Martyrs Of Japan: Breaking The Christian Prohibition Law

The 26 Martyrs of Japan were a group of Christians who were executed by crucifixion in Nagasaki, Japan, on February 5, 1597. They were arrested and killed on the orders of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the ruler of Japan, who had previously issued an edict in 1587 banning Jesuit missionaries and expelling all Christians from the country. Hideyoshi's decree was motivated by suspicions of foreign influence and colonialism, as well as a desire to protect the power of Buddhist monks. The martyrs included four Spaniards, one Mexican, one Portuguese from India, three Japanese Jesuits, and 17 Japanese members of the Third Order of St. Francis, including three young boys who served as altar boys. They were tortured, mutilated, and paraded through villages before their final crucifixion. Their martyrdom holds significant importance in the history of the Catholic Church in Japan.

The martyrs were tortured, mutilated, and paraded before their crucifixion

The 26 Martyrs of Japan were a group of Catholics who broke the law by continuing to practise their faith in Japan after it had been banned by the country's ruler, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In 1587, he ordered all Christians to be expelled from Japan, claiming that foreigners threatened the Japanese state and that Christianity was hostile to Buddhism.

The torture and mutilation of the martyrs began in Kyoto, where they had their ears and noses cut off. This was done to strike fear into other Christians and was a common punishment for those who broke the law against practising Christianity. The martyrs were then paraded through the streets of Kyoto, Osaka, and Sakai, with their wounds on display, before beginning their march to Nagasaki.

The march to Nagasaki was arduous and punishing. They travelled mostly on foot, sometimes on horseback, from dawn to sunset each day. They slept in lockups or boats, enduring freezing temperatures and meagre provisions. Despite these harsh conditions, Brother Miki, one of the martyrs, used the journey as an opportunity to preach, and many of them wrote letters that have been preserved to this day.

Upon their arrival in Nagasaki, the martyrs were fastened to crosses and raised into the air. This was done by tying them to the crosses with cords and chains and placing an iron collar around their necks. The crosses were planted in a row, about four feet apart, with an executioner standing near each martyr, spear ready. At a signal, the executioners lifted their lances and pierced the martyrs' sides and hearts simultaneously.

The martyrs were arrested due to the San Felipe incident of 1596

The 26 Martyrs of Japan were a group of Catholics who were executed by crucifixion on February 5, 1597, in Nagasaki, Japan. They were arrested and killed due to the San Felipe incident of 1596, which took place between Japanese authorities and Spanish missionaries.

The San Felipe was a galleon en route to Acapulco in New Spain when it was hit by a typhoon and forced to dock near the port of Urado on the west coast of Shikoku, Japan, on October 19, 1596. The local ruler, Chōsokabe Motochika, offered to help the ship but instead sent 200 armed boats to tow the galleon onto a sandbar, causing it to shipwreck. As per Japanese law, the cargo of the ship was then forfeited to Motochika, who sent a dispatch to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the ruler of Japan, with an inventory of the treasure. Hideyoshi was delighted, as he was in need of funds for his war in Korea and rebuilding efforts after recent earthquakes.

Hideyoshi sent a man to confiscate the cargo, even taking the gold that the Spaniards had in their pockets. Captain Landecho of the San Felipe sent his pilot, Francisco de Olandia, and a friar-interpreter on an embassy of protest to Hideyoshi, who had previously guaranteed security for Spanish shipping. However, the embassy was intercepted by Hideyoshi's confiscator, Masuda Emon, who asked the pilot to explain how the King of Spain had conquered his vast empire. De Olandia purportedly told him that the King sent friars to suborn the locals, who then joined forces with invading Spanish troops. This answer enraged Hideyoshi, and he initially demanded the execution of all Catholic priests in Japan. However, he later moderated his orders, instructing his men to round up all religious figures in Osaka and Kyoto and march them to Nagasaki, where they would be crucified.

In total, 26 Catholics were arrested in January 1597, including four Spaniards, one Mexican, one Portuguese from India, three Japanese Jesuits, and 17 Japanese members of the Third Order of St. Francis, among them three young boys who served as altar boys. Prior to their executions, they were tortured, physically mutilated, and paraded through villages across Japan. On February 5, 1597, they were crucified and impaled with lances on a hill overlooking Nagasaki.

The martyrdom of these 26 individuals holds significant importance in the history of the Catholic Church in Japan. They were later canonized as saints by the Catholic Church, recognized for their sacrifice and unwavering faith in the face of persecution.

