CHRISTIAN HISTORY OF JAPAN
Feb
7
Written by:
2/7/2011 12:00 AM
CHRISTIAN HISTORY OF JAPAN
Jan. 30, 2011
(Mat 28:18 NIV) Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (Mat 28:19 NIV) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (Mat 28:20 NIV) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Acts 1:8 NIV) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Jesus gave the great commission to the disciples to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. In answer to the great commission Christian missionaries came to Japan. Most people believe St. Francis Xavier, a Catholic, was the first to preach Christianity in Japan in 1549. However, there is considerable evidence that the first Christian missionaries came to Japan much earlier. In fact, the earlier missionaries may have come as early as A.D. 198 or 199 via the “Silk Road.” The first indigenous Christians in Japan are referred to by the Chinese expression “Keikyo.” Keikyo means the shinning religion in Chinese.
Nestorian Christians came to Japan in the 5th century A.D. The Nestorians were from the Assyrian Church of the east. The Nestorians are considered one of the world`s greatest missionary movements. They went out as completely self supporting teams of carpenters, teachers, doctors, and nurses from the Middle East to India, China, Korea, Japan, Viet Nam, Tibet, The Philippines and Mongolia. The Hatas were a Nestorian tribe who lived originally under Persian domination in Khotan (now in Eastern Turkestan) but migrated to Japan via China and Korea in search of religious freedom. They landed at Sakoshi (near the present city of Himeji in Hyogo prefecture) some 1500 years ago and built the first Christian churches long before St. Francis Xavier arrived here in 1549. Later they moved to Uzumasa (now Kyoto City) where they erected many other churches.
The Nestorian church grounds at Uzumasa had their own "Well of Israel" attached to a David’s Shrine. A Sacred Tripod symbolizing the Trinity stood on the well spring. Even today visitors at the Uzumasa site can still see a tripod, built in the style of a triangular torii, which marks the exact spot where the original tripod of the Nestorians once stood. By the time St. Francis Xavier came to Japan it is very likely Christianity had had a very significant impact on the history of Japan.
After the arrival of St. Francis Xavier many people were converted to Christianity. Even many of the military leaders were converted and whole areas became Christian. The government of Japan was concerned that foreign troops would follow the missionaries to Japan. For that reason Toyotomi Hideyoshi issued a ban on Christianity. In 1596, Hideyoshi ordered 26 leading Christians in Kyoto to be crucified. The Christians were force marched from Kyoto to Nagasaki where they were crucified on Feb. 5, 1597. This is the testimony of twelve year old Ibaragi kun, the youngest to be crucified. “Seeing how young Ibaragi Kun was, an official took him aside and urged him to recant his faith to save his life. Looking the official in the eye, Ibaragi Kun said confidently, "Sir, it would be far better if you yourself became a Christian. Then you could go to heaven with me. The officer stared, startled by the young man's faith. Finally, Ibaragi kun asked, "Sir, which cross is mine. The bewildered official pointed to the smallest of the twenty-six crosses. Young Ibaragi Kun ran to the cross, knelt before it, and embraced it.
A holocaust of Christians in Japan had begun and would last over 250 years. At first the persecution of Christians in Japan caused the Christian church to grow. There may have been as many as 300,000 or more Christians in Japan by the early 1600`s. However, as persecution increased thousands and thousands of Christians were killed. In the Shimabara rebellion of 1637, a 15 year-old boy by the name of Amakusa Shiro Tokisada led thousands of Christians. The rebellion was finally put down six months later with the loss of 37,000 Christians and supporters. After the Shimabara rebellion the shogun of Japan, Tokugawa Iemitsu, closed Japan from the rest of the world. He feared not only Christianity, but the possibility that Spain would try to duplicate through force of arms in Japan what it had already achieved in the Philippines. Christianity was prohibited and Japan entered a period of isolation that would last well over two hundred years. Foreigners were expelled and Japanese were not permitted to enter or leave Japan.
Tens of thousands of Christians were martyred during the 250 year holocaust of Christians. More than 80 Japanese surnames have ancestors that were Christian martyrs. A partial list of the names includes Hosokawa, Maeda, Higashiyama, Kato, Suzuki, Miki, Hata, Shibata, Azuma, Ibaragi, Sato, Takagi, Komatsu, Sakamoto, Hashimoto, Sakakibara, Ozaki, Wada, Arima, Toyo, and Takayama. Christianity was the largest organized religion in Japan when persecution began. However, to survive Christians had to hide because Christianity had been outlawed. Christians became known as Kakure Kirishitan (hidden Christians). Sign boards were posted throughout Japan that stated Christianity was outlawed. Also, Fumie boards with images of Jesus and Mary were used to test if people were Christians or not. If a person would not step on a Fumie board they were killed. Thousands and thousands of Christians, mostly women and children, were killed. However, many men renounced their faith by not stepping on the Fumie boards so they would not die.
The isolation of Japan ended in 1854, through the efforts of Admiral Perry of the United States. In the next few years Catholic missionaries began to return to Japan. Thousands of Kakure Kirishitans came out of hiding. Unfortunately, there was further persecution of these Christians with some being killed, expelled from Japan or imprisoned. In 1859, the first protestant missionaries came to Japan, but they were not allowed to proselyte. In 1873 the ban on Christianity by the government was lifted. However, during World War II Christians were persecuted again under state Shinto. The new constitution after World War II granted religious freedom. Missionaries referred to the first seven years after the war as the “golden years” because the Japanese people were very open to Christianity. However, the churches were not strong and for the most part lost a great opportunity to gain new converts.
There is a lot of evidence that Christians have influenced the history of Japan since the time of the early Christian church. Many Christian artifacts have been found including crosses, quotations from the bible, etc. Some ways Christianity may have influenced Japan are listed below:
(1.) The portable shrine used for the GionFestival in Kyoto has an Assyrian rug on it. Why? Also, why is the name Gion used for the festival? It is not a Japanese word. Does it mean Zion, another word for Jerusalem, in the Bible?
(2.) There is a very strong similarity between the Ark of the Covenant described in the Old Testament of the Bible and the portable Shinto shrines.
(3.) There seems to be a similarity of the Israelite`s door posts that were
sprinkled with blood thousands of years ago and the torii shrines of Japan.
(4.) There is a strong similarity between the Israelite`s tabernacle in the Old Testament of the Bible and the Shinto shrines.
Even today it is easy to see the influence Christianity has had on Japan. The percentage of the population that is Christian is still small in Japan, but the influence of Christianity has been significant. The first hospitals in Japan as well as many orphanages were started by Christians. Also, Christians founded many universities and other schools, and in particular girls schools.
This message only gives a brief history of Christianity in Japan. However, an interesting question to consider is what Japan would be like today if there had not been a 250 year holocaust of Christians in Japan.
Japan`s Christian history is very important. Why? The Gospel of Jesus Christ came to Japan from the Near East 1400-1800 years ago and has had a big influence on the history of Japan. Over 1000 years ago Christianity was the biggest organized religion in Japan. Many Japanese have Christian ancestors that were martyred. Christianity is not a western religion that came to Japan, but an eastern religion that first came to Japan via the Silk Road, the same as the Buddhist and the Shinto religions.