FROIS (FROSS), LUIS. — Jesuit, missionary, and historiographer, b. ■ Beja (Portugal) in 1532, or more probably in 1528, d. at Nagasaki on 8 July 1597. Sent to India while still a novice, he completed his studies at the College of S. Paolo in Goa; he was then sent to Japan, first in 1554 and subsequently, definitively, in 1563. He worked extensively on the island of Kiusciù, at Miyako (Kioto), and in the kingdom of Bungo, also accompanying the visitor, Fr. A. Valignano, on his visitation of the various houses of the Order.
In addition to important accounts and reports on Japan and East Asia, which were widely disseminated in Europe and fruitfully promoted vocations, his fame rests above all on his Historia do Japão, in three parts: a general introduction; a history of the years 1549–78; a history of the years 1578–88. The work, considered lost from the outset, was rediscovered in 1804–95 in the Ajuda Library in Lisbon by Fr. G. M. Cros, who, however, extracted only a few passages from it; later, the introduction and the history of the years 1549–78 were published in German translation by G. Schurhammer and A. Voressch, Die Geschichte Japans (1549-78) von p. L. F. nach der Handschrift des Ajudabibliothek in Lissabon übersetzt und kommentiert (Leipzig 1926). The final part (1578–89; in fact, the author carried it through to 1593), which had not been found, was discovered more recently by Fr. D. Schilling, partly in the Colonial Archive of Lisbon and partly in the Biblioteca Paolo Sarda (cf. D. Schilling, Neue Funde zur »Historia do Japão« von p. L. F., in Zeitsch. für Missionärz. und Religionärz., 23 [1933], pp. 337–43); but it has not yet been published in its entirety. Finally, the Castilian text on the twenty-six Japanese martyrs was found by Fr. R. Galdos, bearing the author’s autograph signature: L. F., Relación del martirio de los 26 cristianos crucificados en Nangasáquí el 5 de febrero de 1597 (Rome 1935).
The historical-critical value of the work is unparalleled, because the author, according to the information of the Order, «ad historiam aptus atque natus», employs first-hand documentation that is detailed and diligently studied; moreover, he was an eyewitness to many events.