Christianity in Japan

Christianity in Japan is among the nation's minority religions in terms of individuals who state an explicit affiliation or faith. In 2022, there were 1.26 million Christians^[1] in Japan, down from 1.9 million^[2] Christians in Japan in 2019.^[3] In the early years of the 21st century, between less than 1 percent^[4][5] and 1.5%^[2] of the population claimed Christian belief or affiliation. According to the 2024 Religious Yearbook (Shūkyō Nenkan), Christianity in Japan includes 2,383 parishes, 4,367 clergy, and 1,246,742 registered adherents, representing about 0.7% of the 172,232,847 reported religious adherents in the country. As individuals may belong to multiple organizations, this last figure include some double-counting and therefore exceed the actual population of Japan.".^[6][7]

Nagatsuka Monastery for Jesuits in Hiroshima features traditional temple architecture

A Japanese bible study group

Although formally banned in 1612 and today critically portrayed as a foreign "religion of colonialism", Christianity has played a role in the shaping of the relationship between religion and the Japanese state for more than four centuries.^[8] Most large Christian denominations, including Catholicism, Protestantism, Oriental Orthodoxy, and Orthodox Christianity, are represented in Japan today. Christian culture has a generally positive image in Japan.^[9] The majority of Japanese people are, traditionally, of the Shinto or Buddhist faith. The majority of Japanese couples, about 60–70%, are wed in "nonreligious" Christian ceremonies. This makes Christian weddings the most influential aspect of Christianity in contemporary Japan.^[10]

Etymology

The Japanese word for Christianity (キリスト教, Kirisuto-kyō) is a compound of kirisuto (キリスト) the Japanese adaptation of the Portuguese word for Christ, Cristo, and the Sino-Japanese word for doctrine (教, kyō; a teaching or precept, from Middle Chinese kæ̀w 敎), as in Bukkyō (仏教, Japanese for Buddhism).^[11]

History

Missionaries and early expansion

Main articles: History of the Catholic Church in Japan and Kirishitan

The first appearance of Christianity in Japan was the arrival of the Portuguese Catholics in 1549.^[12] Navarrese missionary Francis Xavier arrived in Japan with three Japanese Catholic converts intending to start a church in Japan. The local Japanese people initially assumed that the foreigners were from India and that Christianity was a new Indian faith. These mistaken impressions were due to already existing ties between the Portuguese and India; the Indian state of Goa was a central base for Portuguese India at the time, and a significant portion of the crew on board their ships were Indian Christians.^[13]

The martyrdom of a Jesuit father in Japan in 1634, engraved by Gerard Bouttats

Later on, the Catholic missionary activities were exclusively performed by Jesuits and mendicant orders, such as the Franciscans and Dominicans. Francis Xavier (who would later be canonized a Catholic saint for his missionary work),^[14] Cosme de Torres (a Jesuit priest), and Juan Fernández were the first who arrived in Kagoshima hoping to bring Christianity to Japan. Xavier and the Jesuit order were held in good esteem, and his efforts seem to have been rewarded with a thriving community of converts.^[15] At baptism, these converts were given Portuguese Christian names and forced to adopt Western cultural habits. This practice contributed to suspicions that the converts were in reality foreign agents working to subvert the local social order.^[a][15]

The earliest success Christianity witnessed in Japan occurred in Kyushu. Conversions of local warlords like Ōmura Sumitada, Arima Yoshisada, and Ōtomo Sōrin led to the conversion of many of their subjects.^[16] The conversion of several elites in the area was likely due to the decentralized nature of the Sengoku period (1467-1615) where warlords vied for control among themselves. This power vacuum led some warlords to believe that being more open to external sources of power and legitimacy as a possible method to gain an advantage.^[16] As several daimyos and their subjects converted to Christianity, the destruction of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples would often accompany it, with the Jesuits also contributing to the destruction and persecutions.^[16] Buddhist monks and Shinto priests would face persecution by being forcefully evicted out of their religious sites, be forced to marry, or forced to convert.^[16][17]

The rise of Nagasaki as a port city

Establishment and Christian influence

Nagasaki’s transformation into a significant port city in Japan began around 1570, driven by the arrival of Christianity and Portuguese trade. Initially an unpopulated promontory covered with wild thickets, Nagasaki was chosen by Jesuit missionaries, with support from the Christian daimyo Ōmura Sumitada (Don Bartolomeu), for its natural port advantages, including a narrow promontory that offered visual defense of the bay entrance.^[18] Sumitada, the first Japanese daimyo to convert to Catholicism, had previously invited Jesuits to settle in Yokoseura in the early 1560s, where a church was built and Portuguese ships visited in 1562 and 1563. However, Yokoseura’s destruction in 1563 by anti-Christian groups and rival merchants prompted the Jesuits to relocate to Nagasaki.^[19][20] Sumitada donated the land to establish a settlement for displaced Christians, many of whom were exiles fleeing religious persecution or wars,^[21] granting perpetual usage rights and extraterritorial privileges in return for securing permanent port customs and entry taxes, with designated officials stationed to oversee their collection.^[22]

Growth and Jesuit strategy

By 1579, Nagasaki evolved from a village of 400 houses to a town of 5,000 by 1590, and 15,000 by the early 17th century, becoming a hub for Portuguese trade and Catholic activity with multiple parishes established to serve spiritual needs.^[23][18] Led by Alessandro Valignano, the Jesuits accepted Ōmura’s land donation to create a secure base for their mission and to support Portuguese trade. Valignano recognized Nagasaki’s strategic importance for aiding displaced Christians and funding missionary efforts.^[24] The donation was accepted cautiously, with conditions allowing the Jesuits to withdraw if necessary, reflecting the political instability in Japan and the non-binding nature of Japanese land donations, which could be revoked by lords or their successors.^[25]

The Nagasaki Misericórdia (almshouse) was formally instituted in 1583 through the election of officers and the establishment of a hospital.^[26] This charitable institution managed a secondary facility outside the city for leprosy patients, underscoring the profound impact of Christian practices in a Japan that lacked hospitals prior to Portuguese arrival. Jesuit Luis Fróis recorded that this facility served individuals considered “repugnant” by Japanese society.^[27] This endeavor exemplified the innovative introduction of Christian charitable principles, offering a novel framework for Japanese social welfare. Moreover, the establishment of an almshouse in Hirado as early as 1561, with officers actively collecting donations, attests to the early adoption of the Misericórdia system across Japan and the deep integration of Christian charitable ideals into local communities.^[28]

