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The Bateren Edict (Bateren Tsuihorei) was issued by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in Chikuzen Hakozaki (currently Higashi-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture) on July 24, 1587, regarding Christian missionary activities and Nanban trade. Bateren is derived from the Latin patrem, which means father in the accusative case, or the Portuguese word padre.
The original document is preserved within the 'Matsuura Family Documents' collection, housed at the Matsuura Historical Museum in Hirado City, Nagasaki Prefecture. The term 'Bateren Expulsion Edict,' which refers to an order issued to expel Christian missionaries, generally denotes a five-article document dated July 24, 1587, contained within the 'Matsuura Family Documents' (henceforth referred to as the 'expulsion edict'). However, it may also encompass an eleven-article memorandum, dated June 23, 1587, discovered in 1933 within the 'Goshuin Shishiki Kokaku,' an archival collection at the Jingu Library of Ise Jingu, necessitating careful distinction. This memorandum is referred to as either 'oboe' or 'kakusho' in historical records. Since the discovery of the eleven-article memorandum, extensive scholarly discussions have addressed the reasons for its discrepancies with the five-article expulsion edict and the interpretive significance of both documents.
By 1579, Nagasaki had grown from a village of 400 houses to a town of 5,000 by 1590, and 15,000 by the early 17th century, becoming a hub for Portuguese trade and Catholic activity, with multiple parishes established to meet spiritual needs.The Founding of the Port of Nagasaki and its Cession to the Society of Jesus, Diego Pacheco, Monumenta Nipponica , 1970, Vol. 25, No. 3/4 (1970), pp.307-308.FUSION URBAN PLANNING IN THE 16TH CENTURY. JAPANESE AND PORTUGUESE FOUNDING NAGASAKI, Cristina Castel-Branco, Margarida Paes, Technical University of Lisbon, BPJS, 2009, 18/19, 67-103, p.89.FUSION URBAN PLANNING IN THE 16TH CENTURY. JAPANESE AND PORTUGUESE FOUNDING NAGASAKI, Cristina Castel-Branco, Margarida Paes, Technical University of Lisbon, BPJS, 2009, 18/19, 67-103, p.87-88, The Jesuits, led by Valignano, accepted Ōmura's donation to establish a secure base for their mission and facilitate Portuguese trade. Valignano saw Nagasaki's strategic value for supporting displaced Christians and funding missionary activities.The Founding of the Port of Nagasaki and its Cession to the Society of Jesus, Diego Pacheco, Monumenta Nipponica , 1970, Vol. 25, No. 3/4 (1970), p.316. The donation was accepted conditionally, allowing the Jesuits to withdraw if needed, reflecting caution due to Japan's political instability and the non-binding nature of Japanese donations, which could be revoked by lords or their successors.The Founding of the Port of Nagasaki and its Cession to the Society of Jesus, Diego Pacheco, Monumenta Nipponica , 1970, Vol. 25, No. 3/4 (1970), pp. 319-320.
In 1582, Gaspar Coelho, upon his appointment as the Superior of the Jesuit mission in Japan, promptly initiated the construction of fusta ships. The funding for this endeavor was reportedly secured from Portuguese merchants residing in Nagasaki, primarily allocated to the construction of vessels equipped for towing, intended for the towing of carrack ships upon their arrival.Hesselink, Reinier H. The Dream of Christian Nagasaki: world trade and the clash of cultures, 1560-1640. McFarland, 2015. pp. 69-70. Furthermore, the fusta vessels are presumed to have also functioned as a means of transporting fresh supplies, such as water, food, and firewood, to Nagasaki.Hesselink, Reinier H. The Dream of Christian Nagasaki: world trade and the clash of cultures, 1560-1640. McFarland, 2015. pp. 70-71. As a consequence of the destruction of Christian refugee homes and a monastery in Yokoseura by anti-Christian forces in 1563, the Jesuits were compelled to relocate to Nagasaki.Cartas que os Padres e Irmaos da Companhia da Iesus, que andao nos Reynos de lapao escreverao aos da mesma Companhia da India, e Europa, desde anno de 1549 ate 1580. Primeiro Tomo, Evora 1598.f.151v. Following this relocation, it is posited that, in order to strengthen the defenses of the trading port, the Jesuits assigned fusta ships the task of patrolling Nagasaki Bay and the outer coastal regions of the Nagasaki Peninsula.
The Nagasaki Misericórdia (almshouse) was formally instituted in 1583 through the election of officers and the establishment of a hospital.Oliveira, João Paulo Costa. "The Misericórdias among Japanese Christian Communities in the 16th and 17th centuries." Bulletin of Portuguese-Japanese Studies 5 (2002): 67-79. p.76 This charitable institution managed a secondary facility outside the city for leprosy patients, underscoring the profound impact of Christian practices in a Japan that lacked hospitals prior to Portuguese arrival. Jesuit Luis Fróis recorded that this facility served individuals considered “repugnant” by Japanese society.Oliveira, João Paulo Costa. "The Misericórdias among Japanese Christian Communities in the 16th and 17th centuries." Bulletin of Portuguese-Japanese Studies 5 (2002): 67-79. p.77. This endeavor exemplified the innovative introduction of Christian charitable principles, offering a novel framework for Japanese social welfare. Moreover, the establishment of an almshouse in Hirado as early as 1561, with officers actively collecting donations, attests to the early adoption of the Misericórdia system across Japan and the deep integration of Christian charitable ideals into local communities.Oliveira, João Paulo Costa. "The Misericórdias among Japanese Christian Communities in the 16th and 17th centuries." Bulletin of Portuguese-Japanese Studies 5 (2002): 67-79. p.73
Through their operation of hospitals for the poor and critically ill, the Jesuit order deepened engagement with Hinin, resulting in their categorization as impure.Guillaume, Xavier. “Misdirected Understandings: Narrative Matrices in the Japanese Politics of Alterity Toward the West.” Contemporary Japan, Volume 15, Issue 1. Japanstudien: Jahrbuch des Deutschen Instituts für Japanstudien 15 (2003): p. 93. Historian George Ellison observes that, despite being driven by profound compassion, the missionaries’ actions yielded unintended social consequences. While these hospitals gained favor among the destitute, the elite distanced themselves from the missionaries, citing fears of "contamination".Elison, George (1973): Deus Destroyed: The Image of Christianity in Early Modern Japan. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. pp. 85-86 This concept of "contamination" was less about physical disease transmission and more about anxieties over social and symbolic impurity associated with the missionaries. In environments frequented by leprosy or scurvy patients, Jesuit missionaries were perceived as vectors of impurity, risking their portrayal as tainted entities or sources of defilement in the eyes of aristocratic patrons.Elisonas, Jurgis (2000): The Jesuits, the Devil, and Pollution in Japan: The Context of a Syllabus of Errors. In: Bulletin of Portuguese/Japanese Studies 1 (December), p. 24. Consequently, they faced the danger of being situated as loci of impurity. In Japanese history, the purity-impurity dichotomy has recurrently served as a logic of domination rooted in hierarchical structures. Though its specific manifestations shift across time and context, this binary consistently sustains mechanisms of control and exclusion.Guillaume, Xavier. “Misdirected Understandings: Narrative Matrices in the Japanese Politics of Alterity Toward the West.” Contemporary Japan, Volume 15, Issue 1. Japanstudien: Jahrbuch des Deutschen Instituts für Japanstudien 15 (2003): p. 93.Ohnuki-Tierney, Emiko (1984): Illness and Culture in Contemporary Japan: An Anthropological View. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 47. Unwittingly, the Jesuits positioned themselves within the subordinate domain of impurity.
