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The Japanese term 吉利支丹, 切支丹, キリシタン, きりしたん, 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.
Modern Japanese has several words for "Christian", of which the most common are the noun form キリスト教徒, and also クリスチャン. The Japanese word キリシタン is used primarily in Japanese texts for the early history of Roman Catholicism in Japan, or in relation to Kakure Kirishitan, hidden Christians. However, English sources on histories of Japan generally use the term "Christian" without distinction.
Christian missionaries were known as (from the Portuguese word padre, "father" or "priest")Jansen, p. 67 or (from the Portuguese irmão, "brother"). Contemptuous transcriptions such as 切支丹 and 鬼利死丹 (which use kanji with negative connotations) came into use during the Edo Period when Christianity was a forbidden religion.
Portuguese ships began arriving in Japan in 1543,Documentos de Japon with Catholic missionary activities in Japan beginning in earnest around 1549, mainly by Portugal-sponsored Jesuits until Spain-sponsored mendicant orders, such as the Franciscans and Dominican Order, gained access to Japan. No Western women came to Japan. Of the 95 Jesuits who worked in Japan up to 1600, 57 were Portuguese, 20 were Spaniards and 18 Italian.Cultural Interactions Francis Xavier,Catholic Encyclopedia, Xavier entryCatholic Forum Cosme de Torres (a Jesuit priest), and João Fernandes were the first to arrive to Kagoshima with hopes to bring Christianity and Catholicism to Japan. At its height, Japan is estimated to have had around 300,000 Christians.Jansen, page 77 Catholicism was subsequently repressed in several parts of the country and ceased to exist publicly in the 17th century.
The countries disputed the allocation of Japan. Since neither could colonize it, the exclusive right to propagate Christianity in Japan meant the exclusive right to trade with Japan. Portuguese-sponsored Jesuits under Alessandro Valignano took the lead in proselytizing in Japan over the objection of the Spaniards, starting in 1579. The fait accompli was approved in Pope Gregory XIII's papal bull of 1575, which decided that Japan belonged to the Portuguese Diocese of Macau. In 1588, the diocese of Funai (Nagasaki) was founded under Portuguese protection.
In rivalry with the Jesuits, Spanish-sponsored mendicant orders entered into Japan via Manila. In addition to criticizing Jesuit activities, they actively lobbied the Pope. Their campaigns resulted in Pope Clement VIII's decree of 1600, which allowed Spanish friars to enter Japan via the Portuguese Indies, and Pope Paul V's decree of 1608, which abolished the restrictions on the route. The Portuguese accused Spanish Jesuits of working for their homeland instead of their religion. The power struggle between Jesuits and mendicant orders caused a schism within the diocese of Funai. Furthermore, mendicant orders tried in vain to establish a diocese on the Tōhoku region that was to be independent from the Portuguese one.
The Roman Catholic world order was challenged by the Netherlands and England. Its principle was repudiated by Grotius's Mare Liberum. In the early 17th century, Japan built trade relations with the Netherlands and England. Although England withdrew from the operations within ten years under James I due to a lack of profitability, the Netherlands continued to trade with Japan and became the only European country that maintained trade relations with Japan until the 19th century. As trade competitors, the Protestant countries engaged in a campaign against Catholicism, and this subsequently adversely affected shogunate policies toward the Iberian kingdoms.
Portugal's and Spain's colonial policies were also challenged by the Roman Catholic Church itself. The Holy See founded the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide in 1622 and attempted to separate the churches from the influence of the Iberian kingdoms. However, it was too late for Japan. The organization failed to establish staging points in Japan.
When Xavier disembarked in Kagoshima, the principal chiefs of the two branches of the Shimazu family, Sanehisa and Katsuhisa, were warring for the sovereignty of their lands. Katsuhisa adopted Shimazu Takahisa who in 1542 was accepted as head of the clan having previously received the Portuguese merchants on Tanegashima Island, learning about the use of firearms. Later, he met Xavier himself at the castle of Uchiujijo and permitted the conversion of his vassals.
Having a religious background, Takahisa showed himself to be benevolent and already allowed freedom of worship but not helping the missionaries nor favoring their church. Failing to find a way to the centre of affairs, the court of the Emperor, Xavier soon tired and left to Yamaguchi thus beginning the Yamaguchi period.St Francis Xavier and the Shimazu Family Xavier stayed in Yamaguchi for two months on his way to an abortive audience with the Emperor in Kyoto. Yamaguchi was already a prosperous and refined city and its leaders, the Ōuchi family, were aware that Xavier's journey to Japan had begun after the completion of his mission in India.
They took Catholicism for some sort of new sect of Buddhism and were curious to know of the priest's doctrine. Tolerant but shrewd, their eyes less on baptism than the Portuguese cargoes from Macao, they granted the Jesuit permission to preach. The uncompromising Xavier took to the streets of the city denouncing, among other things, infanticide, idolatry and homosexuality.
Christian books were published in Japanese from the 1590s on, some with more than one thousand copies, and from 1601 a printing press was established under the supervision of Soin Goto Thomas, a citizen of Nagasaki, with thirty Japanese working full-time at the press. Liturgical calendars were also printed after 1592 until at least 1634. Christian solidarity made possible missionary mail delivery throughout the country until the end of the 1620s.
These groups were fundamental to the mission, and themselves depended on both the ecclesiastical hierarchy as well as the warlords who controlled the lands where they lived. Therefore, the success of the Japanese mission cannot be explained only as the result of the action of a brilliant group of missionaries, or of the commercial and political interests of a few daimyōs and traders.
At the same time the missionaries faced the hostility of many other daimyōs. Christianity challenged Japanese civilization. A militant lay community, the main reason for missionary success in Japan, was also the main reason for the anti-Christian policy of the Tokugawa's bakufu.
Their officially recognized commercial activity was a fixed-amount entry into the Portuguese silk trade between Macau and Nagasaki. They financed to a certain amount the trade association in Macau, which purchased raw silk in Canton and sold it in Nagasaki. They did not confine their commercial activity to the official silk market but expanded into unauthorized markets. For the Macau-Nagasaki trade, they dealt in silk fabrics, gold, musk and other goods including military supplies and slavery. Sometimes, they even got involved in Spanish trade, prohibited by the kings of Spain and Portugal, and antagonizing the Portuguese traders.
It was mainly procurators who brokered Portuguese trade. They resided in Macau and Nagasaki, and accepted purchase commitments by Japanese customers such as the shogunate daimyō and wealthy merchants. By brokerage, the Jesuits could expect not only rebates but also favorable treatment from the authorities. For this reason, the office of procurator became an important post amongst the Jesuits in Japan.
Although trade activities by the Jesuits ate into Portuguese trade interests, procurators continued their brokerage utilizing the authority of the Catholic Church. At the same time, Portuguese merchants required the assistance of procurators who were familiar with Japanese customs, since they established no permanent trading post in Japan. Probably the most notable procurator was João Rodrigues, who approached Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu and even participated in the administration of Nagasaki.
Such commercial activities were contrary to the idea of honorable poverty that the priests held. But some Jesuits at this time placed the expansion of the society's influence before this ideal. Mendicant orders fiercely accused the Jesuits of being corrupt and even considered their activity as the primary reason for Japan's ban on Catholicism. Mendicant orders themselves were not necessarily uninvolved in commercial activities.
The Jesuits provided various kinds of support including military support to Kirishitan daimyōs when they were threatened by non-Kirishitan daimyōs. Most notable was their support of Ōmura Sumitada and Arima Harunobu, who fought against the anti-Catholic Ryuzoji clan. In the 1580s, Valignano believed in the effectiveness of military action and fortified Nagasaki and Mogi. In 1585, Gaspar Coelho asked the Spanish Philippines to send a fleet but the plan was rejected due to the shortness of its military capability. Christians Arima Harunobu and Paulo Okamoto were named as principals in an assassination plot to murder the magistrate in charge of the Shogunate's most important port city of Nagasaki.
Alessandro Valignano (1573–1606), appointed Visitor of the East Indies in 1573, held supreme authority over East Asia’s Jesuit missions, until his death in 1606. Visiting Japan three times (1579–1583, 1590–1592, 1598–1603), he championed cultural adaptation and founded St. Paul’s College in Macao (1594) to train Japanese clergy.
