A Missionary's Perspective: The Diary of Tullio de Sao Joao

[Merchant of Venice]

Religious arguments never end well for anyone.

Also, a slight criticism I have is the use of the word Abbot. In my knowledge, its not a Japanese term, so it was a bit weird calling the leader of the temple an abbot when the Japanese don't use that word. Its probably just me nitpicking but it kind of spoilt the immersion a bit for me.

[Blopwerth III]

I call him an Abbot because I'm a. not sure what the proper Japanese term is and b. in Tintin in Tibet, the head of the monastery is called the Grand Abbot.

The sentiment of a sixty-year-old Belgian with no connection to Buddhism but a Chinese college friend writing a children's comic book in the 1960's has to be fact, right?

[Scottish King]

If it was only that easy to settle things the world would be a better place...alas! But if can make for a great story! Glad to still see this going.

[Blopwerth III]

Monday, March 10, 1545

I still can't shake the feeling that something big is happening. So today I sat down with all the brothers and sisters and we prayed for the guidance we needed in this situation.

I know that God always listens, but by jove! None of us got so much as a twitch! This is worrying...


In other news, Pope Paul III sent an armed band of his Swiss Guard to our little mission with fifteen more priests, and this has caused a great uproar amongst the ranks of the townspeople. First off, the Abbot is outraged, claiming that while the extra clergymen are acceptable, the armed escort is overstepping our ceasefire agreement, and a threat to his temple in particular.

Second off, the local Ito Daimyo is outraged by the armed escort, which he claims threatens his local dominance, while the clergymen, he claims, are propagating a false religion that "infects" his fiefdom. He demands that either the entire ship is sent back, or the entire mission get out, under pain of death.

Now, I'm no fan of crucifixion, so reluctantly I agreed to send a message to the Otomo Daimyo saying that I was to be thrown out, and ask for a response.

And in the meantime the local people are somewhat frightened by our now "overly-powerful" religion, our guns, our ideas, our lands...I think His Holiness might have screwed us.

I also demanded why they were outraged at the Swiss guards but not the samurai guards, and then the Abbot and the Daimyo demanded that they leave as well.

I sure hope the Otomo allow us to leave. We could have a "situation" on our hands.

Tullio de Sao Joao

[Blopwerth III]

The difficulty in not exclaiming "by god!" or "my god!" or whatever is actually much more than I expected.

[Blopwerth III]

Wednesday, March 19, 1545

Well, the Otomo sent us a little more than just a messenger-they sent us an army, a huge army of samurai, and declined our request while declaring war on the Ito. So basically we just started a holy war.

The congregation is evacuating, and the church has already been torn down publicly if intelligence is to be trusted. The Otomo army is converging on the Ito territories, and it looks as though the Ito are outnumbered. The Daimyo has told me to form an elite "Priest Cavalry" unit combined with our mounted Swiss Guard escort to become the Western Fist cavalry. He doesn't quite yet understand that, unlike the Orient, in Europe the monks and priests are often quite peaceful, and that usually we just encourage others to fight. When I explained it to him, he muttered something about "dirty work". I told him about the Imago Dei concept, about how harming a human made in the image and likeness of God is strictly forbidden, etc., but he didn't want to hear it.

Regardless, he insisted that I ride at the head of the Swiss Guard at the very least. Two problems remain: I speak three languages: Portuguese, Latin, and Japanese. The Swiss Guard speak Italian. And furthermore, the Swiss Guard are trained to fight on foot in a pike square formation, not to ride in a block or wedge formation. But he said he would throw me out if I didn't. He said that the Japanese people will only accept the religion if its clergy are indomitable in battle. He bought me some armor and two swords and said that the shorter one was only to be used if I was defeated-I was to commit seppuku in that eventuality. I'm feeling somewhat....queasy.

Tomorrow we form up for battle on the plain. I think I need to start praying.

Tullio de Sao Joao

[Blopwerth III]

Thursday, March 20, 1545

I might have slept an hour last night. I was so nervous. I haven't wielded a sword my entire life, I barely know how to ride a horse, and later on today I'll be leading the pope's personal guard into battle against men which are essentially born specifically to kill others. I gave up trying to sleep and figured I'd do something productive for the rest of the night, so I went down to the camp centre where there would be a few sleepless samurai milling about. I found one man with a cross worked into his family mon on his kimono and when he saw me his eyes lit up.