Hostility and misconceptions surrounding missionaries

Defamatory rumors and xenophobic hostility

Social perceptions of missionaries in 16th-century Japan were shaped by vicious rumors that fueled widespread hostility. Fernão Guerreiro’s Jesuit Annual Report details relentless harassment, including acts like throwing corpses at priests’ doorways to spread claims that missionaries consumed human flesh, inciting hatred and disgust among locals.^[29] Other rumors alleged missionaries ate children or extracted eyeballs for sorcery,^[30][31] while Ōmura Yoshimi’s Kyushu Godōzaki claimed they skinned and ate livestock alive.^[32] Historian Akio Okada attributes these slanders to xenophobic fears, portraying foreigners, especially missionaries, as mystical agents of death and destruction.^[31] In 1553, rumors of missionary cannibalism surfaced in Bungo, prompting local lord Ōtomo Sōrin to issue an edict prohibiting people from throwing stones at missionary houses.^[33]

Persecution and resistance to Christian conversion

The conversion of Ōmura Sumitada, Japan’s first Christian daimyō, to Christianity in 1563, under the baptismal name Dom Bartolomeu, triggered intense opposition. Buddhist monks incited a rebellion that led to the burning of a monastery and the homes of Christian farmers at Yokoseura Port, reducing much of the port to ashes.^[34] In a 1564 letter, missionary Luis de Almeida reported that Arima Haruzumi ordered the destruction of Christian crosses in his domain and demanded that Christians revert to their former beliefs.^[35][36] The persecution escalated in 1573 when Fukahori Sumikata burned down the Todos os Santos Church, intensifying efforts to suppress the growing Christian influence in Japan.^[37][38]

Jesuit stance on iconoclasm

The Jesuits, led by figures like Francisco Cabral and Alessandro Valignano, officially opposed the destruction of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines by Christian converts, viewing such acts as counterproductive to their mission.^[39] However, zealous converts, particularly in agricultural and fishing communities, begain to see traditional institutions as complicit in feudal oppression. This led to violent iconoclasm in regions like Nagasaki and Kumamoto, where temples and shrines were burned.^[40] The Jesuits aimed to convert the ruling class first, but the fervor of lower-class converts often spilled into destructive acts, complicating the mission's relationship with Japanese authorities. Historians like Andre C. Ross note uncertainty about direct responsibility, but Valignano, who held supreme authority over East Asia's Jesuit missions until his death in 1606, opposed such violence, advocating accommodation with Japanese customs to sustain the mission.^[39] Significant destruction after Valignano's Visitor appointment is questionable, undermining claims of widespread Jesuit-driven iconoclasm. Christian daimyo like Ōmura Sumitada, who blended Christian and Buddhist identities, as shown by a daimyo's 1574 Shingon tonsure,^[41] likely allowed temple destruction for strategic, not solely religious, purposes.

Luís Fróis's História de Japam, over-relied upon as a key source on Christian iconoclasm (e.g., temple destruction) due to the scarcity of contemporary Japanese records, is unreliable, often compressing events across years into brief accounts, making contemporary missionary letters more trustworthy.^[42] These letters reveal the establishment of the Todos-os-Santos Church in 1569, built by Jesuit priest Gaspar Vilela using materials from a dismantled Buddhist temple^[b] donated by Nagasaki Jinzaemon Sumikage.^[43] This act symbolized the Christian mission's impact on local religious landscapes, with reports of other religious sites destroyed, possibly small prayer spaces in fishing villages^[c]. The motives—whether missionary zeal, actions by Christian converts fleeing persecution,^[44] peasant uprisings,^[40] or wartime strategies by daimyo—remain debated due to scarce corroborating evidence. Japanese and Western records diverge in their accounts: missionary letters focus on Christian activities but omit local perspectives, while Japanese sources, written during the anti-Christian Tokugawa period, lack reliability due to bias and temporal distance.^[42]

Christian churches and repurposed spaces

Acquisition and repurposing of religious sites

Churches in 16th-century Japan were often established through donations or purchases, frequently facilitated by Christian daimyo like Ōmura Sumitada. The instability of the Sengoku period and Oda Nobunaga’s attacks on religious institutions, such as the 1571 burning of Enryakuji,^[45] weakened many Buddhist temples, prompting monks to sell them to missionaries for survival.^[46] Jesuit missionaries, supported by local lords, repurposed non-sacred and abandoned spaces for Christian worship.^[47] For example, in 1555, Ōtomo Sōrin in Funai, Bungo, donated a field for a house with an integrated chapel and funded a large estate for a new church.^[48] In 1576, Arima Yoshisada provided a non-Christian temple, reused as a church without modifications. Churches were also established within castles, such as Ichiki Tsurumaru in Satsuma and Sawa in Yamato (modern Nara), linked to Takayama Tomoteru.^[49] Many of repurposed Buddhist temples were already abandoned due to the period’s instability, with local authorities’ permission and donations from Christian daimyo and Portuguese traders being essential for acquiring these sites.^[50]

Jesuit management and local adaptation

During Alessandro Valignano’s tenure, most Catholic construction projects in Japan were overseen by Japanese lords, who were instrumental in expanding building efforts. Valignano advocated for respecting local architectural traditions and consulting native master builders, ensuring adaptability in construction. This approach allowed Japanese builders to maintain their organization, resources, and techniques throughout the first and second stages of evangelization, aligning Christian structures with local practices while supporting the mission’s growth.^[51]

Jesuit responses to slavery in Japan

In 16th century Japan, economic pressures and cultural practices led to widespread servitude resembling slavery. Parents, facing taxes from non-Christian lords, sold children into servitude under "great" rather than "extreme" necessity.^[52] Japanese lords wielded power akin to Roman vitae necisque potestas, treating peasants and servants as near-slaves,^[53][54][55] often using them as tax guarantors.^[56] Daimyos and merchants sold war captives, especially women and children, into slavery, with Portuguese and Japanese sources documenting brutalities in conflicts like the 1553 Battle of Kawanakajima and 1578 Shimazu campaigns.^[57] The inter-Asian slave trade, including wokou piracy, exacerbated suffering, with reports of Chinese slaves treated like cattle in Satsuma, a fate shared by many Japanese.^[58][59][60] The geninka system^[d] formalized servitude, involving children sold by parents, self-sold individuals, debt-bound workers, and those punished for crimes or rebellion including their wives and children. Women fleeing abuse could be forced into genin status, and lords demanded retainers' daughters serve as genin. Famine and disasters drove people to offer themselves as genin for survival, with the status often becoming hereditary, perpetuating bondage across generations.^{[63][64][65][66][67]}

The Portuguese engaged in the slave trade in Japan, particularly in Kyushu, where political disunity and economic incentives facilitated the practice. Japanese slaves, often acquired through war, kidnapping,^[57] or voluntary servitude due to poverty, were sold to Portuguese merchants and transported to places like Macau, Goa, and even Portugal. Some Japanese chose servitude to travel to Macau or due to poverty, but many indentured servants in Macau broke contracts by fleeing to Ming territory, reducing Portuguese slave purchases.^[68] Poverty, driven by lords' tax demands, led some to view slavery as a survival strategy, with peasants offering themselves or others as collateral for unpaid taxes, blurring the line between farmers and slaves.^[69]

