Great Martyrdom of Edo

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1650 depiction of the martyrdom of Jerome de Angelis

The Great Martyrdom of Edo[1] was the execution of 50 foreign and domestic Catholics (kirishitans), who were burned alive for their Christianity in Edo (modern-day Tokyo), Japan, on 4 December 1623.

The mass execution was part of the persecution of Christians in Japan by Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate.

Among the executed was Jerome de Angelis (1567–1623), an Italian Jesuit missionary to Japan.

Background and execution[edit]

Background[edit]

In August 1623, Tokugawa Hidetada retired the shogunate and his son Tokugawa Iemitsu was appointed shogun.[2] He continued his father's policy of Christian prosecution. As shogun, he established the office of shūmon aratame yaku, the office of inquisition, and used it for his policy of eradication of Christianity in Japan.[3] Tokugawa Iemitsu considered it important not only to keep the legislation against Christianity of his father, but also to set an example.[3] This example was set with the Great Edo Martyrdom.

Shortly before or after Tokugawa Iemitsu returned from Kyoto on 18 October 1623, a number of Christians were arrested and held at the Kodenmachō Jailhouse in Edo.[4] These arrests came in the wake of a betrayal by a servant of the Christian hatamoto John Hara Mondo-no-suke Tanenobu [jp].[5]

The decision on how to proceed with the jailed Christians was laid before the new shogun, who hesitated and first consulted with his retired father who advised that such a decision must be taken by the shogun.[4] Tokugawa Iemitsu then took the decision to execute all 51 jailed Christians.[4]

The date of the execution was set to 4 December 1622.[6] This date was probably chosen because many daimyos were in Edo during this time of the year and the execution was meant to leave an expression on them.[6]

Execution[edit]

The execution happened in the Tamachi area of Edo on 4 December 1622.[7] It was carried out on the roadside of the Tōkaidō, the most important of the Five Routes, connecting Kyoto to Edo. The choosing of this busy place was again a sign that the mass execution was intended to set an example.[7]

The execution began with the hikimawashi [jp], a parade of the condemned around the city. The procession was led by three persons on horseback: Jerome de Angelis, an Italian Jesuit missionary, Francis Galvez, a Franciscan priest, and John Hara Mondo-no-suke Tanenobu [jp], a Japanese Christian hatamoto.[8] According to a Jesuit annual letter,[a] 51 people were let to the stake during this procession, but one renounced his faith and was thus not put to death.[11] The same annual letter describes that a sign was put up to explain the reason why this severe punishment was to be carried out. It read:

These men are condemned to so severe a punishment because they are Christians.[12]

The three Christians on horseback were set aside and the 47 other Christians were being burnt alive first. Then the burning of Jerome de Angelis, Franciscan Francis Galvez and John Hara Mondo-no-suke Tanenobu followed.[13]

List of the martyrs[edit]

Depiction of Jerome de Angelis at the Church of the Gesù, Palermo

Of the 50 martyrs 36 have been identified by name:[14]

  1. John Hara Mondo-no-suke Tanenobu [jp]
  2. Jerome de Angelis
  3. Fr. Francis Galvez, O.F.M.
  4. Leo Takeya Gonshichi (Jerome de Angelis' host)
  5. Hanzaburo Kashiya
  6. John Chozaemon (Francis Galvez' catechist)
  7. Simon Empo (Yemon), S.J. (born 1580; dōjuku to Jerome de Angelis)[5][15]
  8. Peter Kisaburo
  9. John Matazaemon
  10. Michael Kizaemon
  11. Laurence Kashichi
  12. Matthias Yazaemon
  13. Laurence Kakuzaemon
  14. Matthias Kizaemon
  15. Thomas Yosaku
  16. Peter Santaro
  17. Peter Sazaemon
  18. Matthias Sekiemon
  19. Ignatius Choemon
  20. Simon Muan
  21. Denis Ioccunu
  22. Isaac
  23. Bonaventure Kyudayu
  24. John Shinkuro
  25. Hilary Magozaemon (Francis Galvez' host)
  26. Francis Kizaemon
  27. Sashimonoya Shinshichiro
  28. John Chozaemon
  29. Roman Gon'emon
  30. Emmanuel Buemon
  31. Peter Kiemon
  32. Kizaburo
  33. Peter Choemon
  34. Andrew Risuke
  35. Raphael Kichizaemon
  36. Kishichi
  37. Anthony

Beatification and remembrance[edit]

Of the 50 executed only Jerome de Angelis, Simon Empo (Yemon) and Francis Galvez were beatified as part of the 205 martyrs of Japan in 1867 by Pope Pius IX because there was deemed to be insufficient information about the other 47.[16] John Hara Mondo-no-suke Tanenobu was later beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in Nagasaki on 24 November 2008 together with 187 other martyrs of Japan.[17][18]

On 19 November 2023, the Archbishop of Tokyo, Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, celebrated Mass at Takanawa Catholic Church, commemorating the 400th anniversary of the Great Martyrdom of Edo.[15]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ The letter (Lettera annua del Giappone dell'anno 1624 [Annual letter from Japan from the year 1624]) was authored by Joao Rodrigues Girão and finished in Macau on 28 March 1625.[9] It was translated into English by Edmund Neville in 1630.[10]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ Committee for Promoting Canonisation 2022.
  2. ^ Cieslik 1954, p. 12.
  3. ^ a b Cieslik 1954, p. 14.
  4. ^ a b c Cieslik 1954, p. 18, 25.
  5. ^ a b Roldán-Figueroa 2021, p. 33.
  6. ^ a b Cieslik 1954, p. 25.
  7. ^ a b Cieslik 1954, p. 1.
  8. ^ Cieslik 1954, p. 27.
  9. ^ Roldán-Figueroa 2021, p. 91.
  10. ^ Rodriguez Girão 1630.
  11. ^ Cieslik 1954, p. 28.
  12. ^ Cieslik 1954, p. 29.
  13. ^ Cieslik 1954, pp. 29–30.
  14. ^ Cieslik 1954, pp. 31–32.
  15. ^ a b McKeown 2023.
  16. ^ The Jesuits Prayer Ministry Singapore 2023.
  17. ^ Bifet 2008.
  18. ^ Vatican News 2008.

Sources[edit]

Further reading[edit]

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