Japanese Christian martyrs to be beatified

Sunday 23rd November, 04:48 AM JST

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Ah_so at 06:10 AM JST - 24th November

The number of Christians in Japan these days is now around 6% of the population, and not 1% as quoted above.

Actually, 1% the population is Christian, but this 1% forms 6% of those who express a faith.

As for who first brought Christianity to Japan, who knows? However, whether the Gospel had been taught or not, it is unlikely to have been at the will or whim of God. There have been plenty of tribes discovered in Brazil who had their first contact with the world in the 20th century, suggesting negligence on His part.

Similarities between Shintoism and Judaism are likely to be coincidences - the Star of David is such a logical thing to draw that it is highly probably that it would occur in more than one place on earth. If you look hard enough you will find links - rather like those cranks who go in for "Bible code".
herefornow at 08:08 AM JST - 24th November

adm, that is the worst defense of a position I have ever read. Pure hypothetical and poppycock. In effect you are saying that Christianity was "political capitalism", which is dangerous/bad, but the brutal form of capitalism brought on Asia by Japan is acceptable because it was done consistent with their culture, which they would have lost if they had become Christian. (Huh?) Oh, and besides, most Japanese soldiers weren't religious anyway. You really need to do much better than that. And, there are many countries which still have their "culture" even though they are Christian. What culture, exactly, would Japan have lost if Christianity had been allowed to freely prosper along with other religions here?
RakishGadfly at 09:21 AM JST - 24th November

There is also nothing saying that atrocities could not have been committed by future Japanese soldiers even with christianity.

Indeed - christianity didn't seem to act as much a brake on the barbarism of Nazi Germany.
RakishGadfly at 09:24 AM JST - 24th November

Yep, in the long term Japan did right by keeping out an invasion of missionaries and proselytizing masses. One thing I like about Japan is the relative lack of a presence of organized religion.
Nessie at 09:31 AM JST - 24th November

“They died for their faith—not for economic or political reasons,” said Martins, who is in Japan to attend the beatification on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI. “They died 400 years ago, but they send us an important message.”

My understanding is that Christianity was tolerated until it stated to become involved in politics. The Judaism/Shinto thing sounds bogus.

A very quick summary from Wikipedia:

"Tokugawa Ieyasu assumed control over Japan in 1600. Like Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he disliked Christian activities in Japan. The Tokugawa shogunate finally decided to ban Catholicism, in 1614 and in the mid 1600's demanded the expulsion of all European missionaries and the execution of all converts. This marked the end of open Christianity in Japan.[89] The Shimabara Rebellion, led by a young Japanese Christian boy named Amakusa Shiro Tokisada, took place in 1637. After the Hara Castle fell, the shogunate forces beheaded an estimated 37,000 rebels and sympathizers. Amakusa Shirō's severed head was taken to Nagasaki for public display, and the entire complex at Hara Castle was burned to the ground and buried together with the bodies of all the dead. [90]

"Many of the Christians of Japan continued for two centuries to maintain their religion as Kakure Kirishitan, or hidden Christians, without any priest or other pastor. Some of those who were killed for their Christianity are venerated as the Martyrs of Japan by the Catholic Church, Anglican Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Episcopal Church.

"Although Christianity was later allowed under the Meiji era, Christians again were pressured during the period of State Shinto."
Xeno23 at 11:13 AM JST - 24th November

Regardless of how one feels about Christianity and religion, consistency and correctness should be maintained if one is going to claim any kind of legitimacy, so, all martyrs should be beatified. That Japanese Christian martyrdom has so long gone unrecognized by the Vatican is shameful.

I've known a number of Japanese families with Christian tradition going back into the pre-edo period; all of them have historically fascinating family heirlooms of hidden Christian artifacts, and family tradition stories of great interest. Recognition is long overdue.
ptolemy at 11:45 AM JST - 24th November

If you know someone is going to put you to death, and you let them, isn't that suicide?
urufuls at 11:52 AM JST - 24th November

Similarities between Shintoism and Judaism are likely to be coincidences

Ah so, I thought so too. Then I did a little bit of leg work, and found in that article that the similarities go far beyond just outward appearances like a 6 pointed star. There are some Shinto rites and practices that anybody who has been to Sunday school would swear they came right out of the Old Testament.

I am above all, a skeptic, but there was so much evidence in that paper that I'm convinced that a remnant of ancient Israel colonized Japan.
soothsayer at 03:28 PM JST - 24th November

If you know someone is going to put you to death, and you let them, isn't that suicide?

