Pathway to Japanese Literature

The Uprising of the Christian Followers

The Uto Peninsula in Higo Province, together with the Amakusa Islands to its south, forms the inland sea of Yatsushiro Bay.
Between the western tip of this Uto Peninsula and the northern tip of Kamishima in Amakusa lie islands such as Ōyano Island and Chizuka Island, which face the Western Shimabara Peninsula across the Shiranui-Ariake Sea.

In Tenshō 15 (1587 CE), when Toyotomi Hideyoshi subjugated Shimazu Yoshihisa of Satsuma, even the Shimazu clan—whose influence had dominated all Kyushu—proved no match for Hideyoshi's forces advancing south along both eastern and western routes, collapsing with startling swiftness. Thus did the minor lords and rural samurai along these roads, reading the winds of change, swiftly pledge allegiance to Hideyoshi's banner.

Hideyoshi initially assigned this entire region to Konishi Yukinaga, but the rural samurai and peasants dutifully complied with Toyotomi's decrees.

Even after the Tokugawa came to power, these descendants of rural samurai—remembering the Toyotomi clan’s benevolence—did not deign to serve the Tokugawa Shogunate, making no attempt to emerge from their seclusion in mountain hamlets and fishing villages.

Masuda Jinbei Yoshitsugu, a retainer of Yukinaga, was one of those reclusive rōnin.
He had initially spent over thirty years in Ebemura, Uto District of Higo Province living a life of tilling fields under clear skies and reading through rainy ones, but in the summer of Kanei 14—the year the Shimabara Rebellion broke out—he crossed over to Ōyano Island and took up residence in Koyaura.
Originally Yukinaga had been a devotee of Christianity, so many of his retainers also followed this religion, and Masuda Yoshitsugu had likewise believed in it from an early age.
At the end of Tenshō 18 (1590 CE), the Tokugawa Shogunate promulgated prohibition edicts as law against Christianity throughout the entire nation.
From this point onward their persecution became severe—and as all people knew—they left behind numerous sorrowful histories of martyrdom.

The land of Kyushu had early interactions with Westerners, so Christianity first spread to this region.
The year of its introduction was 1549 CE, and the Shimabara Rebellion occurred in 1637 CE, making the span between them nearly ninety years.
Over these many long years, fervent missionary work led by missionaries created numerous followers who secretly converted while enduring the national ban.
In Shimabara and Amakusa—lying near Nagasaki Port, then a crucial hub for international negotiations—secret prayers were offered morning and evening in every thatched hut as people covertly made the sign of the cross.

Masuda Yoshitsugu of Ōyano Island had a son.
His name was Shirō; at five years old, he excelled at calligraphy, his natural brilliance astonishing all who knew him.
While still a child he became a page to a Kumamoto samurai, but resigned around twelve or thirteen and went to Nagasaki, where he found employment with Ming Chinese.
Once, a Ming man observed Shirō's dignified bearing and declared this child was not meant to remain among the common folk.
"He will surely accomplish great deeds for the realm," the man reportedly proclaimed.
Shirō had returned to his father Yoshitsugu's side in Kanei 14 at age sixteen, his keen intellect now complemented by an elegant countenance and maiden-like poise.
In that era which revered beautiful youths, he swiftly became an object of universal admiration.
This peerlessly comely youth would become known as Amakusa Shirō Tokisada - supreme commander of the Christian Uprising.

Matsukura Shigetsugu, who ruled over all Shimabara at that time, was an incompetent tyrant who recklessly levied crushing taxes.
His religious oppression proved equally savage, hurling believers into Unzen's volcanic craters.
Under this despotic rule, the people's loyalty eroded as wild rumors proliferated—that the sickly Shogun Iemitsu had already died though his passing remained unannounced; that war and plague would ravage Hizen and Higo provinces come winter, sparing only those who kept faith with the Lord of Heaven—a whirlwind of such baseless tales.
On Chizuka Island neighboring Ōyano Island where Shirō Tokisada dwelled with his father, there resided five religious elders: Ōyano Matsuemon, Chizuka Zenhachirō, Ōe Gen'emon, Mori Sōi, and Yamazen'emon.
These men had concealed themselves on this island for twenty-six years as fervent missionaries, though like Masuda Yoshitsugu they too had once enjoyed Toyotomi patronage.

In the summer of that year, they took advantage of the people’s unrest and spread a rumor: “During the Keichō era, a missionary from Kamitsuuura in Amakusa—exiled abroad due to the national ban—left a testament stating that twenty-six years henceforth, the Heavenly Emperor would make the clouds east and west burn and cause the earth to bloom with untimely flowers.”
“Though provinces and districts are in turmoil and the people suffer,” they spread as rumor, “the Heavenly Emperor shall bestow twenty-eight celestial decrees upon this land and save us through the might of the faith—and this year marks precisely that time.”
That summer brought a drought with scorching sun blazing through the clouds, and in Shimabara—beginning with Fukae Village—untimely cherry blossoms bloomed. Thus did the people readily come to believe these rumors.
Thereupon, Ōyano Matsuemon conspired with Yoshitsugu to establish Shirō as the Celestial Decree descended from the Heavenly Emperor, opening a dōjō in Miyatsu on Ōyano Island to preach the Law.
The men and women, young and old, who came to gather must have first widened their eyes in astonishment at the dignified bearing of the beautiful youth who swept aside all around him as he earnestly preached.
Moreover, when they saw the elders they had revered coming to worship Shirō, their sense of astonishment gradually transformed into supreme reverence.
Furthermore, rumors that Shirō had manifested miraculous divine powers strengthened the followers’ faith and gradually increased the number of new converts to the religion.
It was said that when Shirō prayed to the heavens, a dove would fly down to lay an egg upon his palm—an egg from which emerged an image of the Lord of Heaven and a Bible; that when a madwoman came before him, she would regain her senses the moment he nodded; and that on another occasion, a man who came to the dōjō to revile him was struck mute and lame on the spot.
Thus religious fervor heightened, and the situation grew increasingly tumultuous.

