature, good fortune, and the natural world. Meanwhile, their Renaissance counterparts, such as Italian sculptor and painter Michelangelo and Russian artist Andrei Rublev, captured visual representations of their faith by showing their communication with God, divine authority, and the absolution from sin. Each of these artists showed the importance religion had on their lives. Cultures all over the world have relied on art to convey religious ideas and emotions. In some cases art from one culture has influenced another. The Japanese towards the end of the Muromachi era were influenced by the Portuguese and their teachings of Christianity. Despite the language barriers, Buddhism and Christianity during the Renaissance era and the Muromachi period created symbolic masterpieces that are still remembered today. Even though their