Lux Mundi : On the Day February 5 1596

Christians Cross the Line and Pay the Price in Japan

On the Day February 5 1596

Khen Lim

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A close-up view of the Memorial to the Martyrdom of the 26 Saints of Japan, Nagasaki (Crisis Magazine)

The idea to introduce Christianity into the closeted culture of ancient Japan began, according to historical records, with Francis Xavier who together with fellow Jesuits Fathers Cosme de Torres and John Fernandez who arrived in Kagoshima, Japan on August 15 1549. With them were the hopes that Christianity would begin to flourish in the Far East.

By the following month, on September 29, on his visit to Shimazo Takahisa, the daimyo* of Kagoshima, Xavier sought and was granted permission to establish the first Catholic mission in the country. The daimyo was probably thinking more along the lines of expanding trade relationships with Europe more than any curiosity about knowing Christ.

* One of the great lords who acted as vassals of the shogun (ruling commander-in-chief) in feudalistic Japan

A Japanese artistic impression of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Image source: Wikipedia)

In the mid to late 16th century, feudalistic Japan was under the rulership of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) whom Japan considers its second ‘great unifier.’ Having succeeded Oda Nobunaga, his former liege lord, it was Hideyoshi who finally succeeded in bring the Warring States period to an end.

Yet he was also credited for the cultural legacies that he brought to his rule – called the Momoyama Period, named after his castle – such as the right of only the elite (meaning the samurai class) to bear arms (1588) and his grand efforts to build and rebuild as well as restore numerous temples that still stand today in Kyoto. Perhaps the darkest legacy he could possibly have left behind was his role in ordering the public execution of twenty-six Christians by way of crucifixion.

Hideyoshi might possibly have had an unremarkable upbringing since he never talked much about it. Hence, Japanese history does not record anything about his life before the year 1570. His presumably humble origins seem at odds with the fact that it was he who completed the unification of Japan.

As his power base grew, Hideyoshi’s ambitious escalated. When he invaded the Korean Peninsula in 1592 to gain a foothold on to the Chinese mainland, it appeared a case of when and not if Hideyoshi would force China into submission. As his armies were preparing to make inroads, the Korean king Seonjo of the Joseon dynasty had escaped and appealed to the Chinese for military assistance to thwart the Japanese.

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The Korean Navy strikes back (Image source: Weapons and Warfare)

Upon entering the war the following year in 1593, Ming China’s General Li Rusong and his 43,000 soldiers routed Hideyoshi’s armies and recaptured Pyongyang and surrounded Seoul. His entire navy was annihilated by Korea’s Admiral Yi Sun-sin, putting an end to his dream of engulfing China. Even his second attempt to invade Korea six years later bore little fruit – while the Koreans practised guerrilla warfare against his troops, the Chinese had once again repelled their advances.

All of these military campaigns and his ambitious plans to strengthen the military took a toll on his finances and in the end, he knew he needed money. At the same time, his newly-constructed palace was destroyed by an earthquake.

It was roughly at this time that Hideyoshi was entertaining the visiting Christian missions who comprised Franciscan friars – who were mainly Spaniards – who had come from the Philippines. The Japanese daimyo was happy to accommodate them including their wish to establish an open mission in Japan even though Christianity was essentially illegal. This was because Hideyoshi saw an opportunity to use the Spaniards to balance off the Portuguese (Jesuits, usually) and hence offer some competition in terms of trade.

At that time, the Portuguese had a monopoly on Japanese trade with China – their great trading ships brought silk and gold from Macau but often at very steep margins. Hideyoshi’s idea therefore was to use the Franciscans to facilitate Spanish trade and hopefully he could end up paying less for more. In other words, he had pinned his hopes on competition from the Spaniards to lower prices and improve affordability.

By then, Christianity had spread fairly quickly by the second half of the 16th century mainly in southern Japan. Local Japanese were in search of a new spiritualism while merchants who were looking for opportunities to trade with the West simply felt that embracing Christianity would offer them plenty of that.

