Historical Dictionary of United States-Japan ... - Bakumatsu Films

CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN • 65
of Motonari Mori. Its primary castle town was Hagi. Choshu was a
leading advocate of the violent “revere the emperor, expel the barbarian”
movement of the 1850s and 1860s. In 1863, Choshu fired on
Western ships passing through the Shimonoseki Straits. After the
Tokugawa shogunate failed to settle the matter, an armada of American,
British, French, and Dutch ships attacked Hagi the following
year. Choshu quickly agreed to a settlement with the Westerners.
Along with samurai from Satsuma, Tosa, and Hizen domains,
Choshu overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate and its allies in early
1868, resulting in the Meiji Restoration. During the Meiji Era,
many top leaders of Japan’s government, such as Hirobumi Ito, were
from Choshu. In 1871, Choshu domain was formally incorporated
into Yamaguchi Prefecture.
CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN. Spanish and Portuguese missionaries in
Japan during the 16th century converted some Japanese to Christianity,
especially on the southern island of Kyushu. From the late 16th
century, however, Japanese were forbidden to convert to Christianity,
primarily because the central government believed Christianity was a
threat to its political power. A small number of European missionaries
and several Japanese converts to Christianity were executed in the
late 16th and early 17th centuries. Because of increased contact with
Westerners during the 1850s, 1860s, and 1870s, the anti-Christian
policies of Japan became the subject of diplomatic disputes. After
discussions among members of the Iwakura Mission, their American
and European counterparts, and Japanese college students in
America, the Meiji government officially dropped the prohibition on
Christianity in 1873. There have been no central government laws
against Christianity since 1873, but during the patriotic movement of
1880s and during World War II, Christianity and pacifist Buddhism
were often denounced by Japanese ultranationalists.
Despite considerable efforts of Western missionaries and Japanese
Christian leaders, less than 2 percent of Japanese identify themselves
as Christians. However, Western missionaries and Japanese Christians
have had a notable influence since the beginning of the Meiji
Era in establishing schools, colleges, hospitals, and programs to assist
Japanese in need. See also BROTHERHOOD OF THE NEW
LIFE; BROWN, SAMUEL ROBBINS; CLARK, WILLIAM