@inproceedings{oai:kokubunken.repo.nii.ac.jp:00002196,
 author = {小島, 瓔禮 and KOJIMA, Yoshiyuki},
 book = {国際日本文学研究集会会議録, PROCEEDINGS OF INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON JAPANESE LITERATURE},
 issue = {17},
 month = {Oct},
 note = {pdf, The manuscript of Tenji (no) Hajimari no Koto which has been handed down among the Christians of Nagasaki prefecture's Sotome region is most deserving of the appellation Christian literature. It is a work of great interest but generally has not been counted among the works of Christian literature up to now.
I believe that the reasons for this are as follows. It is a story which seems to be based on The Bible but differs from it. Since the oldest manuscript is that of 1827 it seems inconceivable that it could be a work of the Christian century (mid-sixteenth to midseventeenth century). It is also even said of this book that it is definitely important evidence for ascertaining how Christianity changed in Japan during the period of persecution. It is certainly true that in Tenji (no) Hajimari no Kato there are many parts which were distorted during the age when Christianity was farced underground. There are indeed parts recast by new, local knowledge. However, it cannot be said that all parts which differ from The Bible are changes made during the age of persecution. In Europe as well there are many Bible stories which are not found in the orthodox transmission of The Bible. The materials of Tenji (no) Hajimari no Kato were derived directly from the knowledge of the missionaries and from the very beginning were not strictly faithful to the biblical account. Good evidence of this can be seen in the inclusion of the idea of "Adam's Apple" in its account of the creation. There can be no doubt that historically the original version of Tenji (no) Hajimari no Kato was born in the Christian period.
In Tenji (no) Hiajimari no Kato there is a story of Mary performing the miracle of making it snow in mid-summer and having the name"St. Mary of the Snow" conferred upon her by the emperor of Heaven. This is very likely a reflection of the beliefs of the missionaries of that time. This miracle of Mary's is a legend of 〔the church of〕Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome and "St. Mary of the Snow" is the name of the statue which is worshipped there.
I think it likely that this was emphasized among Japanese Christians because the missionaries were making concessions to Japanese popular beliefs. In Japan there were stories of spirits like the god of Mt. Haku, the god of Mt. Fuji, or Kannon responding to prayers and making it snow in mid-summer. This can be seen very early with respect to Mt. Haku in Hasedera Kenki (before 1219?) and Yôtenki (1223?).
The god of Mt. Haku and the god of Mt. Fuji are both female, mother goddesses of exalted children, most appropriate deities for melding with "St. Mary of the Snow."
From east to west all across the Eurasian continent, in Korea, China, and Estonia, are similar stories of summer snow. The tradition of Rome is but another example. There are similar stories in the churches of France and Germany. The compilation of legends by the brothers Grimm refers to a sixteenth-century document. The influence of Rome may well be evident but a legend from the Holy Land seems to be the basis for them. Blending of the Christian story with local tales occurred everywhere. The localization of a story as seen in Tenji (no) Hajimari no Koto was due to there having been a local story similar to the scripturally-based one. Research on Tenji (no) Hajimari no Koto must make a fresh departure from a detailed investigation of authoritative sources.},
 pages = {37--50},
 publisher = {国文学研究資料館},
 title = {研究発表　雪のサンタマリア　―キリシタン文学としての『天地始まりの事』比較文学的展望―},
 year = {1994},
 yomi = {コジマ, ヨシユキ}
}