Jesuit reforms and humanitarian compromises

The 1567 Goa Council advised missionaries to recommend the release of Japanese servants (下人) once their labor matched the compensation provided, particularly during famines or disasters when individuals offered labor for protection.^[70] The Council allowed Christians to ransom criminals sentenced to death unjustly, with the rescued serving as servants in return, since no one could be forced to provide funds without compensation.^[71] Jesuits also advised against enslaving the wives and children of punished criminals and supported freeing women who sought refuge from abusive fathers or husbands, except in cases of serious crimes, despite Japanese customs permitting their enslavement.^[72][67]

Valignano, the Jesuit Visitor, consistently highlighted the Japanese Jesuits’ lack of authority and power to suppress the slave trade.^[73][74][75] In Portuguese India, Valignano and fellow Jesuits lacked jurisdiction to intervene in slave transactions, which were subject to secular courts. Priests were limited to providing ethical guidance, rendering the cessation of the practice unfeasible, and it persisted into the seventeenth century.^[76] In Japan, the Macao Diocese, established in 1568, oversaw Japan from 1576, but the absence of a resident bishop impeded the resolution of local issues. The Jesuits’ attempt to establish an independent diocese required explicit approval from Rome.^[77]

Given the limited impact of admonitions and recommendations, missionaries sought to navigate local social dynamics within the constraints of ecclesiastical law. They categorized labor into three forms: servitude equivalent to slavery, a tolerable non-slavery condition, and an unacceptable state.^[78] This distinction is believed to have led missionaries to reluctantly acquiesce to local customs.^[79] Furthermore, missionaries critical of the Portuguese slave trade in Japan, unable to directly prevent Portuguese merchants’ slave purchases due to insufficient authority, advocated for reframing Japan’s prevalent perpetual human trafficking as a form of indentured servitude (yearly contract labor) to align with local practices while mitigating the harshest aspects of exploitation.^[80][74][73]

Recognizing their limited power, the Jesuits sought to reform Japan's system of perpetual slavery (永代人身売買) into indentured servitude (年季奉公).^[81][82] Some missionaries, driven by humanitarian concerns, signed short-term ownership certificates (schedulae) to prevent the greater harm of lifelong enslavement.^[83][84] This pragmatic approach, however, was controversial. By 1598, missionary participation in such practices was banned. Critics like Mateus de Couros condemned any involvement, even if motivated by compassion, highlighting the moral complexities of the Jesuits' position.^[85]

Jesuit-established organizations, such as confraternities and the Nagasaki Misericórdia (almshouse), undertook efforts to rescue Japanese slaves, particularly women, from ships and brothels.^[86] The memoirs of Afonso de Lucena and letters of Luis Fróis concur regarding the treatment of captives during the Battle of Nagayo Castle in March 1587, reflecting Lucena’s concerns about their legitimacy. After Christmas 1586, Lucena urged Ōmura Sumitada, whose health was failing, to free unjustly held captives, leveraging the threat of withholding confession. The Jesuits strategically withheld confession or sacraments to compel moral conduct, especially among influential converts.^[87]

Moreover, bishops and their representatives condemned brothels and private prostitution as “workshops of the devil.” The fourth article of the Constitutions of Goa (1568) prohibited brothel ownership and operation, imposing fines and public shaming on violators, while mandating the liberation of slaves coerced into prostitution.^[88] Thus, the Jesuits endeavored to eradicate immoral practices like prostitution while advancing slave rescue and evangelization through conversion.

Navigating moral ideals amid practical constraints

In 1537, Pope Paul III's Sublimis Deus prohibited enslaving American indigenous peoples and future unknown or pagan populations.^[89][90] The 1542 New Laws of the Indies extended this to East Asians, legally classified as "Indians."^[91][92][93] In 1555, Portuguese merchants began enslaving Japanese individuals, prompting the Jesuit order to advocate for its cessation. Their efforts led to King Sebastian I of Portugal issuing a decree in 1571 banning the Japanese slave trade. However, enforcement was weak, and the trade persisted.^[94] During the transition from the 16th to the 17th century, under the Iberian Union, King Philip II (and later Philip III of Spain) reissued the 1571 decree at the Jesuits' urging. Despite these royal mandates, local Portuguese elites fiercely opposed the bans, rendering them ineffective.^[95] The Jesuits, lacking the authority to enforce decrees, faced significant challenges in curbing the trade.

The Jesuits, previously constrained by limited authority in Japan, experienced a pivotal shift with Pedro Martins’ consecration as bishop in 1592^[e] and his arrival in Nagasaki in 1596. As the first high-ranking cleric in Japan since Francisco Xavier, Martins acquired the authority to excommunicate Portuguese merchants engaged in the trade of Japanese and Korean slaves.^[96] However, the Jesuits’ dependence on financial support from the Captain-major and the bishop’s limited secular authority posed challenges. The Captain-major, as the supreme representative of Portuguese royal authority in Japan, held significant power; opposing him without royal endorsement made excommunication theoretically feasible but practically uncertain.^[97] Ultimately, Martins, alarmed by the social disruption caused by the trade in Japanese and Korean slaves, resolved to pronounce excommunication against human trafficking. After his death, Bishop Cerqueira reinforced this anti-slavery policy, referring the issue, which required secular authority, to the Portuguese crown.^[98]

The Jesuits' efforts to combat the Japanese slave trade reflect a struggle between moral conviction and practical limitations. Despite securing royal decrees and attempting reforms, they faced resistance from Portuguese elites and the realities of Japan's socio-political context. Their compromises, such as signing schedulae and tolerating certain forms of servitude, reveal the challenges of effecting change in a complex environment. While historian Ryōji Okamoto argues that the Jesuits should be absolved of blame due to their exhaustive efforts,^[94] their story underscores the difficulties of aligning humanitarian ideals with the constraints of power and local custom in the early modern world.

