Shimabara Rebellion: The Christian Revolt That Isolated Medieval Japan DOCUMENTARY

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We got a 16 years boy and five ronins. The rebels literally had a Shounen protagonist and a Super Sentai to lead them.

As a rebellious Japanese peasant from Shimibara myself, I'm really grateful to see our struggle get some attention

I have been to that area, including Shimabara Castle and the hot springs where Christians were tortured to death. Inside the castle is a museum with some 17th century relics of Christians who had to remain underground, as well as some of the weapons used on them by the feudal Daimyo. Shimabara, and Unzen city, are worthwhile travel destinations if you want to experience the history presented here and see abundant natural beauty.

Btw, the protestant Dutch and English were absolutely complicit in the massacre of the Catholics and acted out given how well Catholic holy orders were doing in converting the local populace, because they had the Shogun's ear they urged him to act out against the Portuguese, the church, and local Catholic converts. It wasn't just "Christians vs Godless Japanese heathens". The Dutch East India Company and Dutch mercenaries and protestant missionaries bombarded local Catholic insurgents, fought alongside the Shogun's men to quell the rebellion, and were even on occasion brought in to witness the torture and execution of local Catholic converts, priests, and missionaries. It was ultimately a strategic bargain that paid off for the Dutch, the Japanese trend toward Catholicism was ended, and even when the Tokugawa Shogunate issued an edict of seclusion and a ban on Christian missionary work in Japan, the Dutch remained the only Europeans allowed to trade with the Japanese until the Americans forced open the gates of Japan with gunboat diplomacy in the 19th century. The Dutch had such a disproportionate influence on Japan relative to other Europeans that until the Meiji era all western/european technology and culture was referred to as "Dutch", and the study of such things as "Rangaku" or "Dutch studies/learning".

Tokugawa Bakufu: Allow their vassals to brutalize their peasants indiscriminately Also Tokugawa Bakufu: "Why would the Portuguese incite a peasant revolt in our country?"

5:00 Portuguese catholics: Ok bois, we need to be cautious in this new land. Their rulers would be upset if we go around converting all their peoples. So, lets play this safe ok? Spanish catholics: LEEEEROOYYY JEENKINNSSS!!!!!

Matsukura Katsuie, the Daimyo in Shimabara was infamous for his brutality. Dressing peasants in straw coats and setting them on fire. After the rebellion, the Shogunate stripped him of his status of Daimyo and he lost his domain. When they found a peasant's dead body on his estate, the Shogunate launched an investigation of his activities. For his misrule and brutality Katsuie was beheaded, the only Daimyo during the Tokugawa period to be executed instead of being ordered to commit suicide. This shows how brutal he was and how disgraced he was in the eyes of the Shogun. Daimyos who were a problem were almost always at least given the honor of taking their own lives.

I used to live on Kyushu, I've been to Shimabara castle, visites several Japanese Christian friends. So much cool but very sad history. Also been to Ikitsuki because I'm a huge Samurai Champloo fan.

What a fantastic video, the animations were so well done and the explanation of their research is so clear and easy to follow. Highly recommend watching this for some insight into Japanese History.

Perfect timing! I just finished reading "Christ's Samurai" by Jonathan Clements. Great way to start my work day! A very interesting period in history which I only recently learned about. Being cut off from Rome for so long also caused the development of some very interesting Christian traditions among the communities as everything was passed through word of mouth and they had no priests to guide them.

Oda Nobunaga quite often welcomed Western people into his domain including some priests, he enjoyed to hear stories about far away cultures and wanted to take a stance similar to Otomo Sorin and the other "Christian" Daimyo. Under Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi took part in burning down Shinto Shrines, including one very famous site near Kyoto.

One of the Shimabara domain's Daimyo, Matsukura Katsuie, really helped instigate the revolt via his harsh taxation policies and penchant for personally terrorizing the peasants of the region. After the revolt he was removed from his position and executed for misrule, when his estate was confiscated the remains of several missing peasants where found half buried in the garden suggesting that he was possibly an early serial killer.

I grew up near Blessed Justo Takayama’s “Plaza Dilao” in Manila and seeing a Japanese Samurai statue was always weird for me growing up (knowing the fact about the ww2) but digging about his life offers a new perspective on the struggles of the Japanese Catholics and the role of Manila in proselytizing the faith in the Orient.

As a Portuguese I was really impressed during the narration where people in revolt shouted Santiago! . That was a battle cry during the Reconquista period here in the Iberian Peninsula, and it's not inocent that K&G depicted the silhouette of D. Pelágio - victorious at the Battle of Covadonga, which started the Reconquista - at 25:20 in the background. 2016 movie Silence by Scorcese depicted this period.

Incidentally the shimabara rebellion explains a lot of Christianity in japanese pop culture...you know how they're usually portrayed as militant to some degree. In Japan, they very much were!

Also known as Deuso Vuruto Thank you for covering one of the least known events regarding religious uprisings.

The fun parts: 1. Manila sent Hideyoshi an elephant as a kind of peace offering because in case Joseon and Ming lost to Hideyoshi and can be recruited rather than make for protracted pacification campaigns, Luzon and the rest of the Philippine islands can be next. Played out the same way from 1860 to 1942, with one difference: they already held Formosa long before 1942. 2. The main Jesuit institution in Manila is very Japanese AND Buddhist. Gardens including Zen gardens, Buddhist priests from the subcontinent and Japan are walking around the place, etc.

Many outside Japan first heard about this rebellion from the anime Samurai Champloo. The father of one of the main characters was mentioned to be part of the Shimabara Rebellion.

I remember that the Dutch were the exemption from the Tokugawa Shogunate barring foreigners from entering the country due to their trustworthiness with the shogun and trade. Thus, the Dutch had been their only trading partner outside Japan.