Amakusa.

A few weeks ago I went with Caroline, Morgan, Christine (a 2010-2013 J-3), two Kumamoto pastors, a Luther High School student, and a Kyushu Lutheran College student to the Amakusa islands southwest of Kumamoto City. Amakusa is an area rich in nature, beauty, fresh sashimi, and Christian history, and we soaked it all in for an entire day. Here's some of what we learned.

Crossing one of the so-called Five Bridges of Amakusa on our journey in.

The Shimabara Rebellion.

Memorial at the Amakusa
Municipal Christian Museum.

European Christian missionaries first arrived in Japan in 1549, and their teachings, along with the goods they brought, were generally welcomed. But in 1582, the feudal lord Toyotomi Hideyoshi took power and, fearing a threat to his authority by such foreign influences, strictly prohibited Christianity. Hideyoshi ordered the death of many a Christian, including the public crucifixion of who are now known as the Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan in nearby Nagasaki.

Christian persecution continued sporadically for the next eighty years or so, as well as heavy tax burdens on the Amakusa area peasants. Punishments were harsh for those who couldn't pay--they were generally made to die horrible deaths. Discontent over persecution, taxes, and famine stirred up rebellion, and the charismatic 16-year-old Amakusa Shiro was chosen as leader in 1637.

Amakusa Shiro.

Statue of Amakusa Shiro outside the
Amakusa Municipal Christian Museum.
Photo by Caroline.

Born Masuda Shiro Tokisada, Amakusa Shiro was raised among Christians and was said to have mysterious powers from God. Supposedly he walked on water, and once had an egg containing a scroll of Scripture and a painting of Jesus fall into his hand. Many thought he was the fulfillment of a prophecy, made by a Catholic missionary who had been expelled some years earlier, that a "child of God" would come to save the people of Amakusa. Evidently Amakusa Shiro was a natural-born leader, as at the tender age of 16 he helped round up the citizens of Amakusa to try to attack Tomioka Castle. When that didn't work, they sailed to nearby Shimabara and barricaded themselves in the formerly abandoned Hara Castle.

Tomioka Christian Monument. May or may
not have the severed heads of some of the
1638 Shimabara rebels buried underneath it.

The number of Christians in that castle was about 37,000, including women and children who were willing to die for their faith, preferring to go to paraiso (paradise) than live in the hellish conditions brought on by unmerciful feudal lords. As time wore on, the rebels' food ran out and the government troops surrounding the castle grew to 125,000. Hara Castle finally fell on February 28, 1638. All the Christian rebels (except one suspected traitor) were beheaded, all believing they would be reunited in the Hereafter, safe in God's hands.

The Shimabara Rebellion was the largest rebellion as well as the largest religious war in Japan's history, and as such, changed the course of Japan's history for the next 200 years. Having seen firsthand the dangers of Christian teachings of human equality before God, the Japanese government officially closed off all exchange with foreign countries (with very limited exceptions) until 1853. Freedom of religion would not be instituted until 1873.

The Hidden Christians.

Amakusa Rosary Museum (foreground) and Ōe Catholic
Church (background), the latter established in 1880 after
Christianity was permitted, and rebuilt in 1933.

During the intervening years, Christian culture in Japan was calcified in the practice of the Kakure Kirishitan, or "Hidden Christians." They worshiped Jesus in secret, hiding crosses in seemingly Buddhist artifacts and praying in secret rooms. An innocent-looking hand mirror would project a cross onto the wall if held to reflect direct sunlight. A statue of Kannon, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, would really be a statue of Mary. When someone received a Buddhist blessing in the house, someone else would recite Christian prayers and pull a rosary in and out of a jar full of holy water in the secret room to neutralize the sutra.

Sakitsu Catholic Church, also established in
1880, rebuilt in 1934.

Sometimes these hidden Christians would be found out by means of fumi-e, or "stomping pictures." Officials would put a metal or wooden plate engraved with an image of the Virgin Mary or Jesus on the ground and challenge suspected Christians to step on it. If they refused, they were instantly arrested and killed for being a Christian. Many were martyred this way, and many lost their nerve and recanted, begging God for forgiveness later. The Hidden Christian culture remained well-preserved until the ban on Christianity was lifted in 1873 and Christian culture was once again allowed to flourish.

There is much more to this story, and I admit with my limited historical knowledge (and the limited availability of English-language materials) I may have gotten some details wrong, but it was still quite a moving experience to be in a place steeped in so much history. For a country that still largely views Christianity as foreign, Japan has quite a rich Christian heritage.

Scenic Amakusa.

From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.
Acts 17:26-27 (NIV)