“The oppression by Lord Itakura against our followers and the cruelty of his levies are unbearable even in peacetime.”
“With this year’s disastrous harvest, how can we possibly endure them?”
“Now there remains no path but to take extreme measures.”

Such discussions were brought up at meetings of village headmen from every village. Between Ōyano Island and Shimabara lay a small island called Yushima; here the followers established a secret base where people from both Amakusa and Shimabara regions gathered to devise strategies. This became known as Consultation Island in later generations.

In Minami-Arima Village of Shimabara lived Kakuzō—younger brother to village headman Haruemon—who together with Sankichi, a peasant from Kita-Arima Village, were fervent believers. Their fathers had been executed during the domain’s religious inquisition, but Kakuzō and Sankichi now openly displayed their fathers’ skulls and Christian icons—which they had secretly venerated—to proselytize publicly. The number of converts soon reached seven hundred, prompting the Arima domain to dispatch Matsuda Hyōemon and twenty-five others by ship to arrest them.

When both men’s wives and children were seized, Sankichi told Kakuzō, “I have long wished to martyr myself for our faith.” As he continued, “But seeing even a five-year-old boy and three-year-old girl—children who know nothing of God—dragged into this brings tears to my eyes,” Kakuzō retorted, “What foolishness! Our families were destined across generations to die for this faith. What greater honor could there be than divine favor in death?” He laughed as he offered his wrists for binding.

Over seventy worshippers at Sankichi’s house watched as sixteen individuals—including both families’ members and alleged ringleaders—were boarded onto a domain ship departing into the dusk-choked sea. “We too shall face judgment soon,” they cried while seeing them off. “Now we await our heavenly reunion!”

This occurred on October 22nd. The next day, Magistrate Hayashi Hyōemon stormed alone into the Ariake Village residence of Sashiki Sakuemon—a rural samurai where believers had gathered—seized an image of Christ, smashed it, and cast it into the hearth. The long-suffering faithful could endure no more.

The forty-five present uniformly seized hoes and spades to beat Hyōemon to death. Thereupon, Sashiki Sakuemon consulted with Yamazen’emon and others from Chizuka Island, ultimately concluding rebellion was preferable to awaiting domain soldiers’ assault.

“If we serve the teachings of the Lord of Heaven, making all Japan our enemy holds no terror.”
“How much less these remote reaches of Kyushu?”
“Should our cause prevail—good. Should it fail—it merely means our clan ascends to heaven.”
All who heard these words obeyed without question. The call to arms raced south to Kazusa, Kushiyama, Kohama, and Chijiwa—then north through Ariake, Dozaki, Futsū, Fukae, and Nakakoba.
In Kazusa Village, magistrates Yamaguchi Koemon and Yasui Saburoemon fell beneath matchlock fire when thirty believers ambushed them.
At midnight flames engulfed Chijiwa, Kohama, and Kushiyama. Magistrate Takahashi Takeemon rushed out in alarm only to be cut down.
Every official across the land suffered similar attacks.

At that time, as Matsukura Shigetsugu, lord of Shimabara, was away in Edo on official business, Shimabara Castle—now vacant—was thrown into turmoil.
Okamoto Shinbei, the senior retainer, had soldiers reconnoiter the coast by boat, but nearly every inlet and bay was in rebellion.
Those who carelessly came ashore were attacked without exception.
In particular, the rebels had amassed a considerable number of weapons—matchlock guns, spears, and swords—obtained by raiding magistrate’s offices.
Moreover, the people of Shimabara had long mastered matchlock manufacturing techniques, with no shortage of skilled operators.
Kansaku from Sankai Village would hang a needle at great distances and hit it every single time—so renowned that people called him Needle-Hanging Kansaku.

Not only were there marksmen, but old farmers wielding great axes and masterless samurai versed in swordsmanship could be found.
With these unpredictable bands of rebels lurking unseen everywhere, even the domain samurai—seasoned in warfare—found themselves not only wearied from fruitless pursuits but also falling in battle in various places.
The rebel forces even attempted to seize the domain’s rice storehouse in Sankai Village.

The neighboring domains of Kumamoto and Saga, hearing of the emergency, each dispatched several thousand reinforcements to the border, but advancing troops beyond the border without shogunate orders was prohibited by edict.
Because the shogunate’s inspectors in Bungo-fu would not permit reinforcements, they could only watch as the disturbance gradually grew larger.

The attacking force dispatched from Shimabara Castle suffered a devastating counterattack and was forced to retreat early to take refuge within the castle. The rebel forces burned down the town’s homes and temples to set up their encampment. As the rebel forces had now grown into a massive army, discussions emerged about appointing a commander-in-chief. Declaring that the peerless prodigy Amakusa Shirō Tokisada was indeed the rightful choice, they dispatched a swift messenger to the Ōyano Miyatsu dōjō. Shirō immediately consented, stating, “If you honor me as your commander-in-chief, you must obey any order I give.” He commanded, “To organize our battle formations, have each region promptly report their numbers.” Around the dōjō, seven hundred armed people had already gathered. Soon after, Shirō crossed over to Ōe Village in Shimabara with forty or fifty guards. After deliberations there, the ringleaders resolved to first dispatch a force of over twelve thousand divided into two groups near Nagasaki. They deployed these forces at Hime Pass and Mogi Pass to overlook the city, sending envoys to demand surrender—should the sect refuse to yield, they would simultaneously descend to assault and set fires, then capitalize on their momentum to seize Shimabara Castle. The military strategy of targeting Nagasaki’s strategic location was not something a temporary mob could have conceived. Just as they prepared to mobilize, a messenger arrived from Kamitsuura in Amakusa. The message stated: “At Tomitaka, the Terazawa family’s branch castle has deployed troops under Commander Miyake Tōbei to suppress followers as far as the Shimako Shikaki area near Kamitsuura. We urgently request reinforcements.”

