Paper Assignment

Topic: Persecution of Christians in Japan

Length: 500-600 words

Please write a paper on the topic of persecution of Kirishitans in Japan.

Step 1: Watch the movie Silence. Do a research on its original author.

Step 2: Skim through the following article to learn about the missionary works and slavery in Asia.

Article by James Morrison:

(*This is a long paper. You are not expected to read the entire thing thoroughly. Browse through them and focus on a few chapters that seem to help you write this paper.)

Step 3: Look up and take notes as to what was happening at Goa, Macau and Philippines in the 16th century.

Step 4: Write a paper by articulating on the following points. Please make sure your writing flows as a coherent piece of argument and do not attempt to answer each topic separately. :

• Identify and analyze the strategy the Portuguese & the Jesuits’ took to expand their influence in Asia. Feel free to research beyond the provided article.

• Speculate and explain the main reason why Tokugawa bakufu eliminated Kirishitans from Japan.

• What do you think Scorsese was trying to achieve through the movie Silence?

• Formulate your opinion on the persecution of Kirishitans in Japan.

Technical Requirements:

– Your paper’s title is “Contemplation on the Persecution of Christianity in Japan”

– Please do not write your name on the paper.

– Keep it to 500-600 words total. Use Word for its word count function.

– Please do not use direct quotations from the article (unless it is just a phrase or two) since it is a short paper. Please refer to facts and ideas from other sources by rephrasing or summarizing them with your own words. Use only the author’s last name and page number to indicate your source. No bibliography needed.

Example: “In Sugano’s observation, Yoritomo’s relentless attempt to eliminate potential rivals, including his own brothers, contributed to the short span of Minamoto shogun dynasty in the Kamakura period. (Sugano: p134)” “According some opinions in Wikipedia website, Shimabara was not a Christian uprising but an uprising of starving peasants against a harsh taxation policy.”

– The paper will be checked for plagiarism through the school’s computer system.