Ars grammaticae Iaponicae linguae

This compact volume is a seventeenth‑century Latin handbook crafted for Catholic missionaries who first ventured into Japan. Its author, a Dominican priest, explains the Japanese language from a European point of view, beginning with the alphabet, vowel combinations and basic pronunciation cues. The prologue even warns modern readers about the unusual diacritics that appear throughout the text.

The work proceeds methodically, offering separate sections on nouns, the three families of pronouns, and the full range of verb forms—from imperfect and perfect to future, imperative and potential. Adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and even elementary Japanese arithmetic are treated with the same precision, each rule illustrated by short Latin‑Japanese examples. Marginal notes record later corrections, giving listeners a glimpse of how the grammar evolved over time.

For anyone curious about the earliest attempts to bridge Western theology and Eastern speech, the narration highlights the practical challenges faced by early evangelists. Listeners will hear the Latin explanations rendered clearly, with occasional pronunciation guides that bring the original Japanese sounds to life. The result is a vivid portrait of linguistic exchange that feels both scholarly and surprisingly accessible.