Christianity is rare enough in Japan that a character being explicitly labeled as such is rather unusual. This was not always the case. When trade between the West and Japan was largely conducted though Jesuit priests, there was a pretty substantial Christian base. From the time the first Jesuit started a mission in 1548 to just 40 years later in 1589, there were about 200,000 Japanese converts, becoming the largest overseas Christian community (yes, even more than Mexico and South America, which had a substantially higher monetary investment, and head start) and was unique in that it was largely run and evangelized by Japanese. This was largely because Shinto tradition permits worshipers to openly practice multiple faiths. Buddhism, for instance, arrived earlier and was quickly integrated