Sumitada, the first Japanese daimyo to convert to Catholicism, had previously invited Jesuits to settle in Yokoseura in the early 1560s, where a church was built and Portuguese ships visited in 1562 and 1563. However, Yokoseura’s destruction in 1563 by anti-Christian groups and rival merchants prompted the Jesuits to relocate to Nagasaki.Portuguese “discovery” and “naming” of the Formosa Island, 1510-1624: A history based on maps, rutters and other documents, Paul Kua, Anais de História de Além-Mar XXI (2020): pp. 323-324., "...from this year of 1571, Nagasaki became the recognised terminal port in Japan for the Great Ship from Macao” (Boxer 1963, 35). This is still a rather big range of years. Fortunately, further research enables us to narrow down the time. Ōmura Sumitada, the first Japanese Daimyo to accept Catholicism, had invited the Jesuits to settle in Yokoseura and built a church there, and the Portuguese ships visited this port in 1562 and 1563. But sadly, in 1563, the port of Yokoseura was destroyed by jealous merchants and anti-Christian groups in Japan, making it unsuitable for use thereafter (Boxer 1963, 27-29)"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 1563 Ōmura Sumitada becomes the first Christian daimyō with the name of Dom Bartolomeu. Owing to an uprising incited by Buddhist monks, the port of Yokoseura becomes a heap of ashes." Sumitada donated the land to establish a settlement for displaced Christians, many of whom were exiles fleeing religious persecution or wars,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 "There were also at that time many Christians living away from their homes, persecuted and exiled by the pagan lords because they refued to abandone the Faith and return to their sects....he added that by dividing the promontory among the displaced Christians a start would be made towards building the town. As this was a very good plan and most profitable for Don Bartolome and all his domain, he was greatly pleased by the idea and gave the promontory to the Father to divide among the displaced Christians. When I reached Japan for the first time,28 there were about four hundred houses there." granting perpetual usage rights and extraterritorial privileges in return for securing permanent port customs and entry taxes, with designated officials stationed to oversee their collection.Alejandro Valignano S. I. Sumario des las Cosas de Japon(1583). Adiciones de l sumario de Japon (1592). editados por jose Luis Alvarez-Taladriz. Tokyo 1954. Introduction. p. 70.
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. 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, "The brotherhood also had a second hospital outside the city for lepers, which represented an important influence of Christian practices, because there were no hospitals in Japan before the arrival of the Portuguese, and this was devoted to people who had become “repugnant for the Japanese”, according to the Jesuit Luís Fróis (1532-1597)" 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. "The Jesuits and the mendicant orders, through their contacts with the hinin (notably in the hospitals they established) were placed in the category of impurity." 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. "Purity and impurity, as a “dominant system of meaning,” were also represented in at least two other dichotomies – in/out and above/below – which “may not have been identical throughout history, but the structure itself has remained intact”"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 custom of geninka (下人化) encompassed practices resembling slavery. Individuals were exchanged for money, including children sold by parents, self-sold persons, those rescued from unjust execution, and debt-bound workers. Japanese rulers imposed geninka as punishment for serious crimes or rebellion, often extending it to the perpetrator’s wife and children.Rômulo Ehalt, Geninka and Slavery: Jesuit Casuistry and Tokugawa Legislation on Japanese Bondage (1590s–1620s), Itinerario (2023), 47, 342–356 doi:10.1017/S0165115323000256, pp. 353-354 Women who fled their fathers or husbands to seek shelter in a lord’s house were sometimes transformed into genin by the lord. During famines or natural disasters, individuals offered themselves as genin in exchange for food, clothing, and shelter. Japanese lords also demanded that retainers relinquish their daughters to serve in their manors, treating them as genin. Additionally, the genin status could be hereditary, perpetuating bondage across generations.Rômulo Ehalt, Geninka and Slavery: Jesuit Casuistry and Tokugawa Legislation on Japanese Bondage (1590s–1620s), Itinerario (2023), 47, 342–356 doi:10.1017/S0165115323000256, p. 354, "The same suggestion was repeated in other cases. For instance, those who offered themselves to work in exchange for protection during events like famines and natural disasters were often considered genin in Japanese society, but confessors were to admonish penitents that they should free these genin upon the completion of enough labour to pay for the amount of food, clothing, and shelter provided."Rômulo Ehalt, Geninka and Slavery: Jesuit Casuistry and Tokugawa Legislation on Japanese Bondage (1590s–1620s), Itinerario (2023), 47, 342–356 doi:10.1017/S0165115323000256, pp. 352-353, "This principle was not limited to the case of genin—social status in general was also often transmitted according to the same gender-based rule: sons taking on that of their fathers, daughters of their mothers....Nevertheless, the authority of the Ritsuryō was always on the minds of early modern Japanese. In 1587, when a group of Japanese visiting Manila was questioned on bondage practices in their country, their response to the fate of genin children replicated the model established by the code.5"Rômulo Ehalt, Geninka and Slavery: Jesuit Casuistry and Tokugawa Legislation on Japanese Bondage (1590s–1620s), Itinerario (2023), 47, p.354, "From the ten titles analysed in Goa, the only case of geninka considered unjustifiable was that of Japanese lords who called upon their retainers to relinquish their daughters to serve in their manors. The lack of historical precedents and legal criteria regarding this practice prevented its approval."
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, "Cerqueira indicates other failures of the Japanese voluntary servitude system: some would not receive any share of the price paid for their services, which was against the precepts of moral theology; others sold themselves into servitude because were not able to be hired in exchange of wages by the Portuguese, wishing only to pass to Macao. As result of these devious practices, Cerqueira declares that many Portuguese would not buy slaves in the same amount they did before. 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.MIZUKAMI Ikkyū. Chūsei no Shōen to Shakai. Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kōbunkan, 1969.
Jesuit-established organizations, such as Confraternity 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, "Cieslik uses, besides the inquiry to the Spanish theologian, the case of Jerónimo Jō ジェロニモ城, a Japanese Jesuit who had been rescued as a kid and later studied in their college.946 Also, Nawata-Ward explains how the Japanese brotherhoods, such as the confrarias and the Nagasaki Misericórdia, used to rescue Japanese slaves, often women, from ships and brothels.947" 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, "It seems Lucena’s memoir passage on the battle of the Nagayo Castle in March of 1587 and Fróis’s letter refer to the same fact. 944 However, it is interesting to notice Lucena’s concern with the legitimacy of the prisoners’ captivity. That was one final good deed, a final settling of scores with God, in order to restitute badly captive prisoners before Sumitada’s imminent death."
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, "Brothels were, in the prelates’ opinions, the place where the devil ordains its secret and dishonest encounters. The Constitutions were an ultimate resource used by the prelates to extirpate this industry from India – they commanded that no person, of any social condition, should allow that in his or her house prostitution took place, even if it was slave prostitution. Perpetrators were to be fined in 10 pardaos, doubled for the second time, thrice the amount for the third time, and publicly ashamed in front of the whole parish, forced to attend Sunday’s service barefooted and holding a candle. If a female slave was forced to prostitute herself, in or out of the master’s house,was to be freed. The owner was fined in 5 pardaos the first time, and double the second,paid for whoever accused the person."
