Proclamation against Christianity (1614)

The proclamation begins with a statement of the order of things: Japan is the land of the gods and of Buddha, whose teaching came from China and whose principles of benevolence and right conduct govern the country. Against this it sets “the Kirishitan band”, who have come not only to trade but to spread “an evil law” and to “change the government of the country, and obtain possession of the land”. It charges that Christians honour condemned criminals, and it orders that they be “instantly swept out, so that not an inch of soil remains to them in Japan on which to plant their feet”.

Satow, who translated it, gives the date as 27 January 1614 and notes that it was issued with fifteen rules for the Buddhist priests who were to vouch for the religion of their parishioners. The text states the government’s reasons in its own terms. Satow prints it under the heading “Proclamation of Iyeyasu”; James Murdoch, A History of Japan, vol. 2 (1903), says that it appeared under the name of Hidetada, Ieyasu’s son.