or Taqua Nombo was a 16th-century Japanese

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

and 25th hereditary lord of the Matsura clan of

Hirado is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The part historically named Hirado is located on Hirado Island. With recent mergers, the city's boundaries have expanded, and Hirado now occupies parts of the main island of Kyushu. The component ...

. He was one of the most powerful feudal lords of Kyūshū and one of the first to allow trading with Europeans, particularly the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, through whom he amassed great profits in the import of western firearms. He was also an early host and patron to the

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

, who he hoped would help secure an increase in trade with the Portuguese and other European traders.

Biography

After becoming lord of Hirado in 1543, the 14-year-old Takanobu was advised by Yasumasa Toyohisa. Toyohisa was a well-known samurai and cousin of the previous lord of Hirado and, under his guidance, the domains of the Koteda family were increased to include much of Ikitsuki, together with the islands of Takushima, Ojika, Noshima as well as the areas of Kasuga, Shishi and Iira in

. That same year he became an ally of the powerful wakō leader Wang Zhi, inviting him to live in Hirado and allowing his band to dominate the outlying islands off Kyūshū. During the 1550s, he was involved in a fierce rivalry with the rival

Ōmura clan Omura (小村) or Ōmura (大村) are Japanese surnames, but may also refer to: * Ōmura, Nagasaki, a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan * Omura's whale (''Balaenoptera omurai''), a species of rorqual about which very little is known Peopl ...

, the Christian convert

Ōmura Sumitada Ōmura Sumitada (大村純忠, 1533 – June 23, 1587) was a Japanese ''daimyō'' lord of the Sengoku period. He achieved fame throughout the country for being the first of the daimyo to convert to Christianity following the arrival of the ...

, who also competed for Portuguese trade. This led to many armed conflicts, including one attempt at taking the Portuguese

black ship The Black Ships (in ja, 黒船, translit=kurofune, Edo period term) was the name given to Western vessels arriving in Japan in the 16th and 19th centuries. In 1543 Portuguese initiated the first contacts, establishing a trade route linking ...

in the

Battle of Fukuda Bay The in 1565 was the first recorded naval battle between Europeans (the Portuguese) and the Japanese. A flotilla of samurai under the '' daimyō'' Matsura Takanobu attacked two Portuguese trade vessels that had shunned Matsura's port in Hirado ...

by Takanobu. This rivalry lasted for over three decades, and long after Takanobu had retired, until Ōmura eventually won out by ceding

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole Nanban trade, port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hi ...

to the Jesuits in 1580, making it the Portuguese port of call henceforth. Although initially tolerant to the ''

Kirishitan The Japanese term , from Portuguese ''cristão'' (cf. Kristang), meaning "Christian", referred to Catholic Christians in Japanese and is used in Japanese texts as a historiographic term for Catholics in Japan in the 16th and 17th centuries. ...

'' movement introduced to Japan (Takanobu welcomed

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 ...

to Hirado in 1550 and his retainer Koteda Yasumasa converted to Catholicism in 1551), he expelled the Jesuits from his domain in 1558. The evangelism of the Jesuits' followers resulted in the destruction of three Buddhist temples, who then threw artifacts into the sea. A speech given by a Zen priest from Yasumandake spoke out against Father Gaspar Vilela and resulted in several mobs of Buddhist followers stoning the three churches in the area and, in one instance, toppling the cross from one church. This recent surge in religious violence forced Takanobu to ask Vilela to leave. He later forced Kato Saemon, lord of the district of Kato, into retirement in Nagasaki due to pressure from his brothers. In 1568, he stepped down in favor of his son Shigenobu. His great-grandson, baptized in 1591 and also named Matsura Takanobu, was the 3rd ''

daimyō 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 nominal ...

'' of

Hirado Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It is associated with Hizen Province in modern-day Nagasaki Prefecture.

under the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

. Matsura Takanobu died in 1599.Turnbull, Stephen R. (1998) ''The Kakure Kirishitan of Japan: A Study of Their Development, Beliefs and Rituals to the Present Day''. Richmond, UK: Japan Library. pp. 28–31, 38.

Biography

References

Further reading