Alessandro Valignano

"These converts are our foothold in this country."

―Alessandro Valignano.^[src]^-[m]

Alessandro Valignano (1539 – 1606) was an Italian Jesuit missionary and a Templar, who helped supervise the introduction of Catholicism in the Far East, most specifically in Japan.

Biography[edit | edit source]

Early life[edit | edit source]

Born in Chieti, in the Abruzzo province of Italy, Valignano began studying law at the University of Padua, one of the great centers of Italian Renaissance studies. After spending a few months in a Venetian prison from 1562 to 1563, he entered the Jesuit novitiate in Rome, climbed the hierarchy, and in 1572 was given the charge for the Jesuits as Visitor of the East Indies.^[1]

Jesuit mission[edit | edit source]

Arriving in Goa, India, in 1574, he later traveled to Malacca before arriving in Macau in 1578 and Japan in 1579, where he landed at Kuchinotsu in Kyushu. He visited the various Christian establishments in Japan and reorganized their mission, which he divided into three districts: Shimo, Bungo, and Miyako, the capital, where he went in 1581.^[1]

Valignano was also sent to aid Francisco Cabral, who was already doing missionary work in Japan, but the two men despised one another almost instantly. Valignano secretly used his Jesuit connections to scour Japan for Templar recruits, and upon Cabral confronting Valignano regarding this, the latter used his influence to force Cabral to resign from his post as Superior of the Jesuit Mission.^[2]

Meeting Oda Nobunaga[edit | edit source]

On 8 March 1581, Valignano arrived in Kyoto with Luís Fróis and his swordbearer Diogo to meet with the daimyō Oda Nobunaga and discuss the free travel of his priests in the country. During the meeting, Nobunaga took a liking to Diogo and acquiesced to Valignano's request on the condition that he take Diogo into his service. A disgruntled Valignano accepted the terms, though not before telling Nobunaga that Diogo was better for little more than bearing one's sandals.^[3]

Later activities[edit | edit source]

Valignano left Japan in 1582 and journeyed back to Europe with four young Japanese "ambassadors", sons of Christian daimyō, who would be received by the Pope in Rome. Valignano accompanied them to Goa, where he stayed for four years as Provincial of the Indies. In 1583, he wrote a missionary report addressed to the Pope, in which he showed the possibilities of expanding the Jesuit mission in the archipelago. From his time in Japan, Valignano had come to see the country and its people as not too different from Europeans, only lacking their belief in God.^[1]

Valignano returned to Japan in 1588 with the young Japanese delegates and the title of special envoy of the Viceroy of the Indies. However, while travelling from Macau, he learned about the persecution affecting Christians in the country, especially the expulsion order for missionaries promulgated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Nevertheless, in 1591 he embarked for the archipelago and was received by Hideyoshi at the Jurakudai palace in Kyoto. Valignano returned to Macau and then came back to Japan from 1598 to 1603 for a third stay. He returned again to Macau, where he died in 1606.^[1]

Behind the scenes[edit | edit source]

Alessandro Valignano is a historical figure and character first introduced in the 2014 mobile game, Assassin's Creed: Memories. He made his mainline debut in the 2025 video game, Assassin's Creed: Shadows, where he is voiced by Paulino Nunes, who also voices Nuno Caro.^[4]