The Portuguese engaged in the slave trade in Japan, particularly in Kyushu, where political disunity and economic incentives facilitated the practice. Japanese slaves, often acquired through war, kidnapping,Thomas Nelson, "Slavery in Medieval Japan," Monumenta Nipponica59, no. 4 (2004): pp. 479-480. or voluntary servitude due to poverty, were sold to Portuguese merchants and transported to places like Macau, Goa, and even Portugal. Some Japanese chose servitude to travel to Macau or due to poverty, but many indentured servants in Macau broke contracts by fleeing to Ming territory, reducing Portuguese slave purchases.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. p. 473-474. Poverty, driven by lords' tax demands, led some to view slavery as a survival strategy, with peasants offering themselves or others as collateral for unpaid taxes, blurring the line between farmers and slaves.
Valignano, the Jesuit Visitor, consistently highlighted the Japanese Jesuits’ lack of authority and power to suppress the slave trade.Rômulo Ehalt, Geninka and Slavery: Jesuit Casuistry and Tokugawa Legislation on Japanese Bondage (1590s–1620s), Itinerario (2023), 47, 342–356 doi:10.1017/S0165115323000256.Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, Jesuit Arguments for Voluntary Slavery in Japan and Brazil, Brazilian Journal of History, Volume: 39, Number: 80, Jan-Apr. 2019., p.10BRAH, Cortes 566 (9/2666), maço 21, f. 275. RUIZ DE MEDINA, Juan G. Orígenes de la Iglesia Catolica Coreana desde 1566 hasta 1784 según documentos inéditos de la época. Rome: Institutum Historicum S.I., 1986, p. 114-22. In Portuguese India, Valignano and fellow Jesuits lacked jurisdiction to intervene in slave transactions, which were subject to secular courts. Priests were limited to providing ethical guidance, rendering the cessation of the practice unfeasible, and it persisted into the seventeenth century.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Doctoral Dissertation, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. p. 242. In Japan, the Macao Diocese, established in 1568, oversaw Japan from 1576, but the absence of a resident bishop impeded the resolution of local issues. The Jesuits’ attempt to establish an independent diocese required explicit approval from Rome.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Doctoral Dissertation, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. p.418.
Given the limited impact of admonitions and recommendations, missionaries sought to navigate local social dynamics within the constraints of ecclesiastical law. They categorized labor into three forms: servitude equivalent to slavery, a tolerable non-slavery condition, and an unacceptable state.Rômulo Ehalt, Geninka and Slavery: Jesuit Casuistry and Tokugawa Legislation on Japanese Bondage (1590s–1620s), Itinerario (2023), 47, 342–356 doi:10.1017/S0165115323000256. This distinction is believed to have led missionaries to reluctantly acquiesce to local customs.Rômulo Ehalt, Geninka and Slavery: Jesuit Casuistry and Tokugawa Legislation on Japanese Bondage (1590s–1620s), Itinerario (2023), 47, 342–356 doi:10.1017/S0165115323000256. Furthermore, missionaries critical of the Portuguese slave trade in Japan, unable to directly prevent Portuguese merchants’ slave purchases due to insufficient authority, advocated for reframing Japan’s prevalent perpetual human trafficking as a form of indentured servitude (yearly contract labor) to align with local practices while mitigating the harshest aspects of exploitation.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan、Rômulo da Silva Ehalt、p. 426
Recognizing their limited power, the Jesuits sought to reform Japan's system of perpetual slavery (永代人身売買) into indentured servitude (年季奉公). Some missionaries, driven by humanitarian concerns, signed short-term ownership certificates (schedulae) to prevent the greater harm of lifelong enslavement. This pragmatic approach, however, was controversial. By 1598, missionary participation in such practices was banned. Critics like Mateus de Couros condemned any involvement, even if motivated by compassion, highlighting the moral complexities of the Jesuits' position.BRAH, Cortes 566 (9/2666), maço 21, f. 273-276v. Pagès in PAGÈS, Léon. Histoire de la religion chrétienne au Japon – Seconde Partie, Annexes. Paris: Charles Douniol, 1870, p. 70-9. SOUSA, Lúcio de. "Dom Luís de Cerqueira e a escravatura no Japão em 1598." Brotéria, 165. Braga, 2007, pp. 245-61. The practice of issuing permits for temporary servitude in Japan, recognized as early as 1568 with Melchior Carneiro's arrival in Macao, gained official or local acknowledgment. The intervention of missionaries in Japan, particularly in issuing short-term permits, likely peaked between 1568 and the period following the 1587 Bateren expulsion edict, when permit issuance requirements became stricter or were increasingly restrained.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. p.425.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017, p. 352.