Jesuit opposition to the Korean enslavement by Japanese

Hideyoshi's 1587 Bateren Edict, driven by economic concerns over labor depletion rather than moral objections,^[99] as historians like Maki Hidemasa and Romulo Ehalt noted,^[100][101] briefly curtailed slave trades.^[102] However, his 1597 second invasion of Korea actively endorsed the slave trade, transforming it into a major industry.^[103][104] Japanese slave traders captured approximately 50,000 to 60,000 Koreans as prisoners, with only 7,500 returning to Korea through postwar diplomatic efforts.^[105][106] Bishop Pedro Martins resolved to excommunicate Portuguese merchants involved in the trade of Japanese and Korean slaves, even for temporary servitude, a stance later strengthened by Bishop Cerqueira.^[107] Contemporary sources describe a "gruesome scenario" where Japanese merchants brought crowds of Korean prisoners to islands for sale to Portuguese merchants.^[108]

The Portuguese merchants, by conducting transactions on these islands, evaded the prohibition in Macau and the excommunication by Bishop Martins.^[104] While the Jesuits completely withdrew their desperate measure of regulating the slave trade of Portuguese merchants and made a strong statement that they would not relent in excommunicating merchants outside their jurisdiction^[109], Hideyoshi's policies encouraged the enslavement of Koreans, effectively nullifying the previous restrictions.^[107] The 1592 Dochirina Kirishitan emphasized redeeming captives as a Christian duty, rooted in Christ's atonement, yet Jesuits lacked the authority to enforce the prohibition of slavery, as Valignano repeatedly argued.^[110][111] Since their arrival in Japan, the Portuguese are estimated to have traded hundreds to thousands of Japanese slaves.^[112] However, the number of Korean slaves brought to Japan significantly exceeded this figure.^[105]

Post-1614 slavery

After the 1614 Jesuit expulsion from Japan, Jesuits worked to liberate Japanese and Korean slaves, while Portuguese merchants continued the slave trade.^[113] Post-1614, Dutch and English buyers joined the trade possibly due to Portuguese trade bans. Many slaves were sold in Nagasaki and Hirado by Portuguese, Dutch, English, and Spanish traders.^[114][115] From their arrival in Japan until their expulsion, the Portuguese traded an estimated hundred to thousand Japanese slaves.^[116]

Jesuit stance on Japanese invasions of Korea

Jesuit Visitor Valignano did not view the Bunroku and Keicho campaigns (1592–1598) as just wars,^[117] as Japanese conflicts followed a "might makes right" principle, ignoring the concept of just war, according to a 1594 Jesuit questionnaire sent to Europe.^[118] They believed urging Christian daimyo to return conquered territories would fail, as the daimyo saw their claims as legitimate, and questioned whether to ignore the issue to avoid conflict between Christian doctrine and Japanese customs.^[119] Valignano justified the Christian daimyo's involvement in the war, despite its unjust nature, as they were compelled to participate due to their subjection to dictatorial ruler and the risks of refusing, which threatened their domains' security.^[117] As responsible rulers, they were forced into an unjust war despite being good Christians.^[120]

Perceived threat to Japan

See also: Bateren Edict and San Felipe incident (1596)

In the late 16th century, Christian missionaries, primarily Jesuits, operated in Japan amid a complex interplay of religious zeal and geopolitical ambition. Initially met with some tolerance, their evangelistic efforts faced growing resistance as Toyotomi Hideyoshi pursued expansive territorial goals targeting Ming China, Korea, the Philippines, India, and Europe.^{[121][122][123][124][125]} Framed by a divine narrative as the "Child of the Sun,"^[121] Hideyoshi viewed missionaries and their Christian daimyo converts as threats to his vision of unified imperial dominance. This period, marked by the 1587 Bateren Expulsion Edict, presented significant challenges for Jesuits, whose presence became entangled in Japan’s broader military and diplomatic strategies.

Jesuits amid Japan’s imperial ambitions

By 1585, with his appointment as Kanpaku (Imperial Regent), Hideyoshi articulated a vision of territorial expansion beyond Japan’s borders, encompassing Ming China, Korea, the Philippines, India, and Europe.^[122][125] This ambition was rooted in a mythological claim of divine legitimacy, wherein Hideyoshi’s mother was said to have dreamt of bearing the sun, symbolizing a mandate to "radiate virtue and govern the four seas."^[121] Jesuits found themselves in a precarious position, as their European affiliations and growing influence among Japanese converts clashed with plans to relocate the emperor to Beijing, appoint a regent in China, and establish a base in Ningbo for conquests.^[126] As early as 1578, discussions with Oda Nobunaga revealed plans to consolidate control over Japan’s Chugoku and Kyushu regions. These plans used Kyushu’s resources to fund invasions of Korea and China, aiming for a unified empire described as achievable "like rolling up a mat."^[127] For Jesuits, these ambitions heightened scrutiny of their activities. In 1586, Jesuit Vice-Provincial Gaspar Coelho faced requests for Portuguese ships and cannons, alongside orders to construct 2,000 vessels, signaling preparations for continental campaigns.^[128] These interactions placed Jesuits in a delicate position, caught between their evangelistic mission and Hideyoshi’s demands to delegate domestic governance to a trusted ally to focus on conquest.^[128]

Jesuits and tensions with European powers

The Jesuits’ ties to Portugal and Spain positioned them at the center of growing tensions with Hideyoshi. In 1586, Coelho’s refusal to secure military support—blocked by Jesuit superiors—deepened suspicions of European motives.^[129] Meanwhile, Spanish authorities in the Philippines, detecting Japanese espionage, recorded concerns about potential invasions at the Manila Council, reinforcing defenses against perceived threats.^[130] By 1591, a letter to the Portuguese Viceroy of India declared intentions to conquer the Ming dynasty and expand further, invoking a "heavenly mandate" to dominate regions, including India.^[131][132] This correspondence critiqued Christian doctrines while extolling Shinto, Confucianism, and Buddhism, reflecting ideological opposition to Jesuit teachings.^[133] Jesuits likely sensed their vulnerability, seen as obstacles to Japan’s ambitions in the Philippines and India, where their presence could complicate diplomatic and military strategies.^[f]

Christianity as a challenge to Japan’s vision

Christian missionaries faced growing challenges as their faith was deemed incompatible with Japan’s imperial ambitions. Christianity’s spread among daimyo and local communities was seen as a threat to unity and an obstacle to conquests in the Philippines, India, and Europe. Hideyoshi, wary of Jesuits’ European ties and potential foreign interference, issued the 1587 Bateren Expulsion Edict as part of a broader effort to curb Jesuit influence, which was viewed as a conduit for European power and a challenge to the divine authority behind Japan’s expansionist agenda. Jesuits and their Christian daimyo allies operated in a climate where their evangelism was increasingly seen as destabilizing to Hideyoshi’s vision of a unified empire across Asia and beyond.^{[citation needed]}

In late 16th-century Japan, Christian missionaries clashed with Hideyoshi’s territorial and ideological goals. Seen as threats to the divine mandate for imperial dominance, Jesuits faced suspicion, expulsion, and efforts to curb European influence as Japan pursued its conquests.