"Ah, you are 'Too-ri-o', right?" He could not quite work his tongue around the "l" sound since his language didn't have it.

"Too-LI-o," I corrected. I showed him how to hold his mouth when making the sound.

"Too-li-o", he said.

"Good!"

"Tullio-san, please, I must confess to you. I am nervous about the battle tomorrow. But don't tell the others. It must remain secret."

"I am not allowed to tell anyone else about what we discuss, or treat you any differently for it," I said.

"Good!" he said. We moved into my private tent and he started confessing. He told of his sins, which were many, but that is what comes of a lifetime without a priest. We finished, and he said, "Surely there is something I can do for you?"
"I am supposed to do it for free, but if you insist, I am woefully lacking in riding skills and swordsmanship," I said.
"I can do that!"

We began practicing with training swords. Soon I had the hang of it, although I wasn't a match for anyone else. But I was counting on the Swiss guard to cover me. Then we moved on to horsemanship. Unfortunately, riding a horse is still difficult. He told me his name: Kristandade Chisato. He said the family name was Fuchame before it converted, when he renamed himself "Christianity".
I went back to bed and slept much easier.

Looks like it is time. I've got to get my armor on. Chisato is helping me with that, too.

Tullio de Sao Joao

[Blopwerth III]

He told me his name: Kristandade Chisato. He said the family name was Fuchame before it converted, when he renamed himself "Christianity".

This part might be confusing, but the Portuguese word for Christianity is Cristandade, so his name is based on THAT word, not Christianity.

[Blopwerth III]

Thursday, March 20, 1545 (Later on in the day)

I'm never going to fight again. Ever.

The army assembled on the plain by the river. We sat stock-still for a while, observing the approaching purple Ito banners. I was in my decorated armor. It was too heavy and uncomfortable, and after only an hour I was swarmed with lice. I sat on my horse with the Swiss guard awaiting orders from Sorin. Chisato's regiment was aways ahead of mine. He was in a mounted bow unit. Finally, the two armies began to rush forwards. Soon, the sky was filled with arrows and a couple screams already. The rest of the brothers and sisters were back at camp, thank goodness. I knew none of us could compete in this type of battle. I would have to let the Swiss guard cover me.

A messenger rode up to us.

"Nanbans! Sorin says to charge!" he said after dismounting. Remounting, he rushed back to the general's headquarters atop the only hill for miles.

I didn't know how to communicate to the guard to charge forward, but I knew that Latin and Italian were closely related, so I tried it.

"Impetum!" I shouted. They just stared. I knew that Portuguese and Italian were somewhat similar, so I tried it in Portuguese. "Ataque!"

"Ah, attacco!" said one. They understood. We dashed forwards, majestically, towards the carnage. I didn't really know how I'd distinguish between enemies and friends. Well, it turns out that you're supposed to shout your name, status, master, and ancestry to attract an opponent of similar stature. The ones who shouted that their masters were Ito were foes.

The cavalry, however, didn't understand Japanese, so I had to pair them up with other samurai. I then found myself an opponent, which made my stomach turn over.
"I am Tullio de Sao Joao, a sohei!" I began. I tried to equate my current status with a Japanese status. "I am the son of Luis de Sao Joao, the son of Marco de Sao Joao, the son of Roberto de Sao Joao! My master is God, my liege Otomo Sorin!"

Some people looked questioningly at me. Some pairs of samurai stopped fighting. Traditionally, if one particularly good fight is going on, the other samurai should stop to watch the battle. And stop they did. I was a nanban-and according to the stories, the nanbans were fierce fighters. Although nobody had heard of the de Sao Joao family, they assumed it was a powerful house in Nanbania. My family is actually merely a landowning family in the southern regions of Portugal, but I tried to fake it as though it was, indeed, the house that ruled Portugal.
"Alright, I'll fight you," said one samurai. "I am Wakori Jinzaburo, a samurai! I am the son of Wakori Jinzabari, the son of Wakori Jinzabo, the son of Wakori Zabo! My liege is Ito Yahei! I trust you are a fine bowman."

"Indeed," I nervously said.