Jesuit-established organizations, such as confraternities and the Nagasaki Misericórdia (almshouse), undertook efforts to rescue Japanese slaves, particularly women, from ships and brothels.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Doctoral Dissertation, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. p.290. The memoirs of Afonso de Lucena and letters of Luis Fróis concur regarding the treatment of captives during the Battle of Nagayo Castle in March 1587, reflecting Lucena’s concerns about their legitimacy. After Christmas 1586, Lucena urged Ōmura Sumitada, whose health was failing, to free unjustly held captives, leveraging the threat of withholding confession. The Jesuits strategically withheld confession or sacraments to compel moral conduct, especially among influential converts.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Doctoral Dissertation, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. pp.289-290.
Moreover, bishops and their representatives condemned brothels and private prostitution as “workshops of the devil.” The fourth article of the Constitutions of Goa (1568) prohibited brothel ownership and operation, imposing fines and public shaming on violators, while mandating the liberation of slaves coerced into prostitution.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Doctoral Dissertation, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. p.185-186. Thus, the Jesuits endeavored to eradicate immoral practices like prostitution while advancing slave rescue and evangelization through conversion.
The Jesuits, previously constrained by limited authority in Japan, experienced a pivotal shift with Pedro Martins’ consecration as bishop in 1592 and his arrival in Nagasaki in 1596. As the first high-ranking cleric in Japan since Francisco Xavier, Martins acquired the authority to excommunicate Portuguese merchants engaged in the trade of Japanese and Korean slaves.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Doctoral Dissertation, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. p.433. However, the Jesuits’ dependence on financial support from the Captain-major and the bishop’s limited secular authority posed challenges. The Captain-major, as the supreme representative of Portuguese royal authority in Japan, held significant power; opposing him without royal endorsement made excommunication theoretically feasible but practically uncertain.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Doctoral Dissertation, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. pp.438-439. Ultimately, Martins, alarmed by the social disruption caused by the trade in Japanese and Korean slaves, resolved to pronounce excommunication against human trafficking. After his death, Bishop Cerqueira reinforced this anti-slavery policy, referring the issue, which required secular authority, to the Portuguese crown.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Doctoral Dissertation, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. p.490.
The Jesuits' efforts to combat the Japanese slave trade reflect a struggle between moral conviction and practical limitations. Despite securing royal decrees and attempting reforms, they faced resistance from Portuguese elites and the realities of Japan's socio-political context. Their compromises, such as signing schedulae and tolerating certain forms of servitude, reveal the challenges of effecting change in a complex environment. While historian Ryōji Okamoto argues that the Jesuits should be absolved of blame due to their exhaustive efforts, their story underscores the difficulties of aligning humanitarian ideals with the constraints of power and local custom in the early modern world.
Fears of a Japanese invasion of the Philippines were recorded as early as 1586, with Spanish authorities in Manila noting Japanese espionage activities and preparing defenses against potential attacks.Memorial to the Council, 1586, in The Philippine Islands, 1493–1803, ed. Blair and Robertson, vol. 6, p. 183. Toyotomi Hideyoshi's 1586 request to Gaspar Coelho for Portuguese warships to aid his planned invasion of Ming China signaled his expansionist ambitions. The Spanish, aware of these plans, grew wary of Japanese activities in the vulnerable Philippines colony, leading to a 1586 Manila council memorial documenting concerns about Japanese colonization and prompting defensive measures.
Luís Fróis's História de Japam, over-relied upon as a key source on Christian iconoclasm (e.g., temple destruction) due to the scarcity of contemporary Japanese records, is unreliable, often compressing events across years into brief accounts, making contemporary missionary letters more trustworthy. These letters reveal the establishment of the Todos-os-Santos Church in 1569, built by Jesuit priest Gaspar Vilela using materials from a dismantled Buddhist temple donated by Nagasaki Jinzaemon Sumikage.Amaro, Bébio Vieira. "Research Concerning the Establishment of Nagasaki's Port Town." Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians of Japan 67.2 (2016): pp.14-17 This act symbolized the Christian mission's impact on local religious landscapes, with reports of other religious sites destroyed, possibly small prayer spaces in fishing villages. The motives—whether missionary zeal, actions by Christian converts fleeing persecution,Amaro, Bébio Vieira. "Research Concerning the Establishment of Nagasaki's Port Town." Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians of Japan 67.2 (2016): p.14., p.20 or wartime strategies by daimyo—remain debated due to scarce corroborating evidence. Japanese and Western records diverge in their accounts: missionary letters focus on Christian activities but omit local perspectives, while Japanese sources, written during the anti-Christian Tokugawa period, lack reliability due to bias and temporal distance.Amaro, Bébio Vieira. "Research Concerning the Establishment of Nagasaki's Port Town." Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians of Japan 67.2 (2016): pp.3-4 The daimyo, like Ōmura Sumitada, who sheltered Christians in 1569, often navigated a dual identity as both Christians and Buddhists, reflecting a pluralist flexibility. For instance, evidence suggests a daimyo took the tonsure in Shingon Buddhism around 1574, highlighting the coexistence of faiths.Immanent Power and Empirical Religiosity, Conversion of the Daimyo of Kyushu, 1560–1580, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 47/2: 247–278, p.258.
Many temples and shrines maintain traditions, compiled much later, claiming destruction by a Christian daimyo during the Tenshō era.Tenbo, Yukihiko. (1953). Takatsuki Tsushi History. Takatsuki City Hall. 39.Usui, Nobutaka. (1951). Takayama Ukon no Kyomei Bunsho The. Nihon Rekishi Japanese, (39), 15-19 However, primary sources from before the Tenshō period, intact Buddhist statues, and on-site investigations reveal no evidence of such destruction in many cases. Scholars suggest these incidents likely resulted from negotiations.Matsuda, Kiichi. (1967). Kinsei Shoki Nihon Kankei Nanban Shiryō no Kenkyū Studies. Kazama Shobo. Contemporary records, including letters securing temple lands, indicate that Sengoku-era Christian daimyo prioritized strategic alliances, protecting influential temples and villages to enhance their authority, with religious considerations being of minor importance.