Jesuit missions were located mainly in Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost major island where its capital, Nagasaki, was then a strategically very important trade centre between Japan and Portugal. It was here that the Portuguese Jesuits had founded their headquarters and therefore, their operating and power base.

Francis Xavier (Image source: Jesuits in Britain)

Thirty years after Xavier’s visit, in 1579, there were an estimated 100,000 local Christians including six daimyos. The advanced made were impressive and showed no signs of abating. In fact, one daimyo was so inspired that he despatched a delegation to visit Pope Gregory XIII in Rome.

For all of this widespread influence of Christianity, we also need to understand that the success of the missions was more because of the political instability across the country and also the inability of a weak government to deal with it. In fact, while all this was happening, the likes of people like Hideyoshi were fighting it out across one province after another in their attempts to gain control over the entire Japan.

At the same time, the shogunate and the imperial government of the Mikado had often given their blessings to such missions and the missionaries behind them. To them, they were looking to leverage on their influence to put the Buddhist monks in check while helping themselves to increase trade opportunities with no only Portugal but now Spain.

Yet despite all of these, the shogunate was also wary of colonialism. Not too far south from them, they already understood how the Spaniards influenced the population with Christianity before they took complete control over the entire Philippines. Christianity was certainly seen as a threat as well and that was how Catholics were persecuted to begin with. Invariably, that was why Christianity was banned.

On an interesting note, some scholars claim that, in fact, Christianity might have reached Japan before Buddhism. Former Kyoto University professor Sakae Ikeda is one of them who believe that the Nestorian Church – also known as Church of the East – was already in Japan at least 1,000 years before Xavier was even born.

Another scholar, Japanese-born American Ken Joseph, together with his father, reveal a large hidden story of early Christianity in Japan as far back as the 7th century in their book entitled, ‘Jujika no kuni – Nihon’ (tr. Japan: The Nation of the Cross). Joseph’s ancestors were among those who introduced Japan to Christianity some 1,500 years ago.

For more information, click here.

So by the time the Franciscans arrived, the Portuguese Jesuits advised them to tread gently while they go about converting Christians. From hard-earned experience, the Jesuits understood that Japanese culture valued quietness and discreteness in deference to brashness.

Yet the advice was left unheeded as the Franciscans resorted to loud displays of celebration. They rejoiced at what they saw as success in dealing with Hideyoshi and against advice, they not only openly conducted mass but foolishly, they also condemned the Jesuits for adopting Japanese wear as an act of cowardice.

Alessandro Valignano (Image source: Assassin's Creed Wiki)

Italian Jesuit missionary, Alessandro Valignano (1539-1606) wrote on his first visit to Japan from 1579 to 1582, saying, “When I first came to Japan, ours (the crowd usually follows the leader), showed no care to learn Japanese customs but at recreation and on other occasions were continually carping on them, arguing against them and expressing their preference for our own ways to the great chagrin and disgust of the Japanese.” In essence, Valignano warned that grave trouble would transpire as a result of the Franciscans’ public conduct.

It’s highly unlikely that anyone could have foreseen how Valignano’s warning would ring true. Unexpectedly, the Spanish galleon, San Felice, carrying more than 1.5 million pesos’ worth of cargo, ran aground off the coast of Japan, having been swept off-course by a typhoon after departing from Manila. Shipwrecked, a local samurai seized control of the cargo, leaving the Franciscans to resolve the matter.

Thinking Hideyoshi was partial to them, the Spanish missionaries went directly to appeal to him on behalf of the owners of the galleon. What the Franciscans weren’t aware of was that Hideyoshi himself was partial to the allure of the cargo. Yet he understood the hassle in haggling with the Spaniards and so decided that a consummate political strategy was his best solution. To that end, he simply smiled wistfully and offered assuring promises but made them wait while he looked for the best opportunity to pounce.

As Hideyoshi lay waiting, the Portuguese Jesuits grew impatient with the Spaniards and their interference in their very profitable trade monopoly. They point an accusing finger at the pilot of the grounded Spanish galleon, reproaching him of bragging about Spain’s conquests and then laid the blame squarely at the local Christians for encouraging their behaviour.