Persecution under the Shogunate

Main articles: Martyrs of Japan and Kakure Kirishitan

Under Hideyoshi and the succeeding Tokugawa shogunate, Catholic Christianity was repressed and adherents were persecuted. During Toyotomi rule especially, foreign missionaries were killed in Japan, some by (Japanese-style) crucifixion; most famously, the twenty-six martyrs of Japan were tortured and crucified on crosses outside Nagasaki to discourage Christianity in 1597. (Hideyoshi nonetheless showed favor to daimyō who had converted, such as Konishi Yukinaga.)^[135] Following a brief respite as Tokugawa Ieyasu rose to power and pursued trade with the Portuguese powers, there were further persecutions and martyrdoms in 1613, 1622 (Great Genna Martyrdom), 1623 (Great Martyrdom of Edo) 1630, 1632 and 1634.^[136]

The Tokugawa shoguns eradicated Christianity in Japan via murder, persecution and decrees. In 1637, Matsukura Katsuie imposed a high tax onto people and oppressed Christians. This, combined with famine, led in 1638 to the Christian-led Shimabara Rebellion, where an estimated 37,000 people (mostly Christians), were massacred. The rebellion started as a peasant movement, but later Christians joined the cause. This was the largest rebellion in the history of Japan. In 50 years, the crackdown policies of the shoguns reduced the number of Christians to near zero.^{[citation needed]}

By this point, after the Shimabara Rebellion, the remaining Christians had been forced to publicly renounce their faith. Many continued practicing Christianity in secret, in modern times becoming known as the "hidden Christians" (隠れキリシタン, kakure kirishitan).^[137] These secret believers would often conceal Christian iconography in closed shrines, lanterns or inconspicuous buildings. For example, Himeji Castle has a Christian cross on one of its 17th-century roof tiles, in place of a mon, indicating that one of its occupants was a secret Christian.^[138]

Drawn from the oral histories of Japanese Catholic communities, Shūsaku Endō's historical novel Silence provides detailed fictionalised accounts of the persecution of Christian communities and the suppression of the Church.^[139]

Edo Shogunate's anti-Christian policies and their impact on Europeans

The Edo Shogunate enforced a strict ban on Christianity that encompassed both Catholics and Protestants, including the Dutch and later the English. Viewing their doctrines as essentially identical, the Shogunate dismissed denominational differences and labeled even Protestant Dutch as “Kirishitan,” subjecting them to severe restrictions.^[140]

In 1639, the Dutch warehouse in Hirado was demolished because it bore the Christian year 1639 (anno Domini), which violated the Shogunate's anti-Christian edict.^[141] Concurrently, a Dutch cemetery was desecrated, with graves excavated and bodies thrown into the sea, demonstrating the Shogunate's aggressive stance against Christian symbols.^[142] In 1654, Gabriel Happart, a Dutchman, petitioned for land burials in Nagasaki. The request was granted, but only on the condition that burials adhere to Japanese customs, explicitly prohibiting Christian funeral rites or ceremonies.^{[143][144][145]}

The Shogunate's suspicion of Christianity shaped its treatment of the Dutch, who were confined to the artificial island of Dejima in Nagasaki. Dutch records indicate that Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu considered their religion akin to that of the Portuguese Catholics, a perception that contributed to their isolation on Dejima.^[140][146] This confinement was part of a broader strategy to suppress Christianity, which the Shogunate viewed as a threat to its authority and societal order.

In 1673, the English ship Return arrived in Japan seeking to reestablish trade. However, the Shogunate, wary of the English adherence to the anti-Christian ban, rejected their request.^[147] This decision reflects the Shogunate's deep-seated distrust of European powers associated with Christianity, regardless of their specific intentions.

Engelbert Kaempfer, a German physician who lived in Dejima during the 1690s, detailed the oppressive conditions endured by the Dutch. They faced various humiliations and were strictly prohibited from invoking the name of Christ, singing religious hymns, praying publicly, celebrating Christian holidays, or carrying crosses.^[148] These restrictions forced the Dutch to completely suppress their religious practices while in Japan, highlighting the Shogunate's rigorous enforcement of its anti-Christian policies.

The Edo Shogunate's comprehensive ban on Christianity profoundly shaped its interactions with Europeans. The Dutch and English faced severe restrictions, humiliations, and isolation, as the Shogunate sought to eradicate Christian influence, affecting not only religious practices but also cultural and commercial relations in Japan.^{[citation needed]}

Depictions of Christianity from sakoku to the 19th century

In Conquering Demons (2013), historian Leuchtenberger explores the evolving portrayal of Kirishitan (Japanese Christians) within the context of Japan’s national identity during the sakoku (isolation) period through the 19th century.^[149] By analyzing texts such as Bateren-ki (Records of the Padres), Kirishitan Monogatari (Tales of the Christians), and Kirishitan Shumon Raicho Jikki (True Record of the Arrival of the Christian Sect), Leuchtenberger reveals how, following the expulsion of Christians from Japan in the early 17th century, a fabricated pseudo-history emerged. This narrative falsely depicted Kirishitan as orchestrating a conquest of Japan, serving to vilify them and justify their eradication.^[150]

Leuchtenberger posits that Kirishitan became a constructed concept symbolizing Japan’s first significant encounter with the West, encapsulating persistent anxieties about Western influence and Japan’s position in the global order.^[149] They were stereotyped as grotesque and sinister deceivers whose primary aim was to invade and exploit foreign nations for personal gain, a portrayal that dehumanized them and reinforced their exclusion from Japanese society.^[149]

The Kirishitan Shumon Raicho Jikki emphasizes Japan’s identity as a divine nation (shinkoku), narrating stories of repelling barbaric invaders to underscore Japan’s military, cultural, and religious superiority.^[151] These widely circulated texts fostered a national identity rooted in the belief that Japan was uniquely resilient and morally superior to foreign powers, shaping a collective self-image of exceptionalism.^[151]

From the 18th to 19th centuries, depictions of Kirishitan evolved into exaggerated, villain-like figures reminiscent of medieval folktales. Cast as barbaric yet familiar, they served as foils to portray Japan as sacred and civilized.^[152] This imagery reflected insecurities about Japan’s global standing and reinforced a discourse of cultural and religious exceptionalism, framing Kirishitan as a threatening but defeated enemy and strengthening Japan’s self-image as a divinely protected, superior civilization.^[153]

Opening of Japan

Capt. Herbert Clifford

Captain Herbert Clifford was an officer in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and the founder of the Loochoo Naval Mission (1843).^[154] Clifford worked with missionary the Rev. Bernard Jean Bettelheim, who was the first Christian missionary to Okinawa.

After Japan was opened to greater foreign interaction in 1853, many Christian clergymen were sent from Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox churches, though proselytism was still banned. After the Meiji Restoration, freedom of religion was introduced in 1871, giving all Christian communities the right to legal existence and preaching.

