Don''t step out of line

01.10.2008

On November 24 this year 188 Japanese martyrs will be beatified in a ceremony in Nagasaki. Preparations for the ceremony are being made across Japan.

These 188 are just some of the thousands of Christians who gave their lives for their faith around 400 years ago in what was one of the cruelest persecutions in the history of the Catholic Church.

The witness given by some of the Japanese martyrs was unbelievably heroic. Paul Miki preached from his cross. Others sang hymns as they burned. The example of Fr De Angelis SJ and his 49 companions in Tokyo in 1623 was so impressive that onlookers vainly begged the presiding officials to let them join the Christians at the stake.

Personally what I find amazing is the martyrs’ disdain for one of the principal elements of Japanese culture: harmony and consensus. Because harmony and consensus are so highly valued, there is enormous pressure on people to conform. 400 years ago the pressure was much greater. Every tiny detail of life was set: class, language, occupation, where one could live, food, hairstyle, clothing, and so on. People had to conform or risk ostracism.

In modern Japan ostracism is still very much a reality. An author writing about a nuclear waste processing-facility in Japan says that in close knit communities people are very aware of each other’s activities and there is little room for anonymous action. He says that just voicing one’s opposition to the nuclear facility could lead to social isolation and family members losing their jobs.

Around the time of the persecution authorities instituted a system whereby neighbours were made responsible for each other. If one person didn’t pay their taxes, their neighbours had to pay. If someone committed a crime and then fled, their neighbours had to pay compensation. It was an effective method of social control. Neighbours kept an eye on each other to prevent any behaviour that could lead to all of them being punished.

So a Christian who refused to obey the shogun’s order to renounce their faith risked not only their own life but also the livelihood and reputation of their family and neighbours.

Fr Paul McCartin has been a missionary in Japan since 1979.

Read more from The Far East October, 2008