Alessandro Valignano - Establishment of The Seminaries

Establishment of The Seminaries

The need for a natively trained clergy was obvious to Valignano, and so, in 1580, a recently emptied Buddhist monastery in Arima province was converted into a nascent seminary. There twenty-two young Japanese converts began to the process of instruction towards holy orders. The process was repeated two years later at Azuchi, where the seminarians numbered thirty-three.

The first order of business in the seminaries would be language training. Valignano made clear that all seminarians, whatever their background, would receive education in both Latin and Japanese. After the foundations were laid, the students were educated in moral theology, philosophy and Christian doctrine. This was typical of Jesuit education, and reflects the state of Jesuit schooling in Europe. But there were some significant differences. For one, as the Arima seminary was a converted Buddhist monastery, and because Valignano emphasized the need for cultural adaptation, the original décor was left largely unchanged. This pattern was repeated in other seminaries at other sites, and, in the 1580 Principles for the Administration of Japanese Seminaries, which goes into great detail about seminary methods, Valignano notes that the " tatami mats should be changed every year" and that students should wear "katabira (summer clothes) or kimonos of blue cotton" and outdoors a "dobuku (black cloak)." The students are instructed to eat white rice with sauce with a side dish of fish.

Valignano's purpose is quite clear. The seminaries were typical Jesuit institutions of humanistic education and theological exploration but their style of living was wholly Japanese. They were carefully designed to blend, as much as possible, Japanese sensibilities with European ideology. In short, they were a perfect place to train Japanese preachers, men who would appeal to both their families and friends, and also to the Society. Some experts hypothesize that Valignano was actively trying to replicate the Japanese institution of dojuku, or novitiate monastics. This is probably an apt interpretation, because it does appear that the Catholic seminaries appealed to, but in typical Jesuit style were not limited to, many of the same sons of wealthy nobles as the Buddhist tradition of living as a novice in a monastery would have.

Valignano's methodical and organized mind is apparent in every aspect of mission organization. Appended to his "Principles for the Administration of Japanese Seminaries" is a complete daily schedule for a Japanese seminarian. True to form, the scheduled activities include both daily Latin and Japanese instruction with a sprinkling of choral and other musical performance.