Amakusa Shirō
| Amakusa Shirō | |
|---|---|
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| Native name | 天草 四郎 |
| Other names | Geronimo Francisco |
| Nickname | "Heaven's messenger" |
| Born | Masuda Shirō Tokisada c. 1621 |
| Died | 28 February 1638 (aged 17) Hara Castle Hizen Province, Japan |
| Cause of death | Beheading |
| Rank | Leader |
| Conflicts | Shimabara Rebellion |
Masuda Shirō Tokisada (益田 四郎 時貞; c. 1621 – 28 February 1638), also known as Amakusa Shirō (天草 四郎), was a Japanese Christian of the Edo period and leader of the Shimabara Rebellion, an uprising of Japanese Roman Catholics against the Shogunate. His Christian name was Geronimo and he was later known as Francisco.
The uprising led by Shirō was defeated, and he was executed at the age of 17. His head was displayed on a pike near Nagasaki as a warning to Christians. His efforts as the spiritual leader of the uprising, and the inevitable defeat of the Christian rebels at Hara Castle, were reflected in the 1962 movie Amakusa Shirō Tokisada (shown in English-speaking countries as The Christian Revolt or The Revolutionary),[1] by the Japanese movie director Nagisa Oshima.
Early life
Shirō was born in 1621 as the son of Catholic parents, Masuda Jinbei (益田 甚兵衛), a former Konishi clan retainer, and his wife. Urban legend speculates that Shirō could have been the illegitimate son of Toyotomi Hideyori, but these claims have little credibility.
Portuguese Jesuit missionaries had been active in Japan since the late 16th century. By the age of 15, the charismatic youth was known to his Japanese Catholic followers as "Heaven's messenger". Miraculous powers were attributed to him.[2]
Rebellion
Shirō was among Japanese Catholics who took over Hara Castle in a rebellion against the Shogunate. They mounted a coordinated defense that held off attackers, but the rebel force had no logistical support, and their resolve was weakened. Shirō was said to display posters in the castle to raise morale and said:
Now, those who accompany me in being besieged in this castle, will be my friends unto the next world.[3]
One of the rebel soldiers, Yamada Emosaku, betrayed Shirō. He got a message to the Shogunate that rebel food supplies were running low. The Shogunate forces made a final assault, taking Hara Castle in the process. The Shogunate forces massacred almost 40,000 rebels. Yamada was the only recorded survivor.
Death
Shirō was taken captive and executed after the castle was captured. His head was displayed on a pike in Nagasaki for an extended period of time as a warning to potential Christian rebels.
References
- Back to citation "The Revolutionary (1962) — Release info". Archived from the original on 2 May 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2020 – via www.imdb.com.
- Back to citation Michael Hoffman, "The Christian Century"; Archived 31 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine, The Japan Times, 23 December 2007. Hoffman, Michael (23 December 2007). "From Bliss to Blood". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 8 January 2019.
- Back to citation "An Untrumpeted Catholic Hero of Japan". NCR. 15 April 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
Bibliography
- Clements, Jonathan (2016). Christ's Samurai: The True Story of the Shimabara Rebellion. London: Robinson.
- Morris, Ivan (1975). The Nobility of Failure: Tragic Heroes in the History of Japan. London: Secker and Warburg.
External links
- Amakusa Shirō Tokisada Web (in Japanese)
- Amakusa Shirō (Kumamoto Rekishi Jinbutsu); Archived 5 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese)