Fourth Year of Enpo

The Fourth Year of Enpo (1676) stands as a pivotal moment in the twilight of Japan's Christian century, a period when the Tokugawa Shogunate's machinery of persecution turned inward upon the very community of apostates and converts it had created. The official diary of an officer at the Christian Residence in Edo records a cascade of arrests, interrogations, and punishments that expose the regime's unrelenting vigilance and the fragile, compromised lives of those who had once been the faith's most prominent figures. This year demonstrates how the swamp of Japan, as Inoue had called it, continued to absorb and distort the remnants of Christianity, reducing its former leaders to pawns in a system of surveillance and betrayal.

Arrest of Kichijiro and Discovery of the Image

The year's events were set in motion by the arrest of Kichijiro, the attendant of Okada San'emon, who had followed his master from Nagasaki to the Christian Residence in Edo. Kichijiro was sent to gaol because of his suspicious behaviour. During a search of his pocket at the Enclosed Guardhouse, officials found in the amulet-case he wore hung from his neck an image to which the Christians pay respect, with St. Paul and St. Peter on one side and Xavier and an angel on the other. Summoned out of gaol, Kichijiro was asked about his native place and his relatives; he was from Goto and fifty-four years of age in this Year of the Dragon. The discovery of this sacred object immediately cast suspicion on others, particularly Hitotsubashi Matabe, who had been on familiar terms with Kichijiro. Matabe was also kept in prison until Kichijiro could explain himself. When Kurozaemon and Shinbe, who were said to have been in close association with Matabe, were examined, their persons were closely searched in the Study; their clothes, including both their outer sashes and loincloth, purses of pocket-paper, and amulets, were examined without exception.

Interrogation and Torture of Suspects

Lord Totominokami, the magistrate overseeing the Residence, personally conducted the investigation. He summoned Kichijiro to the Study and asked him from whom he had received the sacred object. Kichijiro answered that an attendant named Saizaburo, who had visited the Residence three years ago, had kept it with him; when Saizaburo came, he dropped it and went back, so Kichijiro picked it up and kept it. Tokuemon, the Gate-keeper, was called and questioned, and he said he had witnessed the scene one summer day when the airing of clothes had taken place. When asked if he had not received it from Okada San'emon, Kichijiro said there was no chance to get anything from San'emon, meaning that San'emon was always attended by a couple of guards on duty whenever he saw him. On 17th September, Lord Totominokami came personally to the Mountain Villa and summoned three attendants to the Study to examine whether or not they were Christians. Kichijiro and Tokuemon were summoned later and were cross-examined. The magistrate commanded that all the tenements of the guards should be closely searched, and the three Official Residences and the Lodges as well. Even wives and children were told to undo their sashes and loincloth in front of the officer. The Buddhist images they kept with them were of course examined. On searching the dwelling of Sugiyama Shichirobe, Kobure Juzaemon discovered among old scraps of paper a note of Christian words, which Kayo Den'emon seized to submit it to the Manager; it read: Father, Archbishop, Bishop, Pope. On 18th September, Lord Totominokami came personally to the Mountain Villa and heard the explanation from the three attendants in the Study. He also summoned Hitotsubashi Matabe to examine him. Kichijiro and Tokuemon were examined next. Okada San'emon's wife, his maidservant and boy were summoned and examined later. San'emon himself was also sent for and was questioned whether or not he had tried to convert Kichijiro, to which he answered he had never tried to convert him at all. He was commanded to put his hand-print on the paper testifying that he had not tried to convert the same. Sugiyama Shichirobe was summoned and was asked why he had kept that note of Christian offices that had been found the day before. Shichirobe said that during the time of Hojo Awanokami's management his Chief Retainers told him to memorise these names as he was in charge of such matters, and so he received that note from Hattori Sahe, the Police Officer. His explanation was admitted to be consistent, and he was sent back. Tahe, an attendant to Kasahara Goemon who serves the Minister Tatebayashi, and Shinbe, the guard who belongs as a porter to the Squad of Saito Tanomo, both were called and brought face to face with Kichijiro to investigate about the image they had picked up. It turned out true that Shinbe picked it up. The same Tahe said that he had seen Shinbe hold it. Consequently both Tahe and Shinbe were sent back. The same day, Hitotsubashi Matabe was hung within the gaol. The officers in charge were Hisaki Gen'emon, Okuda Tokube, Kawase Sobe and Kawara Jingobe. From this time on Matabe was tortured several times. On 18th October, the Lord came personally to the Mountain Villa. The Inspectors Sayama Shozaemon and Tanegusa Taroemon also came and tortured Hitotsubashi Matabe and his wife on the wooden horse. Naito Shinbe was summoned to the Study. Matsui Kuroemon was examined and has roughly confessed.

Reinforcement of Anti-Christian Measures

The regime responded to the crisis by reinforcing its institutional apparatus of persecution. On 24th November, a notice board concerning informers of Christians was nailed to the main entrance of the Mountain Villa. Kawara Jingobe, Ukai Gengoemon and Yamada Jurobe saw to it. The same notice board was prepared at command of both lords. The announcement read: "The Christian faith has been prohibited for many years. Everyone is encouraged to report suspicious persons. The following shall be given in reward: To the Informer on a Father: 300 Pieces of Silver. To the Informer on a Brother: 200 Pieces of Silver. To the Informer on a Retrovert: ditto. To the Informer on a Catechist or lay Christian: 100 Pieces of Silver. Even though the informer himself is a catechist or a lay Christian, he shall be given 300 pieces of silver according to the status of the accused. Should anybody shelter such persons and be found out by information from others, severe punishment shall be inflicted upon him and his family and relatives, and even upon the Head of the place and the surrounding families. The above is our announcement." This public proclamation formalized the reward system that had been in place since the early persecution, now reasserted in the very heart of the Christian Residence, a place meant to contain and neutralize the former missionaries.

Punishment of Juan and the Persistence of Faith

On 10th December, Juan was sent to gaol. From both the Lords came the Managers Takahashi Naoemon and Hattori Kin'emon, and in the presence of the Police Officers from both the Lords, delivered to Juan a statement: "Juan, who is always perverse, offered the other day an affront to Kayo Genzaemon, and proved himself to be a most insolent person. As a punishment for this, he is to be imprisoned. He is commanded to accept the above punishment." Juan replied that it was his own desire and that he would accept it willingly. When led to the gaol, he produced his purse and committed it to the officers. It was taken to the Guardhouse and he entered into prison immediately. The same purse was examined in the presence of the Managers and the Police Officers from the Lords and in it was found seventeen ryo and one bu in small coins. The rest of Juan's belongings were examined and recorded in the book. The Police Officers sealed it and put it into Juan's tenement. Among Juan's belongings were a chain, two disciplines, two rosaries and an astronomical chart. These objects—instruments of penance, prayer, and learning—reveal that even within the closely watched Christian Residence, the material culture of the faith persisted, hidden in the possession of a man who had once been a Christian and who now, under the guise of a prisoner, still kept the tools of his former devotion. The diary's dry notation of these items, alongside the coins and the official seals, underscores the tension between the regime's desire to erase every trace of Christianity and the stubborn survival of its symbols in the hands of those who had nominally renounced it.