A statue of Jesus in Yokohama

Quakers have had a significant impact in Japan. The American Quaker Elizabeth Janet Gray Vining was hired by Emperor Hirohito in 1946 to be a private tutor to his son, Crown Prince Akihito. She taught English and introduced all of the children of the Imperial Household to western culture and values. "Vining was chosen because she was not only a Quaker known to be a pacifist but also an author of children’s literature, whom the Japanese expected to be sympathetic to the 12-year-old crown prince in the midst of the postwar confusion. Some also write that the imperial side found Vining more ideal than the other candidate [a Presbyterian], as she, having lost her beloved husband in an accident, had experienced the utmost sorrow in life and therefore would have compassion for others."^[155]

Quaker influence is thought by many to be the foundation of the Pacifism promoted by members the Royal Family. This pacifism has stood in stark contrast to right-wing nationalists.^[156]

Enduring legacy of anti-Christian propaganda

In modern Japan, Christianity faces a legacy of hostility rooted in ethnocentric and anti-Christian cultural biases. Historical campaigns, particularly those targeting Catholicism and the Jesuit order, were driven by political, ideological, religious, and social interests. Jesuits were often portrayed as malicious agents and accused of exaggerated or implausible acts. Such claims reflect a broader, fanatical effort to vilify Christian missionaries as foreign outsiders, using ethnocentric sentiment to undermine Christianity’s presence in Japan.^[157]

Culture

Japan remains one of the most secular nations in the world according to the World Values Survey.

Christianity in Japan is spread among many denominational affiliations. In the early 2000s, 70 percent of Japanese churches had an average attendance of less than 50, though membership was often almost double this figure.^[158]

Holidays

Further information on how these holidays are celebrated in Japan: Christmas worldwide § Japan, and Valentine's Day § Asia

The celebration of selected Christian holidays has gained popularity in Japan since the Second World War – primarily as commercial events, but with also an emphasis on sharing time with loved ones, either significant others or close family.

Except in Japan's minority Christian communities, Easter is not typically marked by any special form of celebration.^{[citation needed]}

Christmas in Japan is celebrated on a much larger scale as a commercial and secular festival, but again is not an official public holiday. Christmas lights,^[159] Santa Claus, parties, gift exchanges, and eating Western-inspired Christmas foods, especially Kentucky Fried Chicken and strawberry shortcake, are all familiar features of this event.^[160] Many Christians have criticized this as a commercialization of the holiday, being contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ.^[161][162] In Japan, rather than being a family or religious occasion, Christmas is seen as a time to spend with friends or a significant other. Christmas Eve is celebrated as a couple's holiday on which romantic gifts are exchanged.

In Japan, St. Valentine’s Day traditions are often reversed, with women giving men chocolate and receiving gifts in return on White Day a month later. These exchanges are not limited to romance; women frequently give chocolate to other women and sometimes to male co-workers as obligation gifts. Dating on Valentine’s Day is less common, with that element more often associated with Christmas Eve.^{[citation needed]}

Expression

Further information: Marriage in Japan § Christian chapel ceremonies

Christian weddings have become prominent as an alternative (or addition) to traditional Shinto ceremonies. This is partially due to the successful missionary efforts of Japanese Christian churches and commercial endeavors. Architecturally resembling churches, wedding chapels have sprung up across Japan to meet the needs of Japanese who do not join Christian churches but still desire the ceremony.^[10]

Major denominations

Catholicism

Main articles: History of the Catholic Church in Japan and Catholic Church in Japan

Basilica of the Twenty-Six Holy Martyrs of Japan, Nagasaki

Catholicism in Japan operates in communion with the worldwide Catholic Church under the authority of the Pope in Rome. In 2021 there were approximately 431,000 Catholics in Japan (0.34% of the total population), 6,200 of whom are clerics, religious and seminarians.^[163] Japan has 15 dioceses, including three metropolitan archdioceses, with 34 bishops, 1,235 priests, and 40 deacons^[164] spread out across 957 churches (parishes, quasi-parishes, mission stations, and assembly centres).^[165][166] The patron saints of Japan are Francis Xavier and Peter Baptist.^[167]

When Francis Xavier arrived in Japan in 1549 as the first Catholic missionary to the archipelago, Catholicism was Japan's first contact with organized Christianity. The Catholic Church remained the only major source of Christianization in Japan until the fall of the shogunate in 1867 and the Meiji restoration of 1868. The Society of Jesus started the initial missions, joined later on by the less cautious Franciscan order. Twenty Catholic missionaries operated in Japan by 1570.^[168] Nagasaki became the center of Japanese Catholicism, and maintained close cultural and religious ties to its Portuguese origins. These ties were severed once Christianity was outlawed in the early-17th century; at this point, Catholicism went underground, its rites preserved by the Kakure Kirishitan, or "hidden Christians", who continued practicing their faith in secret private devotion.

Hasekura Tsunenaga, the samurai who led a Japanese expedition to see the Pope and was converted to Catholicism.

The samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga led a diplomatic mission, accompanied by over one hundred Japanese Christians and twenty-two samurai, to see Pope Paul V. Hasekura arrived in Acapulco, Mexico (then New Spain) in 1614; and would then travel to Spain. After meeting with King Philip III, Hasekura was baptized as a Catholic under the name Felipe Francisco de Fachicura. After traveling to France and Rome, Hasekura returned to Japan in 1620 and was forced to renounce his adopted religion after Christianity was banned.^[169]

A multitude of Japanese Catholics were brutally tortured and killed for their faith, thus becoming martyrs. Many of these martyrs have been canonized, and their liturgical memorial is celebrated each year on February 6 in honor of their fidelity to "Christ and his Church" unto death.

In 1981 Pope John Paul II paid a visit to Japan, during which he met with Japanese people, the clergy, and Catholic lay-people, held Holy Mass in the Korakuen Stadium (Tokyo), and visited the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, the Hill of Martyrs in Nagasaki, town of the Immaculate founded by St. Maximilian Kolbe in Nagasaki, and other places.^[170] Pope Francis also visited Japan in 2019.

Eastern Orthodoxy

The Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Chiyoda, Tokyo

Eastern Orthodoxy is a minor religion in Japan. The current primate of Japan is vacant.^[171] The primate's seat is the Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Founded in 1891, the cathedral has been known as Nikolai-do in honor of its founder Nicholas Kasatkin. The cathedral serves as the seat of the national primate of Japan and continues to be the main center of Orthodox Christian worship in Japan.

