Born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1532. He joined the Society of Jesus, traveled to Goa in India in 1548, and arrived in Japan in 1563. He remained in Japan for 34 years, conducting missionary work while producing an enormous body of records. His magnum opus, "Historia de Japam" (History of Japan), is the most detailed firsthand European account of Sengoku-era Japan. He met Oda Nobunaga on multiple occasions, and his descriptions of Nobunaga's personality, Gifu Castle, and Azuchi Castle are invaluable to historians. He also documented Toyotomi Hideyoshi's rule in detail. Even after Hideyoshi's anti-Christian edict of 1587, he continued to stay in Japan and died in Nagasaki in 1597 at age 65. He also authored a comparative treatise on European and Japanese cultures, recognized as a pioneering work of cross-cultural understanding.

A man of keen observation and tireless documentation. While he carried some cultural biases, he recorded Japanese customs and culture in remarkable detail and objectivity. Deeply devout, he persisted in his missionary work through the most difficult circumstances.

"Historia de Japam" is one of the most important primary sources for Sengoku period research. It is a unique record documenting the eras of Nobunaga and Hideyoshi from a foreigner's perspective, making an immeasurable contribution to Japanese historiography. His cultural comparison treatise is valued as a pioneer of comparative cultural studies.