In order rightly to appreciate the introduction and spread of Christianity in Japan, it is necessary that we take a bird's-eye view of the internal condition of the country about the middle of the {145} sixteenth century. The Japanese were not then, as now, a homogeneous people with a strong central government. The emperor, although the nominal ruler, was in reality the creature of the shogun, who was the real ruler. His title to the shogunate was frequently disputed, however, and rival claimants waged fierce war upon him. The whole of Japan was divided into warring factions that were hardly ever at peace with one another. The feudal lords of the various provinces were only bound to the central government by the weakest ties, and were continually in a state of rebellion. Many of these daimios were great and powerful, able to wage war with the shogun himself. Jealousy and rivalry between the provinces kept up constant quarrels and divisions. Bad government, internal wars, the disputes and quarrels of different clans, and the ambitions and jealousies of their rulers had destroyed the resources of the country and had devastated her rich and beautiful cities. Even the fine old capital of Kyoto is represented as at that time in a state of dilapidation and ruin, its streets filled with unburied corpses and all kinds of debris and filth. Kamakura, the seat of the shogun's government, once boasting 1,000,000 inhabitants, was in ashes. In those dark times there was little in the prevalent religions to cheer and uplift discouraged {146} men. Shinto was so completely overshadowed by Buddhism that it was little more than a myth. Buddhism had become a political system, and paid little attention to purely religious matters. The priests had degenerated into an army of mercenaries, living in luxury and dissoluteness. The common people were in a continual state of excitement and ferment. Into this disordered, chaotic society Catholic Christianity was first introduced. The conditions were favorable to its reception. St. Francis Xavier, one of the most devoted, earnest, and successful missionaries ever sent out by the Roman Church, has the honor of having been the first missionary to Japan. He was led to go there in the following manner: A refugee from Japan, named Anjiro, had wandered to Malacca, and there he met Xavier, who was at that time engaged in preaching the gospel in India and the Sunda Islands. Through Xavier's influence Anjiro was converted to Christianity. The stories which he told of his own people fired the great evangelist with the desire to preach the gospel to the Japanese. A few years prior to this some Portuguese traders had made their way to Japan, had been warmly received, and had begun a lucrative trade. Some of the daimios expressed to them a desire to have the Christian religion taught to their people; and Xavier no {147} sooner heard of this than he set out for Japan, accompanied by the native convert Anjiro.