Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to describe the history of Christian vocabulary in Japan in relation to society. The history of Christianity in Japan began with the arrival to Japanese shores of the Jesuit missionary, Francis Xavier, in 1549. After its introduction, Christianity went through periods of encouragement, prohibition, persecution, a long period of concealment, and eventually revival. Christian vocabulary items originally introduced by the missionaries were translated in various ways over time. This was particularly the case in the areas of Nagasaki and Amakusa where Christianity was particularly strong and contributed to several linguistic phenomena peculiar to these regions. Official prohibition of Christianity resulted in a generally negative view of the religion and its adherents, and some words introduced by the missionaries came to be used in a discriminatory fashion. After World War II, such negative connotations died away. In recent years a more positive use of Christian vocabulary in the promotion of tourism and the marketing of local products and arts and crafts, has accompanied the recognition of the missionary period as an important part of the regional history of the Nagasaki and Amakusa areas and the drive to preserve this aspect of Nagasaki and Amakusa's heritage.