Therefore, setting aside the advance on Nagasaki, Shirō led 1,500 men across to Amakusa, joined forces with those in Kamitsuura, and advanced via three routes. In the battle of Shimako, they routed the Terazawa forces, pursued them to Motodo, and finally drove Commander Tōbei to take his own life amidst the chaotic fray. After all, since nearly all the islanders were believers, every spy dispatched by the punitive force brought back false reports—leaving them perpetually outmaneuvered.

On November 19th, the besieging army attacked Tomioka Castle. The entire force of twelve thousand was divided into five armies: Saburōbei of Kazusa, Sakubei of Kuchinotsu, Harima no Haruemon, and Sakuzacmon of Chijiwa commanding 1,500 men; Kanmotsu of Ariake, Ōemon of Futsū, and Kan'emon of Fukae leading 1,200; Jinbei and Sanzaemon of Ōyano directing 2,500; Tajima of Hondō and Yahyōe of Kusaura overseeing 2,000; Ichirōbei of Kamitsuura, Haruemon of Shimotsuura, and Yajibei of Shimako governing 3,700—all commanders being rural samurai and wealthy farmers.

Commander-in-chief Shirō Tokisada positioned himself in the central army alongside Aizu Genchaku and Shimotsuura no Jibē, accompanied by two hundred subordinates. Throughout the encampment rose white banners bearing painted crosses. The missionary’s prophecy—"Mountains and fields shall fill with white banners; every neck shall bear a cross"—had here found fulfillment. Though attackers breached the castle's second bailey, desperate defenders struck down Saburobei of Kazusa from the besieging ranks. When the fortress neared collapse, Shirō Tokisada suddenly lifted the siege and returned to Shimabara with warships dominating the sea lanes—this upon receiving word that the Edo shogunate's punitive army approached.

The Death of Itakura Shigemasa in a Fit of Rage

It was on the tenth day of the eleventh month of Kanei 14 (1637 CE) that the Osaka castle warden reported the emergency of the Kyushu uprising to the Edo shogunate.
The senior vassals—Grand Elder Sakai Tadakatsu, Senior Councillor Matsudaira Nobutsuna, Abe Tadaaki, and Doi Toshikatsu—deliberated before Shogun Iemitsu and proposed to appoint Lord Hoshina Masayuki of Aizu as expedition commander.
Iemitsu declared that the eastern provinces’ defenses must not be neglected and did not permit this; therefore, he appointed Itakura Shigemasa, Naizen-no-kami, as chief envoy and metsuke Ishiya Jūzō Sadakiyo as deputy envoy.
The two envoys immediately led their retainers and departed for Edo.
Hosokawa Mitsutoshi of Kumamoto, Arima Tadazane (heir of Kurume Domain), Tachibana Tadashige (heir of Yanagawa Domain), Nabeshima Motoshige (younger brother of Saga Domain’s lord), and others who had come under the envoys’ command also departed Edo in succession.

Now, Shirō Tokisada—having turned his army back from Amakusa to Shimabara—found himself unable to capture the two castles of Shimabara and Tomioka even as the shogunate forces drew near. With no alternative left, he resolved to secure a defensible position and prepare for a protracted stand.
Jin’emon of Kuchinotsu Village recommended the site of the old castle from the Arima clan’s rule as their unrivaled stronghold, and since all agreed, they proceeded to repair the fortress and entrench themselves within it.
The five thousand koku of rice, two thousand matchlock guns, and one hundred bows that had been stored in the Matsukura domain’s warehouse at Kuchinotsu Village were all seized and taken to Hara Castle.
By December 8th, when the shogunate’s envoy had encamped at Ariake Village, Hara Castle stood fully prepared.

The castle’s commander-in-chief was of course Amakusa Shirō Tokisada. Beneath him, serving as military magistrates, were Ashizuka Chūbei—fifty-six years old and formerly of the Arima household—Matsushima Hannojō (forty), Ariake Hisaoki (sixty-two), a physician of the Matsukura household, Aizu Genchaku (thirty-two), and Futsū no Taemon (sixty-five), who formed the general staff. Masuda Yoshitsugu, Akaboshi Shūzen, Ariake Kyūi, Aizu Sōin, and over a dozen other rōnin became council members, while inspectors Mori Muneoki and Ninekawa Sakkyō, along with several dozen additional rōnin—including archery magistrates, firearms magistrates, and messengers—undertook their respective duties.
The village heads of over ten villages—Kazusa, Dōzaki, Sankai, Arima, Kushiyama, Futsū, Ariake, Fukae, Andō, Kiba, Chijiwa, Kamitsuura, Ōyano, Kuchinotsu, and Kohama—thirty-some in total serving as unit commanders, divided into ten armies with a total force of twenty-seven thousand; when including the elderly, women, and children, they commanded a number exceeding thirty thousand.

