| 16 Martyrs of Japan | |
|---|---|
_in_the_Philippines_03.jpg) Statues of the 16 Martyrs of Japan in thereredos of San Lorenzo Ruiz and Companions Parish ChurchNavotas City,Philippines | |
| Died | 1633 - 1637,Nagasaki,Japan |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church Anglican Church Lutheran Church |
| Beatified | 18 February 1981,Rizal Park,Manila,Philippines,byPope John Paul II |
| Canonized | 18 October 1987,St. Peter's Square,Vatican City,byPope John Paul II |
| Majorshrine | Binondo Church,Manila,Philippines |
| Feast | 28 September |
The16 Martyrs of Japan (日本の殉教者,Nihon no junkyōsha) wereChristians who were persecuted for their faith in Japan, mostly during the17th century.
Christian missionaries arrived withFrancis Xavier and theJesuits in the 1540s and briefly flourished, with over 100,000 converts, including manydaimyōs inKyushu. Theshogunate and imperial government at first supported the Catholic mission and the missionaries, thinking that they would reduce the power of theBuddhist monks, and help trade withSpain andPortugal. However, the Shogunate was also wary of colonialism, seeing that the Spanish had taken power in thePhilippines, after converting the population. It soon met resistance from the highest office holders of Japan.[1] Emperor Ogimachi issued edicts to ban Catholicism in 1565 and 1568, but to little effect. Beginning in 1587 with imperial regentToyotomi Hideyoshi’s ban onJesuit missionaries, Christianity was repressed as a threat to national unity.[2] After theTokugawa shogunate banned Christianity in 1620, it ceased to exist publicly. Many Catholics went underground, becominghidden Christians (隠れキリシタン,kakure kirishitan), while others lost their lives. Only after theMeiji Restoration, was Christianity re-established in Japan.
The first group of martyrs, known as theTwenty-Six Martyrs of Japan (1597), were canonized by theChurch in 1862 byPope Pius IX. The same pope beatified the second group, known as the205 Martyrs of Japan (1598–1632), in 1867.[3]
Another group of martyrs were investigated by the Vatican Curia's Congregation for the Causes of Saints (CCS) in 1980 and were beatified on 18 February 1981.[4]Pope John Paul II canonized these 16 Martyrs of Japan as saints on 18 October 1987. This group is also known as Lorenzo Ruiz, Dominic Ibáñez de Erquicia Pérez de Lete, Iacobus Tomonaga Gorōbyōe, and 13 companions.[5][3]
Statues of the 16 Martyrs were placed in the garden of Nakamachi Church in Nagasaki.[6]
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913)."Japanese Martyrs".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
