Kuzushima
Kuzushima is a small island in the Goto archipelago, reached by a two-hour night crossing from Tomogi. It was one of the places where Sebastian Rodrigues, during his brief period of freedom in Japan, carried out an intense underground missionary effort in June 1638. The island's Christian community, which had been without a priest for years, received him with desperate eagerness, and his work there became a model of how the faith could be sustained through local organization in the absence of clergy.
Geography and Setting
Kuzushima lies close to the larger island of Kabashima, which Rodrigues passed during his night voyage. The island's coast is rocky, and the approach by boat required navigating in total darkness, with only the sound of oars and the lapping of waves to guide the way. The village itself was a cluster of thatched farmhouses, indistinguishable from the surrounding landscape, with no visible church or cross. The poverty of the inhabitants was extreme: they lived on potatoes and radishes, worked land that yielded barely enough to pay taxes, and died like beasts. Yet it was precisely this destitution that made the Christian message of human dignity and salvation so powerful among them.
Rodrigues' Missionary Work
Rodrigues arrived on Kuzushima after being guided there by two peasants from Fukazawa who had made a two-day journey to find him, one with bloodied feet from climbing the mountain. The toothless man among them had described how eagerly the islanders were waiting for a priest. Once there, Rodrigues was overwhelmed by the response. He baptized thirty adults and children on a single day, heard more than fifty confessions, and celebrated Sunday Mass for the first time with the congregation reciting prayers in Japanese. The Christians came not only from Kuzushima itself but also from Miyahara, Haratsuka, and other villages, crossing mountains to reach him. They crowded into the crumbling farmhouse he used as a chapel, pressing close to confess their sins, their breath stinking, their bodies filthy. Rodrigues found himself completely exhausted by the work, yet filled with a sense of purpose he had not felt since arriving in Japan.
Organization of the Christian Community
Before leaving Kuzushima, Rodrigues taught the islanders how to establish the same secret organization that the Christians of Tomogi had devised during the years without priests. He instructed them to choose a Jiisama, an elder responsible for baptizing children, and Tossama, teachers who would lead prayers and instruct the faithful. The community took to this method with great enthusiasm, arguing among themselves over who should hold the offices, much like the people of Lisbon at election time. Kichijiro, who had accompanied Rodrigues and was now treated as a hero on the island, stubbornly put himself forward for every post of honor. Rodrigues also noted that the peasants pressed him for crucifixes, medals, or holy pictures, and when he had none to give, he unfastened his rosary and distributed the beads one by one. This eagerness for physical objects made him uneasy, as he wondered whether their faith was becoming too dependent on tangible symbols rather than on the inner reality of belief.
Return and Aftermath
After six days on Kuzushima, Rodrigues returned to Tomogi by night, rowing across the dark sea with Kichijiro singing softly in the stern. The return journey seemed much shorter than the outward voyage, and Rodrigues felt a sense of well-being and accomplishment. He reflected that his life was of value, that he was of some use to the people of this country at the ends of the earth. But this confidence was shattered when he landed and was met by Mokichi, who urged him to flee: the guards had arrived in Tomogi, and the news of his presence had reached the authorities. The brief period of successful missionary work on Kuzushima was followed by the rapid collapse of the Tomogi community, the arrest of Mokichi and Ichizo, and the beginning of Rodrigues' own long ordeal of capture, imprisonment, and eventual apostasy. The island's Christians, however, remained hidden, and years later Inoue would acknowledge that large numbers of Christian farmers still survived in Goto and Ikitsuki, though he claimed their faith had been twisted and changed into something no longer recognizable as Christianity.
