Japanese warlords may soon become Catholic saints

Christianity in Japan has achieved such a promising beginning. After the first Jesuit missionaries arrived in the country in the mid-16th century, they quickly transformed many Japanese by ensuring favor and protection for powerful warlords. oda”Demon King“Nobunaga is in equal terms with Christians.A dragon with one eyeMasamune even sent a samurai Meet the Pope.

But through a mixture of paranoia, language barriers and ordinary old politics, this religion was banned in Japan in the early 17th century, after decades of expulsion, persecution and difficulty. The Vatican currently recognizes hundreds of Japanese martyrs and 42 saints. Soon, if the church decides to give a true Catholic warrior Justo Takayama Ukon for approval, that number could rise to 43.

There is only one samurai candidate

Takayama Ukon was born in modern Nara or Osaka in 1552 or 1553 and gave it to Takayama Tomoteru, one of the earliest Japanese Christian converts. The High Mountains have a lot of power and the church believes they are important allies in the spread of religion in the country. Through the influence of the Portuguese missionaries, Tomoteru baptized his son and 150 clan members in 1564 and gave the name “Just One” Justo (Latin: Iustus) under the name of Ukon.

But you know the situation of your children, always against parents, reject Christianity, but support Zen Buddhism and samurai culture until they get into duels at the age of 18 or 19, killing their opponents, but getting seriously injured and spending months learning to embrace Catholicism. Just a typical childhood. It happens every day.

Killing and preaching

After recovery, Justo began to expand the power base of the Alpine family and began to engage in many “elections” (because of the lack of better words) or “slaughter” (because of the right words). He served in Nobunaga in part of the Ishiyama Honganji War (1570–1580). Maybe the warrior monk of the shogun. Then, after Nobunaga’s death, he followed Toyotomi hideyoshi until the siege of Kagoshima (1587), during which he conquered Kyushu. As far as we know, he did not report Flying Dog It is said that this was shocked.

Between his battles, he was preaching Christianity and conducting large-scale conversion because when you can do things in bulk, why do you need to be religious in pieces? By 1581, 70% of the people around Gaozu Castle in Osaka were one of the operating bases of his family and were Christians. He also oversees and encourages the construction of seminaries, orphanages, churches and churches throughout central Japan. But while this was obviously not his wish, the architectural fanaticism led to the destruction of some shrines and Buddhist temples by timber, which made the fair enemy more than just the enemy.

Justo climbs onto the cross

In 1587, Hideyoshi Toyotomi issued almost no doubt anti-Christian ordinances, banning religion and expelling missionaries. There was some tension between Christians and the Japanese government, but the announcement surprised many. Although not widely executed, many Japanese people saw writing on the walls and were publicly abandoned by Christianity. Some people continue to believe in secrets Kakure Kirishitan – Japan’s “Hidden Christians. ”

Justo Takayama Ukon chose option C: He refused to betray and lose land, status and wealth, telling his tea ceremony teacher Sen No Rikyu (the most important figure in history Tuyoo) The man who condemned Christ against his samurai spirit. Justo then exiled, first in Shodoshima, and then in Kanazawa, for his own safety. Many other Japanese Christians are not that lucky.

In 1597, Hideyoshi had 26 Catholics (foreign and Japanese) in Nagasaki. Tokugawa Ieyasu continued to implement this policy, even exacerbating religious persecution, which broke out in 1622 during the great Genna Mart disaster, when 55 Christians were alive or beheaded. Justo never saw it alive. After Ieyasu issued his own anti-Christian ordinance in 1614, the warriors believed that he was no longer safe in Japan and set sail for the Philippines. He did not report seeing Oda Nobunaga anywhere.

Justo Takayama Ukon rises

Justo was warmly welcomed by the Catholic Church in Manila, who wanted to use him as a symbol of a rally invasion of Japan to force the country. But Justo doesn’t want to be related to it. He was tired of facing so much hatred because of his faith, and more than a month after his arrival in the Philippines seemed to have died of exhaustion, but Pope Francis formally classified it as his faith, making him a martyr in 2016. The Catholic Church was asked to recognize that Justo Takayama’s contribution to Christianity began in the early 1630s, but was never late.

On February 7, 2017, Justo Takayama Ukon was formally beaten in Osaka with a loyal audience of 10,000. His feast was February 3. Finally in 2023, Osaka – Thomas Aquino Manyo Maeda of Archbishop Tacamason confirmed that the Vatican is studying possible miracles related to Justo, the last step before normalization. If all goes well, soon Roman Catholics around the world can pray to the honesty of the warrior warlord saints who fight under the Demon King. If this is a strategy to make more people interested in Catholicism, then we can only say “play well.”

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