Jesuit missionaries, with the support of local lords, repurposed non-sacred and abandoned spaces for Christian worship.Arimura, Rie. "The Catholic architecture of early modern Japan: Between adaptation and Christian identity." Japan Review (2014): 53-76. p.60. In 1555, Ōtomo Sōrin in Funai, Bungo, donated a field for a house with an integrated chapel and funded a large estate for a new church.Arimura, Rie. "The Catholic architecture of early modern Japan: Between adaptation and Christian identity." Japan Review (2014): 53-76. p.60. In 1576, Arima Yoshisada provided a non-Christian temple, reused as a church without modifications. Churches were also established within castles, such as Ichiki Tsurumaru in Satsuma and Sawa in Yamato (modern Nara), linked to Takayama Tomoteru.Arimura, Rie. "The Catholic architecture of early modern Japan: Between adaptation and Christian identity." Japan Review (2014): 53-76. p.60. Many reused Buddhist temples were abandoned due to the Sengoku period's instability.Arimura, Rie. "The Catholic architecture of early modern Japan: Between adaptation and Christian identity." Japan Review (2014): 53-76. p.59. Local authorities' permission and donations from Christian daimyo and Portuguese traders were critical for acquiring these sites.Arimura, Rie. "The Catholic architecture of early modern Japan: Between adaptation and Christian identity." Japan Review (2014): 53-76. p.59.
During Alessandro Valignano's time, most Catholic construction projects in Japan were managed by Japanese lords, who played a key role in expanding building efforts. Valignano, in his instructions, advocated for respecting local architectural traditions and consulting native master builders. This adaptability allowed Japanese builders to maintain their organization, resources, and construction techniques across the first and second stages of evangelization.Arimura, Rie. "The Catholic architecture of early modern Japan: Between adaptation and Christian identity." Japan Review (2014): 53-76. p.64.
In 1553, rumors of missionary cannibalism emerged in Bungo. Ōtomo Sōrin, a local lord, issued an edict to stop people from throwing stones at missionary houses.1. Strathern A. The Defeat of Christianity in Japan, 1560–1614. In: Converting Rulers: Global Patterns, 1450–1850. Cambridge University Press; 2024:124-162. p.142. In 1563, Ōmura Sumitada became Japan's first Christian daimyō, adopting the baptismal name Dom Bartolomeu. His conversion provoked strong opposition, as Buddhist monks incited a rebellion that led to the burning of the monastery and Christian farmers' homes at Yokoseura Port, reducing much of the port to ashes.Curvelo, Alexandra, and Angelo Cattaneo. Interactions Between Rivals: The Christian Mission and Buddhist Sects in Japan (c. 1549-c. 1647). Peter Lang International Academic Publishers, 2021., p.48. In a letter dated October 14, 1564, Luis de Almeida, Japan's first Western surgeon and missionary, reported that Arima Haruzumi ordered the destruction of Christian crosses in his domain and mandated that Christians revert to their former beliefs.Takashi Gonoi, New Omura City History, Volume 2 (Medieval Edition), Chapter 4, Omura City History Compilation Committee. Omura City, 2014-03-31., p.481Cartas que os Padres e Irmaos da Companhia da Iesus, que andao nos Reynos de lapao escreverao aos da mesma Companhia da India, e Europa, desde anno de 1549 ate 1580. Primeiro Tomo, Evora 1598. f. 155. In 1573, Fukahori Sumikata further intensified the persecution by burning down the Todos os Santos Church.Takashi Gonoi, New Omura City History, Volume 2 (Medieval Edition), Chapter 4, Omura City History Compilation Committee. Omura City, 2014-03-31., p.508Ribeiro, Madalena, Gaspar Vilela. Between Kyúshú and the Kinai, Bulletin of Portuguese - Japanese Studies, vol. 15, diciembre, 2007, pp. 9-27.
On May 4, 1586, Coelho met Toyotomi Hideyoshi at Osaka Castle, accompanied by over thirty Jesuit priests and attendants. The meeting initially proceeded cordially, with Hideyoshi seated approximately one meter from Coelho and his interpreter, Luís Fróis. Hideyoshi commended the Jesuits’ dedication to propagating their doctrine, though this praise may have implicitly cautioned against involvement in secular matters. He outlined his political ambitions: unifying Japan, establishing enduring peace, delegating governance to his brother, Toyotomi Hidenaga, and pursuing the conquest of Korea and China.Hesselink, Reinier H. The Dream of Christian Nagasaki: world trade and the clash of cultures, 1560-1640. McFarland, 2015. p.76. To support these objectives, Hideyoshi requested Jesuit assistance in procuring two armed carrack ships, offering payment in silver and promising land and income for Portuguese crew members. In exchange, he pledged to permit church construction in conquered Chinese territories, mandate conversions to Christianity, and promote widespread conversions in Japan. Additionally, he suggested ceding Hizen Province in Kyushu to Kirishitan daimyo, such as Takayama Ukon and Konishi Yukinaga, while assuring that Nagasaki would be entrusted to the Church.Hesselink, Reinier H. The Dream of Christian Nagasaki: world trade and the clash of cultures, 1560-1640. McFarland, 2015. p. 76.
Eager to gain Hideyoshi’s favor, Coelho abandoned the Jesuits’ traditional prudence, imprudently committing to provide the requested ships and additional Portuguese military support—promises he lacked the authority or resources to fulfill.Hesselink, Reinier H. The Dream of Christian Nagasaki: world trade and the clash of cultures, 1560-1640. McFarland, 2015. p.76. More critically, Coelho, unprompted, pledged to mobilize Kyushu’s Kirishitan daimyo to counter Shimazu influence, a political intervention that explicitly contravened the Jesuit leadership’s prohibition against regional political involvement.Spate, Oskar Hermann Khristian. The Spanish Lake. ANU Press, 2004. p. 167. His failure to secure the promised warships may have fostered Hideyoshi’s distrust.THE BIBLE IN IMPERIAL JAPAN, 1850-1950, Yumi Murayama-Cain, A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St. Andrews, pp.21-22.