By this point, Hideyoshi’s patience had also grown thin and his attitude towards the Spanish Franciscans turned sour. It is also true that by then, a few unfortunate things had developed and come to a head. Firstly, the relationship between the two missionary groups had worsened generally through poor behaviour. Secondly, the widespread local conversions were getting out of hand, from Hideyoshi’s standpoint. And thirdly, he was also greatly offended by the Jesuits who had earlier promised him to be discrete insofar as their evangelism was concerned.

Hideyoshi's Osaka Castle in Nishinomaru Garden (Image source: Wikipedia)

Not too long ago, Hideyoshi had not just warmly welcomed foreigners to Japan but had even conducted personal guided tours to the Jesuits of his castles. But now, everything had come apart at the seams. The Jesuits found, to their great peril, that things had become seriously grave.

Moreover, Hideyoshi had also learned that the conquistadors were invariably in tow on all the missions in Latin America, including neighbouring Philippines. That meant to him that with the arrival of the Spanish Franciscans, he could be dealing with a covert military agenda looking to devour his country.

Promptly, Hideyoshi banned Christianity, enacted and passed anti-Christian legislation and then ordered the eviction of the missionaries. By 1596, the darkest hour came when he commanded that twenty-five Catholics be publicly executed on a hill in Nagasaki. They included the Jesuits whom he once had a cordial relationship with.

Before they were to be executed, he had their left ears severed before marching them in humiliation to Nishizaka Hills in Nagasaki for thirty days. Along the way, they were beaten and whipped unless any of them decided to renounce their faith in Christ and pronounce it all a lie. None did.

On the cold morning of this day four-hundred and twenty-one years ago, in 1596, twenty-six brave martyrs fronted before the public. For the record, they were as follows:

Franciscan-Alcantarines
Foreign Mission	Foreign Laity	Japanese
Martin of the Ascension Pedro Bautista Philip of Jesus Francisco Blanco	Francisco of St Michael Gundisalvus Garcia	Antony Dainan Bonaventure of Miyako Cosmas Takeya Francisco of Nagasaki Francis Kichi Gabriel de Duisco Joachim Sakakibara John Kisaka Leo Karasumaru	Louis Ibaraki Matthias of Miyako Michael Kozaki Paul Ibaraki Paul Suzuki Pedro Sukerijoo Thomas Kozaki Thomas Xico
Jesuits (Japanese)
James Kisai, John Soan de Goto and Paul Miki

Of the twenty-six, four were Spaniards, one Mexican, one Indian, seventeen Japanese laymen including even three young boys. All were members of the Third Order of Saint Francis. There were also three Japanese Jesuits. None were spared; not even the young boys.

One very odd thing is that there were supposed to be twenty-five, not twenty-six, sent to their death. The extra person was actually an incidental addition by the name of Matthias, a local convert. While we know very little about him, Matthias was among the gathered crowd of people who were calling aloud for the release of the prisoners.

Having become sufficiently irritated with the pleadings, the soldiers decided to make an example of one among the crowd. Since there was supposed to be an actual person by the name of Matthias among the condemned whom they couldn’t locate, they ironically found one by the same name.

When they arrived at Nishizaka Hill, twenry-six crosses awaited them. One by one, they were tied securely to their respective crosses before they were raised upright. Once in place, some broke out singing hymns while others chose to pray quietly. There was neither weeping nor crying. Though youngest of all the martyrs, 12-year-old Louis Ibaraki was heard encouraging his elder brother, Paul, which would have been as incredible as it was heart-wrenching to experience.

Memorial to the Martyrdom of the 26 Saints of Japan (Image source: Visit Nagasaki)

Strung up on his cross, local Japanese Jesuit, Paul Miki, said, “I have committed no crime, and the only reason why I am put to death is that I have been teaching the doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am very happy to die for such a cause and see my death as a great blessing from the Lord. At this critical time, when, you can be rest assured that I will not try to deceive you, I want to stress and make it unmistakably clear that, man can find no way to salvation other than the Christian way.”

