The story of Japan’s hidden Christians

In 1549, the Spanish missionary Saint Francis Xavier landed in Kagoshima, Japan, with the purpose of converting the Japanese to Christianity. He made impressive progress: within 50 years, the number of Christians in Japan was estimated at about 300,000. Despite this, Christianity’s lifespan in Japan was short, lasting only 65 years on earth before being outlawed by the shogunate. So what happened to those who followed this religion for half a century? They hid.

How Christianity was introduced to Japan

In 1545, Xavier was in what is now Malaysia, trying to convert the locals to his religion. Around this time, he met a Japanese named Yasujiro who had a strong interest in Christianity. He worked hard to convince Xavier to try to spread the religion in Japan. Yasujiro became a priest after being baptized by Xavier. The two set off for Yasujiro’s hometown of Kyushu and landed in Kagoshima in August 1549.

Xavier worked hard to convert the locals in Kagoshima, but found it difficult, so he moved inland to try his luck on the main island. He started in Hirado, Nagasaki, where Christianity was more popular because the people there were familiar with Portuguese traders.

Just two years later, Xavier traveled to India to meet his superiors, fully intending to return. Unfortunately, he never returned and died on December 3, 1552, in Taishan, China. However, he did leave an indelible mark on the Japanese people. By 1582, it was reported that there were more than 150,000 Christians in Japan, and by the end of the century this number had increased to 300,000.

persecution of christians

When Xavier first landed, the missionaries were welcomed by the shogunate. They were seen as allies against Buddhism. However, as the conflict continued and leaders began to change more frequently, they began to distrust religion.

In 1582, the new shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi came to power and tried to unify the country. In 1587, he banned all missionaries from entering Japan. A year later, he wrested control of Nagasaki and its surrounding areas from the Christians.

In 1596, a Spanish ship was found wrecked off the coast of the peninsula, sparking rumors of an invasion. A year later, 26 Catholics were martyred on Mount Nishisaka in Nagasaki. Confusingly, Toyotomi Hideyoshi was keen to maintain open trade routes with Europe, so the ban on missionaries was not strongly enforced and they still managed to continue working on the island.

In 1614, the Tokugawa Shogunate banned Christianity. Between 1617 and 1644, more than 1,000 Japanese Christians were executed. To find out who was a Christian, authorities ordered the suspect to stamp a picture of the Virgin Mary. If they can do this without hesitation, then they are safe. If not, they are killed.

Japanese Christians in hiding

The remaining Christians had to hide their faith and begin practicing in secret. They use various methods to deceive outsiders into believing that they worship Buddhist or Shinto gods.

Fortunately, the original missionaries ordained many Japanese Christians as priests who were less likely to be detected than their foreign counterparts. These local pastors worked as hard as they could to keep the faith alive.

These secret Christians are widely known as “Kirishima Gakure” (Hidden Christians). Followers were mainly found in Nagasaki Prefecture, especially the Goto Islands. It is believed that there were approximately 30,000 Hidden Christians at the time.

Hidden method

These hidden Christians practiced in Buddhist temples and in the homes of Christian priests, where they performed rituals in secret. They hide many artifacts in plain sight, tweaking the symbolism to make them appear Shinto or Buddhist when in fact they are neither.

For example, a statue of the Virgin Mary is disguised as the Buddhist deity Guanyin. Her name was Maria Kannon, examples of which can still be found today.

Hidden Christians would also hide small crosses inside Buddhist statues. To an outsider, it may appear that they are praying to the statue itself, but in fact they are praying to a cross hidden within the statue.

They also changed some of the prayers to make it look like they were chanting Buddhist scriptures.

Inside Kusuhara Church

Lift the ban on Christianity

In 1873, Japan was forced to reopen its borders, which changed everything. Christians can practice their faith publicly. Many have chosen to rejoin the church, but others have gone into hiding, accustomed to practicing their faith in secret.

Hidden Christian Types

Senpuku Kirishitan and Kakure Kirishitan are both called Hidden Christians in English, but there is a subtle difference. When the religion was outlawed, both men hid and practiced their faith in secret, but after the ban was lifted during the Meiji Restoration in the late 19th century, Senpuku Chelishdan returned to normal Christianity. Kakure Kirishtan retains the beliefs they have established over the past 200 years, contrary to the pure Christianity they originally embraced.

Today’s Kakure Kirishitan practice a very unique form of Christianity that developed over the generations while they were forced into hiding. It is said that many of them remain hidden to this day out of respect for their traditional Christian brethren and because their faith is based on secrecy.

If you visit the Goto Islands in Nagasaki, you’ll find remnants of a time when hiding meant survival and Christianity had a somewhat different meaning.

Related posts