On July 15, 1587, Toyotomi Hideyoshi inspected an armed ship (fusta) constructed by Jesuit Vice-Provincial Gaspar Coelho at his request in Hakata and demanded its presentation.Hesselink, Reinier H. The Dream of Christian Nagasaki: world trade and the clash of cultures, 1560-1640. McFarland, 2015. p.78.Johannes Laures S.J., The Catholic Church in Japan.. Charles and Turtle Company, Tokyo. 1954. p. 116 Having granted land revenue rights to the Jesuits and Christian daimyo, Hideyoshi imposed on the Jesuits the obligation to accept his judicial authority.Worlds Collide: The Competing Legal Cosmologies Of Tokugawa Japan, THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, PhD Thesis. p. 93. Consequently, Konishi Yukinaga and Kuroda Yoshitaka advised compliance, but Coelho refused. Additionally, Hideyoshi ordered Portuguese ships anchored in Hirado to relocate to Hakata, a demand rejected on July 24 by Portuguese captain Domingos Monteiro, who cited the port’s unsuitability.
These refusals were perceived as affronts to Hideyoshi’s authority, intensifying his discontent. This dissatisfaction, fueled by the counsel of his physician, Seyakuin Zenshu, prompted decisive action. Motivated by personal animosity toward Takayama Ukon for a prior slight, Seyakuin urged Hideyoshi to test Ukon’s loyalty and escalate pressure on the Jesuits and Christians.Drummond R. H., A History of Christianity in Japan. W.B. Eerdsman Publishing Co. Michigan, 1971. Addressing Ukon, Hideyoshi positioned himself as the protector of the Emperor and the imperial court, signaling a deliberate plan to expel the Jesuits .Organtino Gnecchi Soldi. Copia di due lettere dal Giappone scritte dal Padre Organtino Bresciano della compagnia di giesu dal Meaco del Giappone al molto Reverendo P.N, il P. Claudio Acquaviva preposito generale. Ed. Luigi Zanetti. Rome; 1587. On July 22, one week after Hideyoshi’s visit, Takayama Ukon visited the fusta ship and warned Coelho directly, expressing certainty that a grave calamity threatened the Church in Japan.
On July 25, the messenger posed an additional question about the destruction of temples and shrines and the persecution of monks, underscoring Hideyoshi’s broader distrust of Jesuit activities.Tronu Montane, Carla (2012) Sacred Space and Ritual in Early Modern Japan: The Christian Community of Nagasaki (1569‐1643). PhD Thesis, SOAS, University of London. p. 99
These responses clarified the Jesuits’ limited influence but failed to alleviate Hideyoshi’s suspicions. Later, Hideyoshi reneged on compensating Portuguese merchants for returned slaves,Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2018. p. 347. validating Coelho’s distrust of his promises.
The proposals aligned with contemporary negotiation practices, such as prohibitions and repatriation orders, to secure economic stability.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2018. p. 324. Repatriation orders sought to return not only war- or trade-abducted subjects but also farmers who migrated voluntarily, ensuring labor availability.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2018. p.331. Following the Shimazu clan’s surrender in April 1587, Hideyoshi issued a repatriation order to restore civilians to their original domains, delegating slave trade issues to Jesuit negotiations.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2018. p. 330. Coelho’s responses, particularly on the slave trade, avoided clear commitment, citing lack of authority over Japanese and Portuguese traders, and proposed daimyo regulations instead.
Hideyoshi’s distrust arose from Christianity’s economic and political impacts: labor mobility from conversions, workforce depletion via the slave trade, and resource loss from livestock consumption.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2018. p. 333. These concerns culminated in the July 23 memorandum (banning slave trade) and July 24 expulsion order.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2018. p. 324. The order triggered church destruction and persecution, though complete expulsion within 20 days proved impractical. Konishi Yukinaga highlighted enforcement challenges, but Seyakuin Zenshu advocated harshly, suggesting remaining missionaries be “thrown into the sea”.Organtino Gnecchi Soldi. Copia di due lettere dal Giappone scritte dal Padre Organtino Bresciano della compagnia di giesu dal Meaco del Giappone al molto Reverendo P.N, il P. Claudio Acquaviva preposito generale. Ed. Luigi Zanetti. Rome; 1587. p. 102
Hideyoshi’s proposals prioritized Kyushu’s stability. Coelho’s responses, aiming to preserve Jesuit influence, avoided clear commitments, especially on the slave trade, citing limited authority and proposing daimyo regulations. This ambiguity failed to address Hideyoshi’s concerns, leading to negotiation collapse. Coelho’s underestimation of Hideyoshi’s authority and prioritization of missionary networks precipitated the expulsion.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2018. p.333.
However, Boxer argues that assuming Hideyoshi genuinely believed in this conspiracy theory introduces several inconsistencies. For instance, while the Christian daimyo Takayama Ukon was exiled, other Christian daimyo, such as Konishi Yukinaga and Kuroda Yoshitaka, were stationed in Kyushu, where collaboration with missionaries was readily feasible, a fact that raises questions about the consistency of Hideyoshi’s policies.Boxer, Charles Ralph. The Christian Century in Japan: 1549-1650. Univ of California Press, 1951. pp.151-152 Based on this observation, the hypothesis that the Edict of Expulsion was issued due to the perceived threat of missionaries serving as vanguards of invasion appears problematic. When considered in the context of the circumstances in 1587, this hypothesis is fraught with contradictions and lacks sufficient evidential support, rendering it untenable.
