Edo p. Japanese Anti-Christian Kosatsu Edict Dated 1681
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Directory: Archives: Regional Art: Asian: Japanese: Pre 1700: Item # 1449539
Directory: Archives: Regional Art: Asian: Japanese: Pre 1700: Item # 1449539
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23 Murasakino Monzen-cho
Kita-ward Kyoto 603-8216
tel.81-75-201-3497
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An original Edo period kōsatsu public proclamation dated Tenwa I (1681) detailing the laws against Christianity, rewards for turning in a Christian to the authorities, as well as punishment for the offenders. Of cypress wood with sumi ink, and a hand-forged iron loop for suspension from a post or gate. The signboard has a shallow peaked “roof” to protect the calligraphy from the rain. However decades in the weather have caused the original surface to wear and bake away the surface, leaving the areas originally written with ink raised above the exposed wood. Few of these kosatsu survive. It is roughly 134 x 46 cm (52-1/2 x 18 inches). A similar Kosatsu in the collection of the museum of the Catholic University of America is translated:
The Christian religion has already been prohibited for many years. Everyone who gives ground for suspicion must be denounced, the following rewards are hereby promised.
To the informer against a Priest, 500 pieces of silver.
To the informer against a Brother, 300 pieces of silver.
To the informer against a Relapse, 300 pieces of silver.
To the informer against a Guest or an ordinary Christian, 100 pieces of silver.
If the informer is himself a guest or a co-religionist (Christian) he will receive 500 pieces of silver. The chief of the section and the group of the five families of the district concerned will be punished jointly with the concealer, if the whereabouts of the culprits are discovered otherwise than through them.
This is followed on this sign by the date: First year of Tenwa, eigth month.
Christianity came to Japan around 1549, and initially received a great many converts, including warlords (Daimyo) and others in powerful positions. The great warlord Oda Nobunaga is said to have been keenly interested in religions and all things foreign. However, Jesuits teaching that God was higher than the Lord or Imperial authority was perceived as undermining governmental legitimacy, and was subsequently initially banned in 1587 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, although loosely enforced until the Shimabara rebellion in 1637, after which it was strictly enforced. With the Catholic clergy expelled from Japan completely in the mid-17th century, many Japanese Catholics practiced their faith in secret as government officials publicly posted boards like these around Japan. The Japanese Christians who continued to practice in secret during the time of persecution were known as Kakure Kirishitan, literally “hidden Christians.” Christianity remained illegal until the mid 19th century. Another example dated to 1682 is in collection of The Burke Library, New York, another is in the collection of the Sophia University in Tokyo and represent one piece of the fascinating history of Christianity in Japan.
An original Edo period kōsatsu public proclamation dated Tenwa I (1681) detailing the laws against Christianity, rewards for turning in a Christian to the authorities, as well as punishment for the offenders. Of cypress wood with sumi ink, and a hand-forged iron loop for suspension from a post or gate. The signboard has a shallow peaked “roof” to protect the calligraphy from the rain. However decades in the weather have caused the original surface to wear and bake away the surface, leaving the areas originally written with ink raised above the exposed wood. Few of these kosatsu survive. It is roughly 134 x 46 cm (52-1/2 x 18 inches). A similar Kosatsu in the collection of the museum of the Catholic University of America is translated:
The Christian religion has already been prohibited for many years. Everyone who gives ground for suspicion must be denounced, the following rewards are hereby promised.
To the informer against a Priest, 500 pieces of silver.
To the informer against a Brother, 300 pieces of silver.
To the informer against a Relapse, 300 pieces of silver.
To the informer against a Guest or an ordinary Christian, 100 pieces of silver.
If the informer is himself a guest or a co-religionist (Christian) he will receive 500 pieces of silver. The chief of the section and the group of the five families of the district concerned will be punished jointly with the concealer, if the whereabouts of the culprits are discovered otherwise than through them.
This is followed on this sign by the date: First year of Tenwa, eigth month.
Christianity came to Japan around 1549, and initially received a great many converts, including warlords (Daimyo) and others in powerful positions. The great warlord Oda Nobunaga is said to have been keenly interested in religions and all things foreign. However, Jesuits teaching that God was higher than the Lord or Imperial authority was perceived as undermining governmental legitimacy, and was subsequently initially banned in 1587 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, although loosely enforced until the Shimabara rebellion in 1637, after which it was strictly enforced. With the Catholic clergy expelled from Japan completely in the mid-17th century, many Japanese Catholics practiced their faith in secret as government officials publicly posted boards like these around Japan. The Japanese Christians who continued to practice in secret during the time of persecution were known as Kakure Kirishitan, literally “hidden Christians.” Christianity remained illegal until the mid 19th century. Another example dated to 1682 is in collection of The Burke Library, New York, another is in the collection of the Sophia University in Tokyo and represent one piece of the fascinating history of Christianity in Japan.