The government forces gathered by shogunal order—beginning with Nabeshima Motoshige’s ten thousand, Matsukura Shigetsugu’s two thousand five hundred, Tachibana Tadashige’s five thousand, Hosokawa Mitsutoshi’s thirteen thousand, and Arima Tadazane’s eight thousand—formed a vast army several times larger than the castle’s defenders.
Chief Envoy Shigemasa deployed the Nabeshima forces north from Ōeuchi Beachside, stationed the Matsukura forces near Kitaokaguchi Beachside, positioned the Arima forces between them, and placed the Tachibana forces close behind the Matsukura contingent.
On December 19th, when the besieging forces raised their war cries, those within the castle echoed them in unison without showing the slightest sign of alarm.
Shigemasa and Sadakiyo gathered the generals to plan the next day’s assault on the castle, but when Arima Tadazane and Tachibana Tadashige both vied to lead the vanguard, Shigemasa mediated and appointed Tadashige.
At dawn on the 20th, Tadashige attacked the third bailey with five thousand troops.
His retainer Tachibana Ōkura brandished a long spear to scale the walls but fell before crying “First strike!”—three bullets having pierced his helmet.
Enraged, Tadashige himself led from the front, but the defenders—thoroughly prepared—rained arrows, gunfire, and boulders upon them, instantly scattering the attackers.
When Shigemasa saw this and ordered Matsukura Shigetsugu to reinforce them, the cowardly Shigetsugu refused to move his troops, calculating that victory would credit Tadashige while defeat would fall on himself.
Though Shigemasa ordered a retreat fearing Tadashige’s isolation, their fury at being bested by peasants refused to subside; only after three messengers arrived did they grudgingly withdraw.
The Nabeshima forces at Ōeuchi’s Matsuyama, spotting numerous white banners they took for decoys, pressed forward confidently—only to be enfiladed by arrows and routed without resistance.

The defensive tactics of the besieged forces were not to be underestimated, and with the attacking forces lacking fighting spirit, the battle situation showed no signs of improvement.
Amidst shivering in vain under the cold winds from the hot springs, Kanei 14 (1637 CE) drew to a close.
Around that time, seeking to hasten developments, the shogunate appointed Senior Councillor Matsudaira Nobutsuna, Izu-no-kami, as a new envoy—reports emerged that he had already departed Edo.
Upon receiving this news, Itakura Shigemasa—privately resolved—ordered a full-scale assault by all forces on New Year’s Day of Kanei 15 (1638 CE).
Having set the hour at dawn on New Year’s Day, the entire army raised their war cries in unison and charged forth.
Though they breached the third bailey, the castle’s defenses remained unchanged from December—bullets, arrows, and boulders cascaded like torrential rain.
By daybreak, with the collapse of the Arima vanguard as the catalyst, both Nabeshima and Matsukura forces were driven back.
The Tachibana troops showed no intent to advance despite their allies’ plight. When Sadakiyo urged them, their commander declared: “Though our combined assault will soon take the castle, we hold position to pursue them when they flee.”
“Moreover,” he added pointedly, “since *they* offered no aid during our attack last December, today *we* shall let *them* watch.”
Even after retreating once more, the Matsukura forces refused to renew their assault. Shigemasa galloped forth and rebuked them: “This disaster stems from Matsukura’s misrule!”
“Will you not fight to death’s end rather than shame the realm?” he demanded—yet they remained unmoved.
The anguish weighing upon Itakura Shigemasa and Ishiya Sadakiyo defied measure.
When Sadakiyo restrained Shigemasa from charging ahead alone, Shigemasa lamented: “We two must lead by example—there is no other way to rally them.”
Advancing once more, he glanced back at his armies—none stirred in response.
Only his retainers followed.
That day Shigemasa wore indigo-laced armor with a golden baton at his waist; his white sashimono bore a crescent moon as he gripped Tōma—his ancestral spear.
Castle defenders swarmed forth upon recognizing their foe’s commander.
Kobayashi Kyūbei fought valiantly as vanguard until a stone shattered his banner’s pole—yet Shigemasa pressed on undaunted.
As he grasped the rampart to leap inside, a bullet pierced his chest.
Akagawa Genbei and Ogawa Matazaemon—defending his flanks—fell alongside him in battle.

Kobayashi Kyūbei tried to carry Shigemasa’s corpse back, but he too was struck by a bullet and perished.
After a desperate and fierce battle, Itō Hannojō, Takeda Shichirōzaemon, and several other warriors managed to place Shigemasa on a bamboo fascine and return to camp.
Shigemasa was fifty-one years old.

Ishiya Sadakiyo also pressed forward near the second bailey, displaying his sashimono banner—a pale blue cloth emblazoned with a golden numeral five.
However, the cliff stood several jō high, and the moat plunged to formidable depths.
Castle soldiers launched another fierce assault, and Sadakiyo himself took a spear thrust to the shoulder.
His retainer Yuasa Kakudayu drove through the attackers, allowing them to narrowly escape encirclement even as attendants fell one after another.
A young warrior then charged ahead at the vanguard of five hundred men, hoisting a commander’s standard bearing a red gourd topped with a small bear.
It was Shigemasa’s son—Mondo no Suke Shigekado.
Seeing the youth’s bloodied resolve to die avenging his father at that very spot, Sadakiyo sounded retreat with a conch shell. He rebuked the folly of meaningless death and dragged Shigekado back despite his gnashing fury.
The battlelines fell silent by noon—the besiegers had suffered over four thousand casualties while losing their commander.
Within the castle walls? Scarce a hundred lay dead.

When Itakura Shigemasa first received the shogunate’s command and promptly departed Edo, Yagyū Tajima no Kami Munenori had been attending a Noh performance at Arima Gendō’s residence. Upon hearing this news, he excused himself from his seat, mounted a horse, and set off in pursuit of Shigemasa.
He dashed through Shinagawa and raced as far as Kawasaki, but ultimately could not catch up.
As night had fallen, Munenori, having no choice but to turn back, proceeded to the camp to have an audience with the shogun and urgently requested that the envoy be replaced.
Due to statements that questioned the shogunal order, Iemitsu’s displeasure was profound.
After Iemitsu withdrew to the inner chambers without uttering a single word, Munenori remained seated in perfect composure, refusing to leave until midnight.
Iemitsu, having yielded, finally heeded Munenori’s counsel and found it to be thus.

