{"product_id":"the-beginning-of-heaven-and-earth-the-sacred-book-of-japans-hidden-christians-nanzan-library-of-asian-religion-culture-0824818245","title":"The Beginning of Heaven and Earth: The Sacred Book of Japan's Hidden Christians (Nanzan Library of Asian Religion \u0026 Culture)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0824818245\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Whelan, Christal\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e New\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1865 a French priest was visited by a small group of Japanese at his newly built church in Nagasaki. They were descendants of Japan's first Christians, the survivors of brutal religious persecution under the Tokugawa government. The Kakure Kirishitan, or \"hidden Christians,\" had practiced their religion in secret for several hundred years. Sometime after their visit the priest received a copy of the Kakure bible, the Tenchi Hajimari no Koto, \"Beginning of Heaven and Earth,\" an intriguing amalgam of Bible stories, Japanese fables, and Roman Catholic doctrine. Whelan offers a complete translation of this unique work accompanied by an illuminating commentary that provides the first theory of origin and evolution of the Tenchi.Today, the few Kakure Kirishitan communities still in existence view the Tenchi as strange and flawed, expressing a distorted form of Christianity. It is, however, the only text produced by the Kakure Kirishitan that depicts their highly syncretistic tradition and provides a colorful window through which to examine the dynamics of religious acculturation.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mia Karts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51894913466656,"sku":"NEW0824818245","price":14.32,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0980\/7426\/3840\/files\/81n7jx2KLrL.jpg?v=1782027759","url":"https:\/\/miakarts.com\/products\/the-beginning-of-heaven-and-earth-the-sacred-book-of-japans-hidden-christians-nanzan-library-of-asian-religion-culture-0824818245","provider":"Miakarts Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}