austraLasia 1585
Japan, now Rome: a priceless resource falling into place
ROME: 15th June 2006 -- Japan and Rome, working together at all levels including Government, Church and with that particular sensitivity to history that has marked out so many in Salesian tradition, now have a priceless historical resource located on the fourth floor of the Main Library at the Salesian Pontifical University (UPS) in Rome. The source is the work of Fr Mario Marega (1902-1978), missionary to Japan from 1930-46, 49-74. He worked with an assiduous, rigorous historical approach on a range of texts extending back to the 17th Century, concerning the origins of Christianity in Japan, translations, and comparative studies of Oriental religious traditions. Now a range of scholars, European and Japanese, have access to these materials through the systematic work of a number of Salesians in Japan and Rome, preserving and making an inventory of these texts.
From 10-12 June, during the visit of the Rector Major and a number of Councillors to the UPS for the Team Visit, Laura Moretti, a university researcher at the University of Ca' Foscari's (Venice) Department of East Asian Studies, presented a report on the 'Fondo Marega' project - specifically, the conclusion of one process of inventory and categorisation of documentary material, known as M.DOC. Fr Achille Loro Piana, Rector of the Salesian community at Meguro, Japan, where a large part of the collection was held, was present for the occasion. The entire process of categorisation, inventory and publication, including transcription into modern Japanese, of certain select examples of the collection, is expected to last until 2010.
The collection has three sections. The first is a large collection of literary, religious, historical and didactic material from two important periods in Japanese history - the Edo (1603-1867) and the Meiji (1868-1912). Part of this had already been brought to Rome in Don Farina's time, inventoried, then published in Japan in 2002 by the National Institute of Japanese Literature (NIJL). Another part of this same collection was kept, until 2005, in the Parish at Meguro, Fr Marega's last residence in Japan. Fr Joseph De Witte had undertaken much of the inventory process. This part of the collection, about 400 pieces, includes the most ancient of the texts, for example the celebrated, beautifully illustrated Edo meishoki, 1662. The collection contains travel guides of the period, works describing traditional military values, Buddhist texts, texts on the education of women in Japan, fiction texts, maps. Anyone interested in a study of the Edo period would find a well-selected microcosm of the period and a fertile resource for critical editions of works largely unknown to the West. Fr Marega's method involved collecting multiple editions of the same text - effectively providing a rich resource for the comparative study of Japan's long tradition of printed materials.
The second section of the collection contains manuscripts from the 17th-19th Centuries, but especially of the period of Christian persecution with lists of names of martyrs and apostates and other documentary evidence. Much of this had been under the care of Fr. Osamu (now bishop) Mizobe at the Salesian seminary at Chofu. Fr Puppo, the current provincial in Japan, and his vice provincial, Fr. Joseph Mitsugi Matsuo, saw to its careful removal to Rome.
A third section contains manuscripts of Fr. Marega himself, and documents his approach - at least 150 documents in this collection were being held in the Cimatti Museum at Chofu under the care of Fr. Gaetano Compri.
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AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com Try out BoscoWiki to be interactive. For RSS feeds, subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/RSS/rssala.xm A separate service entirely is called F'OSSERVATORE to help us keep abreast of trends in the digital world.
Japan, now Rome: a priceless resource falling into place
ROME: 15th June 2006 -- Japan and Rome, working together at all levels including Government, Church and with that particular sensitivity to history that has marked out so many in Salesian tradition, now have a priceless historical resource located on the fourth floor of the Main Library at the Salesian Pontifical University (UPS) in Rome. The source is the work of Fr Mario Marega (1902-1978), missionary to Japan from 1930-46, 49-74. He worked with an assiduous, rigorous historical approach on a range of texts extending back to the 17th Century, concerning the origins of Christianity in Japan, translations, and comparative studies of Oriental religious traditions. Now a range of scholars, European and Japanese, have access to these materials through the systematic work of a number of Salesians in Japan and Rome, preserving and making an inventory of these texts.
From 10-12 June, during the visit of the Rector Major and a number of Councillors to the UPS for the Team Visit, Laura Moretti, a university researcher at the University of Ca' Foscari's (Venice) Department of East Asian Studies, presented a report on the 'Fondo Marega' project - specifically, the conclusion of one process of inventory and categorisation of documentary material, known as M.DOC. Fr Achille Loro Piana, Rector of the Salesian community at Meguro, Japan, where a large part of the collection was held, was present for the occasion. The entire process of categorisation, inventory and publication, including transcription into modern Japanese, of certain select examples of the collection, is expected to last until 2010.
The collection has three sections. The first is a large collection of literary, religious, historical and didactic material from two important periods in Japanese history - the Edo (1603-1867) and the Meiji (1868-1912). Part of this had already been brought to Rome in Don Farina's time, inventoried, then published in Japan in 2002 by the National Institute of Japanese Literature (NIJL). Another part of this same collection was kept, until 2005, in the Parish at Meguro, Fr Marega's last residence in Japan. Fr Joseph De Witte had undertaken much of the inventory process. This part of the collection, about 400 pieces, includes the most ancient of the texts, for example the celebrated, beautifully illustrated Edo meishoki, 1662. The collection contains travel guides of the period, works describing traditional military values, Buddhist texts, texts on the education of women in Japan, fiction texts, maps. Anyone interested in a study of the Edo period would find a well-selected microcosm of the period and a fertile resource for critical editions of works largely unknown to the West. Fr Marega's method involved collecting multiple editions of the same text - effectively providing a rich resource for the comparative study of Japan's long tradition of printed materials.
The second section of the collection contains manuscripts from the 17th-19th Centuries, but especially of the period of Christian persecution with lists of names of martyrs and apostates and other documentary evidence. Much of this had been under the care of Fr. Osamu (now bishop) Mizobe at the Salesian seminary at Chofu. Fr Puppo, the current provincial in Japan, and his vice provincial, Fr. Joseph Mitsugi Matsuo, saw to its careful removal to Rome.
A third section contains manuscripts of Fr. Marega himself, and documents his approach - at least 150 documents in this collection were being held in the Cimatti Museum at Chofu under the care of Fr. Gaetano Compri.
Click here to comment on this item.
___________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com Try out BoscoWiki to be interactive. For RSS feeds, subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/RSS/rssala.xm A separate service entirely is called F'OSSERVATORE to help us keep abreast of trends in the digital world.
