P.G. Nelyubin
· 2022
Abstract
This article is devoted to the anti-Christian policy of Japan in the middle of the 17th century, which turned into huge shocks not only for Christians, but also for the country's domestic and foreign policy. In particular, the article is aimed at identifying the features of the anti-Christian policy of the Tokugawa Bakufu after the Shimabara Rebellion (1637-1638). The article focuses on the activities of the monk of the Rinzai school Sesso Sosai (1589-1649), who was invited by the Nagasaki authorities in 1647 to preach anti-Christian messages to the local population. Some of his texts have survived, and, thanks to this, we can analyze them and find out what arguments Sesso Sosai used against Christians. Among the sources of particular note is the text “Nagasaki Kofukuji hikki” (Recording of sermons delivered at the Kofukuji temple in Nagasaki), which sheds light on some of the aims of the Tokugawa Bakufu towards Christians, and also reveals the peculiarities of the beliefs of Japanese Christians who lived in the 1640s under the ban and thus is the most important source for our study. Our analysis of the text of Sesso Sosai's sermons led to the following conclusions: in the 1640s, representatives of the Bakufu and authorities in Nagasaki felt that anti-Christian measures had reached a dead end because of the real possibility for alleged apostates to suddenly return to their former faith. The Shimabara Rebellion was not forgotten, and the possible return of the Portuguese to Japan undoubtedly increased the anxiety of the representatives of the Bakufu, since they could not predict the reaction of the local secret Christians. Sesso Sosai and his patrons thought deeply about the life experiences of local Christians. Sesso was sure that a formal rejection of Christianity was not enough, so a genuine and conscious rejection of faith was needed. He identified the key aspects of Christianity, among which was the belief in Heaven and the omnipotence of God, in order to reasonably criticize them. While trying to dissuade local Christians of the correctness of their faith, he, at the same time, expressed arguments in favor of the superiority of Buddhism.