Theology 1.0: 26 Martyrs of Japan

 

Martyrdom of Paul Miki and Companions in Nagasaki, unknown Japanese artist, c.1635

In terms of proportion, Japan has one of the lowest Christian population in developed countries. As of 2015, only 2% of its population are Christians. This is in contrast with South Korea (29.2%), Singapore (18.9%) and Hong Kong (11.7%). This is considered unusual because in such places, religious freedom is allowed.

However, one must remember that Japan was not always tolerant to the Christian faith.

The first missionaries
In 1543, the Portuguese came into contact with the Japanese. As part of their cultural norms, they brought along Roman Catholic missionaries with them. 

The Japanese authorities initially were supportive of the missionaries and Jesuits (religious order of Roman Catholic monks). After all, they took power away from the Shinto Buddhist monks, and were essential to trade with the Europeans. By 1573, Japan had about 130 000 Christian converts.

The banning of Christianity
However, the Christian converts began to disrupt the social fabric of Japan. Not only did they challenge the feudal system, the more violent factions sacked Buddhist provinces and temples. In response, the the second great unifier of Japan, Hideyoshi issued a ban on Christianity in 1587.

The reputation of Christianity took a further hit when the Spanish ship San Felipe wrecked itself in Japan in 1596. The captain of the San Felipe poorly communicated the purpose of the Spanish missionaries, and this caused the Japanese authorities to think that the missionaries were here to subvert Japan, and colonise Japan for Spain.

26 Martyrs
For refusing to leave the country, the Japanese rounded up 26 Roman Catholics and forced marched them for 30 days. 24 of them had their ears cut off. Finally, they were executed in Feburary 1597 via crucifixion and spearing.

Among them was a Japanese Jesuit called Paul Miki. According to certain accounts he said, 

"All of you who are here, please, listen to me... I have committed no crime, and the only reason why I am put to death is that I have been teaching the doctrine of Our Lord Jesus Christ. I am very happy to die for such a cause, and see my death as a great blessing from the Lord. At this critical time when, you can rest assured that I will not try to deceive you, I want to stress and make it unmistakably clear that man can find no way to salvation other than the Christian way. The Christian religion tells us to forgive our enemies and those who do harm us, and so I say that I forgive the emperor and those responsible for my death. I have no hatred for the emperor; indeed, I wish that he and all the Japanese would become Christians."

This was the first execution ordered by the highest authority in Japan because of religious belief.

Aftermath
The martyrs were canonized as Saints in 1862, while Japan eventually allowed freedom of religion again in 1889. The feast day is on February 6.