The perspective that Jesuit missionary activities served as the "vanguard" of Portuguese and Spanish imperial conquest tends to oversimplify historical complexities. In the colonial endeavors of Portugal and Spain, missionary activities did not precede military conquest but rather followed it,Bulmer-Thomas, Victor, John Coatsworth, and Roberto Cortes-Conde, eds. The Cambridge Economic History of Latin America: Volume 1, The Colonial Era and the Short Nineteenth Century. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press, 2006. p.514. "Once Spanish authority had been established, the missionary orders came on the scene to evangelize the conquered peoples. The friars in turn were always backed up by the repressive sword of authority. Thus, military and political conquest came first, then spiritual conquest followed." and at times, they even conflicted with the political and military objectives of the empire.Caraman, Philip (1976), The lost paradise: the Jesuit Republic in South America, New York: Seabury Press.Schwaller, John F. (October 2016). "Franciscan Spirituality and Mission in New Spain, 1524–1599: Conflict Beneath the Sycamore Tree (Luke 19:1–10) by Steven E. Turley (review)". The Americas. 73 (4): 520–522.Lipp, Solomon. Lessons Learned from Pedro de Gante. American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. Hispania, 1947, 194."Bartolome de Las Casas | Biography, Quotes, & Significance". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 November 2017. The concept of "spiritual conquest", thoroughly explored by French historian Robert Ricard in his 1933 study, analyzes the methods and dynamics of Christianization in Spanish and Portuguese America, challenging earlier simplistic interpretations.Tavárez, David Eduardo. The spiritual conquest of Latin America. Oxford University Press, 2019. pp. 1-2. "The notion of a “spiritual conquest,” as opposed to a military conquest by Spanish forces and indigenous allies, was developed in detail in Robert Ricard’s eponymous 1933 work. While the metaphor of a “spiritual conquest” is broadly understood and used, many recent historical works eventually turned their attention to a close analysis of distinct processes and tendencies in terms of the methods, practices, and dynamics of colonial evangelization in Spanish and Portuguese America." Ruiz de Montoya, Antonio. The Spiritual Conquest Accomplished by the Religious of the Society of Jesus in the Provinces of Paraguay, Parana, Uruguay and Tape. Translated by Clement J. McNaspy. St. Louis, MO: Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1993., Ricard, Robert. The Spiritual Conquest of Mexico: An Essay on the Apostolate and the Evangelizing Methods of the Mendicant Orders in New Spain: 1523–1572. Translated by Lesley Byrd Simpson. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1966. Recent scholarship has found little historical support for the view that missionaries acted as the "vanguard of invasion," and the hypothesis that Christianization preceded military and political conquest lacks academic endorsement. Whether Toyotomi Hideyoshi genuinely believed in these unrealistic threats remains a subject of academic debate.
Following the edict, Hideyoshi assigned exclusive blame for the Portuguese slave trade to the Jesuit missionaries, ordering their expulsion, seizure of property, and destruction of their religious establishments. Paradoxically, Portuguese merchants—who in reality were the principal actors in the slave trade—were explicitly exempted from any sanctions. This selective condemnation protected Portuguese merchants from accountability despite their principal role in the human trafficking. Moreover, Hideyoshi’s subsequent establishment of licensed pleasure districts in 1589 highlights a moral inconsistency in his policies, tacitly legitimizing the sexual enslavement of women within Japan’s nascent licensed pleasure districts. This hypocrisy is further evidenced by his later complicity in the enslavement of Koreans during the Japanese invasions of Korea, revealing a strategic disregard for the moral implications of enslavement when it served Japanese interests.
The Jesuits established confraternities and the Nagasaki Misericórdia (almshouse), rescuing Japanese slaves, particularly women, from brothels and ships, and aiming to eradicate immoral practices through Christian evangelization. As part of these efforts, missionaries pressed Ōmura Sumitada to release unjustly held captives by leveraging the withholding of confession, promoting ethical conduct and highlighting criticism of the human trafficking practices tolerated in Japan. The fourth article of the Constitutions of Goa prohibited brothel operations, imposing penalties on violators and mandating the liberation of slaves coerced into prostitution, thereby demonstrating the Jesuits’ commitment to moral reform. These consistent efforts to improve slave treatment and rescue women stood in stark contrast to the widespread practice of slave trading in Japan at the time. These efforts stood in stark contrast to the prevalent slave trade in Japan.
Following the Bateren Expulsion Edict, in 1589 (Tenshō 17), Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered the establishment of the Yanagihara pleasure quarter in Kyoto.Soh, C. Sarah. The comfort women: Sexual violence and postcolonial memory in Korea and Japan. University of Chicago Press, 2008. p. 109Gonda, Yasunosuke. Gorakugyōsha no gun: Shakai kenkyū The. Tokyo: Jitsugyo no Nihonsha, 1923.Nakamura, Saburo. Nihon baishunshi History. Regarded as Japan’s first pleasure quarter, this marked the formalization of the yūkaku system, yet it became a hotbed for human trafficking by procurers.Jūjirō Koga, Shinpei Maruyama yūjo to tōkōmōjin (Nagasaki: Nagasaki Bunkensha, 1968), p. 232. According to the June 1597 records of Florentine traveler Francesco Carletti, who visited Japan, the conditions for women in Portuguese Macao and Nagasaki presented a stark contrast. In Macao, Chinese women were described as possessing “beautiful and refined features,” but strict restrictions prevented interactions with them.Fraser, Evan D. G.; Rimas, Andrew (2011). Empires of Food: feast, famine and the rise and fall of civilizations. London: Arrow Books. . In contrast, in Hideyoshi-controlled Nagasaki, prostitution was openly practiced, and procurers offered women as commodities to arriving sailors, with human trafficking rampant.Colla, Elisabetta (2008). "16th Century Japan and Macau Described by Francesco Carletti (1573?-1636)". Bulletin of Portuguese-Japanese Studies. 17. Universidade Nova de Lisboa: 113–144. . p.128. This suggests that Hideyoshi tacitly condoned domestic human trafficking, and the double standards or hypocritical attitude implied by this indicate that the expulsion edict’s motives were likely rooted in factors other than the slave trade itself.
His tolerance of abductions and enslavement during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598), driven by daimyo plundering for profit, further reveals his complicity in human trafficking. While he criticized missionaries and European traders for enslaving Japanese people abroad, his own actions in Korea, which involved much more violent practices, highlight a moral contradiction noted by historians. His condemnation of Christianity lacked ethical consistency, as his primary concern was preventing Japan's humiliation by foreign powers, not opposing slavery itself. Hideyoshi's worldview justified this asymmetry: Japan's actions, including spreading its culture or committing wartime atrocities, were deemed necessary or honorable, while foreign cultural influence or harm to Japan was framed as invasion or degradation. This logic rested on an ethnocentric belief in Japan's divine status and the perceived barbarity of others, exposing a double standard in his policies and rhetoric.
Beyond these moral considerations, Hideyoshi’s edict may have been partly influenced by economic factors. He perceived the Portuguese slave trade and associated dietary practices, such as meat consumption, as contributing to the depletion of Kyushu’s labor force.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. p. 328.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. p. 333. However, the actual economic impact was likely overstated, as the estimate suggests that, following the arrival of the Portuguese, the total number of Japanese slaves purchased or contracted ranged only from several hundred to a few thousand.
