A book that should not be voiced--Kaei Nenma: The Quiet Advice of Ranald Macdonald the Foreigner and Einosuke Moriyama (Kaei Nenma)

A book that should not be voiced--Kaei Nenma: The Quiet Advice of Ranald Macdonald the Foreigner and Einosuke Moriyama (Kaei Nenma)

During the Kaei era, Japan maintained a closed-door policy, but was becoming increasingly wary of ideas and beliefs due to the arrival of foreign ships. Gaikokujin Ranald MacDonald, as a neophyte, placed the Bible at the center of his faith, but in Japan the word itself was a dangerous one that invited political suspicion. Einosuke Moriyama, a government official, understood the system as an official of the magistrate's office, but he was also a man on the ground who came into contact with foreigners on a daily basis. One day, Moriyama quietly advised McDonald, not during a public interrogation but in a private setting, "Do not speak the word 'Bible' in Japan. This is not a command, but a concern for McDonald's safety, and it illustrates the reality of an isolated society where words can determine one's destiny. Through this advice, MacDonald understood the structure of a society in which words of faith, rather than faith itself, are considered dangerous. This quiet exchange,
which transcends the position of official and outsider, symbolizes the buffering role that human relationships played in the tension of the system.