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, "Because of this disadvantage, there was the need to create grey areas where missionaries could let go of otherwise inadmissible situations. Hence, from the get-go, the debate envisioned three outcomes: forms of Japanese bondage equal to slavery; situations that were not the same as slavery but could be tolerated by the missionaries; and intolerable cases." 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, "Tolerance was a rhetorical device closely related to dissimulation, a legal strategy tacitly approved by canon law that authorised missionaries to conform to local practices while adhering to established theological and legal principles, a much-needed rhetorical device for those attempting to accommodate the Christian dogma to local social dynamics.48" 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. 426Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, Jesuit Arguments for Voluntary Slavery in Japan and Brazil, Brazilian Journal of History, Volume: 39, Number: 80, Jan-Apr. 2019., p.10
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, "The precise date when Martins enacted the excommunication is unknown. If we follow the general rules of episcopal administration, he would not able to enact such order before arriving in Japan, because canon law often forbade the enactment of such decision outside one’s jurisdiction, even though Martins had been already informed by the authorities of Nagasaki before his arrival.1354" 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, "In the end, the bishop’s decision can be read as an ultimatum to slave traders in Japan. The arrival of such a high Episcopalian authority in Japan, a historical first since Xavier had stepped on the islands, meant that all merchants involved in purchasing and selling slaves in Japan could, in theory, face secular justice and prison. In practice, nonetheless, the bishop lacked secular authority to apply these punishments to their full extent. While Martins’ demand for an amplification on his secular powers remained unanswered, the missionaries depended on the good will of the captain-major. If Martins’ obtained a positive reply, the bishop would surpass the authority of the captain-major, who was still the ultimate representative of the Portuguese royal power in Japan" 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 end of the license or permit system and the excommunication meant the Jesuits were abstaining themselves from the slave trade in Japan. The problem was not theological anymore, but rather secular." After 1598, Bishop Luís de Cerqueira intensified pressure on Spanish and Portuguese authorities to abolish temporary servitude of Japanese and Korean individuals,Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Doctoral Dissertation, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017., pp. 486-487, "Four days later, the Bishop took the pen again to write another letter, now addressed to the King, before the ships left to Macao. Thus, Cerqueira started his lobbying campaign to obtain formal secular legal actions against the slave trade...This letter must be read as an appendix to the copy of the September 4th 1598 gathering memorandum sent to the king. Cerqueira here confirms that, since the excommunication issued by Martins, there was already intent of putting an end to the license system. The final confirmation of the end of the system came with the orders sent by the general of the order, Claudio Acquaviva, via the Philippines, eight days after Gil de la Mata arrived in Japan in August 1598." but the Portuguese slave trade reportedly grew.Silva Ehalt, Rômulo da. "Suspicion and Repression: Ming China, Tokugawa Japan, and the End of the Japanese-European Slave Trade (1614–1635)"
p.217, "In spite of this assertion, the fact is that the Japanese-European slave trade continued for a number of years beyond this date.7"Silva Ehalt, Rômulo da. "Suspicion and Repression: Ming China, Tokugawa Japan, and the End of the Japanese-European Slave Trade (1614–1635)"
p.215, "Despite showing the continuity of Japanese slavery, Sousa insists on the importance of the 1607 Portuguese law for the end of the trade. Lúcio de Sousa, Escravatura e Diáspora Japonesa nos Séculos XVI e XVII (Braga: NICPRI, 2014): 156–61; Sousa, The Portuguese Slave Trade: 426, 538, 542. As for numbers, for instance, the presence of Japanese individuals in Mexico City seems to have increased sharply after 1617, while records of Asians spread throughout the world suggest that there were enslaved or formerly enslaved Japanese in the Americas until the late seventeenth century. Out of the 35 Japanese Oropeza Keresey lists as living in Mexico City in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, only four arrived prior to 1617. Sousa's lists of 28 Japanese individuals spread around the globe between 1599 and 1642, which he claims to have been enslaved, suggests a similar pattern. Sousa, The Portuguese Slave Trade: 210–59; Deborah Oropeza Keresey, "Los 'indios chinos' en la Nueva España: la inmigración de la nao de China, 1565–1700" (PhD diss., El Colégio de México, 2007): 257–91"
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.
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.
The Jesuits attempted to expand their activity to Kyoto and the surrounding regions. In 1559, Gaspar Vilela obtained permission from Ashikaga Yoshiteru to teach Christianity. This license was the same as those given to Buddhism temples, so special treatment cannot be confirmed regarding the Jesuits. On the other hand, Emperor Ōgimachi issued edicts to ban Catholicism in 1565 and 1568. The orders of the Emperor and the Shogun made little difference.
Christians refer positively to Oda Nobunaga, who died in the middle of the unification of Japan. He favored the Jesuit missionary Luís Fróis and generally tolerated Christianity. But overall, he undertook no remarkable policies toward Catholicism. Actually, Catholic power in his domain was trivial because he did not conquer western Japan, where the Jesuits were based. By 1579, at the height of missionary activity, there were about 130,000 converts.L. Walker, 2002 – Foreign Affairs and Frontiers
However, the 1587 decree was not particularly enforced.Nosco, 1993 In contrast to the Jesuits, the Dominicans, Franciscans, and Augustinians were openly preaching to the common peoples; this caused Hideyoshi to become concerned that commoners with divided loyalties might lead to dangerous rebels like the Ikkō-ikki sect of earlier years;Jansen, pages 67–68 this led to Hideyoshi putting the 26 Martyrs of Japan followers to death in 1597 on his order.Jansen, page 68 After Hideyoshi died in 1598, amidst the chaos of succession there was less of a focus on persecuting Christians.Jansen, 68
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. "Hideyoshi asked Coelho to have the nao that was then anchored in Hirado brought to Hakata, but the latter’s harbour were not suitable and on 24 July the Portuguese captain visited Hideyoshi to decline and apologise. Hideyoshi accepted the explanations and showed signs of favour, but on that very same night, he sent a messenger to the Jesuits with three inquiries that suggest his disapproval and suspicion of the true intentions the Jesuits... on the morning of 25 July the messenger returned asking why the Jesuits destroyed temples and shrines and persecuted Buddhist monks.268"
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. "And Hideyoshi did promise before to Gaspar Coelho that he would reimburse the Portuguese merchants in Hirado for the money they had spent buying slaves. But he failed to do so." 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. "Negotiating legislation was a common practice in the period. As shown by Fujiki Hisashi, prohibition acts such as the kinzei 禁制 were negotiated between villagers and warlords, especially in times of conflict. Commoners would disburse money to pay for the intermediary negotiators, for the scribes, for the seal and so on. In the times of Hideyoshi, villages could pay up to 3,200 pieces of eiraku-sen 永楽銭, plus the necessary amount for the Kanpaku’s seal. 1035" 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. "Fujiki Hisashi demonstrated that a hitogaeshirei was mainly a kind of contract between local authorities, regardless of more general legal codes. It aimed at restoring and maintaining the relation between a local lord – jinushi 地主 – and croppers – kosaku 小作. Some daimyō had almost unrestricted agreements regarding the return of people, as for example between the Yasaka 八坂 and the Nagahiro 永弘 clans. These provisions gradually came to become local laws – kokuhō 国法 – during the 1550s and 1570s.1049 Hideyoshi’s decision to demand the return of Japanese purchased by the Portuguese was an extension of this process... Complementing Fujiki’s interpretation, Noritake Yūichi showed that while commoners – hyakushō 百姓 – where responsible for crops, local authorities were responsible for providing the appropriate conditions for these laborers to produce. And the order for return of laborers to one’s fief was one of the necessary maneuvers to guarantee these conditions. These people could be displaced not only by conflict or kidnappings, but also by fleeing economic and social conditions. 1050 These were moves occurring in all Japanese territory and were not restricted to areas of Kyushu." 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. "Nevertheless, as shown by Kobayashi Seiji, Hideyoshi changed his legislative method in this period. Before defeating the Shimazu clan, Hideyoshi used to include provisions such as these in his kinzei. But after the rulers of Satsuma surrendered, he started to order the return of prisoners after battles ended in different types of law, such as sadame 定, or jōjō 条々. The Kanpaku would demand captives to be returned to their original places, thus eliminating the negotiation for ransom and turning it into a binding process. After defeating the Shimazu, Hideyoshi ordered in April of 1587 that the clan returned commoners – hyakushō 百姓 – and others to their original places. His laws had a double effect: they forced the return of prisoners, as well as guaranteed the safety of prisoners during their return in order to avoid captives being evaded to different destinations.1048" 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. "If we consider this discussion as a continuation of the talks the Jesuits, the Portuguese captain Domingos Monteiro, the Christian lord Takayama Ukon and Hideyoshi had during that month of July, then we may understand the process as a failure on the part of the Jesuits in the negotiations... it seems that there was no change of attitude per se. The negotiations went sour, the Jesuits did not manage to keep their liberties, and Hideyoshi gave more importance to the local economic impact of the actions of the missionaries." 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. "After that, things would go downhill. Hideyoshi executed two of his kiboro who were Christians, Domingos Monteiro refused to bring his nau from Hirado to Hakata, and the Kanpaku enacted a 5-article edict expelling the Jesuits from Japan. The ruler was impatient, and everything was decided in a two-day period between July 24th and 25th." 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. "Coelho may have sub estimated Hideyoshi’s intentions and powers – it may be an understandable reaction, given the political volatility that was so characteristic of Japanese administration in the period. Coelho may have thought of Hideyoshi as just one more ruler trying to unify Japan, that would fail and fall in the end. But the Kanpaku represented a deeper change in the way Japan was ruled. Because Coelho ignored his proposals, the Kanpaku had to choose the harsher alternative and enact the edict expelling the priests."