Eastern Orthodoxy was brought to Japan in the 19th century by St. Nicholas (baptized as Ivan Dmitrievich Kasatkin),^[172] who was sent in 1861 by the Russian Orthodox Church to Hakodate, Hokkaidō as priest to a chapel of the Russian Consulate.^[173] St. Nicholas of Japan made his own translation of the New Testament and some other religious books (Lenten Triodion, Pentecostarion, Feast Services, Book of Psalms, Irmologion) into Japanese.^[174] The Patriarchate of Moscow glorified (that is, canonized as a saint) Nicholas in 1970; he is now recognized as St. Nicholas, Equal-to-the-Apostles. His commemoration day is February 16. Andronic Nikolsky, appointed the first Bishop of Kyoto and later martyred as the archbishop of Perm during the Russian Revolution, was also canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church as a Saint and Martyr in the year 2000.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate is also present with the Greek Orthodox Exarchate of Japan under the Orthodox Metropolis of Korea.

Protestantism

Main article: Protestantism in Japan

Shiroi-ie Fellowship Church in Yomitan, Okinawa Prefecture

In 2020, Protestants in Japan constituted a religious minority of about 0.45% of the total population or 600,000 people.^[175] The United Church of Christ in Japan is the largest Protestant denomination.^[176]

James Curtis Hepburn, M.D., LL.D. (March 13, 1815 – June 11, 1911) was the first Presbyterian missionary to Japan, arriving in 1859, the same year as the first ordained representatives of the Anglican Communion, the Rev., later Bishop, Channing Moore Williams, founder of Rikkyo University, Tokyo, and the Rev. John Liggins of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.^[177]

Hepburn went to Japan initially as a medical missionary with the American Presbyterian Mission^[177] opening a clinic in Kanagawa Prefecture, near present-day Tokyo. He later founded the Hepburn School, which developed into Meiji Gakuin University, and wrote a Japanese–English dictionary. In the dictionary's third edition,^[178] published in 1886, Hepburn adopted a new system for romanization of the Japanese language (Rōmajikai). This system is widely known as Hepburn romanization because Hepburn's dictionary popularized it. Hepburn also contributed to the Protestant translation of the Bible into Japanese. Hepburn returned to the United States in 1892. On March 14, 1905, Hepburn's 90th birthday, he was awarded the decoration of the Order of the Rising Sun, third class. Hepburn was the second foreigner to receive this honor.^[179]

Divie Bethune McCartee was the first ordained Presbyterian minister missionary to visit Japan, in 1861–1862. His gospel tract translated into Japanese was among the first Protestant literature in Japan. In 1865 McCartee moved back to Ningbo, China, but others have followed in his footsteps. There was a burst of growth of Christianity in the late 19th century when Japan reopened its doors to the West. Protestant church growth slowed dramatically in the early 20th century under the influence of the military government during the Shōwa period.

The post-World War II years have seen increasing activity by evangelicals, initially with North American influence, and some growth occurred between 1945 and 1960. The Japanese Bible Society was established in 1937 with the help of National Bible Society of Scotland (NBSS, now called the Scottish Bible Society), the American Bible Society, the British and Foreign Bible Society.^[180] The Seventh-day Adventist Church's Japan presence: William Calhoun Grainger was an educator, college president, and pioneer missionary to Japan. Teruhiko Okohira, who had been a Healdsburg College student from Japan, invited Grainger to accompany him back to his homeland to spread the Advent message there. In 1896 the Foreign Mission Board agreed to send him to Japan. He arrived at Yokohama Harbor on November 19, 1896. Before long he and Okohira opened Shiba Japanese-English Bible School in Tokyo. By the end of 1899 the first Seventh-day Adventist Church in Japan was organized with thirteen members. As of June 30, 2023 the denomination reported 97 Churches, 48 Companies and 15,095 official members.

Other Christian

Jehovah's Witnesses

Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, Nishio, Aichi Prefecture

In 2020, the number of Jehovah's Witnesses was 212,683 active publishers, united in 2,964 congregations; 273,856 people attended annual celebration of Lord's Evening Meal in 2020.^[181] Before 1945 they were banned in Japan. Many Jehovah's Witnesses were jailed; one of them, Katsuo Miura, was in the Hiroshima prison during the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.^[182]

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Sapporo Japan Temple of the LDS Church

Main article: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Japan

As of year-end 2009, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) reported 29 stakes, 14 districts, 163 wards, 125 branches, 7 missions, and 3 temples in Japan.^[183] As of July 2016, there are 128,216 members.^[184] The LDS Church was established in Japan in 1901^[183] when the first LDS Church missionaries arrived on August 12, 1901. Among them was Heber J. Grant, at the time a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, and later the 7th President of the Church.^[185]

As of March 15, 2011 there were over 630 LDS missionaries serving in the church's six missions in Japan.^[186]

Art and media

Christian art in Japan dates back to the 16th century, with traditional shrines and Japanese artwork depicting the Christian faith within Japan.^{[187][188][189][190]} When Christianity was illegal in Japan, the local Christians developed distinctive forms of Christian art, literature, and cultural practices.^[191][192]

Christian media is prevalent within the popular culture of Japan, despite its relatively small Christian population. Superbook was a mainstream anime during the 1980s, and it remains a popular Christian media franchise worldwide.^[193] Because of this Christianity remains a popular topic in manga and anime, including Trigun and Saint Young Men.^[194][195] Gospel and contemporary Christian music are part of popular music in the country, the largest Christian music festival in the country is the Sunza Rock Festival, which is where many of Japan's CCM artists and bands perform.^{[196][197][198]}

International Christian University is the alma mater of several Japanese media professionals, including Kaz Hirai, the former chairman of Sony.^[199] Sony owns several Christian media studios and outlets through its subsidiary Affirm Films, including the Pure Flix streaming service.^[200]

Depictions in fiction and popular culture

Novels and literature

Literary scholar Rebecca Suter, in Holy Ghosts: The Christian Century in Modern Japanese Fiction (2015), examines modern Japanese perspectives on Kirishitan (Japanese Christians). Suter notes that Kirishitan are often used to express two dominant emotions in Japanese discourse: fear and hatred of foreigners.^[201] From the 1960s to the mid-1990s, Kirishitan in novels shifted from cultural curiosities to symbols of danger and evil, consistently portrayed as negative figures subjected to relentless demonization.^[201] Suter connects this to Nihonjinron (theories of Japanese identity), which emphasize Japan’s exceptionalism, cultural homogeneity, and fundamental difference from other ethnic groups, unchanged since antiquity.^[202] In this framework, Japan is depicted as superior to the West, with Kirishitan and Christianity serving as stereotypes to reinforce this narrative.^[203]

Manga and light Novels

In popular culture like manga, Kirishitan are employed to bolster conservative ideologies and Japanese identity, symbolizing an external threat that delineates boundaries between “inside” and “outside” Japan.^[204] Post-bubble economy, Kirishitan and Christians in manga evoke fear of foreigners to reinforce national unity and identity. Conservative rhetoric continues to exploit their historical role as symbolic enemies, a pattern increasingly amplified in popular media.^[204] Despite Christianity being a marginal minority in modern Japan,^[205] Kirishitan are stereotyped as formidable outsiders, serving as a narrative trope defeated by protagonists to affirm Japanese superiority. Their significance as embodiments of moral panic in Japanese pop culture and politics remains as potent in the 21st century as in the 17th century.^[204]

Notable Japanese Christians

During the first Catholic missions from the 17th century, several high ranked people converted, including Dom Justo Takayama and Hosokawa Gracia. Among the original twenty-six martyrs of Japan, Paulo Miki is the best known. Catholics venerate him as one of the patron saints of Japan.

