The old history of Christianity in Japan




In 16th century,there was a protestant reformation by Martin Luther.
Among Christianity countries, authority of the Catholic church tarnished in this revolution.

Under such circumstances,Catholic church has been focused on missionary activities to Asia.
If they are able to get more Catholic Christians,
it could be a diversionary force against the Protestant church.
Also,Catholic church needed more money from Asian authority
because they already couldn't sell Indulgence at that time.
They needed solid financial resources（ = Donations).


In Japan,the first missionary was Francis Xavier.
He was a Basque and a member of the Society of Jesus.
Of course he was a pure Catholic priest.


His route from Spain to Japan.

Japan was in the warring state period at that time.


By the way,there is Japanese cake named ZABIERU(Xavier).
ZABIERU is well known sweets brand of Ōita Prefecture.


Before Xavier comes to Japan
I will introduce the important person,Yajiro.
It is said that he was a first Japanese Christian who had born in Kagoshima.
↑Red place is Kagoshima,Japan

It seems that he was a trader or pirate.
He boarded a Portuguese ship that had been visiting around Kagoshima at that time
because he had committed a murder.
He hid himself to escape.
At Malacca in Malaysia,he heard rumors about Xavier and visited him to atone for sin.
And he was baptized for the first time as a Japanese.

Xavier decided to go to Japan with Yajiro,
because Yajiro had answered that mission activities in japan will go well.
And Xavier liked Yajiro's good personality.
He was a man who had brought Xavier to Japan.


Missionary work in Japan
They landed in Kagoshima (15th August 1549)
It was the day of Assumption of Mary.
I am not sure it is true date or not they landed in Japan,
but Xavier decided to dedicate to Mary Japan.

By the way Japanese Goddess is Amaterasu,the God of the Sun.
Eternal motherhood = Sun = Mary = Amaterasu

 Xavier and his follower group wanted to get a permission of missionary
from Japanese authorities.
But it ended in failure at first.
They couldn't meet Japanese authorities because 
they did not devote tributes and they wore shabby clothes.


But Xavier could get a religious mission approval from Ōuchi Yoshitaka.
Because many rare goods as gifts delighted him.
Yoshitaka was a feudal lord(military commander) of Suō Province.
Current Yamaguchi prefecture.
Then,Xavier began mission work vigorously.
It was a very hard work for him
because Japanese translator had no knowledge about Christianity.

Initially,Christianity had been mistaken to be a sect of Buddhism.
Japanese translator had been translating Christ as Vairocana(Dainichi-Nyorai).



Xavier corrected the misunderstanding in a hurry
but he was asked many hard questions from Japanese people.

Japanese people said 
"We understand your teachings,
but why such a great Christianity did not exist in Japan until now?"

"We are curious about our dead ancestors.
They weren't baptized.
Are they in Hell now because they had not worshiped Christianity?"

"If your God can't save our ancestors in Hell,
I think God of Christianity are inability."


Xavier could not answer well.
He wrote letters to home country about his difficulty in mission and Japanese people's questions.
He needed more smart missionary from home country.

But many Japanese people were baptized as a result
(about 700 people while his 2 years stay in japan)
because they loved Christianity teachings,and people had been tired in warring states period.
People needed relief of life.

Also, many feudal loads were converted to Christianity for their Nanban trade business.
Nanban trade was a Japanese trade with Spain and Portugal.
Actually, this is the main aim of Society of Jesus.
They needed money for their group.
Conversion by Japanese authority means missionary's safety.
↑Japanese and member of Society of Jesus

Famous Japanese samurai Oda Nobunaga also protect missionary and Christianity.
He had curious personality and he wanted to control Buddhism power/influence.
He had been despised Buddhists power because it was an obstacle to his ambition of Japan unification.
(Japanese original religion is NOT Buddhism.Buddhism is very new in our history)


I think Xavier's work was great.
But many Japanese Christian ware in trouble after that.
Xavier had been exhausted himself by mission activities in Japan for 2 years.
"I am tired out" He said to his colleague.
He had been thinking that there is a deep connection between Chinese Taoism and Japan,
and he went to China to know about Taoism.
But he died in China.


After that, under the reign of Toyotomi Hideyoshi,
Christian and Christianity were persecuted.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi

He was generous to accept Christianity in the beginning,
but Christian and Christian feudal lords were getting power under Nanban trade business.
In addition to that, Japanese Zen temples and Shinto shrines were destroyed by Christian feudal lords.
Buddhists were persecuted by Christians.
And some Japanese people were slave traded by Portuguese merchants.


For those reasons,Hideyoshi restricted free of religious mission
and he expatriated missionaries. 
(Edict expelling Jesuit missionaries July,1587)

But it was a formal prohibition order at that time.
Because Hideyoshi still placed the importance on Nanban trade business with Spain and Portuguese. 

But after the SunFelipe-ship incident, Hideyoshi felt against Christianity.
Hideyoshi finally know about true purpose of Nanban trade business.
Nanban trade business could be a trigger of conquest Japan by European Christian countries.

In 1596,he issued the Ban on Christianity again.
It was the first virtual persecution the Christianity.

After the domestic Battle of Sekigahara,
Tokugawa/Edo shogunate (1603-1868) was founded.
The first shogun,Tokugawa Ieyasu.

He connived at Christianity missionary work at first
because he also wanted to keep Nanban trade business with foreign countries.
But he had been incurious about Christianity consistently.
Tokugawa/Edo shogunate protect only Shinto and Zen Buddhism.

Later,However,Tokugawa/Edo shogunate had start prohibiting Christianity gradually and strictly,
Owing to many troubles that caused by Christian feudal lords.
Tokugawa/Edo shogunate protect only Shinto and Buddhism.

52 Christians were martyred at Kyoto in 1619.
55 Christians were killed at Nagasaki in 1622.
55 Christians died a martyr at Edo/Tokyo in 1623.


Tokugawa/Edo shogunate never approved Christianity.
They used Fumi-e to find clandestine-Christian people.
Government officer tested people by this plate.
Whether people can step on it or can't.

Shimabara Rebellion (1637) was the biggest revolt in Japanese history.
37,000 peasant people were killed.(Including no Christian people)
Amakusa Shirou was the Christian leader of this rebellion.
He was only 16 years old.

After the Shimabara war,surveillance over Christians was set up across the country.
And the government closed the country to foreigners.
It called SAKOKU.(National isolation policy)
Not only missionaries but also normal traders couldn't enter to Japan without permission.


Many innocent Christian people were killed in Japan.
They just believed truth in Christianity.
But above terrible story was a kind of Japan-protection history.

Even Buddhism was also exiled strictly at the first time
because Buddhist authorities and politicians were always trying to beat original Japanese government.
Original Japan = Shinto and Emperor

If our ancestors let new authorities free,
Japan's original power couldn't keep until now.