Toyotomi Hideyoshi, after consolidating power in Japan by 1585, harbored ambitions to expand Japanese influence abroad. In 1585, as Kampaku, Hideyoshi articulated ambitions to invade China to address resource shortages, later expanding to Korea, the Philippines, India.Ike Susumu, Modern Asian Studies Review Vol 8, 2017, p. 7, "The first indication that Hideyoshi intended to invade China was made during the 9th month of Tensho 天正 13 (1585), just after he had been appointed Kampaku 関白 regent and forced the surrender of two powerful warlords, Chosokabe Motochika 長 宗 我 部 元 親 in Shikoku 四 国 and Sassa Narimasa 佐 々 成 政 in Etcu 越中...Hideyoshi wrote in a letter to one of his own vassals, for those like Kato who have too many retainers and not enough rice to feed them, “asking Japan to foot the bill isnʼt going to be enough; weʼll have to get China to contribute, too” Iyo. This was Hideyoshiʼs way, now that his hegemony over Japan was almost complete, of egging his military further on to an “adventure on the Continent” (Kara-iri 唐入り) with the promise of territorial expansion." He claimed divine legitimacy, asserting that his mother dreamt she carried the Sun in her womb when he was born, an auspicious sign that he would "radiate virtue and rule the four seas"(Zoku Zenrin Kokuhoki).Ike Susumu, Modern Asian Studies Review Vol 8, 2017, p. 8, "Later on in peace negotiations with the Ming Dynasty, the “Articles to Be Announced to the Imperial Ming Delegation” which Hideyoshi gave to Japanese representatives led by Ishida Mitsunari 石田三成 would contain the statement, “The great land of Japan is a holy land. Its god is the Creator. The Creator is its god.” Hideyoshi himself claimed that when he was born, his mother had a dream that she was carrying the Sun in her womb. In other words, it was an auspicious sign that the child whom she had given birth to would throughout his life “radiate virtue and rule the four seas” Zoku. This article was of course not Hideyoshiʼs idea but rather proposed by such diplomatic advisors as Zen monk Saisho Jotai 西笑承兌, for Japanʼs Warring States Era was marked by the spread of religious syncretism incorporating Confucian ideas and Shinto beliefs into the framework of the Dharma. Hideyoshi’s vision included relocating the Japanese emperor to Beijing, appointing his nephew as regent of China, and establishing himself in Ningbo to oversee further conquests, including India, and Europe.Ike Susumu, Modern Asian Studies Review Vol 8, 2017, p. 10-11 "As soon as he received the news of the victories, Hideyoshi made public his plans for the occupation and rule of East Asia, in which present Emperor Goyozei 後陽成 and his court would be relocated to Beijing and granted ten provinces....Hideyoshi himself would take up residence in the port town of Ningbo 寧波, “where the Japanese fleet would land” to take him onto the conquest of India Kumiya."Asao, Naohiro. Tenka Itto. Vol. 8 of Great Series: Japanese History. Tokyo: Shogakukan, 1993.Cratse, Gian, et al. History of Western Religion in Japan. Vol. 1. Tokyo: Taiyodo Bookstore, 1925.Nishimura, Shinji. Azuchi-Momoyama Period. The People’s History of Japan, vol. 8. Tokyo: Waseda University Press, 1922. These plans were driven by a desire for economic gain, territorial expansion, and recognition from foreign rulers, rather than purely military motives.Routledge Handbook of Asian Regionalism, Edited by Mark Beeson and Richard Stubbs. Routledge, 2012, p.69. The 1592 invasion of Korea, involving over 160,000 troops, was a step toward this goal but ultimately failed after six years, ending with Hideyoshi’s death in 1598.Routledge Handbook of Asian Regionalism, Edited by Mark Beeson and Richard Stubbs. Routledge, 2012, p.58, "In 1592, Japanese General Hideyoshi invaded Korea with more than 160,000 troops on approximately 700 ships, eventually mobilizing 500,000 troops, intending to conquer China after first subduing Korea (Swope 2005: 41). More than 60,000 Korean soldiers, eventually supported by 100,000 Ming Chinese forces, defended the Korean peninsula. After 6 years of war, the Japanese retreated and Hideyoshi died, having failed spectacularly in his quest to conquer China and Korea."Ike Susumu, Modern Asian Studies Review Vol 8, 2017, p. 7, "The next step towards the invasion of Korea was the conquest of Kyushu, when during the 6th month of Tensho 15 (1587) the island was apportioned into fiefs at Hakozaki 箱崎 in Chikuzen 筑前 Province....According to Hideyoshi, the division of Kyushu was motivated by the hope of “taking command as far as the continental and South Seas barbarians” Kobayakawake. A few days after the partition of Kyushu, Hideyoshi toured the city of Hakata 博多, the gateway to the East Asia trade, urging the reconstruction of his new possession from the ruins of war into a base of logistics not only to take control of commerce, but also to launch an attack on Korea."
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.
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. ISBN 978-0-09-953472-3. 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. ISSN 0874-8438. p.128, "At that time there was also a big traffic in women, and Portuguese were good witness of this, because “as soon as they have arrived, come the agents of the women, looking them up in the houses in which they are lodging for nine. And they ask them if they want to buy a virgin girl or have her in some other way that would please them more, and this for the time that they will be there, or just to have her for some nights or days or months or hours” (fl.127-128)" 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.
The edict was partly motivated by the depletion of Kyushu’s labor force due to the Portuguese slave trade and meat eating, which Hideyoshi saw as detrimental to the local economy.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. p. 328 ,"He explains the necessity they had of cows and horses in the country, as an important resource for war and manual labor. Hideyoshi also explains that eating these animals could deplete the land of this important resource. Once more, the ruler makes an irrefutable offer to the priests: if the Portuguese and the missionaries could not live without eating meat, Hideyoshi would order the construction of a facility to keep hunted animals to be consumed by the foreigners."Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. p. 333, "In conclusion, the interrogatory sent by Hideyoshi shows that the ruler was more concerned with economic aspects and the impact of the way Jesuits acted in Japan rather than moral issues. The depletion of the fields of Kyushu from human and animal labor force was a serious issue to the local economy. This conclusion overturns what has been stated by the previous historiography, since Okamoto, who defended that Hideyoshi, upon arriving in Kyushu, discovered for the first time the horrors of the slave trade and, moved by anger, ordered its suspension.1053 However, as we saw before, the practice was much older and most certainly known in the whole archipelago, although apparently restricted to Kyushu. Because the Kanpaku consolidated his rule over the island, conditions were favorable for him to enact such orders." Although an earlier memorandum included references to the slave trade, the final edict omitted these, focusing instead on religious and political issues.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. p.344, "Both Hirai Seiji and Fujiki Hisashi support the provision forbidding the slave trade was addressed to the Japanese, not to foreigners.1078 Thus, the export of Japanese slaves was hindered as a consequence of the main prohibition. Because of that, we understand Hideyoshi had in fact followed Coelho’s advice, and acted to curtail the slave trade with legal actions aimed at Japanese rulers rather than foreign merchants." The total number of Japanese slaves purchased or contracted by the Portuguese after their arrival is estimated to range from hundreds to thousands,Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. p, 102, "Their interference as the guardians of the keys to justification of the enslavement of Japanese would have dire consequences and impact lives of hundreds, if not thousands of individuals acquired or hired in Japan" and the economic impact is believed to have been exaggerated beyond its actual extent.