“Followers of the faith believe deeply in their teachings and will not recant even at the cost of their lives—a resolve no less steadfast than the moral code of warriors.”
“Even with Oda Nobunaga’s military might, one can see how he struggled against the Honganji adherents, the Ise Nagashima uprising, or the Mikawa Ikkō-ikki rebellions.”
“Though Lord Itakura Shigemasa, Naizen-no-shō, accomplished great deeds in his youth during the Osaka Campaign, Your Excellency might think a peasant uprising amounts to little—but that would be a grave miscalculation.”
“Moreover, though Shigemasa is a man of worth, he remains but a minor lord of Mikawa Fukasawa with a mere 15,000 koku.”
“The powerful domains of Kyushu—Hosokawa with 540,000 koku, Arima with 210,000 koku, Tachibana with 110,000 koku, and others—will not readily obey Shigemasa’s commands.”
“For this reason, the military situation remains ineffective—and should they dispatch a new figure of authority, how could Shigemasa return with any honor left?”
“They have killed a most regrettable warrior.”
Even the formidable Tokugawa Iemitsu came to regret his decision in the face of such logically sound remonstration—but it was too late.
Sadly, each and every one of Munenori’s predictions had come true.
In what Shigemasa had written down upon his departure for battle, the following was recorded.

Last year on this day at Kōjō, I fastened an eboshi’s cords; this year on this day at Shimabara, I tighten a helmet’s bindings.
Truly, this ever-shifting world’s way—I departed swift.

O jewel-bright blossoms scattered at the year’s dawn—

Should my name alone endure, know me as vanguard.

Shigemasa’s resolve was tragically heroic.
He was the younger brother of Kyoto Shoshidai Itakura Shigemune, no less capable than his elder brother—where the elder was dignified and steady, the younger quick and agile—but he had drawn a poor lot.

The Stratagems of Matsudaira Nobutsuna

Matsudaira Nobutsuna, Lord Izu (forty-two at the time), having been newly appointed as chief envoy for subjugation, set out westward leading his eldest son Terutsuna, Lord Kai (eighteen at the time), and thirteen hundred retainers on the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth month of Kanei 14 (1637).
The deputy envoy was Toda Samon Ujigane (age sixty-one at this time), lord of Mino Ōgaki. Upon arriving at the Arima battlefield front on the fourth day of the first month of Kanei 15 [1638], he immediately issued military orders and strictly enforced battle formations.
Since this operation fell under a senior councillor’s command, the various daimyo participating in the campaign could no longer afford to treat it with the disdain they had shown during Itakura Shigemasa’s leadership.

On the 10th, Nobutsuna had the castle bombarded with guns from the sea, but with too few ships and the castle's towering height, the assault failed to make progress. When they sought larger vessels, they discovered Dutch ships anchored off Hirado. He immediately commandeered them to fire cannons at the fortress. Though Protestant Dutch gunners must have agonized over attacking fellow Christians—however doctrinally divided—they had no choice but to obey the Japanese government's orders. "Does Wise Izu have no shame," came the scathing critique from within the castle walls, "resorting to foreign ships to storm our stronghold?" Harsh condemnations circulated among the defenders. Yet this foreign-led bombardment likely crushed rebel morale—the believers had perhaps secretly clung to hopes of Spanish reinforcements now dashed.

Nobutsuna had resolved to adopt a strategy of prolonged siege, so he gathered ample provisions and distributed them to the various armies.
By early February, the Kyushu daimyos had arrived with fresh troops, prompting Nobutsuna to issue orders establishing positions for all forces.
Specifically, from Kitaoka Hama upwards to the southwest: 226 ken to Kumamoto Domain; next 19 ken to Yanagawa Domain; then 9 ken to Shimabara Domain; followed by 19 ken to Kurume Domain; next 193 ken to Saga Domain; then 40 ken to Karatsu Domain; and finally 300 ken to Matsudaira Tadayuki and his brothers—the serpentine formation pressed tightly around Hara Castle.
Nobutsuna, Ujigane, and Itakura Shigekado formed the central army, dispatching military inspector Baba Toshishige to the Kumamoto forces, Makino Narizumi to the Yanagawa, Kurume, and Shimakura camps, Sakakibe Motomochi to the Saga positions, and Hayashi Katsumasa to the Fukuoka-Karatsu army respectively, thereby rigorously strengthening communications with headquarters.
Furthermore, Nobutsuna directed each camp to construct tall watchtowers.
This formed a tactical plan to rain projectiles into the castle from these elevated positions.

Nobutsuna further had Kohei, nephew of the castle's commander Shirō, carry Kozaemon's letter into the fortress.
The gist of that letter was as follows:

First: The besieging forces number over one hundred thousand... (omission) By gracious decree from the Lord of Edo, as it is deemed unnecessary to harm Christian warriors upon the plain of a hundred sacrifices, you are hereby commanded to fortify yourselves stoutly at the palisade and be annihilated.

First: (Omitted) When three or four individuals fell from the castle, their lives were spared; moreover, they were granted gold and silver, and furthermore permitted to cultivate their fields within their villages that year. (Omitted)

First: By decree of His Excellency the Shogun, it has been determined that all Christian followers shall be annihilated without exception, regardless of age.

Now concerning those who were coerced into joining the Christian faith against their will at this rebellion’s outset—this appeal has been duly heard under His Excellency’s decree, and such individuals shall receive clemency; however, those who find themselves unable to renounce this creed shall be allowed to meet their end within these besieged walls according to each one’s resolve.

First: Let there be no concealment regarding the castle’s commander Shirō.

Having ascertained his age to be fifteen or sixteen years, we deem it impossible for one so young to have instigated these matters; thus it is concluded that others must have raised this rebellion under Shirō’s name.

