August 1644

August 1644 in Nagasaki was a month of intensified vigilance and brutal enforcement of the Tokugawa Shogunate's prohibition of Christianity, as recorded by Jonassen, a clerk at the Dutch firm on Dejima. The period is marked by the discovery of forbidden religious objects, the systematic interrogation of citizens, and the execution of a family who refused to renounce their faith, all under the watchful eyes of the apostate priests Christovao Ferreira and Sebastian Rodrigues, who now serve the magistrate's office. This month exemplifies the thoroughness of the persecution apparatus and the deeply compromised position of the former missionaries who have become instruments of the regime they once opposed.

Discovery and Interrogation

On July 9, 1644, an image of the Virgin Mary was discovered in the house of a citizen in Nagasaki. The household was immediately sent to prison and cross-examined. The investigation led to the man who had sold them the image, who was also searched out and examined. Both Ferreira and Rodrigues, now apostates, were present at the inquisition as witnesses for the authorities. This was not an isolated incident; three months earlier, a coin bearing the image of a saint had been found in another house. All members of that household were arrested and put to torture to make them renounce their faith, but they refused to apostatize. Rodrigues, among the witnesses, appealed for mercy repeatedly to the government but was not heard. The family—a man, his wife, and their two sons—were sentenced to death. They had half of their heads shaven and were paraded through the town on the back of lean horses for four days. The parents were executed by being hung up by the feet, while the sons were put into gaol again after witnessing this sight.

Execution and Aftermath

The executions continued into August. On August 7, 1644, the two sons of the executed parents were bound and carried on the back of lean horses, together with another victim, past the Dutch firm to the execution ground, where they were beheaded. The diary entry for that day records the event with stark brevity, noting the procession and the final sentence. The routine of the port continued alongside these horrors: on August 1, a Chinese junk arrived from Fuchow with miscellaneous goods, and on August 2, unloading began and made good progress. The juxtaposition of commercial activity and state-sanctioned killing underscores the normalization of persecution in Nagasaki.

Rodrigues and Ferreira's Role

Throughout this period, Rodrigues and Ferreira were not merely passive observers but active participants in the persecution. On August 2, the Clerk of the Governor and his Assistants questioned Jonassen for a couple of hours, prompted by information from the two apostate priests. According to Sawano Chuan (Ferreira's Japanese name) and Rodrigues, a decision had been made in Macao to send priests to Japan by Dutch vessels from India. The priests would hide themselves in Japan, engaged in lowly work as employees of the Dutch. The Clerk warned Jonassen that the Dutch firm would fall into grave difficulties if such a thing should happen, and advised extreme caution. The Governor issued a formal statement, translated by Jonassen, detailing Sawano's testimony to the Supreme Authorities in Edo that there were many Roman Catholics among the Dutch and in Holland, and that it had been decided that priests should enter the Dutch firm in Europe as workmen or sailors to sail to Nagasaki. The Governor commanded the Chief to investigate whether any Roman Catholic was among the officers and crew, and to report it. The statement concluded with a dire warning: if a Roman Catholic was found in future coming to Japan by a Dutch vessel without being reported, the Chief would find himself in serious trouble. This episode reveals how the apostate priests, in their new role, actively fueled the regime's suspicions, turning their insider knowledge against the very networks that might have aided the mission they once led.