The were a group of
Catholics who were executed by
crucifixion
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...
on February 5, 1597, in
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 ...
,
Japan. Their
martyrdom
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
is especially significant in the history of the
Catholic Church in Japan.
A promising beginning to
Catholic missions
Missionary work of the Catholic Church has often been undertaken outside the geographically defined parishes and dioceses by religious orders who have people and material resources to spare, and some of which specialized in missions. Eventually, p ...
in Japan – with perhaps as many as 300,000 Catholics by the end of the 16th century – met complications from competition between the missionary groups, political difficulty between
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
and
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and factions within the government of Japan. Christianity was suppressed and it was during this time that the 26 martyrs were executed. By 1630, Catholicism had been driven underground. When Christian missionaries returned to Japan 250 years later, they found a community of "
hidden Catholics" that had survived underground.
Early Christianity in Japan
On August 15, 1549, the Jesuit fathers
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 ...
(later canonized by
Gregory XV
Pope Gregory XV ( la, Gregorius XV; it, Gregorio XV; 9 January 15548 July 1623), born Alessandro Ludovisi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 February 1621 to his death in July 1623.
Biography
Early life
Al ...
in 1622),
Cosme de Torres
Cosme de Torres (1510 – October 2, 1570) was a Spanish Jesuit from Valencia and one of the first Christian missionaries in Japan. He was born in Valencia and died in Amakusa, an island now in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan.
Early life (1510–154 ...
, and
Juan Fernández arrived in
Kagoshima
, abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...
,
Japan, from
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
with hopes of bringing
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
to Japan. On September 29, St. Francis Xavier visited
Shimazu Takahisa
, the son of Shimazu Tadayoshi, was a ''daimyō'' during Japan's Sengoku period. He was the fifteenth head of the Shimazu clan.
Biography
In 1514, he is said to have been born in Izaku Castle. On 1526, Takahisa was adopted as the successor to Sh ...
, the ''
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 Kagoshima, asking for permission to build the first Catholic mission in Japan. The ''daimyō'' agreed in hopes of creating a trade relationship with Europe.
The
shogunate and the imperial government at first supported the Catholic mission and the missionaries, thinking that they would reduce the power of the
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
monks and help trade with Spain and Portugal. By the late 1500s, the government had begun to grow wary of foreign influence; the shogunate was also concerned about colonialism. The government increasingly saw Catholicism as a threat, and started persecuting Catholics. Christianity was banned and those Japanese who refused to abandon their faith were killed.
Martyrdom
![Ceramic-Saint-Francisco-Blanco-1638](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Ceramic-Saint-Francisco-Blanco-1638.jpg)
In the aftermath of the
San Felipe incident of 1596
On October 19, 1596, the Spanish ship ''San Felipe'' was shipwrecked in Urado on the Japanese island of Shikoku en route from Manila to Acapulco in the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade. The local daimyō Chōsokabe Motochika seized the cargo of t ...
, 26 Catholics – four Spaniards, one Mexican, one Portuguese from India (all of whom were
Franciscan
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
missionaries), three Japanese
Jesuits
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders = ...
, and 17 Japanese members of the
Third Order of St. Francis, including three young boys who served as altar boys for the missionary-priests – were, on the orders of
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...
, arrested in January 1597, tortured, physically mutilated, and paraded through villages across Japan, then on February 5, 1597, executed by
crucifixion
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...
, impaled with lances while tied to crosses on a hill that overlooks
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 ...
city.
After the persecution of 1597, there were sporadic instances of martyrdom until 1614, in all about 70. 55 Catholics were martyred in Nagasaki on September 10, 1632, in what became known as the Great Genna Martyrdom. At this time Catholicism was officially outlawed. The Church remained without clergy and theological teaching disintegrated until the arrival of Western missionaries in the 19th century.
Recognition
While there were many more martyrs, the first 26 missionary and convert martyrs came to be especially revered, the most celebrated of whom was
Paul Miki. The Martyrs of Japan were
canonized
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...
by the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
on June 8, 1862, by
Pope Pius IX, and are listed on the calendar as ''Sts. Paul Miki and his Companions'', commemorated on February 6, since February 5, the date of their death, is the feast of
St. Agatha. They were included in the
General Roman Calendar
The General Roman Calendar is the liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgical rite is in use. These cele ...
for the first time in 1969. Previously they were honoured locally, but no special Mass for them was included even in the ''Missae pro aliquibus locis'' (Masses for some places) section of the 1962
Roman Missal
The Roman Missal ( la, Missale Romanum) is the title of several missals used in the celebration of the Roman Rite. Along with other liturgical books of the Roman Rite, the Roman Missal contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of th ...