The Shogunate and the Imperial Government initially supported the Catholic mission

The Jesuits were the first Christian missionaries to arrive in Japan, landing in Kagoshima in 1549. They were led by Francis Xavier, who had been invited to Japan by Anjirō, a Japanese man from Kagoshima whom Xavier had met in Malacca two years earlier. Xavier was welcomed by the Shingon monks, who initially mistook his concept of God for a Buddhist term. However, when they realised that Xavier was preaching a rival religion, they grew more aggressive towards his attempts at conversion.

Xavier and the Jesuits found more success with the local warlords, or daimyōs, who were engaged in a nationwide civil war. The Jesuits approached the daimyōs in southwestern Japan and succeeded in converting some of them, including Shimazu Takahisa, lord of the Shimazu clan, and Ōmura Sumitada, the first Christian feudal lord in Japan. One reason for their conversion may have been the Portuguese trade in which the Jesuits acted as brokers. The Jesuits recognised this and approached local rulers with offers of trade and exotic gifts.

By 1579, there were about 130,000 converts to Christianity in Japan. By the end of the 16th century, there were perhaps as many as 300,000 Catholics in the country. However, the shogunate and the imperial government began to grow wary of foreign influence and the threat of colonialism. In 1587, Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered all Christians expelled from Japan on the grounds that foreigners threatened the Japanese state and that Christianity was hostile to Buddhism.

Hideyoshi's suspicions of the foreign religion were deepened by the San Felipe incident of 1596, in which the Spanish captain of a shipwrecked trading vessel claimed that the missionaries were preparing Japan for conquest. This led to the persecution of Catholic priests and, in 1597, the execution of the 26 Martyrs of Japan.

The 26 Martyrs of Japan were canonized by the Catholic Church in 1862

The 26 Martyrs of Japan were a group of Catholics who were executed by crucifixion on February 5, 1597, in Nagasaki, Japan. They were arrested on the orders of Hideyoshi, who had expelled all Christians from Japan in 1587 on the grounds that foreigners threatened the Japanese state and that Christianity was hostile to Buddhism. The martyrs were tortured, physically mutilated, and paraded through villages before their crucifixion.

The martyrdom of these 26 Catholics is considered especially significant in the history of the Catholic Church in Japan. They were among the first missionaries and converts in Japan, and their deaths came at a time when Catholicism was facing suppression in the country due to political difficulties and competition between missionary groups. Despite these challenges, the Catholic Church in Japan persevered, and by the end of the 16th century, there were an estimated 300,000 Catholics in the country.

The 26 Martyrs of Japan were beatified on September 14, 1627, by Pope Urban VIII. Nearly a century later, on June 8, 1862, Pope Pius IX canonized them as saints, recognizing their martyrdom and their contribution to the spread of Catholicism in Japan. The group included four Spaniards, one Mexican, one Portuguese from India, three Japanese Jesuits, and 17 Japanese members of the Third Order of St. Francis, including three young altar boys. The most celebrated among them was Paul Miki, who is often regarded as the best preacher in Japan.

The canonization of the 26 Martyrs of Japan by the Catholic Church in 1862 was a significant event that honored their sacrifice and reinforced the Church's presence in Japan, despite the historical challenges it faced in the country.

The martyrs were a mix of missionaries and Japanese converts

The 26 Martyrs of Japan were a group of Catholics who were executed by crucifixion on February 5, 1597, in Nagasaki, Japan. They were a mix of missionaries and Japanese converts.

The group consisted of four Spaniards, one Mexican, one Portuguese from India (Franciscan missionaries), three Japanese Jesuits, and 17 Japanese members of the Third Order of St. Francis, including three young boys who served as altar boys for the missionary priests. The missionaries had arrived in Japan with the hopes of bringing Catholicism to the country.

At first, the shogunate and the imperial government supported the Catholic mission, thinking that it would reduce the power of the Buddhist monks and help trade with Spain and Portugal. However, by the late 1500s, the government had become wary of foreign influence and concerned about colonialism. In 1587, Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered all Christians expelled from Japan, claiming that foreigners threatened the Japanese state and that Christianity was hostile to Buddhism.

Hideyoshi's fears were further exacerbated by the San Felipe incident of 1596, in which a Spanish galleon was wrecked on the coast of Japan and its cargo confiscated. He demanded the execution of all Catholic priests in Japan but later moderated his orders to include only those in his capital of Osaka and the nearby imperial city of Kyoto.

The 26 martyrs were arrested in January 1597 and subjected to torture and physical mutilation before being paraded through villages across Japan. They were then crucified and impaled with lances on a hill overlooking Nagasaki. Their martyrdom played a significant role in the history of the Catholic Church in Japan, and they were later canonized as saints.

The mix of missionaries and Japanese converts among the 26 Martyrs of Japan demonstrates the early spread of Catholicism in Japan and the dedication of both the missionaries and their converts to their faith, even in the face of persecution and execution.

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