Did a 16th century Christian missionary observe that the Japanese were collectivists?

Abstract

Volpi (2004) pointed out that Alessandro Valignano, a 16th century Christian missionary, had considered the Japanese extreme collectivists. According to Volpi, his remark was based on Valignano's reports (1583, 1592) edited by Alvares-Taladriz (1954). However, it is highly questionable whether Volpi examined these texts directly because the information about them provided by Volpi involved many serious errors. A thorough inspection of Valignano's translated reports found no mention of Japanese collectivism. On the contrary, he had actually reported exceedingly individualistic behaviors of Japanese warriors. Such behaviors are consistent with what is widely known about the 16th century Civil Wars in Japan. It has thus turned out that no reliable evidence is present for the alleged observation by Valignano.