George Sansom notes that the teachings of Christianity challenged social hierarchies and existing political structures, analyzing the Bateren Edict as a visceral defensive reaction by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who, from the perspective of a dictator and autocrat, feared missionaries not merely as heretics but as a force undermining the foundation of social order.Sansom, George Bailey, Sir (1965). The Western world and Japan. CHaddon Craftsmen, Inc. p. 129. CRID 1130282270102463744. The Christian-influenced legal code in Nagasaki, blending Japanese customs with milder punishments and separating civil, criminal, ecclesiastical, and secular cases, implicitly challenged Hideyoshi's absolute authority as a dictator by undermining his rigid control over Japan's social-political order.
Seventeenth-century anti-Christian literature highlights several objectionable actions attributed to missionaries:Elison, Deus Destroyed. p. 215.
The Jesuit missionaries' operation of hospitals for hinin and the gravely ill, involving contact with socially 'impure' lower strata such as those afflicted with leprosy, scurvy, or disabilities, led to their perception by the upper classes, including samurai and monks, as contaminated and marginal beings, resulting in their avoidance and alienation.
Moreover, an arrow unearthed during the 1637 Shimabara Rebellion bore the inscription, " Among all sentient beings there is no such distinction as noble and base." Historian George Elison notes that, although not a direct teaching of the missionaries, this egalitarian sentiment reflects how Christian proselytization introduced ideas at odds with Japan’s rigid social hierarchy.George Elison, Deus Destroyed, p. 220. "Among all sentient beings there is no such distinction as noble and base." Such ideas were perceived as a latent threat to Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s political authority and social order, contributing to the justification for the expulsion order.
Historian Rômulo da Silva Ehalt argues that human trafficking predated Portuguese arrival in Japan and was widely known across the archipelago, challenging Okamoto Yoshitomo's claim that Hideyoshi, enraged by discovering the slave trade, issued the Bateren Expulsion Order out of moral outrage. Instead, Hideyoshi's interrogatory reveals his primary concerns were economic, such as labor shortages in Kyushu and the influence of Jesuit missionaries, rather than ethical issues. Hideyoshi ordered the return of displaced people—whether trafficked, kidnapped, or voluntarily fled—to their fiefs to stabilize agricultural production, a policy applied nationwide, not just in Kyushu.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. pp. 330-331. He also expressed concerns about meat consumption depleting livestock essential for agriculture and war, offering to build a facility for foreigners to consume hunted animals if missionaries couldn't abstain from meat. These actions reflect Hideyoshi's focus on consolidating control and ensuring economic stability.
In 16th-century Kyushu, zealous lower-class Christian converts destroyed Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, perceiving them as symbols of feudal oppression. Yet, the motives—missionary zeal, retaliations of converts escaping persecution, peasant uprisings, or daimyo's public safety and defense strategies—remain uncertain due to biased and unreliable Western and Tokugawa-era Japanese sources. Jesuit leaders Francisco Cabral and Alessandro Valignano, succeeding Cosme de Torrés, opposed iconoclasm as counterproductive, and significant destruction after Valignano's Visitor appointment is questionable, undermining claims of widespread Jesuit-driven iconoclasm. Christian daimyo like Ōmura Sumitada, who blended Christian and Buddhist identities, as shown by a daimyo's 1574 Shingon tonsure, likely allowed temple destruction for strategic, not solely religious, purposes.
The Spanish 1542 New Laws offered some recourse, as seen in Gaspar Fernández'
p.251. After the 1614 Jesuit expulsion from Japan, Jesuits worked to liberate Japanese and Korean slaves, while Portuguese merchants continued the slave trade.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. p.537 . Post-1614, Dutch and English buyers joined the trade possibly due to Portuguese trade bans. Nagasaki and Hirado served as key sites for the slave trade conducted by Portuguese, Dutch, English, and Spanish traders.Rômulo Ehalt, Geninka and Slavery: Jesuit Casuistry and Tokugawa Legislation on Japanese Bondage (1590s–1620s), Itinerario (2023), 47, 342–356, p. 355. From their arrival in Japan until their expulsion, the Portuguese traded an estimated hundred to thousand Japanese slaves.
During the Japanese invasions of Korea, approximately 50,000 to 60,000 individuals were captured by Japanese forces,Turnbull, Stephen (2002), Samurai Invasion: Japan's Korean War 1592–98, Cassell & Co, , OCLC 50289152, p. 230 with only 7,500 repatriated to Korea through diplomatic efforts post-war.Arano, Yasunori (2005), "The Formation of a Japanocentric World Order", International Journal of Asian Studies, 2 (2): 185–216, doi:10.1017/S1479591405000094, , p.197 The Bateren Edict restricted the slave trade and exempted Jesuits from intervening in merchants' activities for a few years,Rômulo Ehalt, Geninka and Slavery: Jesuit Casuistry and Tokugawa Legislation on Japanese Bondage (1590s–1620s), Itinerario (2023), 47, 342–356 p. 349. yet captives continued to be trafficked to Nagasaki. Toyotomi Hideyoshi's administration sought to finance the war through the Portuguese slave trade, abandoning earlier moral objections. Bishop Pedro Martins excommunicated those trading Japanese and Korean slaves, including those in temporary servitude, a policy Bishop Cerqueira later reinforced. Hideyoshi's tacit approval of daimyo-led abductions and enslavement for plunder implicates him in human trafficking. Atrocities, including the enslavement of non-Japanese, were rationalized as necessary and honorable, reflecting the Toyotomi regime's ethnocentric worldview. While the Portuguese traded an estimated hundreds up to thousands of Japanese slaves since their arrival in Japan,Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. p, 102. the number of Korean slaves abducted to Japan was far greater.