Should this prove true, even if Commander Shirō himself stands among you, any who come forth shall be granted full pardon by this decree.

First: That you have brought yourselves into such circumstances as described above—and now speak of meeting your end—we find deeply regrettable; this resolve of yours we deem most shameful.
There is absolutely no such thing.
If any who wish to depart from the castle are presented, we shall refuse them; they shall return into the castle and perish together in one place.
(Omitted)

One could see that each word overflowed with sincerity.
Alongside this letter, letters of the same intent had also been sent by Shirō’s mother and sister to Jinbei and Shirō within the castle.
Shirō’s mother, whose Buddhist name was Maruta, had been captured by Kumamoto Domain forces when he raised his banner in rebellion—yet she was a woman of such stalwart character that she sent word urging Shirō to work without hesitation for her sake.

However, now that things had reached this point, it seemed they found it difficult to overcome human emotions.

The replies to these two letters were delivered from within the castle on the same day.
It stated: “As each of you knows well, we have not forcibly converted those of other faiths into Christian followers. All within this castle are prepared to offer up our very lives to the Lord of Heaven.”

It was written.

In truth, those who escaped the castle numbered but a few among thirty thousand—the power of faith did not falter before the might of the realm.

After this, Nobutsuna himself sent a letter urging Shirō to surrender, but in his reply, Shirō exhaustively lamented the Matsukura clan’s tyrannical governance and declared the unshakable nature of their faith—

“All shall attain Paradise—how could there be any doubt of this? We desire not a moment’s respite in this fleeting life.”

Even Wise Izu’s stratagems now left only the path of decisive battle.

Around the tenth day, drums resounded through the castle as people danced and sang.
When the besiegers strained to listen, these were the words they heard:

“Come, come, besiegers—come with all your might! So long as your matchlocks hold bullets—”

Boom-boom roar the besiegers’ cannons—but we’ll answer with our matchlocks!
By Heaven’s mercy and our padres’ holy gaze, we’ll split these heathen skulls and make Christians of their brains!

On the 11th day, when the besiegers tried burrowing diagonal tunnels toward the castle’s edge from belowground, the defenders began excavating counter-tunnels of their own.
At dusk, seeing flames rise near San-no-Maru bailey, the attackers assumed accidental fire—never suspecting defenders were burning green timber and fresh-cut grass to smoke them from their tunnels.

Afterward, they poured excrement and urine into this underground tunnel, thoroughly repulsing the besieging forces.
The Kusunoki-style defensive tactics must have greatly perplexed Nobutsuna and his men.
Nobutsuna reluctantly ordered shinobi agents he had brought from Ōmi Kōka during his westward journey to infiltrate the castle, but since everyone within uttered Christian phrases, these ninjas—wholly unfamiliar with such matters—found blending into the populace impossible.
This too proved a failure.

Now, the besieged forces too had become perplexed by the besiegers’ strategy of prolonged siege.
Shirō Tokisada held council with the Five Commissioners,

"Our bullets and provisions grow scarce."
"Now while our forces remain vigorous, there is no better course than to raid enemy camps and seize their weapons and provisions."
"The Hosokawa position has sturdy ramparts and many gunners—attacking them would mean heavy casualties among our ranks."
"The Arima and Tachibana camps stand on terrain too narrow for maneuver. We shall focus our assault on the Nabeshima, Terazawa, and Kuroda positions."
"When advancing, place spear and sword troops at the front; when retreating, position gun squads at the rear. Let our code call be *Maru*," he decreed.

On the night of the twenty-first, in the dark turret of the second bailey beneath a hazy spring moon, Shirō stood forth and quietly issued his commands.

To Kuroda’s position went Ashizuka Chūbei, Ōe no Gen’emon, Futsuno Daiemon, and Fukae no Kan’emon leading 1,400 men; to Terazawa’s encampment were Aizu Gen’atsu, Ōyano Sanzaemon, Arima no Haruemon at the head of six hundred; while Ikeda Seizaemon, Chijiwa no Gorōzaemon, and Katsuza no Sanpei with one thousand men advanced toward Nabeshima’s camp—each group pressed forward in solemn silence until, upon drawing near, they raised a unified battle cry and hurled firebrands bound to bamboo bundles.

Though prepared, the sudden night assault left Kuroda Kanemono—senior retainer of the Kuroda domain—slain, plunging their position into dire straits. Yet Kuroda Takamasa himself brandished a spear to thrust down three followers, then advanced gripping his sword. “Takamasa stands here!” he shouted, rallying his troops until at last they repelled the attackers.

Sakuzōmon, son of Kanemono, had been illuminating his father’s corpse with a pine torch when he himself led fifty or sixty retainers in a charge and perished, it is said.

At Terazawa’s camp as well, chaos erupted; Miyake Tōemon, brandishing a white-hafted naginata, cut down three men and, though wounded, continued to fight—seeing this, the other warriors also engaged fiercely and repelled the attackers.
Tōemon was the son of Tōbei, who had committed seppuku while serving as Honbe’s magistrate; thus, this constituted an act of vengeance.
They had slain over three hundred of the rebel forces.

Nobutsuna and Ujikane inspected the site of the night attack and, having ordered the slain castle soldiers’ bellies cut open for examination, discovered seaweed-like substances.
Through this, they came to realize that provisions within the castle were scarce.

The Fall of the Sacred Banner at Hara Castle

Having learned that the castle’s provisions were exhausted, Nobutsuna convened his generals to deliberate on strategies for attack.
Around that time, Mizuno Hōki-no-kami Katsunari—who had taken to the field as one of the shogunate envoys—declared, “In my youth, while wandering through Kyushu, I came to know Hara Castle as a formidable fortress.
Just as the Divine Ancestor Lord Ieyasu besieged Takatenjin Castle, there is no better strategy than starving them out—”

Before he could finish speaking, Toda Ujikane—

“Then let us wait for their provisions to run out.”

he said.
Katsunari bellowed,

“We’ve already kept them encircled for over a hundred days!
It’s clear their provisions have run out—now we must attack!”

he roared.

