Justo Takayama

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Takayama Ukon
Memorial plaque in Manila
Ukon in Plaza Dilao, Manila

Dom Justo Takayama (* 1552 ; † February 4, 1615 ) was a Japanese general of the Azuchi and Momoyama times . He went down in history as a staunch Christian and a blessed of the Roman Catholic Church .

Live and act

Ukon was the son of Takayama Tomoteru, lord of Sawa Castle in Yamato Province . His children's name was Hikogorō ( 彦 五郎 ), as an adult he was called Tomonaga ( 友 祥 ), Nagafusa ( 長 房 ), finally called himself Ukon no jō ( 右 近 允 ). His father wanted to fight Christianity at first, but then joined him and was baptized together with Ukon in 1564, he was named Darie and his son was named Justo.

When the lord of Takatsuki Castle in Settsu, Wada Koremasa ( 和田 惟 正 ; * 1530), lost his life in the Battle of Shiraikawahara by Araki Murashige ( 荒木 村 重 ; 1535–1586), the Takayama received the castle. In 1573 Ukon, now under Araki, was confirmed as lord of the castle of Takatsuki.

After Oda Nobunaga's death in 1582, Ukon Toyotomi supported Hideyoshi in his fight against Akechi Mitsuhide and led a vanguard into the battle of Yamazaki . He followed Hideyoshi in further battles and made an income of 60,000 koku . As a Christian he supported the churches in Takatsuki, Azuchi, Kyōto, Osaka and other places. He established a seminary on his domain and was charitable. In this way he became a leading Christian figure in Japan.

In 1585 Ukon took part in the destruction of the temple Negoro-ji and in 1587 in a campaign against the Shimazu on Kyūshū . But when the "Pātore" was banned in 1587, Ukon was also persecuted. He found refuge with Maeda Toshiie ( 前 田 利 家 ; 1538–1599), prince of the Kaga domain.

In 1614, however, the shogunate issued an order that all missionaries must leave the country, along with prominent Japanese who professed the Christian faith. On November 8, 1614, a group of persecuted people boarded a ship in Nagasaki to go to the Philippines. Manila was reached on November 28th, where the refugees were welcomed.

The Spanish Philippines offered their support for an invasion of Japan to protect Japanese Catholics. Takayama refused to take part in such an event and died just 40 days later. He was buried in the Jesuit Church, where his tomb can still be seen today.

A statue of Dom Justo Takayama still stands in Dilao , Manila today . Ukon is shown on the statue in warrior clothing and with his hair tied in a bun; he carries a sword pointing downwards, from which hangs a figure of Christ crucified. At that time the Spaniards referred to the Paco area as “Yellow Square”, as more than 3000 Japanese lived there. Today only the name of this square reminds of the old quarter.

beatification

After the beatification process was initiated and the Heroic Virtue was awarded to him, Pope Francis confirmed his circumstances of death on January 22, 2016 as killing out of hatred of the faith ( martyrdom ), thus fulfilling the decisive prerequisite for beatification. He was beatified by Cardinal Angelo Amato on February 7, 2017 in Osaka .

Remarks

  1. ↑ Pātore or Bateren ( 伴 天 連 ) was the name for the association of active Christians.
  2. ↑ Among them was Naitō Tadatoshi ( 忠 俊 ; † 1626) from the Naitō clan , who had been baptized in the name of Joan, with his family. He and his wife Julia are noted on the plaque in Manila.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Illustration by Utagawa Yoshiiku (歌 川 芳 幾; 1833–1904) as part of the “Taiheiki Eiyūden” (太平 記 英雄 伝), a series of depictions of heroes of the Sengoku period . The name of the series refers to the classic Taiheiki .
  2. ^ Promulgazione di Decreti della Congregazione delle Cause dei Santi. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office , January 22, 2016, accessed January 22, 2016 (Italian).

literature

  • Suzuki, Toshihiko (Ed.): Takayama Ukon. In: NIhon daihyakka zensho (Denshibukku-han), Shogakukan, 1996.
  • Papinot, Edmond: Takayama Nagafusa . In: Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan. Reprinted by Tuttle, 1972 edition of 1910 edition. ISBN 0-8048-0996-8 .

Web links

Commons : Takayama Ukon  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Takayama, Justo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Takayama Ukon (nickname); 高山 右 近 (nickname, Japanese); Takayama Tomonaga (possible real name); 高山 友 祥 (possible real name, Japanese); Takayama Nagafusa (possible real name); 高山 長 房 (possible real name, Japanese); Takayama Shigetomo (possible real name); 高山 重 友 (possible real name, Japanese); Hikogorō (nickname); 彦 五郎 (first name, Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Japanese Christian daimyo
DATE OF BIRTH 1552
DATE OF DEATH February 4, 1615
Place of death Manila