Christianity in the Meiji-period saw several major educators and Christian converts as follows:

• Kanzo Uchimura (内村鑑三, Kanzō Uchimura) (1861–1930), a Protestant, a headmaster of a head of the First Higher School. He was also the founder of Nonchurch movement, one of the earliest indigenous Japanese Christian movements. His autobiography Why have I become a christian? (余は如何にして基督信徒となりし乎, yo wa ika ni shite Kirisuto shinto to narishi ka), focusing on his conversion influenced young generations in those days.
• Joseph Hardy Neesima (Jō Nījima) (新島襄, Niijima Jō) (1843–1890), a Protestant and the founder of Doshisha University.
• Nitobe Inazō (新渡戸稲造, Nitobe Inazō) (1862–1933), a Protestant and the founder of Tokyo Woman's Christian University.
• Hideyo Noguchi (野口英世, Noguchi Hideyo) (1876–1928), a Protestant and prominent bacteriologist.
• Umeko Tsuda (津田梅子, Tsuda Umeko) (1864–1929), a Protestant and the founder of Joshi Eigaku Juku (today Tsuda University).

In the 20th century, two major contributors to Protestant Christian theology emerged in Japan: Kosuke Koyama (小山晃佑, Koyama Kōsuke), who has been described as a leading contributor to global Christianity, and Kazoh Kitamori (北森嘉蔵, Kitamori Kazō), who wrote The Theology of the Pain of God (神の痛みの神学, kami no itami no shingaku). Social rights activist and author Toyohiko Kagawa ((賀川豊彦, Kagawa Toyohiko), who was nominated for both the Nobel Peace Prize and the Nobel Prize in Literature, has also become known outside Japan, due to his evangelical work mainly in Japan, social work, and labor activism.

Mitsuo Fuchida (淵田美津雄, Fuchida Mitsuo) (3 December 1902 – 30 May 1976) was a Captain^[206] in the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service and a bomber pilot in the Imperial Japanese Navy before and during World War II. After World War II ended, Fuchida became a Christian and an evangelistic preacher.^[207] In 1952, Fuchida toured the United States as a member of the Worldwide Christian Missionary Army of Sky Pilots. Fuchida spent the rest of his life telling others what God had done for him around the world. In February 1954, Reader's Digest published Fuchida's story of the attack on Pearl Harbor.^[208] He also wrote and co-wrote books including, From Pearl Harbor to Golgotha (aka From Pearl Harbor to Calvary). His story is told in God's Samurai: Lead Pilot at Pearl Harbor (The Warriors).^[209]

Chiune Sugihara (杉原 千畝, Sugihara Chiune; 1 January 1900 – 31 July 1986) was a Japanese diplomat who served as Vice Consul for the Japanese Empire in Lithuania. He converted to Orthodox Christianity in 1935^[210][211] while serving in China as a diplomat. During World War II, he helped several thousand Jews leave the country by issuing transit visas to Jewish refugees so that they could travel to Japan. Most of the Jews who escaped were refugees from German-occupied Poland or residents of Lithuania. Sugihara wrote travel visas that facilitated the escape of more than 6,000 Jewish refugees to Japanese territory,^[212][213] risking his career and his family's life. In 1985, Israel honored him as Righteous Among the Nations for his actions.^[212][213]

The 20th century also saw two Christian novelists of renown: Ayako Miura (三浦綾子, Miura Ayako; 1922–1999) was a Protestant writer known for her works, one of the most influential being Shiokari Pass (塩狩峠, shiokari tōge; 1968).^[214][215] Shusaku Endo (遠藤周作, Endō Shusaku) was a Catholic novelist renowned for his works focusing on Christianity in Japan, including Silence (沈黙, chinmoku).^[216][217]

Christian Prime Ministers

While Christians account only for 1% of the population, there have been nine Christian Prime Ministers of Japan (three Catholics and six Protestants).

Catholic

• Hara Takashi – leader of the 19th government and the 10th Prime Minister (1918–1921).
• Shigeru Yoshida – leader of the 45th, 48th, 49th, 50th, and 51st governments and the 32nd Prime Minister (1946–1947 and 1948–1954).
• Tarō Asō – leader of the 92nd government and the 59th Prime Minister (2008–2009).

Protestant

• Viscount Takahashi Korekiyo – leader of the 20th government and the 11th Prime Minister (1921–1922 and 1932).
• Tetsu Katayama – leader of the 46th government and the 33rd Prime Minister (1947–1948).
• Ichirō Hatoyama – leader the 52nd, 53rd, and 54th governments and the 35th Prime Minister (1954–1956).
• Masayoshi Ōhira – leader of the 68th and 69th governments and the 43rd Prime Minister (1978–1980).
• Yukio Hatoyama – leader of the 94th government and the 60th Prime Minister (2009–2010).
• Shigeru Ishiba - leader of the 102nd and 103rd government and the 65th Prime Minister (2024–present).^[218]

Christian politicians

In Japan's 2025 House of Councillors election, 522 people ran for office. Of these, three disclosed their Christian faith.^[219]

See also

• Christianity portal
• Japan portal

• Religion in Japan

Notes

1. In the source, this claim is made of all of Xavier's converts across Asia in general, including but not limited to those in Japan
2. The family temple(菩提寺) of Nagasaki clan.
3. As missionary records do not mention the shrines in Nagasaki noted in Japanese sources, those shrines could have been abandoned or deteriorated due to natural exposure before the port town's establishment.
4. Genin (下人) were low-status, often hereditary servants in medieval Japan, employed in agricultural or household labor. Known as fudai no genin (譜代の下人, hereditary servants) or similar terms, they were subject to customary practices allowing their sale.^[61][62]
5. Pedro Martins is considered to be the first bishop to reside in Japan. Sebastian de Morais was appointed as the first bishop of the Funai Diocese in 1588, but he died of illness during his voyage to Japan.
6. Hideyoshi declared Japan a "Land of the Gods" (Shinkoku), arguing that Christian teachings were a pernicious doctrine incompatible with Japan's syncretic religious traditions, which blended Shinto, Buddhism, and Confucianism.^[133] His push for deification after death likely fueled his religious nativism, as he might fear any obstacles to his own divinization as an absolute ruler. ^[134]