Diego Collado (missionary)

Diego Collado (Latin name: Didacus Colladus; c. 1587 - 1638 or 1641) was a Spanish Christian missionary. He was born at Miajadas, in the province of Extremadura, Spain. He entered the Dominican Order at San Esteban, Salamanca around 1600, and in 1619 went to Japan.[1] As Christianity had already been formally outlawed by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1614, Collado spent his time in hiding, frequently changing residences to avoid being arrested. He traveled the country, learning Japanese and proselytizing to the local population, until he was recalled to Europe in 1622.[2] He spent the next decade challenging the monopoly of the Jesuits in ministering to Japan, and his account of the venal behavior he observed in Japan was cited by Thomas Gage, a former Dominican friar turned Protestant, as evidence of Jesuit malpractice and the conflict between Dominicans and Jesuits.[3]

In an effort to aid the preparation of future missionaries, Collado published three books of Japanese vocabulary and grammar in 1632 while in Rome, which were the first ever to be translated into Ecclesiastical Latin. He was able to return to Asia in 1635, but faced resistance from the established Dominicans there due to his more strident views. He was ultimately rebuked in his attempts to advocate for a new mission to Japan, and was recalled to Spain. But before he could depart the Philippines, his ship capsized and he was drowned.[2]