Japan

by Walter G. Dickson

1579. The two Buddhist sects, Jodo shiu and Nitchi ren shiu, held a great discussion upon religion before Nobu nanga at Azutchi, known as the “Azutchi rong.”

Akitchi mitzu hide, one of Nobu nanga’s best officers, seized the province of Tanba. The Ikko shiu, a Buddhist sect, was very powerful at this time, and had possession of the castle of Osaka, then known as the temple of Hoonganji. Nobu nanga, by one of his generals, had been long besieging it, and had failed in taking it. In 1580 he called in the persuasive interference of the Emperor, and a compact was finally made, under which the priests consented to give up this strong fortress, which has ever since remained in the hands of the executive power.

1581. Hideyoshi this year overran the province of Harima, destroying the castle of Miki, and began to build the chateau of Himeji for himself in that province; while Nobu nanga, assisted by Iyeyas and Hojio of Odawara, completely demolished the power of the Takeda family in Kahi. The war is known as the “Ten moku san” war, from the place where Takeda concealed and destroyed himself. The tie between Nobu nanga and his generals seemed to have been very slight, and he does not appear at any time to have been considered ruler of the country. On more than one occasion Iyeyas threatened to leave him and throw his weight into the opposite scale. In a portrait drawn of Nobu nanga in the “History of the Church,” he is described as “a prince of large stature, but of a weak and delicate complexion, with a heart and soul that supplied all other wants; ambitious above all mankind; brave, generous and bold, and not without many excellent moral virtues; inclined to justice, and an enemy to treason. With a quick and penetrating wit, he seemed cut out for business; excelling in military discipline, he was esteemed the fittest to command an army, manage a siege, fortify a town, or mark out a camp, of any general in Japan, never using any head but his own: if he asked advice, it was more to know their hearts than to profit by their advice. He sought to see into others and to conceal his own counsel, being very secret in his designs; he laughed at the worship of the gods, convinced that the bonzes were impostors, abusing the simplicity of the people and screening their own debauches under the name of religion.”

This is the character given of him by the Jesuits, who considered him a friend to their cause and had some hopes of him as a convert. It agrees in the main with the pictures drawn of him by the Japanese. Hating the Buddhist priests, he patronized the Jesuits as a counterpoise, encouraging them to build even in the neighborhood of his own palace at Azutchi. Under the encouragement thus given, the Jesuit priests rose to favor and power at court. The efforts of the fathers to extend their influence were crowned with success, and at this date the position of the church is described as follows: “Father A. Valignan, superior of Japan, for convenience of government, divided Japan into three parts. The first and principal is that island where Miako stands. They had there three residences of the Society—Meaco, Anzuquiama (Azutchi-yama in Oomi) and Takacuqui. In the residence of Miako were two brothers and two fathers, who preached and celebrated the divine mysteries daily in a very fair church. In Anzuquiama they had two fathers and two brothers; the first of these took care of the church, and of all the Christians round about; the other instructed the young gentlemen in the seminary, teaching them their Catechism, and to read and write in Latin, Portuguese and the language of the country. In Takacuqui (Itami in Setzu) there was only one father and one brother. Justo Ucondono (Takayama), governor of the place, built in it a very handsome church and house for the fathers, and furnished them with all the necessaries for their families. About three leagues off were the churches of Vocayama, Fort Imori in Kawadsi, and Sanga—all dependencies of this residence. Two leagues from Sanga, Don Simon Tagandono (Tango no Kami), lord of Yao, had eight hundred subjects, all Christians. There were also great numbers of them in Amangutchi, but without any church, it being expressly against the king’s pleasure.

“The second part of Japan is that which they commonly call Ximo (Kiusiu). There the Christians had most churches, and the Jesuits most houses. In the city of Funay, the metropolis of Bungo, there were both a college and a university, where they took degrees of masters of arts and doctors of divinity. There were twenty Jesuits in the college. The noviceship stood at Vosuqui, where King Francis (i.e., Owotomo Boongo no Kami) resided. Besides, they had two residences—one at the valley of Ju, some seven leagues from Funay, and another at Nocen—and these four houses furnished the whole country with evangelical missionaries. Moreover, they had a house at Facata, in the kingdom of Chicuzen, that was tributary to Bungo; but Aquizuqui, having made himself master of that country, soon beat them out of those quarters. The kingdom of Chicungo, bordering upon Chicuzen, had only one church, which was governed since Riozogi’s conquest by a devout Christian, that prince being unwilling to entertain any Jesuits in his states. In the kingdom of Fingo, which Aquizuqui and Riozogi parted betwixt them, there were two houses of the Society—one in Amacusa and the other at Fort Fundo; and these two residences took charge of above twenty other churches in that country. As for the island of Xequi (Ko Siki), which stands upon the confines of Amacusa, they had only one church, with near 5,000 Christians, who were governed by one of the inhabitants; for the lord of the place, though he was to permit the fathers to visit them, would not hear of fixing a residence; which obliged the Christians, on the more solemn days, to come over to the church of Amacusa.