According to Luis Frois's History of Japan, before the 1587 Edict of Expulsion and prior to the San Felipe incident, Toyotomi Hideyoshi suspected that missionaries were conspiring to use Christian daimyo to conquer Japan, alleging they employed sophisticated knowledge and cunning methods to win over Japanese nobles and elites with a unity stronger than the Ikkō sect, aiming to occupy and conquer Japan.Fróis, L. (2000). Complete translation of Frois' history of Japan: Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Volume 1. Unification of Japan under Hideyoshi and the expulsion of Takayama Ukon (Vol. 4). Chuo Koron Shinsha. p. 204, "このいとも狡猾な手段こそは、日本の諸国を占領し、全国を征服せんとするものであることは微塵だに疑問の余地を残さぬ。" Spanish merchants alleged Jesuits, including Martins, Organtino, and Rodrigues, described Spaniards to Hideyoshi's minister as pirates and the Spanish king as a tyrant, claims Rodrigues denied.Squabbles between the Jesuits and the Franciscans: a historical review of policies of two christian orders in Japan, Trans/Form/Ação, Marília, v. 46, n. 1, p. 235-250, Jan./Mar., 2023., pp.246-247 These accusations and the Jesuits' perception of Hideyoshi's suspicions may have led the Jesuits to craft self-defensive narratives, a possibility that remains plausible. Elison (Elisonas) argues that the Franciscan account is more plausible, but acknowledges that its veracity cannot be definitively confirmed.Elison, George (Elisonas, Jurgis). Deus Destroyed: The Image of Christianity in Early Modern Japan. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1973. p. 139
Hideyoshi ordered the execution of 26 Christians in Nagasaki, known as the 26 Martyrs of Japan. Triggered by a lavish Franciscan church in Kyoto, seen as lèse-majesty, the initial target of 170 was reduced to 26. The Nanbanji temple was dismantled, but smaller churches remained, and no further major restrictions were imposed, indicating Hideyoshi's focus was on authority, not eradicating Christianity, mirroring his approach to Buddhist institutions.Screech, Timon. "The English and the control of Christianity in the early Edo period." Japan Review (2012): p. 7. The notion of a Christian fifth column lacks strong evidence, as the charge was specifically lèse-majesty, not a broader conspiratorial threat.
In June 1592, as Japan was poised to annex Korea, documents from the Mōri and Nabeshima families indicate that Toyotomi Hideyoshi articulated ambitions beyond the Philippines, declaring, “Conquering the pristine Great Ming should be as easy as crushing an egg under a mountain. Not only the Great Ming, but also India and the Southern Barbarians (Southeast Asia, Portugal, Spain, and Europe) shall be thus”.
pp.453-460
In 1592, Harada Kiēmon arrived in Manila, delivering a letter from Hideyoshi demanding the Philippines’ surrender and tribute. Governor Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas responded on May 1, 1592, entrusting the Dominican friar Juan Cobo with the reply. Cobo, accompanied by Antonio López, a Chinese Christian, traveled to Japan and met Hideyoshi at Nagoya Castle in Kyushu, built for the Korean campaign. Harada Kiēmon later led a second Japanese mission to Manila, during which López safely returned.M. T. Paske-Smith, “Japanese Trade and Residence in the Philippines,” Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan 42, no. 2 (1914), pp. 696–97.
On June 1, 1593, López faced rigorous questioning under oath in Manila about his observations in Japan, focusing on Japan’s intentions to invade the Philippines. He reported that Hideyoshi had tasked Harada Kiēmon with the conquest.Francisco de Lorduy, statement incorporated in report by Governor Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas to the king of Spain on the second embassy to Japan, April–May 1593, in The Philippine Islands, 1493–1803, ed. Blair and Robertson, vol. 9, p. 39 López elaborated on Japan’s motives: “It is universally known that the Philippines abound in gold. For this reason, soldiers are eager to come here, whereas they are reluctant to go to the poor land of Korea”.The Philippine Islands, 1493–1803, ed. Blair and Robertson, vol. 9, p. 41. When questioned about the Philippines’ military strength, López claimed 4,000 to 5,000 Spaniards were present, prompting derision from the Japanese, who asserted that the islands’ defenses were negligible and that 100 Japanese soldiers equaled 200–300 Spaniards.The Philippine Islands, 1493–1803, ed. Blair and Robertson, vol. 9, p. 39. Those López encountered believed Harada Kiēmon would govern the Philippines post-conquest.The Philippine Islands, 1493–1803, ed. Blair and Robertson, vol. 9, p. 47-48
Regarding the invasion force, López heard that 100,000 troops would be deployed under Hasegawa Sōnin’s command. However, upon learning that the Philippines had 5,000–6,000 soldiers, with 3,000–4,000 guarding Manila, the Japanese deemed 10,000 troops sufficient, planning to transport 5,000–6,000 soldiers on ten large ships.The Philippine Islands, 1493–1803, ed. Blair and Robertson, vol. 9, p. 51-53 López speculated that the invasion would route through the Ryukyu Islands.The Philippine Islands, 1493–1803, ed. Blair and Robertson, vol. 9, p. 51-54
In 1596, the San Felipe incident prompted the reinstatement of the previously unenforced Bateren Expulsion Edict.Handbook of Christianity in Japan / edited by Mark R. Mullins. p. cm. — (Handbook of oriental studies, Section 5, Japan ; v. 10) I. Japan—Church history. I. Series. p. 9-11 In February 1597, Martín de la Ascensión, one of the 26 martyrs executed, wrote to the Philippine governor, warning of his impending execution and Hideyoshi’s invasion plans. He noted, “(Hideyoshi) is preoccupied with the Koreans this year and cannot go to Luzon, but he intends to do so next year”.Martín de la Ascensión to Doctor Morga, 28 January 1597, in The Philippine Islands, 1493–1803, ed. Blair and Robertson, vol. 15, p. 125.Turnbull, Stephen (2016) "Wars and Rumours of Wars: Japanese Plans to Invade the Philippines, 1593–1637," Naval War College Review: Vol. 69 : No. 4 , Article 10., p.5 Martín also described the invasion route: “He plans to occupy the Ryukyus and Taiwan, deploy troops to Cagayan, and, if God does not intervene, advance from there to Manila”. The renewal of the Bateren Expulsion Edict reignited Spanish concerns in the Philippines about a potential invasion by Hideyoshi.Visiones de un Mundo Diferente Política, literatura de avisos y arte namban, Coordinadores: Osami Takizawa y Antonio Míguez Santa Cruz, Centro Europeo para la Difusión de las Ciencias Sociales, , p. 80.
However, Hideyoshi says that he will punish those who take this opportunity to harm the missionaries. Although compulsory conversion to Christianity is prohibited, the people are free to believe in Christianity on their own initiative, and the daimyo can become a believer with the permission of Hideyoshi. In fact, it guaranteed freedom of religion. Immediately after this, Hideyoshi took Nagasaki from the Jesuits and made it a tenryo.
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