- Guillaume Courtet
Guillaume Courtet (1589-1637) was a French Dominican priest who has been described as the first Frenchman to have visited Japan. [Polak 2001, p. 13] [Philippe Pons, Le Monde des Livres, July 26, 2002, p.7. Original French:"Guillaume Courtet, le premier francais à avoir foulé le sol nippon, et qui y avait été martyrisé en 1637".] He was martyred in 1637 and canonized in 1987. ["Butler's Lives of the Saints" By Alban Butler, Paul Burns, p.259]
Career
Courtet was born in
Sérignan , nearBéziers , in 1589 or 1590. He entered the orders in the city of Béziers and later entered theCapucines inToulouse .Courtet was active in the diplomatic field during the
Thirty Years' War and was remarked by the French statesman Richelieu. [Polak 2001, p.13]In 1636, Guillaume Courtet penetrated Japan clandestinely, with the objective of furthering Western efforts to promote Christianity there. He was accompanied by a Spanish friend named Miguel de Ozaraza.
Entering Japan was a very dangerous endeavour, as
Christianity had been prohibited in the country since 1613. Courtet entered the country under the Spanish name Tomaso de Santo Domingo. [Polak 2001, p.13] He sailed from thePhilippines and disembarked in Ishigaki-jima, but a few days later he was caught and imprisoned for one year. From there he was brought to Kagoshima and then Nagasaki. [ Ryukyu Studies to 1854: Western Encounter - Page 9, by Patrick Beillevaire]In an attempt to make him apostacize, he was tortured by submission to the "torture of the water", the "torture of the alênes" (needles under the fingernails) and the hanging torture of "
tsurushi ". [ [http://assoc.pagespro-orange.fr/apapec/viemartyr.htm Vie et martyr de saint Guillaume Courtet ] ] He remained true to his faith, however, and as a result he was beheaded with his friends on September 29, 1637. [Polak 2001, p.13]Guillaume Courtet became a saint on October 18, 1987.
ee also
*
France-Japan relations Notes
References
* Polak, Christian (2001) "Soie et Lumieres. L'Âge d'or des échanges franco-japonais (des origines aux années 1950)", "日仏交流の黄金期（江戸時代～１９５０年代）", (French and Japanese), Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie Française du Japon, Hachette Fujingaho.
External links
* [http://assoc.pagespro-orange.fr/apapec/index.htm Association of the friends of Guillaume Courtet] (French)
* [http://assoc.pagespro-orange.fr/apapec/english.htm Association of the friends of Guillaume Courtet] (English)
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