RODRIGUEZ TÇUZU, JOÃO

Jesuit missionary, interpreter at the Japanese Court, and author; b. Cernancelhe, vicinity of Lamego, Portugal, c. 1562; d. Macau, Aug. 1, 1633. In 1577 Rodriguez (not to be confused with a contemporary Japanese missionary João Rodriguez Giram) came to Japan as a youth and entered the Society of Jesus, probably in 1580. There he studied the liberal arts, philosophy, and theology, and in 1594 he went to Macau to complete his theological course, was ordained, and returned to Japan (1596). Nagasaki, where he made his solemn profession on June 10, 1601, and was appointed province procurator, became his principal abode until 1610. Not only until the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1598), but also during the reign of his successor, Tokugawa Iyeyasu, Rodriguez was official Portuguese interpreter at court; hence his name Tçuzu or Tçuxi (modern Tsuzu, Tsuji) or the Portuguese "O Interprete." He was therefore often at court, and at the wish of Iyeyasu he was for some years supervisor of the harbor of Nagasaki, which had been established by Christians (1571) and was in the possession of the Church (1580–87) until seized by Hideyoshi. Political pressure against the Jesuits forced Rodriguez's retirement to Macau in 1610. Between June 1613 and June 1615 he spent much time in the interior of China, and afterward many years at Macau. During this period Rodriguez sought the correct interpretation of the ancient Chinese name for God, and his study convinced him that the prevalent view was in error. Thus he was involved in a legitimate discussion of a question that later degenerated into the bitter chinese rites controversy. From 1628 onward he was again, with interruptions, in Inner China, accompanying Portuguese troops who were to support the Chinese Emperor against inroads of the Tartars.

The historical importance of João Rodriguez Tçuzu stems from his achievements as an influential interpreter and intermediary at the court of Japan, a philologist, and a historian and author. He is regarded as the best European authority on the Japanese language and culture in the 16th and 17th centuries. In place of M. de Couros, who was originally commissioned with this task, Rodriguez found time to write a history of the Church of Japan, História da Igreja de Japam. This enterprise was started c. 1620, and by 1628 a large part was finished. The work is significant for its descriptive chapters based on the personal experience of the author. In 1624 he added to the História an account of the bishops of Japan. João Rodriguez is believed to have taken part in compiling the Vocabulário da Lingoa de Japam (Nagasaki 1603–04). There also he printed the large Arte da Lingoa de Japam (1604–08), and in Macau, a smaller edition for beginners under the title Arte breve da Lingoa japoa (1620). His multivolume geographical work with its wealth of maps of the Far East is lost.

Bibliography: g. schurhammer, "P. Johann Rodrigues Tçuzzu als Geschichtschreiber Japans," Archivum historicum Societatis Jesu 1 (1932) 23–40; repr. in his Gesammelte Studien (Rome 1962–65) 2:605–618. j. f. schÜtte, "A História inédita dos 'Bispos da Igreja do Japão' do Padre João Rodriguez Tçuzu, S.J," Congresso Internacional de História dos Descobrimentos, Acta 5.1 (Lisbon 1961) 297–327. The História da Igreja do Japão has been pub. by j. do amaral abranches pinto (Macao 1954–56). t. doi has pub. the large Arte in Jap. (Tokyo 1955) and is now preparing a Jap. ed. of the História; for helpful information on the tr. of the Arte, see the review in Archivum historicum Societatis Jesu 26 (1957) 315.

[j. f. schÜtte]