Francis Xavier lands at Kagoshima

On 15 August 1549 the Jesuit Francis Xavier and Anjirō, a Japanese convert he had met at Malacca, landed at Kagoshima from a Chinese junk, the only craft that would carry them from Malacca; his first letter from Japan was printed more than 30 times before 1600. When he left in late 1551 he left about 2,000 Christians in five communities, and the years 1549–1639 are sometimes called Japan's 'Christian century'.

The mechanism

CUSTODY OF THE WORD

How it was checked

• EvidenceT5 INDEPENDENT SECULAR; Status: ADDED 2026-09-19
• Letter eraTHE RELEASES, AND THE ENCLOSURE THAT FOLLOWS EACH 1382 to 1694
• SourcesRECORD — Britannica, 'Saint Francis Xavier'; Columbia University, Asia for Educators, 'The Edicts of Toyotomi Hideyoshi' (introduction: the 'Christian century') · checked 19 September: Britannica (read in a browser; WebFetch is refused by the site), 'Saint Francis Xavier'; Wikipedia, 'Anjiro' (citing C. R. Boxer, The Christian Century in Japan 1549-1650, 1951, p. 36); Catholic Encyclopedia (1909), 'St. Francis Xavier', New Advent; Columbia University, Asia for Educators, Hideyoshi edicts PDF (introduction: 'The years from 1549 to 1639 are sometimes called the Christian century')