Fummy

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Image step in the early 19th century in Nagasaki, printed in Philipp Franz von Siebold's "Nippon" (Leiden, 1832–1852, Section II, Tab.XV)
Picture kicking in Nagasaki. "Orientalizing" design by an anonymous engraver, reprinted by John Hamilton Moore's "New and Complete Collection of Voyages and Travels" (London 1789)

Fumie (also Fumi-e , Japanese. 踏 み 絵 ; literally "step picture") is a Japanese name for Christian symbols that emerged in the early Edo period and was used by the authorities to find followers of Christianity in the population. At first, painted pictures or wood block prints were used, but because of the rapid wear and tear, they were soon replaced by stone, wood and bronze relief panels. Depictions of the crucifixion and images of the Virgin were used as motifs .

As far as the sources indicate, such “step pictures” were first used in the 1920s in the persecution of Christians in Nagasaki. Anyone who was suspected of adhering to the Christian faith, but denied this or renounced Christianity, had to trample the picture in front of the responsible officials to prove his convictions. Those who refused were arrested and executed. In regions with a previously high Christian population, this procedure was retained even after the expulsion of the last missionaries and the extensive closure of the country in 1639 and, depending on the regional situation, more or less systematized. With the Treaty of Kanagawa (1854) enforced by Commodore Matthew Perry, the subsequent Anglo-Japanese Friendship Treaty (1854), the Russian-Japanese Treaty of Shimoda (1855), the pressure on the Japanese authorities grew from the West. In the spring of 1856, "picture-kicking" was abandoned in Nagasaki and Shimoda. But beyond the ports that were open to the West, things continued until the ban on Christianity was finally lifted in 1873.

In Nagasaki, formerly one of the most important Christian centers in Japan, the “image stepping” ( Japanese 絵 踏 み ; efumi ) was carried out every year on the eighth day of the first month. In the course of time the ceremony took on the characteristics of a seasonal tradition. Especially the women from the Maruyama entertainment district caused a stir with their elaborate kimonos. Some managers (opperhoofden) of the Dejima factory , which the Dutch East India Company had maintained in Nagasaki since 1641 , left brief remarks in their service diaries. George Meister , a Protestant gardener from Saxony who lived in Nagasaki in 1682/83 and 1685/86, gives an indignant portrayal in his work “The Oriental-Indian Art and Pleasure Gardener”. In contrast, the very detailed description of the pastor's son was surprisingly relaxed Engelbert Kaempfer , who worked as a doctor on Dejima in 1690/91:

“The figures, which are kept in a specially made box, are cast from brass and about a foot long. With their step it goes in the following way: after the Inquisition Council sits down on a mat, everything from the house, large and small, together with the families living there, has to gather in the room. If, for example, the nearest neighbor's apartment were too small to carry out the action, they would appear here at the same time. The bronzed figures lie on the bare floor: the scribe appointed to the Jefumi opens his sample book and reads off all the names that come as they are read and walk or step over the pictures. The mothers pick up underage children who cannot yet walk and place their feet on it, which is also regarded as having walked over it. When this happens, the head of the house presses his seal under the sample roll, as a testimony that the Inquisition has been held by them and that the inquisitors can therefore justify themselves to the governor. "

Further remarks can be found in the writings of travelers to Japan such as JF van Overmeer Fisscher, Jan Cock Blomhoff, and Philipp Franz von Siebold . An illustration made in Nagasaki from the early 19th century is offered by von Siebold in his book NIPPON. Understandably, contemporary authors from circles of the Catholic Church go into the events as soon as the subject of Japan came up. Stimulated by Kaemmer's description, writers such as Jonathan Swift (Gulliver's Travels, Part III, Chapter 11) and Voltaire (Candide) woven the scene into their works. Among the modern authors, Endō Shūsaku (Silence) and David Mitchell (The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet) are particularly noteworthy.

During the Edo period, “pedal images” that had become unusable were melted down or destroyed. This also happened during and after the opening of the country in the 19th century. Nevertheless, today you can find at least a few exhibits in almost every relevant regional museum , including the Tokyo National Museum .

In modern Japanese colloquial language, the term fumie is also used free of historical-religious connotations in the sense of the German “acid test” or “loyalty test”.

literature

  • George Meister : The Oriental-Indian art and pleasure gardener. Self-published, Dresden 1692, ( digitized ).
  • Engelbert Kaempfer : History and Description of Japan. Edited by Christian Wilhelm Dohm from the author's original manuscripts . 2 volumes. Meyer, Lemgo 1777–1779, ( digitized volume 1 , digitized volume 2 ).
  • Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann: Designed for Desecration: Fumi-e and European Art. In: Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann: Toward a geography of art. University of Chicago Press, Chicago IL et al. 2004, ISBN 0-226-13312-5 , pp. 303-352.
  • Mia M. Mochizuki: Deciphering the Dutch in Deshima. In: Benjamin Kaplan, Marybeth Carlson, Laura Cruz (Eds.): Boundaries and their meanings in the history of the Netherlands (= Studies in Central European Histories. 48). Brill, Leiden et al. 2009, ISBN 978-90-04-17637-9 , pp. 63-94, here pp. 67-78.
  • Philipp Franz von Siebold : Nippon. Archive describing Japan and its neighboring and protected countries: Jezo with the southern Kuriles, Krafto, Koorai and the Liukiu Islands. Edited from Japanese and European writings and own observations. Siebold, Leiden 1832–1852, (first edition).

Photographs

  • "Step picture" made of bronze with a crucifix depiction (Nagasaki). The contours have become largely unrecognizable through years of use.

  • Marian relief (Nagasaki)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Since the 19th century, the information in secondary literature has fluctuated between 1626, 1628 and 1629. Unambiguous primary sources are not documented.
  2. ↑ Most of these are noticeable episodes. So z. B. in the spring of 1663, when an old woman and her daughter refused and, when questioned by the Nagasaki governor, threw pebbles at them. Nationaal Archief (The Hague), NFJ 76, Dagregister by Henrick Indijck, February 8th 1663 (New Year's Day in the Japanese calendar)
  3. ↑ George Meister: The Oriental-Indian art and pleasure gardener. 1692, Chapter X .
  4. ↑ Since the initial / e / was realized as a half-vowel [je] (Japanese ye ) in Japanese in the Edo period , European observers noted this syllable e as je or ye (e.g. Jedo = Edo, Jezo = Ezo). A historical relic of this ancient pronunciation can be found in the yen , which today should actually be transcribed as En .
  5. ↑ What is meant is the governor appointed by the government of the imperial direct domain Nagasaki.
  6. ↑ This is only a short excerpt from Kaemmer's description. More in History and Description of Japan. Vol. 2, p. 36 .