Final answer:
The Jesuit missionaries were successful in China and Japan due to their policy of cultural accommodation and adopting local customs. In China, they respected Chinese culture and language, while in Japan they capitalized on the Japanese interest in European technology. However, conflicts with other missionary orders and the Vatican led to their expulsion from China, while Japan closed itself off to foreign influences.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Jesuit missionaries were successful at establishing positions at the highest levels of Chinese and Japanese society for several reasons. In China, they adopted a policy of cultural accommodation, respecting Chinese culture and language, which made them more successful at winning converts than other missionary orders. They also venerated Chinese ancestors, which aligned with Chinese beliefs and practices. However, their willingness to accommodate Chinese practices led to conflicts with other missionary orders and the Vatican, resulting in their eventual expulsion from China.
In Japan, the Jesuits capitalized on the Japanese interest in European technology, particularly guns. Many daimyos became Christian or supported the missionaries in order to obtain weapons and gunpowder for their battles with rival samurai. By learning the Japanese language and directly communicating with converts, the Jesuits were able to convert a significant number of Japanese to Roman Catholicism.
Differences in their failure to win each of these ancient civilizations to Christianity can be attributed to the differing reactions towards cultural accommodation and conflicts with other missionary orders. In China, the Jesuits' willingness to accommodate Chinese practices was seen as a threat by other orders, leading to their expulsion. In Japan, however, their accommodation of Japanese interests in technology allowed them to convert a significant number of people before the Tokugawa shogunate’s policy of isolationism closed off the country to foreign influences.