Contrary to popular wisdom, the twenty-six did not die from being crucified. Probably moved by the compassion shown by the crowd and the resolute courage of those condemned to die, the executioner, Terazawa Hazaburo, brother of the governor, decided not to prolong their ordeal but ordered his soldiers to quickly – but mercifully – pierce their throats using spears until they died.

By the turn of the century, Christian numbers had surpassed 300,000, peaking in the 1630s at 750,000 local conversions. This translated into 10 percent of the entire Japanese population that were born into Christian families or had converted.

Unfortunately, more tomfoolery, this time from the Portuguese, occurred when they introduced primitive muskets to the Japanese who largely had never seen such firearms before. Such matters merely served to compound on the already complex feudal wars among the daimyos who were increasingly suspicious of the Christian agenda in their country. The ridiculous competitiveness between missionary groups continued to worsen matters as well.

That Christian persecutions rose alarmingly was no longer a surprise. The martyrdom of the twenty-six basically paved the way for more to take place in Japan. In September 1632, the Great Genna Martyrdom gained notoriety with fifty-five Christians executed, again in Nagasaki. While the Church remained, there were no more clergy left and theological teaching had stopped until the 19th century when the missionaries returned.

Following the death of Hideyoshi, his long-time nemesis, Tokugawa Ieyasu, quickly displayed his young son Hideyori and took over to become the de facto ruler of Japan in 1603. Ieyasu began by tolerating the missionaries but he too ended up proscribing Christianity and summarily banished the missionaries.

He was just as ruthless in his persecution of Christians, ending up executing as many as 3,000 while some other records cited 6,000 in the southern part of Japan alone. Most of those who died were either merchants or peasants. Many, including samurais and noblemen, renounced their faith under duress. Others basically went underground with their Christian practices.

In furthering his persecution, Ieyasu closely monitored all European efforts to establish or re-establish contact with Japan whether they were of a religious nature or not. Samurais and noblemen who renounced their Christian faith were allowed to live but they must also willingly remove all forms of Christian emblems from the garments they wear. This practice was later extended to include everyone else.

Throughout the 1630s, the Tokugawa dynasty beyond Ieyasu (who died in 1616) continued the persecution. The Sakoku edict in 1636 closed what was left of Japanese contact with the outside world. This meant that no Japanese sea vessels could leave the country under the threat of death. Similarly Japanese who were abroad were no longer allowed to return without risking their lives. It wasn’t until 1853 that American Commodore Perry finally ended this enforced isolation and set Japan on the road to modernisation.

In the time of the Tokugawa shogunate, Christians suffered in many ways. They were either branded with hot irons or tossed alive into boiling hot springs to die. To root out Christians, the locals were requested to trample on wooden or copper tablets of Christian imagery including those of Christ or Mary so that those who refused were easily identified and persecuted in unimaginable ways.

By now, Christianity had almost entirely disappeared from view though it survived very quietly underground. This phenomenon was only uncovered some 250 years later when Christian missionaries finally returned.

Scene of the martyrdom of 1597 painted by Luca Hasegawa - Civitavecchia, Church of the Holy Japanese Martyrs

Scene of the martyrdom painted by Luca Hasegawa and featured in the Church of the Holy Japanese Martyrs (Image source: Port Mobility Citavecchia)

Through the hundreds of years, the twenty-six martyrs who were crucified on Nishizaka Hill on this day were not forgotten. Till this day, the Church of the Holy Japanese Martyrs* (first consecrated in June 13 1872 but completely rebuilt in 1950 following the destructive WWII bombing) in Largo di San Francesco d’Assisi, Italy continues in dedication to them.

There, you will see the beautiful frescoes by renowned Japanese painter, Luca (Ryuzo) Hasegawa, who himself was Christian. Commissioned by Agostino Kanayama, Japan’s representative to the Holy See, Hasegawa worked on a series of frescoes from 1951 to 1957 before he was suddenly struck by a heart attack.

* The official church website is found here.

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On the Day February 5 1596

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