The Great Martyrdom of Edo[1] was the execution of 50 foreign and domestic Catholics (kirishitans), who were burned alive for their Christianity in Edo (modern-day Tokyo), Japan, on 4 December 1623.
In August 1623, Tokugawa Hidetada retired the shogunate and his son Tokugawa Iemitsu was appointed shogun.[2] He continued his father's policy of Christian prosecution. As shogun, he established the office of shūmon aratame yaku, the office of inquisition, and used it for his policy of eradication of Christianity in Japan.[3] Tokugawa Iemitsu considered it important not only to keep the legislation against Christianity of his father, but also to set an example.[3] This example was set with the Great Edo Martyrdom.
Shortly before or after Tokugawa Iemitsu returned from Kyoto on 18 October 1623, a number of Christians were arrested and held at the Kodenmachō Jailhouse in Edo.[4] These arrests came in the wake of a betrayal by a servant of the Christian hatamotoJohn Hara Mondo-no-suke Tanenobu [jp].[5]
The decision on how to proceed with the jailed Christians was laid before the new shogun, who hesitated and first consulted with his retired father who advised that such a decision must be taken by the shogun.[4] Tokugawa Iemitsu then took the decision to execute all 51 jailed Christians.[4]
The date of the execution was set to 4 December 1622.[6] This date was probably chosen because many daimyos were in Edo during this time of the year and the execution was meant to leave an impression on them.[6]
The execution happened in the Tamachi area of Edo on 4 December 1622.[7] It was carried out on the roadside of the Tōkaidō, the most important of the Five Routes, connecting KyototoEdo. The choosing of this busy place was again a sign that the mass execution was intended to set an example.[7]
The execution began with the hikimawashi [jp], a parade of the condemned around the city. The procession was led by three persons on horseback: Jerome de Angelis, an Italian Jesuit missionary; Francis Galvez, a Franciscan priest; and John Hara Mondo-no-suke Tanenobu [jp], a Japanese Christian hatamoto.[8] According to a Jesuit annual letter,[a] fifty-one people were led to the stake during this procession, but one renounced his faith and was not put to death.[11] The same annual letter describes that a sign was put up to explain the reason why this severe punishment was to be carried out. It read:
These men are condemned to so severe a punishment because they are Christians.[12]
The three Christians on horseback were set aside and the 47 other Christians were being burnt alive first. Then the burning of Jerome de Angelis, Francis Galvez and John Hara Mondo-no-suke Tanenobu followed.[13]
The execution site was left unoccupied at first, then a small Buddhist temple named Chifukuji Temple [jp] was built directly on it.[7] This temple has now been moved and a monument for the remembrance of the execution has been erected.[20]
^The letter (Lettera annua del Giappone dell'anno 1624 [Annual letter from Japan from the year 1624]) was authored by Joao Rodrigues Girão and finished in Macau on 28 March 1625.[9] It was translated into English by Edmund Neville in 1630.[10]
Rodriguez Girão, João (1630). The Palme of Christian Fortitude. Or The glorious combats of Christians in Iaponia. Translated by Neville, Edmund. hdl:20.500.14106/A08121.
