The Kakure Kirishitan of Japan: A Study of Their Development, Beliefs and Rituals to the Present Day (Japan Library)

Offers a study of the Japanese hidden Christians and the development of their faith and rituals from the 16th century to the present day. The Kakure Kirishitan are the descendants of the communities who maintained the Christian faith in Japan as an underground church during the time of persecution, and then chose to remain separate from the Catholic Church when religious toleration was granted in 1873. Cover The Kakure Kirishitan of Japan: A Study of Their Development, Beliefs and Rituals to the Present Day Copyright Contents List of Illustrations Preface & Acknowledgements CHAPTER 1 Introduction The Kakure Kirishitan: their nomenclature and location Aims of the study Some theoretical and methodological considerations The Japanese religious background to the Kakure faith Sources and previous work on the Kakure Kirishitan Structure of the study CHAPTER 2 The historical background to the Kakure faith The beginnings of Christianity on Ikitsuki Martyrdom as ideal and reality The martyrs of Nakae no shima Social and religious control under the Tokugawa bakufu The 'Shōhō Persecution' and its consequences From senpuku to kakure CHAPTER 3 The organization of the Kakure communities and their relationship to Catholicism The organization among the 'calendar grouping' of the Kakure The organization of the Kakure of Ikitsuki The sacraments and the role of the Kakure ojiyaku The Kakure and Catholicism CHAPTER 4 The origins and uses of the Kakure gozensama The nature of popular Catholicism Kamisama and the Ikitsuki gozensama The holy pictures and medals: their sources, symbolism and function The preservation and display of the gozensama Catholicism, Japanese religion and the gozensama CHAPTER 5 Christian martyrs and the sacred places of the Kakure Kirishitan From martyr's grave to Shintō shrine Martyrs and mythology: the cult of Bastian-sama Veneration through preservation: the sacred places of Ikitsuki Kakure shrine-visiting in Neshiko, Yamada and Takero The Kakure holy places and their relationship to Japanese religion CHAPTER 6 The Kakure worship calendar and the role of prayer The Kakure liturgical year and the Ikitsuki calendars Prayer and the Kakure The kamiyose prayers The intentions of the Kakure prayers CHAPTER 7 The structure of Kakure worship and the significance of the communal meal The Oyashiki-sama ceremony of Ichibu The Hattai-sama and Oyorokobi ceremonies of Yamada The structure of Kakure worship and the Shintō naorai Kakure worship: Mass or matsuri? CHAPTER 8 The spirit world and the Kakure Kirishitan Luck and taboo among the Kakure Kirishitan Curses, divination and the Kakure Kakure rituals of purification and exorcism Devils, kami and Catholics CHAPTER 9 Death, ancestors and the Kakure Kirishitan Funeral practices among the Kakure Ancestor worship in Japanese religion The veneration of martyrs as ancestral kami: the example of Antō-sama The ancestors and the Kakure 'pantheon' CHAPTER 10 The Kakure in context Christianity in the 'mudswamp' and the Kakure faith The characteristics of the Kakure faith The Kakure in context The Kakure faith – syncretism or synthesis? APPENDIX 1: Ninth Register of Surviving Christian Families: Hirado 1689 APPENDIX 2: Report on the Christians of Amakusa: 1806 Notes Bibliography Japanese Character List of important proper names and technical terms INDEX This is the first major study in English of the Japanese 'hidden' Christians and the development of the faith and rituals from the sixteenth century to the present day. The Kakure Kirishitan are the descendants of the communities who maintained the Christian faith in Japan as an underground church during the time of persecution, and then chose to remain separate from the Catholic Church when religious toleration was granted in 1873. The island of Ikitsuku, where the most active Kakure are to be found, was an important centre of early Christianity, and its Kakure communities came into being when differences were perceived between the beliefs and practices they had preserved and orthodox Catholic teaching. Kakure worship consists of prayer and the eating of a communal meal. The prayers tend to be offered for worldly benefits, while the communal meal has close links to the Catholic Mass, but has also absorbed Shinto ceremonies involving feasting that were originally added as camouflage for Christian gatherings. The Kakure faith shares with Japanese religion a polytheistic and pluralistic nature, yet maintains a unique identity in which recognisable Christian elements are to be found. This study will have wide interdisciplinary value, including students of comparative religions, Japanese history and the history of Japanese literature, theology and the social history of Japan. 1. Introduction -- 2. The Historical Background To The Kakure Faith -- 3. The Organization Of The Kakure Communities And Their Relationship To Catholicism -- 4. The Origins And Uses Of The Kakure Gozensama -- 5. Christian Martyrs And The Sacred Places Of The Kakure Kirishitan -- 6. The Kakure Worship Calendar And The Role Of Prayer -- 7. The Structure Of Kakure Worship And The Significance Of The Communal Meal -- 8. The Spirit World And The Kakure Kirishitan -- 9. Death, Ancestors And The Kakure Kirishitan -- 10. The Kakure In Context -- App. 1. Ninth Register Of Surviving Christian Families: Hirado 1689 -- App. 2. Report On The Secret Christians Of Amakusa: 1806. Stephen Turnbull. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 257-278) And Index. First major study in English of the Japanese 'hidden' Christians - the Kakure Kirishitan, who chose to remain separate from the Catholic Church when religious toleration was granted in 1873 - and the development of the faith and rituals from the 16th century to the present day