I drew my bow. I had forgotten to train with a bow. Wakori Jinzaburo rode back about 50 feet. I drew an arrow from my quiver and aimed a little above the foeman. I prayed a bit and fired. The arrow struck Jinzaburo's yodarekake, the armor piece that guarded the throat. It did not penetrate, but it knocked the wind and the fight from Jinzaburo. He coughed. He wheezed and took a small breather before challenging me to sword combat. I draw my brand-new katana from the sheath. This was one of the most frightening moments of my entire life. I was about to either harm the imago dei, or get my imago dei harmed. We rushed at one another on horseback. I took one slash and missed as he took a slash at me and tore a slit on my right arm. My arm sore, we took another pass. This time I deflected his strike with my sword. The shock of the missed strike knocked him from his saddle. He fell to the ground, unmoving.

"Is he dead?" asked one samurai.

Jinzaburo got up.

"Far from it!" he said as he grabbed his katana and charged right for me. I tried a pre-emptive strike with my sword, but it was mistimed. Jinzaburo had the upper hand.
"You've never wielded a sword before in your life, have you?" he asked me.
"Once. Last night," I said. He laughed as he pressed in and knocked me down. Jumping atop me, he was about to almost kill me and let me commit seppuku, but then I got an idea. I pulled my matchlock pistol on him. He wasn't quite sure what it was, since the matchlock wasn't a widespread weapon. He had only heard rumors of teppu. I then shot him in the stomach. Before I would kill him right there outright, I remembered I had to let him kill himself. He drew his wakizashi and said his death haiku:
Fighting the nanban
My life ended by teppu
Dishonorably

He then slit open his stomach. His retainer slashed off his head. My eyes were cataracted. I had just killed a man! I had just violated the imago dei! I had violated the Ten COmmandments! What had I done?!
"Hey, Sao Joao-san!" said a samurai. "Aren't you going to collect his head?"
I don't remember it, but as his question sank in I fainted.

I woke up back at camp, my armor removed, Chisato sitting there.
"Oh, hello, you're awake!" he said.
"I noticed," I said.
"Will you take me with you when you go back to your Nanban land?" he asked.
"For the last time, Chisato, it's called Portugal."
"Por-chu-gal!" he said.
"Good!" I said.

Chisato was talking about how someday he wanted to be shot from a cannon like a cannonball and fly. I told him that it would hurt.

He might be a grown man, but he's still adorable in a way.

Tullio de Sao Joao.

[Merchant of Venice]

A good couple of updates. I think your idea of Japanese warfare is perhaps a bit romanticised but it mad good reading nonetheless. I definitely recommend you should submit this to this month's MAARC, it would be a good way for you to gain some exposure and even win perhaps!

[Blopwerth III]

I assumed that warfare was similar to the Gempei war until right around the ascension of Oda Nobunaga, am I wrong?

We need hitai down here again.

And forgive the newb question, but what is the MAARC and where can I find/submit to it?

[Merchant of Venice]

I'm not as much as an expert as Hitai but warfare changed quite dramatically since the Gempei war to the Sengoku Jidai period. Gempei armies consisted of poorly trained levies and highly trained samurai and were much smaller than Sengoku Era armies. In Sengoku times the ashigaru came to have a bigger role in warfare, transforming form levies to professional troops, albeit still not as deadly as the samurai. Furthermore, samurai went from mounted bow warriors to foot soldier and the sword became more important than the bow for most samurai.

The MAARC or the Monthly AAR Competition is a competition which, you guessed it, is held every month for AAR writers. AARtists can submit their work in the submission thread and after a month the nominations go to vote for a week. You get nice little Writer's Study points which accumulate to medals like the one below my reputation. This months submissions thread can be found here and while you're at it, make sure to vote in the Writer's Study Yearly Awards. They can be found here.

[Blopwerth III]

Easter, 1545

Today Chisato told me he wanted to join the priesthood, but when I told him we didn't have a seminary, he said he was happy to give his wife and child to his brother Chisaki and give his wealth and land to me to build a seminary out of his castle.

I sent a letter to Rome about this, and I hope the Pope will listen to such a minor mission. Maybe he can send us the materials and scholars we need.

Tullio de Sao Joao

[waveman]

This is quite interesting, especially with the culture differences. And i really like the way you've written about the language barriers; it's funny but still believable!