Shimabara Rebellion (1/2)Rebellion of Christians that led to national isolation

In the early Edo period, a large-scale rebellion by Christian farmers occurred. This was the ``Shimabara Rebellion,'' which lasted for about six months from October 25, 1637, to February 28, the following year, 1638. This battle, also known as the ``Shimabara-Amakusa Rebellion'' or the ``Shimabara-Amakusa Uprising,'' was the largest war since the Summer Siege in Osaka in 1615, and was the largest uprising of the Edo period. The name of the boy, Amakusa Shiro, who was the leader of the rebellion, is famous. This time we will look at the Shimabara Rebellion, which is also known to be one of the causes of national isolation.

Christianity expands mainly in Kyushu

Before looking at the Shimabara Rebellion, let's review the background of why the oppression of Christians occurred in the first place. Christianity was introduced to Japan in 1549 by Francis Xavier, a missionary of the Catholic Church of Jesus. The Jesuits received the patronage of Oda Nobunaga and spread Christianity, and Christianity became widely practiced, from farmers to feudal lords of the Sengoku period. The number of Christians, or Christians, increased explosively, and daimyos called ``Kirishitan daimyos'' also appeared. A major factor was that Christian missionary work and trade between the two countries were combined, and there were cases in which feudal lords in Kyushu, in particular, joined the faith together with their own people for the purpose of trade.

Famous Christian daimyo include Otomo Yoshinari (Sorin), who ruled eastern Kyushu centered on Bungo Province (Oita Prefecture), and Takayama Ukon of Kinai, but he also ruled Hizen Province (Saga Prefecture, part of which was the stage of the Shimabara Rebellion). Arima Harunobu, who ruled Nagasaki Prefecture (excluding Nagasaki Prefecture), was also baptized in 1580.

However, during the era of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Christian missionary work was prohibited. In 1587, Hideyoshi issued the ``Bateren Expulsion Order,'' prohibiting forced conversion to Christianity and suppressing Shinto and Buddhism. Furthermore, Hideyoshi's permission was required for the conversion of feudal lords. He also ordered the missionaries to leave the country. It is said that this was because they feared that Christianity would become an entity that would cause a rebellion like the Ikko Ikki, and it is also said that Christian feudal lords feared the danger of Japanese colonization by donating Nagasaki to the Jesuits. .

However, the missionary work and faith of Christianity is maintained, and the missionaries who were supposed to leave the country remain in the country using their status as traders, and the banishment order ends in failure. After that, Christian missionary work was tolerated, although there was some persecution.

Christianity banned due to Okamoto Daihachi Incident

Tokugawa Ieyasu, who founded the Edo shogunate, initially took a wait-and-see approach to Christianity, perhaps because he considered the benefits of trade with foreign countries. However, the Okamoto Daihachi Incident, which occurred from 1609 to 1612, led to the persecution of Christianity.

The Okamoto Daihachi Incident was triggered by a dispute between a Japanese shuin ship and a Portuguese ship in the Portuguese colony of Macau. Harunobu Arima, the lord of the Hizennoe domain (later the Shimabara domain, around present-day Shimabara, Nagasaki prefecture), who had dispatched the Shuin ships, sought permission from Ieyasu to take revenge on Andre Pessoa, the Macau commander-in-chief who had suppressed the dispute by force. I asked for it. Ieyasu gave permission to retaliate against Pessoa, who had come to Nagasaki, as trade with Spain and the Netherlands was increasing at the time. Pessoa learns of this and tries to escape, but Harunobu bombards the ship. Pessoa committed suicide by setting fire to an explosives warehouse. Although trade with Portugal was temporarily halted due to this incident, it was resumed as a result of subsequent negotiations between the two countries.

During the retaliation, Daihachi Okamoto, a Christian and vassal of Masazumi Honda, a close aide of Ieyasu, was dispatched to monitor Harunobu. Harunobu was hoping that based on the results of the incident, the former territory of Nabeshima would be restored. Daihachi took advantage of this and demanded a bribe, saying, ``Shall I mediate for Masazumi Honda to have his territory returned?In that case...'' He forged Ieyasu's red seal and defrauded Harunobu of approximately 6,000 ryo. The fraud was discovered when Harunobu questioned Masazumi Honda, and Daihachi was accused of the crime and executed at the stake. Meanwhile, Harunobu is also suspected of plotting to assassinate the Nagasaki magistrate on Daihachi's tip, and commits seppuku. Harunobu, who was a Christian, was unable to commit suicide, so he had his vassals cut off his own head.

In response to this incident, the shogunate issued a ban on Christianity in 1612, ordering the destruction of churches and prohibition of missionary work in areas under its direct control. He forced the feudal lords to apostatize and punished Christian feudal lords. The following year, the ban on Christianity was extended to the entire country, and an order was issued to expel missionaries. One of the reasons for the ban on Christianity was that two of the parties involved in the Okamoto Daihachi Incident were Christians, but the Christians, who were gradually expanding their influence, feared that it would turn into a complete uprising. It is also said that he tried to avoid wearing it. One of the reasons was that Ieyasu avoided Catholicism, which combined trade with missionary work, and was close to the Protestant Netherlands, which only sought trade.

