The Figures of Kōho and Li-mi-i, and the Origins of the Case for a Christian Missionary Presence in Tenpyō Era Japan

The Figures of Kōho and Li-mi-i, and the Origins of the Case for a Christian Missionary Presence in Tenpyō Era JapanJournal of the Royal Asiatic SocietySyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference PortalThe National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe International Balzan Prize FoundationDavid A. Michelsoncbsc_adminRecord added to Zotero bycbsc_adminSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portalhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/TZX89BTP/tei

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2024-08-15-04:00

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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.James HarryMorrisThe Figures of Kōho and Li-mi-i, and the Origins of the Case for a Christian Missionary Presence in Tenpyō Era Japanhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/TZX89BTPhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/TZX89BTPhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/TZX89BTPJournal of the Royal Asiatic SocietyIII, 27:22017313-323In 1916 P.Y. Saeki devoted a page of his book “The Nestorian Monument in China,” to a short thought experiment which linked a Persian by the name of Li-mi-i 李密翳 who was present in Emperor Shōmu's 聖武天皇 court and whose arrival was mentioned in the Shoku Nihongi 続日本紀 with a priest named on the Nestorian Stele. Since that first suggestion, several scholars have expounded the idea that Li-mi-i and another figure who arrived alongside him, Kōho Tōchō 皇甫東朝, were Christians and/or missionaries. In this paper I assess these claims, returning to the Shoku Nihongi in order to suggest that there is a lack of data to establish them as true. I then seek to explore the origins of this theory situating it within the joint context of Japan's imperial expansion and her modernization. Whilst the latter cannot be conclusive, I hope that it may shed light on the significance of the theory which can be seen as a search to discover Japanese history, a statement of the equality between Japanese and Western histories, or an attempt to justify imperial aims in China academically. Morris, James Harry. “The Figures of Kōho and Li-Mi-i, and the Origins of the Case for a Christian Missionary Presence in Tenpyō Era Japan.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society III, 27:2 (2017): 313–23. James Harry Morris, The Figures of Kōho and Li-Mi-i, and the Origins of the Case for a Christian Missionary Presence in Tenpyō Era Japan, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society III, 27:2 (2017): 313–23.JapanNestoriansVII-XVIII CEVIII CEmission