1614 Edict Expelling Missionaries

The 1614 Edict Expelling Missionaries was the decisive legal instrument by which the Tokugawa Shogunate formally outlawed Christianity in Japan, ordering all foreign missionaries to leave the country and initiating a systematic persecution that would, over the following decades, destroy the visible structure of the Church and force thousands of Christians into apostasy, hiding, or martyrdom. Issued under the third Tokugawa shogun, Ieyasu, the edict declared that the Kirishitan band had come to Japan 'longing to disseminate an evil law, to overthrow true doctrine, so that they may change the government of the country, and obtain possession of the land. This is the germ of a great disaster, and must be crushed.' It came at a time when there were about 300,000 Christians in Japan, in addition to colleges, seminaries, hospitals, and a growing local clergy. The edict marked the end of a period of relative tolerance and the beginning of a state-sponsored campaign of eradication that would last for centuries.

Background and Causes

The edict was the culmination of a long shift in Japanese policy toward Christianity. The missionary effort had been initiated during the Sengoku Period, when Japan, torn by strife among warring daimyos, had no strong central government. The unification of the country under Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu changed the political landscape. Hideyoshi had issued an expulsion decree in 1587, but it became a dead letter, and missionary work continued. Under Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa shogun, the situation deteriorated. The arrival of the English and Dutch, who assured the Shogun that many European monarchs distrusted the priests and expelled them from their kingdoms, eroded the missionaries' position. Ieyasu also grew apprehensive as he observed the unquestioning obedience of his Christian subjects to their foreign guides. The edict of 1614 was the formal expression of this growing hostility, declaring that the missionaries sought to 'change the government of the country, and obtain possession of the land.'

The Edict's Content and Immediate Impact

The edict ordered the expulsion of all missionaries from Japan. Reports from the missionaries tell of how, on the 6th and 7th of October of the same year, seventy priests, both Japanese and foreign, were herded together at Kibachi in Kyushu and forced to board five junks bound for Macao and Manila. It was rainy that day, and the sea was grey and stormy as the ships, drenched by the rain, made their way out of the harbor, passed beside the promontory, and disappeared beyond the horizon. Despite the severe decree, thirty-seven priests refused to abandon their flock and secretly remained hiding in Japan. Among these underground priests was Christovao Ferreira, who continued to inform his superiors by letter of the capture of the missionaries and the Christians, and of the punishment to which they were subjected.

Consequences and Aftermath

The edict set in motion a systematic persecution that became increasingly ruthless under Ieyasu's successors, especially the neurotic Iemitsu. The most common form of execution was burning, but the Bakufu soon saw that such 'glorious martyrdoms' were not serving the desired purpose. Bit by bit, death was preceded by torture in a tremendous effort to make the martyrs apostatize. Among these tortures was the 'ana-tsurushi' or hanging in the pit, which quickly became the most effective means of inducing apostasy. The victim was tightly bound around the body as high as the breast, one hand left free to give the signal of recantation, and then hung downwards from a gallows into a pit that usually contained excreta and other filth. The forehead was lightly slashed with a knife to give the blood some vent. Some of the stronger martyrs lived for more than a week in this position, but the majority did not survive more than a day or two. The edict also established a system of rewards for informers: three hundred pieces of silver for a priest, two hundred for a brother, and one hundred for a lay Christian. This system, combined with the prohibition of fences and hedges between houses to facilitate surveillance, created an atmosphere of mutual suspicion and fear. The edict's long-term consequence was the destruction of the visible Church in Japan, the forced apostasy of many Christians, and the creation of a hidden community of crypto-Christians who kept their faith in secret for centuries. The edict also contributed to the Shimabara Rebellion, which was caused by merciless taxation and oppression but later became a manifestation of Christian faith. After the rebellion was put down, the Tokugawa Bakufu, convinced that such a rebellion could only have been possible with help from outside, decided once for all to cut their ties with Portugal and seal off their country from the world.

Narrative and Thematic Significance

The 1614 Edict is the historical and legal foundation for the entire drama of Silence. It creates the conditions under which the novel's central conflicts unfold: the persecution of Christians, the torture of missionaries, the apostasy of Ferreira and Rodrigues, and the suffering of the Japanese peasants. The edict is repeatedly referenced throughout the novel as the source of the authorities' power and the justification for their actions. It is also the backdrop against which the novel's central theological and cultural questions are posed: the silence of God in the face of persecution, the nature of faith and apostasy, and the conflict between Western Christianity and the 'swamp' of Japan. The edict's language, which frames Christianity as an 'evil law' that seeks to 'change the government of the country,' encapsulates the political and cultural anxieties that drive the persecution. The novel's characters, from the missionaries who defy the edict to the peasants who suffer under it, are all defined by their relationship to this foundational act of state power.