His tolerance of abductions and enslavement during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598), driven by daimyo plundering for profit, 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.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Doctoral Dissertation, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017., pp.432-433, "Martins’ decision established a new rule for Portuguese merchants in Japan – Japanese or Koreans were not to be purchased nor taken out of the archipelago. By reading the 1598 document, it seems that the Jesuits decided to finish their permit system, in place since the Cosme de Torres era, and prosecute slave traders. Interestingly, the main difference here between the ecclesiastical legislation and the local Japanese legislation, enforced by Hideyoshi’s administration, was that the bishop included the Koreans in his ban, while the Japanese ruler expected to use them" 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: The expansion of Japan's cultural sphere through invasion and wartime atrocities such as the enslavement of non-Japanese were justified as necessary and honorable, while cultural and commercial frictions with foreign entities were regarded as unforgivable deviations or acts of aggression. The expulsion edict was likely influenced by an ethnocentric belief in Japan's divine superiority and the perceived inferiority of foreign cultures, suggesting a xenophobic bias and double standard in policy.
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. ""From his standpoint as a dispotic ruler he (=Hideyoshi) was undoubtedly right to regard Christian propaganda as subversive, for no system can survive unchanged once the assumptions upon which it is based are undermined. However high their purpose, what the Jesuits were doing, in Japan as well as in India and China, was to challenge a national tradition and through it the existing political structure. This last is an animal that always defends itself when attacked, and consequently Hideyoshi's reaction, however deplorable, was to be expected and does not seem to need any fuller explanation."" 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.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.317, "The chief difficulty which the missionaries found with Nagasaki on their hands was the administration of justice. As Doctor of Law, Valignano thoroughly understood the grave problems involved in this administration; at the same he was able to find a solution which on the one hand was in accord with Japanese customs and on the other did not violate either Christian mentality or the laws of the Church. We do not know any detail the laws which Oomura Sumitada drew up with Valignano's advice, but from the words of the Visitor we can deduce that the code for the new city of Nagasaki was an improvement in two respects on the legislation then in force in Japan. The first and most important feature was the introduction of the distinction between criminal and civil cases and between ecclesiastical and secular jurisdiction; the second was an appreciable mitigation of penal severity."
Seventeenth-century anti-Christian literature highlights several objectionable actions attributed to missionaries:Elison, Deus Destroyed. p. 215. "They sent out men to search throughout the Capital and its outskirts, in wayside chapels in the hills and plains, and even underneath bridges. They gathered in outcasts and beggars and others with diseases and afflictions, had them take a bath and cleanse the body, and gave them clothing, succor, shelter, and care."
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.
The Jesuit Provincial Francisco Cabral and Visitor Alessandro Valignano, succeeding Cosme de Torres, officially opposed iconoclasm as counterproductive to missionary work. The existence of large-scale destruction following Valignano’s appointment as Visitor is questioned, and claims of widespread Jesuit-led iconoclasm lack evidence. Christian daimyo, such as Sumitada Ōmura, blended Christian and Buddhist identities, as seen in his 1574 tonsure in the Shingon sect. They likely permitted temple destruction for strategic purposes, not purely religious motives.
The Portuguese merchants, by conducting transactions on these islands, evaded the prohibition in Macau and the excommunication by Bishop Martins. While the Jesuits completely withdrew their desperate measure of regulating the slave trade of Portuguese merchants and made a strong statement that they would not relent in excommunicating merchants outside their jurisdictionJesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. p.403, "When the Visitor writes that they were doing their best, he is affirming that they were solving each situation on the spot, without time or the necessary authority to elaborate definitive rules. They were local missionaries deciding on issues that surpassed their jurisdiction. They knew they could not act without proper official recognition, but they were forced by the local circumstances.", Hideyoshi's policies encouraged the enslavement of Koreans, effectively nullifying the previous restrictions.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017, pp.432-433, "Nevertheless, the available sources offer secure indicators on how this order worked. Martins’ decision established a new rule for Portuguese merchants in Japan – Japanese or Koreans were not to be purchased nor taken out of the archipelago. By reading the 1598 document, it seems that the Jesuits decided to finish their permit system, in place since the Cosme de Torres era, and prosecute slave traders. Interestingly, the main difference here between the ecclesiastical legislation and the local Japanese legislation, enforced by Hideyoshi’s administration, was that the bishop included the Koreans in his ban, while the Japanese ruler expected to use them" The 1592 Dochirina Kirishitan emphasized redeeming captives as a Christian duty, rooted in Christ’s atonement, yet Jesuits lacked the authority to enforce the prohibition of slavery, as Valignano repeatedly argued.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 was due not to theoretical or legal reasons, but to the lack of authoritative power held by Jesuits in Japan. As argued numerous times by the visitor of the vice-province, Valignano, missionaries could not expect positive outcomes from their reprimands and admonitions because of their limited capacity to alter or influence the courses of action taken by Japanese Christians, particularly powerful individuals, when facing moral doubts.46"Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. p. 403, "Nevertheless, as a result, these local lords were capturing and enslaving Koreans, brought by the thousands to Japan. In face of that situation, the priests were totally lost: how could they guide their most powerful parishioners to act properly when their influence was limited? How could they defend the correct and proper ways for enslavement of others? And how could they guarantee that unjustly enslaved people would be adequately returned to Korea? Valignano’s text was admitting that the Jesuits were powerless, unable to go against the situation. Thus, they were forced to cope with it." Since their arrival in Japan, the Portuguese are estimated to have traded hundreds to thousands of Japanese slaves.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. p, 102, "Their interference as the guardians of the keys to justification of the enslavement of Japanese would have dire consequences and impact lives of hundreds, if not thousands of individuals acquired or hired in Japan" However, the number of Korean slaves brought to Japan significantly exceeded this figure.
In the period following the San Felipe incident (1596), the perspective, purportedly propagated by the Jesuits, that Franciscan missionary activities served as the "vanguard" of Spanish imperial conquestSquabbles 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.244-245, "For the Japanese missionaries, 1597 was an eventful year. Far from being assuaged by the Nagasaki martyrdoms as might have been hoped, the acrimony between the Spaniards and the Portuguese, and between the Franciscans and the Jesuits, only intensified as charges and countercharges were freely exchanged. Each side blamed the other for the seizure of San Felipe and the subsequent mass execution at Nagasaki. According to the Portuguese, the Spanish pilot’s boasting had angered Hideyoshi, prompting him to drastic action. Not so, said the Spaniards: the real reason was that the Portuguese had spread the word that the Spaniards were robbers and pirates. The religious orders joined in the dreary controversy. According to the Jesuits, the friars had ignored all warning signs, and their public preaching had brought trouble on upon their own Jesuits’ hands. The Franciscans answered that the Jesuits had maligned them in court." 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.
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。" Frois’s account is not definitive history but reflects Jesuit perspectives on Hideyoshi’s suspicions. The concern that Christians were being used as "vanguards of invasion" stemmed from a widely circulated conspiracy theory, as evidenced in a 1578 letter by Luís Fróis. According to Boxer, this conspiracy theory had been propagated by monks since at least 1570.Boxer, Charles Ralph. The Christian Century in Japan: 1549-1650. Univ of California Press, 1951. pp.165-166. While figures such as Ōtomo and Oda Nobunaga dismissed it outright, Boxer speculates that Hideyoshi may have been influenced by such theories.Boxer, Charles Ralph. The Christian Century in Japan: 1549-1650. Univ of California Press, 1951. p.151
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. Boxer highlights a discrepancy: eyewitness Fray Juan Pobre asserted that the seizure was decided before the pilot’s interrogation, contradicting Jesuit accounts. 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 motivation for these killings was the building of an over-grand, three-story Franciscan church in central Miyako 都 (Kyoto); no Jesuits were involved (until two more of less forced themselves into the death-band en route). At issue was lèse-majesty in the Capital, not extirpating Christianity.18 Within the bloody context of Japan’s sixteenth century, these numbers suggest Hideyoshi had no appetite for major change. He had the lavish temple, which had provoked his ire, the Nanbanji 南蛮寺 dismantled, but smaller churches remained throughout the country. Hideyoshi did not issue any further significant restrictions on the missions.19" The notion of a Christian fifth column lacks strong evidence, as the charge was specifically lèse-majesty, not a broader conspiratorial threat.
