Rodriguez, Girao

Rodriguez, Girao, called Father Joao, a Portuguese missionary, was born near Lisbon in 1559. He entered the Jesuit order in 1576, and in 1583 went to Japan, where he gave himself to the study of the language. He soon spoke the dialect of Nagasaki with fluency, received the protection of the government, and consequently escaped the persecutions to which the other missionaries were subjected. He returned to Europe late in life, and died in 1o33. His principal work was printed at Nagasaki, and was entitled Arte da Lingua do Japao (1604). It was translated into French by Laludresse and annotated by Remusat (1825). Rodriguez also wrote letters on the persecutions to which Christians were subjected in Japan, entitled Cartas Annuas de Nangazachi dos Annos 1604 e 1605, transl. into Latin (Antw. 1611-12) and into Italian (1808-10): — Annuas de 1609 e 1610 (Rome, 1615). Some smaller works of Rodriguez appeared at Rome in 1615 and 1632. See Antonio, Bibl. Hispana; Pages, Bibliogr. Japonaise.