“In the kingdom of Goto (the five small islands to the west of Japan), since Don Lewis’s death, there was neither church nor house, the uncle and tutor to the young prince being, as was said, a most professed enemy to all religion. The King of Firando, indeed, though a heathen, was content to receive two priests and two others for the benefit of the Christians, and chiefly his uncle and son, Don John and Don Anthony.

“As for the kingdoms of Omura and Arima, religion flourished there above all other parts, Bungo only excepted. The fathers had three houses in Omura, one in Omura itself, where the King kept his court, another at Nangasak, and a third at Curi, and out of these three churches they visited forty several churches, and had charge of some 50,000 Christians that were in that kingdom. In Arima they had three residences: one in the city of Arima, with five Jesuits, whereof two had care of the seminary for educating young nobles, among whom was the King of Fiungas’ son, cousin-german to the King of Arima, and the rest, all of them sons to the chief lords in the country; the second at Arie; and the third at Cochinozi, a most celebrated port for commerce.

“In the kingdom of Saxuma, where St. F. Xaverius landed at his first entrance into Japan, there were some few Christians whom the fathers visited by times, being all banished by the bonzes, who acted by the King’s authority. They reckoned in the kingdom of Ximo upward of 30,000 Christians.

“The third part of Japan (Sikok) contains only four kingdoms, and of these only the King of Tosa received the faith. So Father Alex. Valignan, at the end of his visit, upon his return to the Indies, left 150,000 Christians in Japan, 200 churches and 39 religious of his own order, besides several able, young and virtuous Japonians who helped to instruct the new Christians.”

In 1582 Nobu nanga was gradually overrunning all Japan. He had given the revenues of the island of Sikok to his son, Nobu taka. “This year he built at Azutchi a splendid temple. In this temple he collected idols of all the gods of Japan, and placed in the midst a statue of himself, calling it Xanthi; i.e., supreme ruler. He then, like Nebuchadnezzar, issued an edict prohibiting any one from worshiping any other idol, and ordered all to resort to this place on his birthday to worship this representation of himself. The first that adored was his eldest son. The nobility followed, and then the gentry and people in their course.” This idol is said to be in existence at the present day. Nobu nanga, after this public adoration of his statue, returned to Miako. Akitchi mitzu hide had been one of his most prominent and successful generals, and was at this time in the neighborhood of the capital. Nobu nanga had dispatched a large body of troops to assist Hashiba Hideyoshi in his operations in the west. Whether Akitchi aspired to the position occupied by Nobu nanga, or was really jealous and hated him, in common with others, as a tyrant, or, as some relate, smarted under the insult of being struck by Nobu nanga over the head with a fan, is doubtful. But “when he saw that the guards and forces under the immediate command of Nobu nanga were so diminished in number that he was left nearly unprotected, he took advantage of what seemed to him an opportunity. He had been ordered by Nobu nanga to take a large body of troops under his command to join Hideyoshi. Accordingly, he marched, but, instead of taking the route indicated, he took aside some of the captains whom he knew to be dissatisfied with the government, discussed with them his design, and gained them over by declaiming against the violence, oppression, and tyranny of Nobu nanga, accusing him of destroying the gods and murdering the priests, and concluding by promises of wealth stored up in the castle of Adzutchi yama. He then suddenly wheeled round upon Miako, surrounding Honnoji, where Nobu nanga was residing, before he was aware of any danger. All the avenues were closed—no escape was left for him. He was washing his face when the news came that the troops had invested the place, and opening a window to see what was the matter, they poured in a shower of darts and wounded him between the shoulders. The place was soon in flames, and his body was consumed with the building. Thus died Nobu nanga, at forty-nine years of age, a little after he took upon himself the title of god, and had made himself be adored by his subjects.”