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

Following the movement in Shimabara, a few days later a revolt broke out in Amakusa/Oyano (Kami-Amakusa City, Kumamoto Prefecture) under the banner of Shiro Amakusa. After winning the Battle of Oshimako and the Battle of Machi Yamaguchigawa (both in Amakusa City, Kumamoto Prefecture), the uprising forces finally attacked Tomioka Castle (Reihoku Town, Amakusa District, Kumamoto Prefecture) and almost brought it down.

Meanwhile, the shogunate only learned of the uprising in November. Tokugawa Iemitsu dispatched Shigemasa Itakura as a subjugation envoy to suppress the uprising. Shigemasa led a subjugation force made up of the Kyushu clans and headed for Shimabara and Amakusa. Sensing these movements, the Amakusa uprising force gave up on taking Tomioka Castle and crossed the Ariake Sea to enter Hara Castle and besiege it. In this way, the uprising forces of Shimabara and Amakusa joined together and fought against the shogunate with Shiro at the center. The total number of uprisings had swelled to approximately 37,000 people, including the residents of Shimabara and Amakusa. The uprising forces repaired the castle, brought in weapons and food stolen from the clan, and built semi-underground residences in preparation for sequestration.

Shimabara Rebellion ② Decisive Battle: Battle of Hara Castle

It was in December that a punitive army led by Shigemasa Itakura arrived at the Ikki forces holed up in Hara Castle. Shigemasa launched two full-scale attacks during the same month, but failed. The reasons for the defeat were that the army was made up of various feudal domains, and that the great daimyos of Kyushu were slow to obey Shigemasa of Oroku. The shogunate, in a panic, selected Matsudaira Nobutsuna, a senior official, as the second envoy of the subjugation force. Impatient for success, Shigemasa launched an all-out attack on January 1st of the following year, but the result was a crushing defeat with 4,000 deaths, and Shigemasa himself was killed in battle. Upon receiving this news, the shogunate further dispatched Katsunari Mizuno and Tadamasa Ogasawara as reinforcements.

The punitive army eventually swelled to over 120,000 people and besieged Hara Castle. Nobutsuna then conducted a detailed investigation of the uprising forces and the situation inside Hara Castle, using Koga ninja and others, and decided to launch a food offensive. Furthermore, in order to lower the morale of the uprising, he requested the cooperation of the Dutch and had their ships fire on the castle. Although they were Protestants, the attacks from fellow Christians must have shaken them up.

At the end of February, the subjugation force launched a final all-out attack against the weakened uprising force, running out of food and ammunition. The battle was originally scheduled for February 28th, but due to Katsushige Nabeshima's sneaky move, the battle began on the 27th. On the 28th, Hara Castle fell and Amakusa Shiro was defeated. The Shogunate army did not know Shiro's face, so they had his mother examine his neck, and when she broke down in tears, they determined that it was Shiro's head.In retrospect, this is a cruel story.

The battle at Hara Castle was fierce. All the rioters were killed except for one Nanban artist, Yamadaemon Saku, and corpses piled up in and around the castle. It is said that as a result of the massacre, the heads of approximately 30,000 people were exposed at Hara Castle and other locations. In this way, the Christians in the southern part of the Shimabara Peninsula and the Amakusa region were almost exterminated, except for those who remained hidden despite the war, and the uprising came to an end. By the way, the great swordsman Miyamoto Musashi also participated in this battle as part of the shogunate army.

By the way, why did Emon's work survive? In fact, some Christians who participated in the uprising had their parents, wives, and children taken hostage, or were coerced by those around them to participate. Saku Uemon was one of them, and even though he was a vice general, he was in close contact with the shogunate. However, before the final all-out attack, a tip-off was discovered. During the all-out attack, he was rescued from prison and his life was saved.

And to isolation

After the Shimabara Rebellion, the shogunate completely destroyed Hara Castle. This was because they were afraid that it would become a base for another uprising, so they buried the remains of the castle along with the corpses. In recent years, excavations of Hara Castle have been carried out several times, and a large number of human bones have been unearthed.

Katsuie Matsukura, the lord of the Shimabara domain, and Kentaka Terasawa, the lord of the Karatsu domain, were held responsible for the uprising. Katsuie's territory was confiscated and he was sentenced to beheading, the only punishment in the Edo period, rather than seppuku. On the other hand, Kataka was only punished by confiscating his 40,000 koku in Amakusa, but he was not allowed to serve and committed suicide in despair. After that, the Shimabara domain was ruled by Tadafusa Takayuki, a feudal lord. Amakusa was ruled by Ieharu Yamazaki as the Tomioka domain, and later became a shogunate territory. Furthermore, as the population of both Shimabara and Amakusa drastically changed, the shogunate issued an immigration order and ordered surrounding domains to relocate their farmers.

On the other hand, in the wake of the Shimabara Rebellion, the shogunate banned Christians from proselytizing, recognizing that they jeopardized the shogunate's governance. Until now, trade with foreign countries had been restricted in stages, but in 1639 (Kanei 16), the Fifth National Isolation Order prohibited the arrival of Portuguese trading ships, which had been propagating Christianity. To do. However, trade between the Netherlands and China, which could be carried out without the spread of Christianity, was carried out exclusively by the shogunate in Nagasaki. A system was established in which feudal domains could not profit from trade. In this way, the country's isolation continued for about 200 years until the arrival of Perry in 1853 (Kaei 6).