Dear Friends,
O God our Father, who brought the holy martyrs of Japan through the suffering of the cross to the joys of eternal life: Grant that we, encouraged by their example, may hold fast to the faith we profess, even unto death itself; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
The Christian faith was first introduced into Japan in the sixteenth century by Jesuit and, later, Franciscan missionaries. By the end of that century, there were probably about 300,000 baptized believers in Japan. Due to rivalries between different groups of missionaries, political intrigues by the Spanish and Portuguese governments, and power politics among factions in the Japanese government, there was a suppression of Christians.
The first victims were six Franciscan friars and twenty of their converts, who were martyred at Nagasaki on 5 February 1597. After an interval of tolerance, many other Christians were arrested, imprisoned for life, or killed; and the Church was driven underground by 1630. When Japan was re-opened to Western contacts 250 years later, it was found that a community of Japanese Christians had survived without clergy or Scriptures, and with sketchy instructions in the doctrines of the faith, but with a firm commitment to Jesus as Lord. (James Kiefer, hagiographer)
God’s peace be with you,
Reverend Colby