Causes of the Martyrdom of 26 Saints

 

In 1596, the Spanish ship San Felipe, heading from the Philippines to Mexico, washed

ashore on the Tosa-Urato coast due to a typhoon.

Shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi confiscated the ship’s vast cargo.

At that time, the navigator said that Spain first send Christian missionaries to increase

the number of believers, and then eventually conquer the country.

When Toyotomi Hideyoshi heard this, he was shocked and ordered the capture of

Spanish Franciscan missionaries who were actively carrying out missionary activities

in Kyoto.

 

 

Then, he ordered Ishida Mitsunari to execute Franciscan missionaries and Christians.

This was the beginning of the Martyrdom of 26 Saints in Nagasaki on February 5, 1597.

 

Dec. 31, 2023

 

 - History of Japanese Christianity, Staff Blog