Martyrs of Nagasaki

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The Crucifixion of the Nagasaki Martyrs, 1597. Engraving by Wolfgang Kilian , Augsburg, 1628

The Martyrs of Nagasaki were 26  Franciscan and Jesuit missionaries and to Christianity converted Japanese between the ages of twelve and 64 years, in 1597 on the orders of Toyotomi Hideyoshi were executed. They are venerated as martyrs in the Catholic and Anglican Churches . The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America also commemorates them.

martyrdom

The missionary work of Japan , which began in 1549 with Franz Xavier , was initially quite successful. In 1590, about 200,000 Japanese professed Christianity, mainly residents of central Japan and the southern island of Kyushu , mainly from Nagasaki . After the Spanish occupation of the Philippines in 1587, however, the Japanese government feared excessive European influence. Toyotomi Hideyoshi therefore decreed that all foreigners had to leave Japan. Since he was still interested in good trade relations with Portugal, the missionaries were allowed to continue their work.

Martyrs Monument in Nagasaki by Kenji Imai
Martyrdom of the Franciscans in Nagasaki - Francesco Maffei

The situation came to a head when the Spanish ship San Felipe ran aground off the Japanese coast on its way from Mexico to Manila in 1596 . When the Japanese seized the ship's cargo, the captain turned to Hideyoshi and tried to intimidate him by pointing out the power of his king, Philip II , and showing Hideyoshi on a globe the dominion of Spain. When he wanted to know how such a small country could have such a great influence, the captain said: “His very high Catholic majesty first sends priests to convert the population to Christianity, and these converts then help the Spanish soldiers with the conquest . ”Thereupon the Japanese government captured all Spaniards who came from the Philippines in 1593. Among them were three Japanese Jesuits: Paul Miki , Iacobus Diego Kisai and Johannes Soan de Goto.

These were brought to Kyoto , where they were held prisoner along with six Franciscans and another 15 Japanese Christians and sentenced to death by crucifixion . In the main town square, a piece of their left ear was cut off as a deterrent. They were then driven from town to town, proclaiming their crimes and calling on the population to abuse them. Two other Japanese converted to the Catholic Church voluntarily joined this procession. Each of the Christians was offered freedom should they renounce Christianity , but no one responded.

On February 5, 1597, the crucifixion took place on Tateyama Hill in Nagasaki. In the Japanese form of crucifixion, the wrists and neck were fastened with iron clamps, while the legs were spread using another iron. Then the chest was pierced with a lance on the left and right side of the body from the lowest rib to the shoulder blade .

Adoration

Paul Miki and his companions were beatified by Pope Urban VIII on September 14, 1627 . Pope Pius IX canonized the martyrs of Nagasaki on June 8, 1862. In 1864, the predecessor of today's Basilica of the Twenty-six Holy Martyrs of Japan in Nagasaki was completed.

The feast day of St. Paul Miki and his companions in the liturgy of the Catholic Church is on February 6th . The Anglican Church does not name Paul Miki. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America commemorates her on February 5th .

In their honor the house "In the three Japanese martyrs" was built in Düsseldorf .

martyr

  • Antonius Deynan
  • Bonaventure from Miyako
  • Cosmas Takeya (also: Tachejia, Zaquira)
  • Franciscus Blanco
  • Franciscus vu Miyako (also: Franciscus vun Nagasaki)
  • Franciscus a San Michaele de la Parilla
  • Gabriel de Duisco
  • Gaius Francis Danto Falehante
  • Gundisalvus Garcia
  • Iacobus Diego Kisai (also: Kizayemon)
  • Joachim Sakakibara (also: Saccachibara)
  • Johannes Kisaka (also: Kinoia, Kinuya)
  • Johannes Soan de Goto
  • Leo Karasumaru (also: Carazuma)
  • Louis Ibaraki (12 years)
  • Martinus from Ascensione Loynaz de Aguirre
  • Matthias Martinus from Miyako
  • Michael Kozaki
  • Paul Ibaraki (also: Yuanki, Yuaniqui, Ibarki)
  • Paul Miki
  • Paul Suzuki
  • Petrus Baptista Blásquez
  • Petrus Sukejiroo (also: Sukejico, Xukexico)
  • Philip vu Jesus de las Casas
  • Thomas Kozaki (15 Years)
  • Thomas Xico (also: Thomas Danki, Xico Dangi)

literature

Web links

Commons : Martyrs of Nagasaki  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. David Landes : Prosperity and Poverty of Nations. Why some are rich and others are poor. , Pantheon Verlag, 3rd edition 2009, ISBN 978-3-570-55102-8 , pp. 361-362
  2. Sts. Peter Baptist and Twenty-Five Companions (New Advent: Catholic Encyclopedia, accessed February 6, 2013)