João Rodrigues

Who was João Rodrigues?

João Rodrigues known in Japan as João Rodrigues "Tçuzu" was a Portuguese Jesuit priest who carried out missionary work in Japan, having distinguished himself in linguistic studies. He wrote several books, including a Japanese grammar work entitled Arte da Lingoa de Iapam in 1604, and he is wrongly supposed to have been the main compiler of the Nippo Jisho or Vocabvlario da Lingoa de Iapam, the first Japanese to Portuguese dictionary published in 1603. He was born in Portugal; when he was 15 years old he moved to Japan and enrolled in the Jesuit seminary.