Most Japanese Christians lived in Kyushu, but Christianization was not a regional phenomenon and had a national impact. By the end of the 16th century it was possible to find baptized people in virtually every province of Japan, many of them organized in communities. On the eve of the Sekigahara battle, fifteen daimyōs were baptized, and their domains stretched from Hyūga in Southeast Kyushu to Dewa in North Honshū.Costa, 2003 – Misericordias Hundreds of churches had been built throughout Japan.
Accepted on a national scale, Christianity was also successful among different social groups from the poor to the rich, peasants, traders, sailors, warriors, or courtesans. Most of the daily activities of the Church were done by Japanese from the beginning, giving the Japanese Church a native face, and this was one of the reasons for its success. By 1590, there were seventy native brothers in Japan, fully one half of Jesuits in Japan, and fifteen percent of all Jesuits who were working in Asia.
In June 1592, Hideyoshi invaded Korea; among his leading generals was Christian daimyō Konishi Yukinaga.#Jansen|Jansen, p. 29 The actions of his forces in the massacre and enslavement of many of the Korean people were indistinguishable from the non-Christian Japanese forces that participated in the invasion.Kiernan After Konishi's loss in the battle of Sekigahara, Konishi would base his refusal to commit seppuku on his Christian beliefs; instead of taking his own life, he chose capture and execution.#Jansen|Jansen, pp. 5, 29
The 1592 war between Japan and Korea also provided Westerners with a rare opportunity to visit Korea. Under orders of Gomaz, the Jesuit Gregorious de Cespedes arrived in Korea with a Japanese monk for the purpose of administering to the Japanese troops. He stayed there for approximately 18 months, until April or May 1595, thus being on record as the first European missionary to visit the Korean peninsula, but was unable to make any inroads. The Annual Letters of Japan made a substantial contribution to the introduction of Korea to Europe, Francis Xavier having crossed paths with Korean envoys dispatched to Japan during 1550 and 1551.
The Japanese missions were economically self-sufficient. Nagasaki's misericórdias became rich and powerful institutions which every year received large donations. The brotherhood grew in numbers to over 100 by 1585 and 150 in 1609. Controlled by the elite of Nagasaki, and not by Portuguese, it had two hospitals (one for lepers) and a large church. By 1606, there already existed a feminine religious order called Miyako no Bikuni ("nuns of Kyoto") which accepted Korean converts such as Marina Pak, baptized in Nagasaki. Nagasaki was called "the Rome of Japan" and most of its inhabitants were Christians. By 1611, it had ten churches and was divided into eight parishes including a specifically Korean order.
It seems that the Jesuits realized that the Tokugawa shogunate was much stronger and more stable than Toyotomi Hideyoshi's administration, yet the mendicant orders discussed military options relatively openly. In 1615, a Franciscan emissary of the Viceroy of New Spain asked the shogun for land to build a Spanish fortress and this deepened Japan's suspicion against Catholicism and the Iberian colonial powers behind it. The Jesuits and the Mendicant Orders kept a lasting rivalry over the Japanese mission and attached to different imperial strategies.
The immediate cause of the prohibition was the Okamoto Daihachi incident, a case of fraud involving Ieyasu's Catholic vavasor, but there were also other reasons behind it. The shogunate was concerned about a possible invasion by the Iberian colonial powers, which had previously occurred in the New World and the Philippines. Domestically, the ban was closely related to measures against the Toyotomi clan. The Buddhist ecclesiastical establishment was made responsible for verifying that a person was not a Christian through what became known as the "temple guarantee system" (terauke seido). By the 1630s, people were being required to produce a certificate of affiliation with a Buddhist temple as proof of religious orthodoxy, social acceptability and loyalty to the regime.
In the mid-17th century, the shogunate demanded the expulsion of all European missionaries and the execution of all converts.Mullins, 1990 This marked the end of open Christianity in Japan. The bakufu erected bulletin boards nationwide at crossroads and bridges; among the many proscriptions listed on these boards were strict warnings against Christianity.Jansen, page 58
The systematic persecution beginning in 1614 faced stiff resistance from Christians, despite the departure of more than half the clergy. Once again, the main reason for this resistance was not the presence of a few priests but rather the self-organization of many communities. Forced to secrecy, and having a small number of clergymen working underground, the Japanese Church was able to recruit leadership from among lay members. Japanese children caused admiration among the Portuguese and seem to have participated actively in the resistance. Nagasaki remained a Christian city in the first decades of the 17th century and during the general persecutions other confraternities were founded in Shimabara, Kinai and Franciscans in Edo.
The number of active Christians is estimated to have been around 200,000 in 1582.Catholic Encyclopedia, Japan entry There were likely around 1,000 known martyrs during the missionary period. In contrast, Christians attach a great importance to martyrdom and persecution, noting that countless more people were dispossessed of their land and property leading to their subsequent death in poverty.
The Japanese government used fumi-e to reveal practicing Catholics and sympathizers. Fumi-e were pictures of the Virgin Mary or Christ. People reluctant to step on the pictures were identified as Christian and taken to Nagasaki. If they refused to renounce their religion, they were tortured; those who still refused were executed.
The Catholic remnant in Japan were driven underground, and its members became known as the "Hidden Christians". Some priests remained in Japan illegally, including 18 Jesuits, seven Franciscans, seven Dominicans, one Augustinian, five seculars and an unknown number of Jesuit irmao and dojuku. Since this time corresponds to the Thirty Years' War between Catholics and Protestants in Germany, it is possible that the checking of Catholic power in Europe reduced the flow of funds to the Catholic missions in Japan, which could be why they failed at this time and not before. During the Edo period, the Kakure Kirishitans kept their faith. Biblical phrases or prayers were transferred orally from parent to child, and secret posts (mizukata) were assigned in their underground community to baptize their children, all while regional governments continuously operated fumi-e to expose Christians.
In 1639, the Dutch warehouse in Hirado was demolished because it bore the Christian year 1639 (anno Domini), which violated the Shogunate's anti-Christian edict.Japan’s Encounters with the West through the VOC. Western Paintings and Their Appropriation in Japan, Mediating Netherlandish Art and Material Culture in Asia, Yoriko Kobayashi-Sato, December 2014, (pp.267-290) Concurrently, a Dutch cemetery was desecrated, with graves excavated and bodies thrown into the sea, demonstrating the Shogunate's aggressive stance against Christian symbols.Viallé and Blussé, 2005; Nederlandse Factorij Japan 67 1654:37 In 1654, Gabriel Happart, a Dutchman, petitioned for land burials in Nagasaki. The request was granted, but only on the condition that burials adhere to Japanese customs, explicitly prohibiting Christian funeral rites or ceremonies.Blussé, Leonard, Viallé, Cynthia, The Deshima dagregisters: their original tables of contents, Vol. XI: 1641–1650. Institute for the Studyof European Expansion, Intercontinenta 23, 2001Viallé and Blussé, 2005; Nederlandse Factorij Japan 67 1654:35:37:51Blussé and Viallé, 2005; NFJ 67:110, NFJ 68:1,105.
The Shogunate's suspicion of Christianity shaped its treatment of the Dutch, who were confined to the artificial island of Dejima in Nagasaki. Dutch records indicate that Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu considered their religion akin to that of the Portuguese Catholics, a perception that contributed to their isolation on Dejima.Innes, Robert Leroy. “The Door Ajar: Japan's Foreign Trade in the Seventeenth Century.” PhD Dissertation. University of Michigan, 1980. pp. 161-163.
In 1673, the English ship Return arrived in Japan seeking to reestablish trade. However, the Shogunate, wary of the English adherence to the anti-Christian ban, rejected their request.The Dutch and English East India Companies Diplomacy, Trade and Violence in Early Modern Asia, Edited by Adam Clulow and Tristan Mostert, Amsterdam University Press, DOI: 10.2307/j.ctv9hvqf2, ISBN(s): 9789048533381, 97894629832982018, p. 92., "In the end, the bakufu did not accept the English, because they could not rely on their compliance with Tokugawa prohibitions of Christianity. After the Return incident, no European embassies visited Japan for more than a hundred years before the arrival of Adam Laxman from Russia in October 1792."
