RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Japan
Franciscan missionaries and twenty Japanese Christians were taken to Nagasaki and crucified. A new edict forbade any of the daimios to become Christians, and ordered all missionaries to leave the country. By dressing Portuguese merchants in clerical robes and sending them on board a ship, the Jesuits pretended to be obeying the command, and thus, with a few exceptions, they were able to remain concealed in Japan. .,
Hideyoshi died in 1598. The missionaries came
out from their hiding-places and were reenforced
by new arrivals. Unfortunately their
5. Persecu- work was weakened by dissensions betion Under tween the orders. Augustinians and
Ieyasu. Dominicans, as well as Franciscans, disregarded the papal prohibitions and came to Japan from the Philippines. After a period of civil strife, Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa line of shoguns, gained control of the country. His desire for commerce led him to adopt a kindly policy toward the missionaries; but some of the Christians were active supporters of his enemies, and they were also accused of plots with foreign rulers to effect his overthrow. Indeed, in all this history of Roman Catholicism in Japan, the chief cause of official opposition was the suspicion that its teachers were agents of the European nations that wished to gain possession of Japan. In 1614 Ieyasu ordered the expulsion of the missionaries and the suppression of Christianity, and the flames of persecution broke out. Not only missionaries, but many Japanese Christians were deported, and horrible tortures were invented to secure recantation. Although multitudes apostatized, there were many that stood firm. Men, women, and even little children were beheaded, burned at the stake, or crucified. Many missionaries also suffered, for they had endeavored to remain in the country, and even those who had been once expelled returned under various disguises to face almost certain martyrdom. After Ieyasu's death (1616) the persecution was continued by his son, Hidetada. The final blow came in the suppression (1638) of a rebellion raised by the peasants living in Shimabara and Amakusa. Though largely a revolt against the oppression of their daimios, the leaders were Christians, and they fought under banners inscribed with the names of Jesus, of Mary, and also of St. James, the patron saint of Spain. The rebels seized an old castle, where they defended themselves so bravely that they were put down only with the greatest difficulty. When finally defeated, all of them were put to death. The laws against Christianity were thereafter enforced still more strictly, and the country was closed to all foreigners except the Dutch, who were permitted under restrictions to have a trading-post in Nagasaki.
For more than two centuries Japan refused to have intercourse with foreign nations. The Christians were deprived of all the sacra-
6. Period of ments except baptism. In every town was posted a notice saying " The evil
Exclusion of Chris-
tianitv" sec* ca^e<i Christian is strictly prohibited," and offering rewards for information against believers. Every householder was required to procure annually from the Buddhist
priests a certificate that no member of his family was a Christian. In many parts of the land all were compelled to trample on a cross or on a copper plate that bore a representation of the crucified Jesus. The publication of books containing references to Christianity was prohibited. The Dutch ships that came to Nagasaki were closely searched for priests and Christian books. Nevertheless Christianity was not completely extirpated, but was carefully handed down from parent to child. Sacred images were hidden in what had the appearance of Buddhist shrines, lay baptism was practised, in some villages nearly all the inhabitants were believers, and had their catechists and baptizers. Ways were devised for evading the tests used for the detection of believers. In some places where the officials were themselves Christians the plate on which the people trampled was engraved with Buddhist symbols. Elsewhere the believers, after stepping upon the cross, would wash their feet and drink the water while returning thanks that they had been permitted to touch the sacred symbol. But from time to time Christians were discovered by the officials and punished.
The missionaries made some attempts to return.
In 1642 five Jesuits entered the country and were
put to death; they were followed a
7. Renewed year later by five others, who were im-
Missionary prisoned until their death; as was also
Efforts, the case with Sidotti, an Italian priest who, in 1709, had himself set ashore on the coast of Japan. In 1844 a French war vessel left under the name of official interpreters a missionary and a Chinese evangelist in Liuchiu, which was a dependency of Japan. It was thought that they might there learn the Japanese language, do missionary work among the people, and be preparing for the opening of the Japanese group itself. They and others who succeeded them were so closely watched that they were able to have but little intercourse with the inhabitants. Protestants were also seeking entrance to Japan. In 1837 the ship Morrison attempted to restore some shipwrecked Japanese to their country. In addition to this philanthropic motive, there was a hope that the expedition might help to open the land to trade and the Gospel. Three missionaries from China accompanied it. The waifs were not allowed to land, and the Morrison was fired upon, so that it had to return without having accomplished anything. A number of British officers organized the Loochoo Naval Mission, and in 1845 sent Dr. Bettelheim, a medical missionary, to the Liuchiu Islands. Though subjected to the most annoying surveillance and opposition, he baptized a few persons. He also prepared Japanese translations of portions of the Scriptures, and some of these were printed.
In 1854 Commodore Perry succeeded in negotiating a treaty between the United States and Japan. This did not provide for the residence 8. Modern 0f Americans; but later treaties made
r'°°la^ with the United States and some other
Missions nati°ns permitted their citizens after
July, 1859, to live in certain ports.
The Society des Missions Etrangeres at once
commenced work in Yokohama, Hakodate, and
Japan