Changes

==Shifts, Decline, and Expulsion==

==Shifts, Decline, and Expulsion==

Despite early successes, or perhaps because of them, from the 1580s on, the Jesuits began to face increasing suspicion and difficulties. Prominent figures such as Hideyoshi, and, later, [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]], aware of Spain's colonization of the Philippines, and of the incredible numbers of Christian converts within Japan, and having only very recently united the warring provinces of Japan into a semblance of peace and order, became concerned that the missionaries' activities could lead to a return to serious instability, or even conquest and colonization. These concerns were encouraged further by [[Dutch East India Company|Dutch]] and [[English East India Company|English]] representatives - Protestants whose home countries were embroiled in passionate religious wars with Catholic Spain & Portugal; meanwhile, the [[Franciscan Order]] arrived in Japan in [[1592]], and began proselytizing not to the elites, but to the common people, drawing concern from Hideyoshi, Ieyasu and the like that this might disrupt the social order.

Despite early successes, or perhaps because of them, from the 1580s on, the Jesuits began to face increasing suspicion and difficulties. Prominent figures such as Hideyoshi, and, later, [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]], aware of Spain's colonization of the Philippines, and of the incredible numbers of Christian converts within Japan, and having only very recently united the warring provinces of Japan into a semblance of peace and order, became concerned that the missionaries' activities could lead to a return to serious instability, or even conquest and colonization.

The Jesuits and Franciscans clashed with one another, too, over their very different approaches, with the Franciscans considering the Jesuits pretentious for their associations with the elites, and the Jesuits ridiculing the Franciscans for their lack of education, poverty, and association with the lowest rungs of society.

Concerns were raised that according to Christian doctrine, loyalty to God and to the Pope superceded loyalty to one's lord, to the shogun, or even to the Emperor of Japan, and that further, according to Christian teachings, even figures such as the [[Sage Kings]] of Yao and Shun, revered as the ideal Confucian rulers, would be doomed to hell for their pagan beliefs and actions. The perceived threat was thus not only one to political stability, but a threat to the basic social structure.<ref>Schirokauer, 127.</ref>

Though the missionaries were expelled in the 1630s, and Christianity banned, many Japanese converts remained as so-called "[[hidden Christians]]" (''kakure Kirishitan''). At least one Jesuit is known to have snuck into Japan during this period of [[kaikin|maritime restrictions]]: [[Giovanni Battista Sidotti]] entered Japan in [[1708]], was interrogated by Confucian scholar & chief shogunal advisor [[Arai Hakuseki]], and was imprisoned, dying in his cell in [[1714]].

These concerns were encouraged further by [[Dutch East India Company|Dutch]] and [[English East India Company|English]] representatives - Protestants whose home countries were embroiled in passionate religious wars with Catholic Spain & Portugal. Meanwhile, the [[Franciscan Order]] arrived in Japan in [[1592]], and began proselytizing not to the elites, but to the common people, drawing concern from Hideyoshi, Ieyasu and the like that this might disrupt the social order. The Jesuits and Franciscans had rather different approaches, and held hostile attitudes towards one another, with the Franciscans considering the Jesuits pretentious for their associations with the elites, and the Jesuits ridiculing the Franciscans for their lack of education, poverty, and association with the lowest rungs of society. Political/economic competition between the Portuguese and Spanish active in Japan also contributed to Japanese concerns about factionalism and instability.

 

Disturbed by these various factional clashes, European arrogance, and the threat of violence or colonization, Hideyoshi, and later Ieyasu, gradually turned against the Christians. There were more than 300,000 Japanese Christians in [[1614]] according to some estimates. By the end of the 1630s, more than 3000 Japanese, and nearly 70 Europeans killed in Japan, would be formally recognized as martyrs by the Vatican, though of course many more killed for their faith were not recognized in this fashion. One particularly well-known and commemorated set of martyrs are the so-called "[[Twenty-Six Martyrs of Nagasaki]]," a combination of European missionaries and Japanese converts, killed at the orders of Toyotomi Hideyoshi in [[1597]]; according to some accounts, the boasting of the Spanish captain of their ship as to the great power of the Spanish king was a key factor in Hideyoshi ordering this done. The Tokugawa outlawed Christianity in [[1606]], and began to expel missionaries in earnest in 1614. The Spanish were expelled entirely in [[1624]], and Japanese were forbidden from going overseas (or returning from overseas) in [[1630]].

 

The nail in the coffin for missionary presence and activity in Japan was, arguably, a Christian [[Shimabara Rebellion|uprising at Shimabara]] in [[1637]]-[[1638]], in which roughly tens of thousands of Christians rebelled against their lord; roughly 37,000 Christians were killed before the rebellion was over. The event was seen by the shogunate as evidence of the divided loyalties of Japanese Christians, and a spectre of rebellions, divisions, and instability which would continue if Christianity were not violently and powerfully suppressed.

 

Missionaries were expelled finally and entirely in [[1639]], and Christianity banned. Representatives of the [[Dutch East India Company]], merchants with little interest in proselytizing, were now the only Europeans allowed direct intercourse with Japan, and as of [[1641]], they were restricted to the tiny manmade island of [[Dejima]] in Nagasaki. Many Japanese converts remained, however, as so-called "[[hidden Christians]]" (''kakure Kirishitan''), some finding success in hiding in remote areas, such as the island of [[Ojika]] off Nagasaki, where a ''kakure Kirishitan'' church still stands. At least one Jesuit is known to have snuck into Japan during this period of [[kaikin|maritime restrictions]]: [[Giovanni Battista Sidotti]] entered Japan in [[1708]], was interrogated by Confucian scholar & chief shogunal advisor [[Arai Hakuseki]], and was imprisoned, dying in his cell in [[1714]].

Once the ban on Christianity was lifted, in the [[Bakumatsu Period]], the Jesuit order re-entered Japan, and retains a degree of presence today; [[Sophia University]] in Tokyo, founded in 1913 at the request of the Pope as the first Jesuit university in Japan, is generally regarded as among the top three private universities in the city.

Once the ban on Christianity was lifted, in the [[Bakumatsu Period]], the Jesuit order re-entered Japan, and retains a degree of presence today; [[Sophia University]] in Tokyo, founded in 1913 at the request of the Pope as the first Jesuit university in Japan, is generally regarded as among the top three private universities in the city.