"Christian martyrs "do not die in order to kill others, but rather give their life to save the life of others, so that they do not have to give up their faith, to support other believers out of love. They are not seeking death, but they do not renounce their faith or human behavior in order to save their own life." http://catholicexchange.com/2004/03/24/84741/

I imagine other religions have a similar argument.
hakujinsensei at 06:07 PM JST - 24th November

I believe the Shinto/Judaism connection to be accurate. Especially after spending time in China and seeing the similarities between the ancient religion of the Chinese aristocracy and Judaism and the recent finds of Jewish artifacts in northern China. That religion has connections with the Shinto traditions however not until after perversion of allowing deification due to the pressure of the ruling class some 2000 years ago.

Buddhism is not the religion of Japan. That is Shinto. It is not a Buddhist ritual that deifies the Emperor, it is Shinto. Buddhism was embraced by the ruling class in Japan as a means to control the lower classes. Christianity was indeed driven out of Japan but it was by the monks that pressured the leadership starting with Toyotomi. They feared the loss of their status more than anything else.

It is nonsense to say that Japan is better off for having cleansed the country of Christianity. Buddhism has been instrumental in propagating a class based society that has survived even until today. Christianity brought freedom and a sense of class mobility to the peasants and that meant that the monks would loose their status pure and simple.

Finally, one can not judge a religion by the resultant offshoots that may or may not bear a resemblance to the original teachings. Siddhartha would be appalled at what is passed off as Buddhism in Japan today and Jesus would be equally as appalled at what the Conquistadors did in His name.

The people that died clinging to their faith and peacefully seeking a better life and society deserve to be recognized and I applaud the efforts of the Japanese church that persevered to receive that recognition.
adm_kenshin at 06:39 PM JST - 24th November

I thinks some of you are putting words in my mouth.

While it was too bad for those Japanese who indeed did fully believe in the christian faith, you surely cannot deny that it was at this time a very political religion?

Tokugawa had heard of what had happened to the philippines, and while Japan and the Philippines had vastly different situations (population, strength of a central government etc) it's not certain Tokugawa knew all this, or he didn't want to take any chances. From his knowledge at the time, he did the right thing in banning christianity, to get rid of its political influence.

Buddhist sects also had vast political influence, but Tokugawa were used to them, knew how to deal with them, and they didn't have any gunships or armies with muskets.

herefornow: You're misunderstanding. I didn't say that Japans conquering spree during the 30's and 40's was good, I just said it had little to do with religion, but was entirely pragmatic.

Japan wouldn't have lost much of its culture had christianity been allowed to compete freely, but that is something the spanish and portuguese weren't interested in. Eventually, Japans christians may have been supported by ships and troops from abroad (this was, at least, Tokugawa's fears), and eventually Japan could have fallen to the europeans like the Philippines. Again, I think it would have been unlikely, but Tokugawa didn't know the spanish and portuguese strengths, he didn't know how many ships or soldiers they had.

If Japan would have fallen like the Philippines, then that's game over. Everyone would be forcibly converted (in time), people would eventually speak spanish, and many sides of japanese culture tied to shinto or buddhism would disappear. Perhaps it would have led to a more interesting japanese culture, who can say, but I am glad it is like it is now.
goodDonkey at 07:12 PM JST - 24th November

but Japan now has its first Catholic prime minister—Taro Aso.

There goes the neighborhood.
hakujinsensei at 07:46 PM JST - 24th November

So what exactly are the pristine cultural attributes is that would have been lost had Buddhism lost its monopoly as the chosen religion of those of the warrior class and below? And is not possible that something positive and uniquely Japanese could have sprung from that as well?
Kameleon at 05:42 PM JST - 26th November

Christians in Japan of the 15th/16th centuries, especially the Catholics, are directly related to this country closing its borders and expelling all communication with the outside world, which absolutely led to narrow-mindedness and suspicion of foreigners we still see today in Japan.

Thanks Christianity for helping to mess up this country.
urufuls at 12:53 PM JST - 27th November

Christians in Japan of the 15th/16th centuries, especially the Catholics, are directly related to this country closing its borders and expelling all communication with the outside world, which absolutely led to narrow-mindedness and suspicion of foreigners we still see today in Japan.

They are only related by what happened in between the two, that being the reaction of the government of the time. You can't isolate one reason for the current narrow-mindedness and suspicion of foreigners by Japanese, which is partly or mostly their fault because they don't make an effort to open their mind.