Engelbert Kaempfer, a German physician who lived in Dejima during the 1690s, detailed the oppressive conditions endured by the Dutch. They faced various humiliations and were strictly prohibited from invoking the name of Christ, singing religious hymns, praying publicly, celebrating Christian holidays, or carrying crosses.Imagining Global Amsterdam: History, Culture, and Geography in a World City, M. de Waard / Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam 2012, p. 37., "we had to endure many shameful restrictions imposed by those proud heathens. We may not celebrate Sundays or other festivities, we may not sing religious songs or speak our prayers; we never pronounce the name of Christ, nor may we carry around the image of the cross or any other symbol of Christianity. In addition we have to endure many other shameful impositions, which are very painful to a sensitive heart. The only reason which induces the Dutch to live so patiently with all these pains is the pure and simple love for profit and for the costly marrow of the Japanese mountains. (1964, 72)". Kämpfer, Engelbert. Geschichte und Beschreibung von Japan. Vol. 2. Stuttgart: Brockhaus, 1964. p. 72
Kirishitan sought refuge in New Spain to escape persecution in Japan.Déborah Oropeza Keresey, Los “indios chinos” en la Nueva España: la inmigración de la nao de China, 1565-1700, PhD Tesis, 2007, pp. 191-192, "Probablemente la mayoría de los japoneses en Filipinas eran comerciantes, aunque también llegaron al archipiélago japoneses cristianos perseguidos por las autoridades niponas.105" In the Philippines, an estimated 1,500 to 3,000 Japanese resided during the early 17th century, predominantly as merchants, with a significant portion being Kirishitan.Déborah Oropeza Keresey, Los “indios chinos” en la Nueva España: la inmigración de la nao de China, 1565-1700, PhD Tesis, 2007, "Manila también mantuvo lazos comerciales con Japón, específicamente con el puerto de Nagasaki donde existía un asentamiento portugués desde 1571. Este comercio se mantuvo hasta el año de 1639 en que Japón cerró las puertas al comercio ibérico a favor del holandés. En las primeras décadas del XVII encontramos una colonia de entre 1,500 y 3,000 japoneses en la región de Manila, administrados por los franciscanos en el convento de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Dilao.104" In Mexico City, records document 82 Japanese immigrants between 1610 and 1614, with 19 arriving in 1610 and 63 in 1614.Déborah Oropeza Keresey, Los “indios chinos” en la Nueva España: la inmigración de la nao de China, 1565-1700, PhD Tesis, 2007, p. 112, "Aunque sabemos que entre 1610 y 1614 hubo por lo menos 82 japoneses en la ciudad de México (19 entraron en 1610 y 63 en 1614; Chimalpahin, 2001, pp.217, 367-397), por nombre sólo hemos rastreado 35 “japones” en el periodo 1565-1700." Legally, Japanese and other East Asians were classified as "Indios" (indigenous), aligning their status with native populations.Déborah Oropeza Keresey, Los “indios chinos” en la Nueva España: la inmigración de la nao de China, 1565-1700, PhD Tesis, 2007, pp.138-139, "El “indio chino” ocupó un lugar ambiguo en la sociedad novohispana. El hecho de que era originario de las Indias, y por lo tanto indio, pero no natural del suelo americano, creó confusión en la sociedad y en las autoridades novohispanas....En ocasiones quedaba claro que jurídicamente hablando el oriental era considerado indio."
Several Japanese immigrants achieved remarkable economic success in New Spain, particularly in Guadalajara, the capital of Nueva Galicia. Juan de Páez, who migrated in the 1620s, established a successful trade in distilled spirits such as vino de cocos and mezcal. By 1650, he owned a store, and by 1653, he ranked among Guadalajara’s top 20 wealthiest individuals, as evidenced by his designation as "albacea, heredero y tenedor de bienes." From 1657 to 1661, he served as "mayordomo y administrador de los propios y rentas de la catedral," managing cathedral finances. Upon his death in 1675, Páez left a substantial fortune valued at tens of thousands of pesos and was buried in a prestigious cathedral plot alongside local elites.Déborah Oropeza Keresey, Los “indios chinos” en la Nueva España: la inmigración de la nao de China, 1565-1700, PhD Tesis, 2007, p. 122, "El primero, quien había llegado a la Nueva Galicia alrededor de 1620, fue socio en algunos negocios, incluyendo el de vino de cocos y mezcal, y en 1650 ya era dueño de una tienda en dicha Audiencia. Páez, quien probablemente nació en Guadalajara, compró “mucha cantidad de ropa” en 1638 y 220 novillos en 1653. Prestó también dinero a vecinos y mercaderes de la región. Thomas Calvo sostiene que Juan de Páez llegó a ser mucho más que un comerciante, y le califica como un “experto financiero”, quien entre otras cosas, fue el administrador de uno de los pocos mayorazgos de Guadalajara de 1657 a 1661 y el “albacea, heredero y tenedor de bienes” de veinte notables personajes de su tiempo. "Thomas Calvo, (1989), “Japoneses en Guadalajara: ‘Blancos de Honor’ durante el Seiscientos mexicano,” La Nueva Galicia en los siglos XVI y XVII, Guadalajara: El Colegio de Jalisco, Centro de Estudios Mexicanos y Centroamericanos, p. 542.
Similarly, the household of Margarita de Encío, widow of Japanese immigrant Luis de Encío, exemplified prosperity. A 1679 census recorded her household employing ten mestizo and four Black servants, a figure surpassed by only two other merchant households, underscoring the Encío family’s affluence.Thomas Calvo, (1989), “Japoneses en Guadalajara: ‘Blancos de Honor’ durante el Seiscientos mexicano,” La Nueva Galicia en los siglos XVI y XVII, Guadalajara: El Colegio de Jalisco, Centro de Estudios Mexicanos y Centroamericanos, p. 545.Déborah Oropeza Keresey, Los “indios chinos” en la Nueva España: la inmigración de la nao de China, 1565-1700, PhD Tesis, 2007, p. 122, "En el padrón de 1679 del centro de la ciudad de Guadalajara, la casa de Margarita de Encío, viuda de Paéz, contaba entre su servidumbre con diez mulatas y cuatro negras, cifra sobrepasada únicamente por las casas de dos ricos mercaderes, lo cual demuestra el éxito profesional y económico de dicho “japón”.372"
Kirishitan also made significant contributions in academic and religious domains. Luis de Sasanda, son of the martyred Miguel de Sasanda (1613), was permitted to join a religious order, likely facilitated by his father’s martyrdom.Déborah Oropeza Keresey, Los “indios chinos” en la Nueva España: la inmigración de la nao de China, 1565-1700, PhD Tesis, 2007, p. 147, "Si consideramos que el Tercer Concilio Provincial de 1585 en Nueva España dejó la puerta abierta para la ordenación de indios y mestizos,444 y que en Oriente se llegó a ordenar (no sólo como sacerdote, sino como obispo) al chino Gregorio López, no resulta del todo sorprendente el hecho de que en el siglo XVII, Fray Luis de Sasanda, “japón”, por ejemplo, ingresara a la provincia franciscana de San Pedro y San Pablo en Michoacán. Muy probablemente, el hecho de que era hijo de Miguel Sasanda, japonés martirizado en 1613, facilitó su entrada a dicha provincia.445"Morales, Francisco O.F.M, Ethnic and Social Background of the Franciscan Friars in Seventeenth-Century Mexico. Washington D.C: Academy of American Franciscan History, 1973, p. 50 Manuel de Santa Fe, a Japanese descendant, graduated from the philosophy faculty and enrolled in the medical faculty in 1674, demonstrating intellectual integration. Fray Gaspar de San Agustín, an Augustinian superior in the early 18th century, praised Kirishitan as "Asian Spaniards," distinguishing them for their cultural refinement.Déborah Oropeza Keresey, Los “indios chinos” en la Nueva España: la inmigración de la nao de China, 1565-1700, PhD Tesis, 2007, p.148, "El hecho de que algunos japoneses como Fray Luis de Sasanda y Juan de Páez lograran introducirse en ámbitos relevantes, revela que no todos los “indios chinos” eran vistos de igual manera por la sociedad novohispana. También sabemos de un “indio japón blanco”, Manuel de Santa Fe, quien se graduó de la Facultad de Filosofía de la Universidad y en 1674 se matriculó en la Facultad de Medicina.448 En las Filipinas, Fray Gaspar de San Agustín, procurador de los Agustinos en el temprano siglo XVIII, sostenía que mientras que los “Indios asiáticos de Filipinas” y de las “demás naciones de la India oriental” eran muy similares, se distinguían los “Japoneses que son los Españoles de Asia” y los Chinos, por su “cultura de política y amor a las letras”.449 Probablemente se tenía la misma apreciación en la sociedad novohispana."
