Michael Cooper, a former editor of Monumenta Nipponica, has contributed significantly to our knowledge of the Jesuit mission to Japan and its members in the 16th and early 17th centuries. He is a Japanese, Latin and Portuguese scholar.
This book, which is based on extensive and painstaking research, is an absorbing account of the first Japanese visitors to Europe. They did not constitute a proper diplomatic mission, as they did not represent the Japanese government and did not conduct any negotiations. Still, the mission or legation, as Cooper calls it, was an important development not only for the Catholic Church in Japan but also for European perceptions of Japan.
The mission was planned by Alessandro Valignano, the forceful Jesuit (inspector) who arrived in Japan in 1579. He believed that "there was a pressing need not only to make Japan better known in Europe but also to make Europe better known and appreciated in Japan." He hoped that, as a result of direct contact with young Japanese Christians, the Jesuits in Japan would be assured of regular supplies of funds from Europe. Sadly, as Cooper explains, these aims were only partially achieved.