Ujikane continued,

“Then let those Hosokawa and Nabeshima forces near the castle attack while the rest raise our battle cries,” he proposed, to which Katsunari sneered,

“From my first campaign at Azukizaka in Mikawa at sixteen through fifty battles since, never have I withdrawn at mere war cries.”
“How can we prevail without unified forces?”
“An old man’s lingering serves no purpose. My son Mimasaka-no-kami Katsutoshi earned renown at Yamato-guchi during the Osaka Campaign when Gotō Matabei charged forth.”
“I’d prove more use in your councils”—with this retort, he stood and departed.

There, the military council thus determined that the general attack would commence on the twenty-fifth day.
Examining the state of military preparations within the castle at that time revealed eighty stone-throwing guns; one hundred large cannons ranging from twenty- to fifty-monme pellets; three hundred swivel guns firing ten- to twenty-monme shot; one thousand six-monme pellet guns; one hundred bows; five hundred polearms; three hundred spears; two hundred suits of armor; and other provisions—making it a considerable arsenal indeed.

Now, as both the scheduled twenty-fifth day and the following day saw rain—forcing postponement of the attack—around noon on the twenty-seventh came word to headquarters that a Nabeshima unit had launched an assault without awaiting orders.
Nobutsuna ascended the watchtower and surveyed as if confirming this development.
The military edict—“Rise at signal fires, eat at bells, advance at drums, fight at conches”—now lay rendered obsolete.
Nobutsuna immediately commanded his entire army to advance.

Sakakibara Shigemitsu, the military inspector overseeing the Nabeshima forces that had attempted a preemptive strike, could no longer contain his eagerness to lead the charge as the general attack order drew near. Turning to Nabeshima Katsushige, he declared, “You lords have all established positions and erected palisades. Though we military inspectors have not an inch of land to our name, I wish to have my foolish son Shigenobu and our retainers learn how to construct palisades,” he declared, cutting into the conversation.

Shigenobu, a seventeen-year-old young warrior, secretly crossed the castle’s palisade with seven or eight retainers and entered.
Seeing the recognizable banner with its red cloth and white disc emblem crossing over the castle walls, even the seasoned Shigemitsu was astonished.
Immediately, a white banner bearing two red circles began pursuing them.

The ones most startled were the Nabeshima forces.
Since the military inspector father and son tasked with relaying Nobutsuna’s orders had breached the enemy castle—judging this no moment for delay—the entire army stirred into action, and even Nabeshima Katsushige’s banner of white above and black below with diagonal stripes swept forward.
This was not a case of Nabeshima’s forces charging ahead against Nobutsuna’s command, but rather of the military inspector himself flouting martial law.

This Shigemitsu had always held samurai in high regard; when Kato Kiyomasa, Fukushima Masanori, and others were stripped of their domains and their houses dissolved, he had taken in scores of their masterless warriors.
In this battle, those ronin repaid his longstanding benevolence with meritorious deeds.

Mizuno Katsunari, upon hearing of the Nabeshima vanguard’s advance, readied five thousand troops and awaited the arrival of his son Katsutoshi.

As Katsutoshi arrived astride a white horse bearing a golden banner, five thousand troops charged forward with fierce vigor.
Katsutoshi barked commands from horseback,

“Advance through the Nabeshima forces!” he commanded.

When they reached a rugged terrain outside the castle, they abandoned their horses and advanced with his fourteen-year-old son Iori in tow.
The fierce fighting left all their golden banners shattered and torn.
Flag Magistrate Kamaya Mokunojō finally repaired the banners and ordered the Kondo brothers to climb the cliffside to raise them.

Katsunari, who was outside the castle,
“There was a time during the Osaka Campaign when my son achieved merit, but today I witness my descendants leading the charge,” he said, shedding tears of joy.

Hosokawa Etchū-no-kami Tadaoki raised a white-ground banner bearing nine indigo celestial orbs at the top, erected two tanuki-crimson horse insignias, and—together with Higo-no-kami Mitsutoshi, who followed with black-and-white tiered horse insignias—attacked the San-no-maru front gate.

Vanguard commander Nagaoka Shikibu, upon seeing smoke rising within the castle, immediately launched an assault on the front gate.

Okuno Den’emon, a warrior, wielded his sword and broke open the gate.
The entire vanguard had advanced into the castle grounds but clashed with castle generals Ōtsuka Shirōbyōe and Aizu Sahyōe, who were defending the gate with a force of 3,500 men.
The west gate had been defended by Ariake Kōmon with five hundred men; upon seeing Shikibu, they lined up their spears and charged forth.
Takebe’s army fought valiantly and repelled them, then pursued those who fled.

Kuroda Tadayuki, Kuroda Nagamori, and Kuroda Takamasa advanced toward the Ōe Gate, but Tadayuki was in such haste that he had no time to don his armor.
The elderly retainer Kuroda Suiō caught up and admonished him, so he donned his armor—yet still refused to wear a helmet.
Advancing while making excuses that he couldn’t see left or right if he wore a helmet, they encountered Castle General Hondō Tajima launching a counterattack with five thousand men, their momentum ferocious.
As a result, when over three hundred of the Kuroda forces were suddenly cut down and began retreating slightly, Tadayuki—enraged—advanced a banner with indigo above and below a central white band, bearing a comb-pattern crest at the bottom, to rally them.
Suiō, however, remained composed, sitting on the platform and showing no intention to move.