Kirishitan samurai enjoyed unique privileges in New Spain, reflecting their elevated social status. The practice of carrying swords, a marker of social distinction in Europe,Angus Patterson, Fashion and Armour in Renaissance Europe: Proud Lookes and Brave Attire (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2009), 28. was extended to Japanese samurai. Juan de la Barranca, a Kirishitan samurai, was granted the right to bear arms and tax exemptions, with godparents selected from New Spain’s upper class, indicating elite connections. Similarly, Francisco de Calderas and his sons in Oaxaca received sword-bearing privileges in 1644.Rubén Carrillo Martín, ASIANS TO NEW SPAIN ASIAN CULTURAL AND MIGRATORY FLOWS IN MEXICO IN THE EARLY STAGES OF “GLOBALIZATION” (1565-1816), 2015., pp. 98-99 Kirishitan soldiers in Veracruz were also permitted to carry swords, further highlighting their privileged status among the "Chinos" (a term applied to East Asians).Rubén Carrillo Martín, ASIANS TO NEW SPAIN ASIAN CULTURAL AND MIGRATORY FLOWS IN MEXICO IN THE EARLY STAGES OF “GLOBALIZATION” (1565-1816), 2015., p. 107
A female member of the group spoke to a French priest, Bernard Petitjean, and confessed that their families had kept the Kirishitan faith. Those Kirishitan wanted to see the statue of St. Mary with their own eyes, and to confirm that the priest was single and truly came from the pope in Rome. After this interview, many Kirishitan thronged toward Petitjean. He investigated their underground organizations and discovered that they had kept the rite of baptism and the liturgical years without European priests for nearly 250 years. Petitjean's report surprised the Christian world; Pope Pius IX called it a miracle.
The Edo Shogunate's edicts banning Christianity were still on the books, and the religion continued to be persecuted up to 1867, the last year of its rule. Robert Bruce Van Valkenburgh, the American minister-resident in Japan, privately complained of this persecution to the Nagasaki magistrates, though little action was taken to stop it. The succeeding Meiji government under Emperor Meiji, who took over from the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868, initially continued in this vein and several thousand people were exiled (Urakami Yoban Kuzure). After Europe and the U.S. began to vocally criticize the persecution, the Japanese government realized that it needed to lift the ban in order to attain its interests. In 1873, the ban was lifted. Numerous exiles returned and began construction of the Urakami Cathedral, which was completed in 1895.
It was later revealed that tens of thousands of Kirishitan still survived in some regions near Nagasaki. Some officially returned to the Roman Catholic Church. Others remained apart from the Catholic Church and have stayed as Kakure Kirishitan, retaining their own traditional beliefs and their descendants asserting that they keep their ancestors' religion.Miyazaki, pp. 282–3 However, it became difficult for them to keep their community and rituals, so they have converted to Buddhism or Shinto eventually.Miyazaki, pp.284–286 When John Paul II visited Nagasaki in 1981, he baptized some young people from Kakure Kirishitan families, a rare occurrence.Miyazaki, p.287
p. 4 By analyzing texts such as Bateren-ki (Records of the Padres), Kirishitan Monogatari (Tales of the Christians), and Kirishitan Shumon Raicho Jikki (True Record of the Arrival of the Christian Sect), Leuchtenberger reveals how, following the expulsion of Christians from Japan in the early 17th century, a fabricated pseudo-history emerged. This narrative falsely depicted Kirishitan as orchestrating a conquest of Japan, serving to vilify them and justify their eradication.
p. 2, "...the figure of the Kirishitan lived on for more than two centuries in pseudohistorical narratives that continually replayed his abjection and expulsion""
Leuchtenberger posits that Kirishitan became a constructed concept symbolizing Japan’s first significant encounter with the West, encapsulating persistent anxieties about Western influence and Japan’s position in the global order. They were stereotyped as grotesque and sinister deceivers whose primary aim was to invade and exploit foreign nations for personal gain, a portrayal that dehumanized them and reinforced their exclusion from Japanese society.
The Kirishitan Shumon Raicho Jikki emphasizes Japan’s identity as a divine nation (shinkoku), narrating stories of repelling barbaric invaders to underscore Japan’s military, cultural, and religious superiority. These widely circulated texts fostered a national identity rooted in the belief that Japan was uniquely resilient and morally superior to foreign powers, shaping a collective self-image of exceptionalism.
p. 91
From the 18th to 19th centuries, Kirishitan depictions transformed into exaggerated, fantastical figures akin to villains in medieval Japanese folktales. Portrayed as both barbaric and proximate others, they were simultaneously alien yet familiar, serving as a foil to construct a narrative of a sacred, civilized Japan.
p. 31
Suter connects this to Nihonjinron (theories of Japanese identity), which emphasize Japan’s exceptionalism, cultural homogeneity, and fundamental difference from other ethnic groups, unchanged since antiquity.Rebecca Suter, Holy Ghosts: The Christian Century in Modern Japanese Fiction Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2015. ISBN 978-0-8248-4001-3, p.108 In this framework, Japan is depicted as superior to the West, with Kirishitan and Christianity serving as stereotypes to reinforce this narrative.Rebecca Suter, Holy Ghosts: The Christian Century in Modern Japanese Fiction Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2015. ISBN 978-0-8248-4001-3, p.109
Drawn from the oral histories of Japanese Catholic communities, Shūsaku Endō's novel Silence provides detailed portrayals of the persecution of Christian communities and the suppression of the Church. The novel has two film adaptations, in 1971 and in 2016.
This anti-Christian narrative persists in some academic discourse, where biased interpretations continue to distort historical understanding.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2018. p.540. "Officially, at least, they had assumed a stance contrary to the enslavement of the Japanese, and their participation had more to do with ecclesiastical admonitions and individual warnings rather than a public system of licensing. But even to this day, we hear remarks in conferences and symposiums suggesting the missionaries were slavers or slave traders, and that most of their letters were hypocritical attempts to cover a more sinister reality. It is hard for us to abide to these opinions, as the slave trade was not a commercial activity as profitable as the silk and silver trade, and it had more to do with social control of parishioners than trading....To judge their responsibility is an anachronistic maneuver that does not contribute to the understanding of the historical process." Certain scholars employ methodologically flawed practices, such as relying on Meiji-era sources, produced nearly three centuries after the Sengoku period, as if they were primary sources.Yamashita, Yosuke. “A Study on the Persecutions of Temples and Shrines in Takatsuki.” The Bulletin of the Graduate School of Education of Waseda University Separate Volume, vol. 15, no. 2, 30 Mar. 2008, pp. 1-13. p. 3. As the majority of missionary letters remain untranslated, many Japanese historians rely on limited translations of Portuguese documents, which are far from being eyewitness accounts or primary sources.
These historians often rush to conclusions without adequately studying the theology, culture, or common assumptions of the missionaries at the time, resulting in insufficient contextualization. This approach, despite the availability of contradictory contemporary evidence or the scarcity of original records,Yamashita, Yosuke. “A Study on the Persecutions of Temples and Shrines in Takatsuki.” The Bulletin of the Graduate School of Education of Waseda University Separate Volume, vol. 15, no. 2, 30 Mar. 2008, pp. 1-13. p. 2. perpetuates historical inaccuracies. Such practices hinder a nuanced understanding of Christianity's role in Japan's past, reinforcing a legacy of mistrust rooted in early propaganda.
Of the approximately known 150 Kirishitan gravestones in Japan, about 130 are on the Shimabara Peninsula, but after the Shimabara Rebellion, Shugendō became popular among the people who migrated to the peninsula, and many of the Kirishitan gravestones were spared destruction as they were believed by the newcomers to be graves of early mountain priests. (2025). 9784311750403, 学生社. ISBN 9784311750403 The tombstone is now protected by a glass-walled structure, and was designated a National Historic Site for its importance in understanding the state of Christian missionary work in the early Edo period.
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