“In Oxu[6] a man became a Christian fraudulently; and, after learning about the principal Christians of Vacamatzu and Ayzu from one of our household of Ojaca, called Paulo, he went and gave a list thereof to the governors of Tenca. These immediately advised the governors of the first two places, and there those whom the talebearer had given in the list were taken prisoners—among them Brother Juan Yama, of our Society, who was one whom I had catechized and baptized. Thus far we have not learned whether they have been martyred or not.
“The governors of Tacacu sent the same information regarding Paulo, who, although he was not in that city, was so diligently sought after that they succeeded in arresting him; and some time afterward he, with his wife Maria and four sons, suffered martyrdom. This led to a furious persecution, not only in Oxu, but likewise in other parts of the country, and in the cities of Cami, Meaco, Fugimi, Ojaca, and Sacay. The cruelty of the tyrant reached such a point that he sent this year, as exiles to Manilla, even the infirm and leprous Christians of the before-mentioned cities of Cami; and already more than ninety of them are at Nangasaqui, awaiting the monsoon, and others are expected to go. With this, under the holy benediction of your Reverence, etc. March 22, 1632.
Christoval Ferreyra”
From Japon we pass on to China, where the state of Christianity has been more quiet, and where it is very prosperous. The Society is established in eight provinces and eleven cities, and, if it were not for the lack of workers, it would he extended much farther, and with great results. At present there are in the whole of China seventeen priests and a few brothers-coadjutor, who are all laboring with praiseworthy zeal for the conversion of this great kingdom of China. May the Lord prosper and protect your Reverence as I desire. Manila, July 2, 1632.
[Another copy of this document, in the same collection (to. 114, no. 401), adds the following matter as a postscript, dated July 6, 1632:]
The emperor of Japan is dead;[7] so is the king of Arima, who had intended to come to attack Manila. It is said that his death was most horrible, and that he caused his servants to put him to death with clubs, after having scalded him with the water with which he had tormented the martyrs. All say that this was plainly a punishment for his tyrannous acts; and that he is paying for them in hell—whence issued demons in the form of foxes, who went dancing before his carriage or litter when he returned from Nangasaqui [words illegible] ambassadors, spies sent to Manila, Father Miguel Matruda, of the Society. These ambassadors—who came as envoys in behalf of Uni Nudino, governor of Nangasaqui, and of the tono of Arima, called Asimadoro or Bungodon—were received with the pomp and courtesy which such an embassy demanded. On that occasion much caution was displayed by this colony through its chief, who is governor and captain-general of these islands. For, on the one hand, he exhibited before those ambassadors the strength of this [word illegible] with its officers and infantry, which was drawn up in martial array along the streets—almost all the way from the street nearest the beach where the Japanese disembarked, up to the palace; and, on the other, he paid them honor with a splendid and friendly reception. He also offered them presents and entertainments as if they were envoys sent by Christian princes and our best friends. This has been cordially remembered, to judge from what has since then been learned of their designs—at least, that of one of those lords, the ruler of Arima. This was, that the envoys should carefully ascertain what were the forces in Manila, in order to see whether the former plans were adequate. [Our transcriber in Madrid here adds: “This letter (dated March 30, 1632) goes on to describe the martyrdoms, and ends thus: ‘After these torments, we were again conveyed to the prison from which they had taken us, where we now are. There are five of us religious, besides other servants of God who are also prisoners for His sake. I think that this autumn, when the governor comes, he will pronounce final sentence upon us.’” It is most probable that this is part of the letter by Father Antonio Yxida, mentioned in the text.]
[1] Christoval Ferreira was born in Portugal, in 1580. At the age of sixteen he entered the Jesuit order, and in 1609 was sent to the Japan mission; he remained there through many years of persecution, and was long the provincial of his order in Japan. In 1633 he was seized and imprisoned, and finally, under the strain of cruel tortures, recanted his faith—being, it is claimed, the only Jesuit who in all those fierce persecutions, became an apostate. His life was spared, but he was compelled by the Japanese to witness the martyrdom of his brethren, and even to decree their fate. At last Ferreira, tormented by remorse and shame, surrendered himself to the authorities as being still a Christian, and died (1652) as a martyr, suffering long and extreme torments. See Crétineau-Joly’s account of his career, in Hist. Comp. de Jésus, iii, pp. 161–164.
Murdoch and Yamagata say of this Jesuit (Hist. Japan, p. 633): “As to the story that Ferreyra repented and was fossed at Nagasaki in 1653 (at the age of seventy-four), there seems to be no foundation for it.”
[2] Apparently a corrupt Spanish pronunciation of the Japanese Jōdō (also written Jíôdo, and Jodo), the name of one of the Buddhist sects which flourish in Japan. It was founded in 1174 A.D.—by one Hōnen, according to Griffis; by Genku, according to Rein. Iyeyasu and his successors were adherents and benefactors of this sect. “Its priests strictly insisted upon celibacy, and abhorred the eating of flesh. They taught that the health of the soul depends less upon virtue and moral perfection than upon the strict observance of pious practices” (Rein). See Griffis’s account of Buddhism in Japan, in his Mikado’s Empire, pp. 158–175; and the chapter on religious systems in Rein’s Japan, pp. 442–464.