Tadayuki berated him—“They say you achieved many military exploits in Lord Jusui’s time, but have you gone senile?”—and as he tried to cut him down, his younger brother Takamasa appeared and barely managed to stop him. Suiō observed his surroundings for a moment, then suddenly roared and advanced his forces, ultimately breaching the Ōe Gate.

By this time, at the third bailey’s Ikejiri Gate, checkered white-and-black banners, two white feathered standards, and dumpling-shaped horse insignias had been erected, marking the occupation by Arima Toyouji and Tadatō. Near the third bailey’s Tajiri Gate, Tachibana Tadashige’s banner—upper white and lower black with crests on the black portion—and Matsukura Shigetsugu’s black banner bearing a single central crimson stripe could be seen.

The reason the two-tiered bear-fur dumpling horse insignia and the golden dumpling horse insignia below it moved near the second bailey was that Terazawa Tadataka had charged in; following them, the red banner advanced because Ogasawara Tadamasa and Nagatsugu were now pressing forward.

Nobutsuna’s son Terutsuna, accompanied by a dozen or so retainers and displaying no horse insignia, was spotted by Nobutsuna—who was commanding at headquarters alongside Toda Ujikane beneath the commander-in-chief’s white-ground banner bearing a ladder-pattern crest—as they secretly advanced toward the castle. Ujikane himself held aloft a white-ground banner adorned with three red circles.
Deeming this a violation of military orders, Nobutsuna dispatched Sakai Sanjūrō to stop him, but he would not listen.
Iwagami Kakunosuke went over and seized his armor sleeve—refusing to release his grip—so Terutsuna grew enraged and attempted to cut him down.
Kakunosuke declared, "I would rather die by your lordship's hand than fall to the enemy," yet still refused to release his grip.
He was finally restrained.

Nobutsuna, concerned about needlessly losing troops, ordered all forces to establish positions at their occupied locations and await dawn.

The camp’s blazing bonfires made the silent main keep stand out starkly against the darkness.

On the twenty-eighth day, around dawn, the entire army of over 125,000 uniformly closed in on the inner castle.
Having resolved that this day would be their last, the believers in the castle spared neither arrows nor bullets, dropped logs and stones, set fire to tools and hurled them, defending with desperate resolve.
Seeing the besieging army falter, they opened the gates and charged out; however, unable to withstand the counterattack, they retreated back into the castle.

The besieging army fired their stone-throwing cannons there, so the castle interior was enveloped in flames and smoke, and the cries of the elderly and weak were harrowing.

Itakura Shigenori, clad in scarlet-braided armor and carrying a jūmonji spear, charged into the castle alongside Ishiya Jūzō.

“I have come to avenge Father Shigemasa! Shirō Tokisada, come forth and fight!” he bellowed.

Ariake Kyūi—the rebel vanguard commander, a towering six-foot figure with jet-black hair, a ruddy complexion, and piercing eyes that could pierce through men—leapt forth. When Shigenori’s retainers tried to thrust their spears at him from both sides, Shigenori repelled them and stood to face him directly. Shigenori’s spear stabbed Kyūi’s forehead, blood flowing into his eyes. Kyūi drew his sword and lunged to strike, but as Shigenori parried, he sliced through Kyūi’s right shoulder and felled him.

Shortly thereafter, Nobutsuna learned of this and praised it, and it is said that Mizuno Katsunari took the sword by Uda Kunifusa that he himself wore and presented it.

A contingent of Hosokawa’s vanguard led by Nagaoka Sado and others scoured the area in all directions, searching for Shirō Tokisada.
When Jinzaemon, the warrior, passed through the flames and smoke and entered within the stone ramparts, he discovered a boy lying wounded.
A woman was beside him, lamenting and grieving.
As Sazaemon leapt in to cut off the boy’s head and leave, the woman would not release his sleeve.
Miyake Han'emon arrived and cut down the woman as well.

Tadaoki, believing the boy’s head to be Tokisada’s, presented it to Nobutsuna for inspection.
When they called Tokisada's mother and showed it to her, it was indeed Tokisada's head.

Thus, the holy banner of the Eucharist that had been fluttering in the main keep since the siege began also fell to the ground, and even that great rebellion came to an end.

Prior to this, a bullet fired by the besiegers had fallen into the midst of a war council in Hara Castle, wounding Shirō.
The castle soldiers had regarded Shirō as an incarnation of the Heavenly Emperor, believing him impervious to arrows and blades, but when Shirō was wounded, their illusion shattered, and their morale was said to have collapsed at once.

The shogunate army cut down all who remained in the castle—old and young alike—and displayed their severed heads.

The Shimabara Rebellion was quelled, and the Christian faith was thought to have been eradicated.

However, the spilled seeds lurked beneath the soil, waiting for the coming spring.

In the early years of Meiji, when freedom of religion was permitted, Catholic missionaries came to Japan and built a church in the Ōura district of Nagasaki. As they conducted morning and evening prayers, peasants began gathering from nowhere—approaching behind the missionaries—and quietly made the sign of the cross.

Their numbers increased day by day, becoming the vanguard of Catholicism’s revival in Japan.

Afterword

The references consulted in creating this story are as follows.

*Shimabara Amakusa Nikki*

*Matsudaira Terutsuna no Jinchū Nikki*

*Shimabara Ikki Matsukura Ki* (Shimabara Rebellion Matsukura Chronicle)

*Amakusa Rebel Samurai Castle Account*

Within the castle, Yamada Saemon’s dictated record, also known as the *Yamada Saemon Account*.

*Tachibana Muneshige’s Memorandum on the Shimabara Campaign*

*Hizen no Kuni Arima Kōro Monogatari* (Tale of the Arima Elders in Hizen Province)

*Hara-jō Kiji* (Hara Castle Chronicle)

*Tokugawa Jikki* (Tokugawa Chronicles)

*Other Sources*