In this way, the oppression of Christians gradually escalated. In 1616, Tokugawa Hidetada issued the ``Two Port Restriction Order,'' reemphasizing the prohibition of Christianity. The persecution of Christians further intensified, with the introduction of a system of secret reports, fumi-e, and various forms of torture for apostasy.

Oppression and oppression of Christians in Shimabara and Amakusa

Harunobu's eldest son, Naozumi Arima, became the lord of the Shimabara domain in place of Harunobu Arima, who was ousted in the Okamoto Daihachi Incident. Naozumi was a Christian, but he converted according to the ban on Christianity, forced Christians in his territory to renounce Christianity, and oppressed those who did not comply. Afterwards, Naozumi was transferred to the Nobeoka Domain in Hyuga Province (around Nobeoka City, Miyazaki Prefecture) in 1614, and the Shimabara Domain became a Tenryo for a while, but Shigemasa Matsukura was transferred to the Nobeoka Domain in Hyuga Province (around Nobeoka City, Miyazaki Prefecture) in 1616. ) will be transferred to. Shigemasa and his son Katsuie Matsukura, who succeeded him in 1631, thoroughly suppressed Christians. In particular, Katsuie carried out cruel torture on those who did not renounce Christianity.

Furthermore, he took on the role of official contractor for the reconstruction of Edo Castle, planned his own expedition to Luzon Island, and worked tirelessly to build Shimabara Castle. For this purpose, taxes on the people of the territory were increased, and strict annual taxes were collected. In 1634, there was a bad harvest due to bad weather, but they quickly collected taxes, collecting not only rice but also agricultural products, and levying poll taxes, housing taxes, and other taxes one after another. Those who disobeyed were severely punished, and the farmers were made to suffer. These Katsu families were hated by both Christians and non-Christians.

On the other hand, the Amakusa Domain (Amakusa District, Kumamoto Prefecture), which was originally the domain of the Christian daimyo Yukinaga Konishi, became the domain of the Karatsu Domain (Saga Prefecture) after the Battle of Sekigahara, and was ruled by the Terasawa clan. The second lord of the domain, Kentaka Terasawa, who took office in 1633, violently suppressed Christians, levied an annual tax on the people of his territory that was twice the actual kokutaka, and established housing taxes and other taxes that were not paid. I tortured what I didn't have. This kind of oppression and oppression of Christians led to the Shimabara Rebellion.

Who is Shiro Amakusa, the commander in chief of the Shimabara Rebellion?

The people of Shimabara, who are suffering from oppressive rule, secretly plot a rebellion led by vassals of the former Arima clan. A 16-year-old boy, Amakusa Shiro (Masuda Shiro), was chosen as the commander-in-chief. There are various theories, but it seems that Shiro's father was Jinbei Masuda, who served Yukinaga Konishi, and that he was highly charismatic and excelled in academics, making him the perfect person to carry the banner. However, Shiro was a symbol of the uprising, and it seems that his father, ronin, and others were actually in charge of the uprising.

Before Shiro's death, Mamakos (Marcos Ferraro), a missionary who was proselytizing Christianity in Amakusa, left behind a prophetic book. The prophecy states, ``25 years from now, the clouds in the east and west will burn, the whole country will rumble, and houses and plants will burn down. At that time, a prodigy will appear and save the people.'' He thought that this was Shiro, and began to respect him.

Shiro causes many trajectories. One story is that a dove descended from the sky and laid an egg in Shiro's palm, and when the egg was broken, a Bible appeared. There is even a story about walking on the sea. There is a theory that Shiro was actually studying magic in Nagasaki, although this episode seems like it was created for propaganda purposes. I don't know how much of this is true, but this is how Shiro became deified. By the way, there is even a legend that it was actually a descendant of Toyotomi Hideyori.

Shimabara Rebellion ① A revolt occurs in Shimabara and Amakusa.

In October 1637, a pregnant woman in Kuchinotsu (Minamishimabara City, Nagasaki Prefecture) who was unable to pay annual tax was tortured to death in a water dungeon, and the resentment among the people reached its peak. Then, on October 25th, villagers of Arima Village in Shimabara murdered a magistrate, and a revolt broke out in each village, attacking the magistrates. This is the beginning of the Shimabara Rebellion. The uprising spread rapidly and finally surrounded Shimabara Castle (Shimabara City, Nagasaki Prefecture). The Shimabara clan's uprising suppression force was unable to suppress the uprising, and the castle town was burned to the ground. However, because Shimabara Castle's defenses were strong and the Shogunate's pursuing army (described later) was approaching, the uprising forces gave up on attacking the castle and moved to the abandoned Hara Castle (Minamishimabara City, Nagasaki Prefecture). going now.