The Portuguese in Japan: Samurai, Jesuits and the Nanban Trade

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Portugal's unexpected encounter with Japan in the 1540s. They begin with the arrival of three Portuguese merchants on a Chinese junk at Tanegashima, whose harquebuses revolutionized Japanese warfare. Lucas explains how the 'Nanban' or 'Southern Barbarians' were integrated into the wako pirate network and then into official trade under the Oda and Toyotomi regimes. The conversation covers the Jesuit mission led by Francis Xavier and later Alessandro Valignano, who adapted Christianity to Japanese culture and founded a seminary for young samurai. They discuss the Tensho Embassy — four Japanese boys who traveled to Europe and met Philip II and the Pope — and the complex relationship between the Jesuits and daimyo like Omura Sumitada, the first Christian lord. Lucas details the lucrative silver trade from Iwami Ginzan to Macau and the subsequent Portuguese monopoly on silk. Finally, they touch on the early seeds of persecution under Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the eventual expulsion under the Tokugawa shogunate, foreshadowing the sakoku policy. The episode ends with the legacy of cultural exchange: tempura, the word 'arigato', and the enduring image of the Nanban screens. #NanbanTrade #JesuitsInJapan #FrancisXavier #Tanegashima #PortugueseEmpire #SengokuJidai #AlessandroValignano #TenshoEmbassy #OmuraSumitada #IwamiGinzan #Harquebus #Samurai #Macau #ToyotomiHideyoshi #TokugawaShogunate #Sakoku #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo