[Name of the writer] [Name of the institution] Christianity in
Japan Japan has been a home for Shinto and Buddhist religions
for centuries. The Christian missionaries during the 16th, 19th
and 20th centuries worked hard to evangelize the Japanese nation
but could not get desired success. There efforts in past failed
partly due to sanctions imposed by the local rulers. The Jesuits
missionaries traveled with Spanish and Portuguese traders to
many areas of America and Asia-Pacific and established their
churches and religious missions. They were funded, sponsored and
trained by their respective governments in order to spread
Christianity. At several places they preached the Christian
faith by force but the aboriginal population did not accept it
wholeheartedly. Initially the Jesuits targeted the elite class
of the country and a large number was converted. The rulers also
forced their subject to embrace the same faith. About 300,000
Japanese were converted in the first phase. Later on,
Christianity was prohibited