The were

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

who were persecuted for their faith in Japan, mostly during the

17th century The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 ( MDCI), to December 31, 1700 ( MDCC). It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized by the Baroque cultural moveme ...

Early Christianity in Japan

Christian missionaries arrived with

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 ...

and the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

in the 1540s and briefly flourished, with over 100,000 converts, including many ''

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

s'' in

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

. The

shogunate , 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 ...

and 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 , 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

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 ...

. However, the Shogunate was also wary of colonialism, seeing that the Spanish had taken power in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, after converting the population. It soon met resistance from the highest office holders of Japan. Emperor Ogimachi issued edicts to ban Catholicism in 1565 and 1568, but to little effect. Beginning in 1587 with imperial regent

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 ...

’s ban on

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

missionaries, Christianity was repressed as a threat to national unity. After 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 ...

banned Christianity in 1620, it ceased to exist publicly. Many Catholics went underground, becoming , while others lost their lives. Only after the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, was Christianity re-established in Japan. The first group of martyrs, known as the

Twenty-Six Martyrs of Japan The were a group of Catholics who were executed by crucifixion on February 5, 1597, in Nagasaki, Japan. Their martyrdom is especially significant in the history of the Catholic Church in Japan. A promising beginning to Catholic missions in Jap ...

(1597), were canonized by the

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

in 1862 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 ...

. The same pope beatified the second group, known as 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 ...

(1598–1632), in 1867.Martyrs of Japan (1597–1637)
at Hagiography Circle

16 Martyrs of Japan (1633–1637)

Another group of martyrs were investigated by the Vatican Curia's Congregation for the Causes of Saints (CCS) in 1980 and were beatified on 18 February 1981.USCCB (Office of Media Relations) �
Beatifications During Pope John Paul II’s Pontificate
/ref>

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

canonized these 16 Martyrs of Japan as saints on 18 October 1987. This group is also known as Lorenzo Ruiz, Dominic Ibáñez de Erquicia Pérez de Lete, Iacobus Tomonaga Gorōbyōe, and 13 companions.

Ordained Martyrs

Dominican Priests

Foreign Missionaries

* Dominic Ibáñez de Erquicia Pérez de Lete – 14 August 1633 * Antonio Gonzalez – 24 September 1637 * Jordan Ansalone – 17 November 1634 * Luke of the Holy Spirit Alonso Gorda – 19 October 1633 * Michael de Aozaraza – 29 September 1637 *

Guillaume Courtet Guillaume Courtet, OP (1589–1637) was a French Dominican priest who has been described as the first Frenchman to have visited Japan. He was martyred in 1637 and canonized in 1987. Career Courtet was born in Sérignan, near Béziers, in 1589 o ...

– 29 September 1637

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

* Jacobo Kyushei Gorōbyōe Tomonaga de Santa María – 17 August 1633 * Thomas Rokuzayemon – 15 November 1634 * Vincent Shiwozuka – 29 September 1637

Martyred Laity

Dominican Laity

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
Cooperator Brother

* Francis Shōyemon – 14 August 1633 * Matthew Kohioye – 19 October 1633

Foreign Missionaries – Confraternity of the Holy Rosary

Lorenzo Ruiz Lorenzo Ruiz ( fil, Lorenzo Ruiz ng Maynila; zh, link=no, 李樂倫; es, link=no, Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila; November 28, 1594 – September 29, 1637), also called Saint Lorenzo of Manila, is a Filipino saint venerated in the Catholic Church. A ...

– 29 September 1637

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
Tertiaries

* Marina of Omura – 11 November 1634. A woman who assisted the missionaries in Japan, she was arrested in 1634 and burned alive. * Magdalene of Nagasaki – 16 October 1634

Christian Laity

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

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 ...

* Michael Kurobioye – 17 August 1633

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

* Lazarus of Kyoto – 29 September 1637

Notes

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''] *
''The Japanese Martyrs''Nagasaki Wiki: ''Detailed Access Information from Nagasaki Station to 26 Martyrs Monument''2008 ''Beatification of Japanese Martyrs'' ''Kirish'tan: Heaven's Samurai, a historical novel that includes the story of the Twenty-six Martyrs''Britto, Francis. ''All About Francis Xavier''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Japan, Martyrs Of Catholic martyrs of the Early Modern era Roman Catholic child saints Japanese Roman Catholic 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 ...

Executed children 1630s in Japan Martyred groups Persecution by Buddhists People executed by Japan

Groups of Roman Catholic saints Martyrs Lists of Christian martyrs Lists of saints Beatifications by Pope John Paul II Canonizations by Pope John Paul II

Early Christianity in Japan

16 Martyrs of Japan (1633–1637)

Ordained Martyrs

Dominican Priests

Foreign Missionaries

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Martyred Laity

Dominican Laity

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ... Cooperator Brother

Foreign Missionaries – Confraternity of the Holy Rosary

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ... Tertiaries

Christian Laity

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

See also

Notes

External links

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
Cooperator Brother

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
Tertiaries