December 1644

December 1644, as recorded in the diary of Jonassen, a clerk at the Dutch firm on Dejima, was a month of routine commercial activity and intensified religious persecution in Nagasaki. The period illustrates the entrenched system of surveillance and the active role played by the apostate priests in enforcing the ban on Christianity.

The Role of the Apostate Priests

On 29th November, interpreters visited the Dutch firm at the Governor's request, showing Jonassen a Dutch verse printed under a picture of the Virgin Mary. The verse, 'Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women (Luke 1. 28),' had been obtained from a bonze near Shimonoseki. The interpreters reported that the apostate Portuguese priests, Sebastian Rodrigues and Christovao Ferreira, had stated they could not understand the sentence because it was written in neither Latin, Portuguese, nor Italian. Jonassen recognized it as the 'Ave Maria' in Dutch, printed by a Belgian, and suspected the picture must have been brought in by a Dutch ship. He decided to keep silent until further inquiries could be made, though he answered correctly about the figures since the apostate priests had already explained them. This incident demonstrates that Rodrigues and Ferreira were routinely consulted by the authorities to identify and interpret Christian objects, functioning as expert witnesses in the persecution.

Commercial and Administrative Routine

Alongside the religious investigations, the month followed a normal commercial rhythm. On 3rd December, a Chinese junk arrived from Nanking with a cargo worth eight or nine hundred kan, including white raw silk, gossamer, figured satin, gold brocade, and damask. The crew reported that three or four more junks with heavy cargoes were due in a month and a half or two months, and that they could easily obtain permission to sail freely to Japan by paying dues to the High Official, amounting to between one hundred and six hundred taels in proportion to their cargo. On 5th December, an interpreter came to ask Jonassen about the places of purchase of the goods the Dutch imported. Jonassen answered that China and Holland were the main sources of supply, and the interpreter wanted to see if there would be any inconvenience if the Chinese ceased to come. On 9th December, Jonassen offered Mr. Saburozaemon a small box containing assorted ointments, similar to those presented to the Emperor and Mr. Chikugo, along with other medicines, which was accepted with pleasure; the Governor was reported to have been overjoyed upon seeing the attached list explaining the effect of each in Japanese. On 15th December, five Chinese junks cleared the port, and on 18th December, four more cleared. On the same day, four or five crew members of a junk from Nanking asked for permission to go to Tongking or Cochin on board another Chinese junk, but their request was refused by the Governor.

The Persistence of Hidden Christians

Jonassen's diary also records the fate of those who remained faithful. He notes that a Japanese called Thomas Araki, who had stayed in Rome for a long time and served as chamberlain to the Pope, confessed himself a Christian several times to the authorities. The Governor, however, took him as insane because of old age and left him as he was. Later, Araki was hung in the pit for a whole day and night and apostatised, but he died with faith in his heart. Jonassen records that at present only two apostate priests remain alive: one is a Portuguese called Chuan (Ferreira), who used to be the Provincial of the Society of Jesus in Japan and is described as 'blackhearted'; the other is a priest called Rodrigues from Lisbon, Portugal, who trod on a holy image at the Office of the Governor. Both live in Nagasaki. This entry underscores the stark contrast between the compromised priests and the crypto-Christians who, despite torture and apostasy, clung to their faith until death.