[Buddha-l] updates and corrections to "upaya express" (topic:Buddhism in contemporary Japan)

[JKirkpatrick]

Thanks John Nelson for your elucidations on this thread. You
wrote,
 "Most Japanese who have attended high school are aware of the
impact Christianity had in the 16th and 17th centuries, and the
draconian efforts of the government to curtail its growth."

Would you or someone on the list au courant with Japanese histor,
which I am not (not closely anyway), kindly explain why
Christianity made such a big impact back in the 16-17th
centuries-- in other words, why it was felt by the rulers as a
big threat? 
(My area of studies being South Asia, I know that one of the main
resons for missionary success there has been providing grain,
amenities, and paid employment to those who convert --hence the
probably over-used label, "rice Christians.")

Joanna Kirkpatrick