from The Third Fusion in Japanese History
Destroying Buddhist statues
As for Destroying Buddhist statues, I have a feeling it has something to do with Christian missionaries from Portugal.
As you say, the destruction of Buddhist statues and the suppression of Buddhism are also related to the missionary activities of Christianity, which was introduced to Japan by Portuguese missionaries in the mid-16th century and gained many followers, especially in the Kyushu region.
Background of Christian-Buddhist conflict:
- Christian missionary policy: Christian missionaries criticized Buddhism and Shintoism in Japan as pagan and asked people to abandon their Buddhist and Shinto beliefs in order to embrace Christianity.
- Role of Daimyo: Some daimyos adopted Christianity and even suppressed Buddhism in their own territories. In some cases they used Christianity as a political tool, while in others they were sincere in their beliefs.
- Cases of Buddhist oppression: There have been reports of temples being destroyed and Buddhist statues being smashed by feudal lords and followers who embraced Christianity.
Bakufu Response:
- At first, the shogunate and some feudal lords were tolerant of Christianity, but as Christianity spread, they came to see it as a danger to foreign powers intervening in Japanese politics and as a factor that could disrupt domestic stability.
Prohibition: In 1587, Toyotomi Hideyoshi issued an edict banning Christianity. This was followed by the Edo shogunate, which continued its policy of banning Christianity.
National isolation policy: In the early 17th century, along with the elimination of Christianity, Japan adopted an isolation policy that restricted contact with foreign countries.
In conclusion, the relationship between Christian missionary activities and Buddhism, especially with regard to the smashing of Buddhist statues and destruction of temples, was related to the activities of missionaries and feudal lords who embraced Christianity. The suppression of Christianity as a policy of the Shogunate and Toyotomi Hideyoshi was also a factor influencing this.
relevance Junchu Omura
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Sumitada Omura was a feudal lord from the Sengoku period to the Azuchi-Momoyama period. Lord of Mishiro Castle. He was the 12th head of the Omura clan.
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In 1563, he became the first Christian feudal lord in Japan and is known as the person who opened the port of Nagasaki. Harunobu Arima, another Christian feudal lord, was his nephew.
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When he opened the port of Yokozeura, he also prohibited Buddhists from residing there and gave tax exemptions to merchants for trading purposes for 10 years. However, Junchu’s religious beliefs were so radical that he destroyed temples and shrines in the territory, and also demolished the gravesites of his ancestors. He also forced the territory’s residents to embrace Christianity, killing priests and priestesses, and a series of incidents in which those who did not convert were killed or forced off their lands, leading to a backlash from his vassals and the territory’s residents.
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… Takaaki, who had a grudge against Junchu, rebelled in response to a group of vassals of the Omura family who were dissatisfied with Junchu and burned Yokozeura to the ground, but Junchu offered Nagasaki to the Portuguese in 1570. In 1570, Junchu offered Nagasaki to the Portuguese. The area was only a cold village at the time, but it developed greatly as a good port. In 1572 (Genki 3), the castle of Mishiro was attacked by 1500 troops of Kimei with support from the Matsuura clan and others. When the port of Nagasaki was attacked by Ryuzoji and his army in 1578, Juntada repulsed them with the support of the Portuguese. Later, in 1580, Junchu donated not only Nagasaki but also the land of Motegi to the Jesuits as a church territory.
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Tensho mission to Europe and his later years
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He met with Alessandro VALIGNANO, a Jesuit who visited Japan for a pilgrimage, and decided to dispatch a Tensho mission to Europe in 1582. Junchu’s nominal representative was his nephew Chizashi Miguel.
- Junchu Omura - Wikipedia
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