was a Japanese Catholic evangelist and teacher. Killed as a victim of

anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics or opposition to the Catholic Church, its Hierarchy of the Catholic Church, clergy, and/or its adherents. At various points after the Reformation, some majority Protestantism, Protestant states, ...

persecution in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, he was beatified by

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

in 1867.

Background

The development of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

in Japan started in 1549 thanks to St.

Francis Xavier Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December 1 ...

. Years later, he encountered a number of problems. The growing number of followers changed the attitude of the authorities, who were afraid that their position would become weakened. Other reasons for the

shogun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

s and

daimyo were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominally ...

s to withdraw their support for the mission included the conflicts between Spanish and Portuguese merchants, as well as disputes between the missionaries themselves about methods of evangelization. All these factors led to further waves of persecution. After a period of increased missionary activity by the Catholic Church, it is estimated that 400,000 people professed this religion in Japan in 1613. That year, the Shogun

Tokugawa Hidetada was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate. Early life (1579–1593) Tokugawa Hidetada was bo ...

issued a decree under which, under the threat of losing their lives, all missionaries were to leave the country, and the practice and teaching of the religion were forbidden.

Biography

Leonardo Kimura came from a noble Christian family. His grandfather was baptized by St. Francis Xavier. He was educated at the local Jesuit school, and from 1588 he worked as a

catechist Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...

. He joined the Society of Jesus in November 1602. By his own choice, he remained a religious brother, initially as a cook and tailor, and later as a catechist. In December 1616, he was arrested on false allegations of murder. During the trial, he revealed his religious affiliation, for which he was sent to prison, where he undertook his apostolate and converted 96 people. His attitude contributed to recognition by his fellow prisoners as a spiritual leader. On November 18, 1619, he was asked by a governor called Gonroku if he belonged to the Society of Jesus and if so, why did he not comply with the binding order to leave Japan, and he replied: Later that same day, he was

burned at the stake Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...

along with four other Christians in Nishizaka hill, Nagasaki. The anniversary of his death (dies natalis) is the day he is

remembered Recall in memory refers to the mental process of retrieval of information from the past. Along with encoding (memory), encoding and storage (memory), storage, it is one of the three core processes of memory. There are three main types of recall: ...

in the Catholic Church. Leonardo Kimura was among the

205 Martyrs of Japan The were Christian missionaries and followers who were persecuted and executed for their faith in Japan, mostly during the Tokugawa shogunate period in the 17th century. Background Christian missionaries arrived with Francis Xavier and the ...

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

on May 7, 1867, by

Martyrs

These are the 5 Christians who were executed by

burning at the stake Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...

at Nishizaka hill, Nagasaki on 18 November 1619.

References

Notes

Sources