Shimabara Rebellion: Amakusa, Hara Castle and Nagasaki

On 5 February 1597, twenty-six Christians were marched through the snow to Nagasaki and executed on Nishizaka Hill, so that their execution would deter the city's many Christians. It is the opening act of the long persecution that led to the Shimabara Rebellion. Today the Twenty-Six Martyrs Museum and Monument stands on the hill, with a bronze monument by sculptor Yasutake Funakoshi. Inside are fumie, the bronze images of Christ or Mary that Nagasaki residents were forced to step on every year from 1629 to 1857, and statues of the Virgin Mary in the guise of Buddhist deities.

Visitor guidance: The museum and monument are open to visitors.

The rebellion broke out on 17 December 1637, when the local magistrate Hayashi Hyōzaemon was assassinated; at the same time others rose in the Amakusa Islands. A 16-year-old, Amakusa Shirō, soon emerged as their leader. The rebels laid siege to the Terasawa clan's Tomioka and Hondo castles, but armies from neighboring domains arrived and forced them to retreat. In 1647 the first magistrate of the islands raised the Tomioka Christian Memorial, which marks where rebels assembled before marching on Tomioka Castle.

Location precision: The pin marks Tomioka Castle on the Amakusa coast, near the memorial; the Amakusa risings were spread across several islands.

Lord Matsukura began building this castle in 1618 with forced labor; this oppression of the peasants was a major factor behind the revolt. The rebels briefly besieged the castle but were again repelled. Today the tenshu was rebuilt in 1964 in reinforced concrete and houses a museum with exhibits on Kirishitan culture and the Shimabara Rebellion.

Visitor guidance: The rebuilt tenshu is a city museum with rebellion exhibits.

The rebels gathered at the ruins of Hara Castle, the former home of the Arima clan, and built palisades from the wood of the boats they had crossed in. The shogunate even brought the Dutch ship de Ryp to a position offshore. On 4 April 1638 over 27,000 rebels faced about 125,000 shogunate soldiers; the rebels were routed on 15 April. An estimated 37,000 rebels and sympathizers were executed. Excavations here found rosaries and crucifixes, and in 2018 Hara Castle was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List with other sites linked to Catholic persecution.

Visitor guidance: The castle site is a ruin; excavation finds are tied to the rebellion.

After the rebellion Shirō's severed head was taken to Nagasaki for public display, Portuguese traders were driven out, and seclusion was made stricter by 1639. The Dutch were moved to this small artificial island in 1641 and were not allowed to hold any religious services. Christianity in Japan survived only by going underground, which is how the hidden Christians kept their faith. The Dutch trading post is now a national historic site.

Visitor guidance: Dejima is a designated historic site in Nagasaki.