. Some 21st-century publications based on it do have such a Mass under February 13.
The
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
also celebrates the Japanese martyrs
liturgically with a
commemoration
Commemoration may refer to:
*Commemoration (Anglicanism), a religious observance in Churches of the Anglican Communion
*Commemoration (liturgy)
In the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church, a commemoration is the recital, within the Li ...
on
February 6. The
Anglican Church in Japan
The ''Nippon Sei Ko Kai'' ( ja, 日本聖公会, translit=Nippon Seikōkai, lit=Japanese Holy Catholic Church), abbreviated as NSKK, sometimes referred to in English as the Anglican Episcopal Church in Japan, is the national Christian church rep ...
(''Nippon Sei Ko Kai''), a member of the
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
, added them to its calendar in 1959 as an annual February 5 commemoration of all the martyrs of Japan and the
Episcopal Church followed suit.
The
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America added a commemoration on February 5 to their calendar.
The Church of the Holy Japanese Martyrs (
Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia (; meaning "ancient town") is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located west-north-west of Rome. The harbour is formed by two pier ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
) is a Catholic church dedicated to the 26 Martyrs of Nagasaki. It is decorated with artwork by Japanese artist
Luke Hasegawa.
List of martyrs
![San Felipe de Jesus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/San_Felipe_de_Jesus.jpg)
These first 26 Martyrs of Japan, also known as Pedro Bautista Blasquez y Blasquez and 22 companions, along with Paulus Miki and 2 companions, were beatified on 14 September 1627 by
Pope Urban VIII, and canonized on 8 June 1862 by
Pope Pius IX.
[Martyrs of Japan (1597–1637)]
at Hagiography Circle
Foreign Franciscan missionaries – Alcantarines
* Martin of the Ascension
* Pedro Bautista
*
Philip of Jesus
Philip of Jesus, OFM (Spanish: Felipe de Jesús) was a Novohispanic Franciscan Catholic missionary who became one of the Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan, the first Mexican saint and patron saint of Mexico City.Ronald J. Morgan, ''Spanish American S ...
*
Francisco Blanco
* Francisco of Saint Michael
*
Gundisalvus (Gonsalvo) Garcia
Japanese Franciscan tertiaries
Japanese Jesuits
*
James Kisai
* John Soan de Goto
*
Paul Miki
See also
*
*
Basilica Minore de Santuario de San Pedro Bautista
*
Twenty-Six Martyrs Museum and Monument
The Twenty-Six Martyrs Museum and Monument were built on Nishizaka Hill in Nagasaki, Japan in June 1962 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the canonization by the Roman Catholic Church of the Christians executed on the site on February 5, ...
*
Martyrs of Japan
The were Christian missionaries and followers who were persecuted and executed, mostly during the Tokugawa shogunate period in the 17th century.
More than 400 martyrs of Japan have been recognized with beatification by the Catholic Church, and 42 ...
*
Nanban trade
or the , was a period in the history of Japan from the arrival of Europeans in 1543 to the first '' Sakoku'' Seclusion Edicts of isolationism in 1614. Nanban (南蛮 Lit. "Southern barbarian") is a Japanese word which had been used to desig ...
*
Silence (2016 film)
''Silence'' is a 2016 epic historical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and with a screenplay by Jay Cocks and Scorsese, based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Shūsaku Endō. The film stars Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeso ...
References
External links
The 26 Martyrs Museum in Nagasaki City, Japan*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060303075846/http://www.pauline.or.jp/history/e-history03.html Daughters of St. Paul Convent, Tokyo, Japan: ''Prohibition of Christian religion by Hideyoshi and the 26 martyrs'']
St.Joseph's Church, Nishijin, Kyoto, Japan: ''The first Roman Catholic Church on the 26 Martyrs' pilgrimage to Nagasaki''Nagasaki Wiki: ''Detailed Access Information from Nagasaki Station to 26 Martyrs Monument''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Japan, Martyrs Of
1597 deaths
1597 in Japan
Groups of Anglican saints
Executed children
Executed Japanese people
Japanese Roman Catholic saints
Jesuit Asia missions
Lists of Christian martyrs
Martyred groups
Martyrs
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...
Members of the Third Order of Saint Francis
Catholic martyrs of the Early Modern era
Roman Catholic child saints
Lists of saints
Martyrs
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...
Persecution by Buddhists
People executed by Japan
Martyrs
Beatifications by Pope Pius IX
Canonizations by Pope Pius IX
Groups of Roman Catholic saints