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Amazing to consider the ways that going into hibernation physically when the world changes can change you and cause you to emerge much differently than how you were before going underground. The nature of environments causing you to evolve in ways to match your environment.''
I say that in light of a documentary I saw recently that intrigued me - in regards to studies I've been doing on Japan/Christianity's development there.
There are others who feel that what the Japanese did is to be condemned without any sympathy...as others feel that the “Hidden Christians” of Japan have let our faith become so intertwined with our culture that it no longer bears much resemblance to true Christianity. Of course, its sad to see how over time the Crypto-Christians confused their Christian beliefs and their Japanese disguises, resulting in the emergence of a hybrid religion no longer resembling the orthodox faith of the missionaries. However, I think that its interesting to see how the Japanese strategy of adopting Japanese cultural forms to mask their Christian faith continued for 240 years and yet their survival plan backfired...
When I look at the Hidden Christians, I'm saddened by what they experienced - and also not surprised by their reactions. It is perhaps more interesting to look at the Hidden Christians who rejected the Church once it arrived, or to scoff at the erroneous teachings that came up during the centuries of hiding. I probably would've too if I didn't grow up with a Bible/had all the facts for so long of a time..
To my knowledge, many of the early Japanese Christians were not very well catechized simply because there weren't enough priests. Towards the beginning of the Tokugawa Shogunate, it seemed that Christianity was seen as a perilous foreign influence - due partially to the fact that it was seen (fairly or unfairly) as an attempt by the Portuguese to weaken the traditional structures. Adding to the issue was the fact that things became worse when a group of persecuted Christians actually did rebel...and Christianity became outlawed for Japanese, with the priests being expelled and a very long and very harsh era of persecution beginning.
As a practical matter the Church had to go underground since the government was putting a lot effort into completely rooting out and destroying the Church - setting up check-points where people would be required to stomp on a sacred Christian image, usually of the crucified Christ, or else be apprehended as a secret Christian..with the sentence for being a Christian usually being death after torture.
It seemed like the situation was complicated further by the fact that the action of Christian practices having to underground was done simultaneously with the actions of the West when the Vatican didn't really have a high priority in sending more priests to aid them. Many have noted that the intense persecution the Church was undergoing was more or less unknown on the other side of the world and the Latin Church was focused on how there was much to do throughout Asia. Trying to smuggle in new priests into the country seemed even more problematic since it was a very rare occurrence.
With the global isolation that the persecuted Japanese Church faced, it seemed like the Hidden Christians had to do the best they could with what they possessed - whether that be practicing the prayers they remembered or praying to Jesus and hoping for the day the Church would be properly established in Japan. The realization of how their struggle would last for a long time led them to pass whatever information they could to their children - but this got complicated with being a Crypto-Christian group that knew that anything that they fashioned had to resemble, at least in part, something properly Buddhist or Shintoist to avoid persecution.
Although much of the world had long forgotten the Japanese in their struggle and a remnant did hold out as long as they could, it seems that what evolved was a culture where they had never seen a priest or heard the Bible directly from a printed copy - leading to information getting lost in translation
Sad to witness how they were on the back-burner..though even in places such as China, there were (to my knowledge) many complaints given by other missionaries there who felt that Asian nations generally were treated the same way as it concerns disrespect/assuming that the West was what they needed to conform to...and if not done on the terms of the West, then there was little concern with addressing ways of inculturation within Asian lands. Its one of the reasons why Crypto-Christianity even began, due the persecution that happened later with the Chineese Rites Controversy---which wasn't apologized for till much later when others realized that how Christendom developed in the West was going to be naturally different from how it was to rise up in the East, just as Christianity/discipleship in European lands was radically different in many ways from how it was in Jewish culture and lands such as Palestine and the Middle East.
Much of it does remind me of how many Jews acted after coming back from the Exile of 70 years, as living in Babylon and Persia led to the rise of many things that were not originally apart of the culture....such as synagouges (in light of lacking a physical temple) and the rise of rabbis in place of priests. The language of Hebrew began to die out, as noted in Nehemiah 13:23-25 Nehemiah 13 ..though that was due more so to intermarriage and not reinforcing what was apart of their heritage. I think that the Hidden Christians are similar to what occurred to others who live in isolation from others and think that what it is they grew up with was truly what things were originally. If I grew up in a home under intense persecution and inherited a tradition from my parents that was conveyed to them by their parents to be what true Christians originally brought, I'd naturally not question it. And if I was told to hold out to help arrived, I'd naturally assume that what I was taught to keep in the meantime was what the original faith was....
In seeing their example, I know others have said what they had was simply religion and no relationship with CHrist. However, I don't really think that what they have is just religion handed down truthfully anymore than it was for others where they did what they knew in obediance to the Lord - even though they didn't have all the facts for a myriad of reasons. I'm reminded of Acts 10 with Cornelius who never heard of Jesus - and yet he knew of how he was to live righteous and he was devout in sharing with the poor/giving alms and the Lord said it was like a memorial to Him. Romans 2 comes to mind where Paul said that those without the law become a law unto themselves and that the Lord would judge them based on what they knew/were obediant to - and Romans 3:25-26/Acts 17:30 where Paul notes that God overlooked certain things when there was ignorance and that the Lord made provision in Christ (Acts 3:17, Acts 13;27, etc.), I have to take that seriously.
________________________
These believers in the Lord were COMPLETLY unware of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit----something Christ made clear was apart of the reason why He had to die (Joel 2:27-29 , John 14, John 16, Acts 2:16-18, etc)---and therefore they probably had not heard much of Jesus's Life and ministry.....and CERTAINLY not of His death and resurrection. They had evidently relocated from Palestine to Ephesus before Jesus's own ministry began...and as followers of John, they would have known His message that the Messiah would bring the Spirit (Luke 3:16). Nonetheless, it stands to reason that the obvious issue is that they were already considered FOLLOWERS of GOD long before having full information of the details of Christ's Work/something to believe in..
With the Hidden Christians, perhaps it was the case that Catholic Missionaries (and all others, including Protestant) prepared them for much of the errors they may've fallen into when it came to losing connection with how the Catholic Faith was originally. For to my knowledge, the Kakure weren't given access to Bibles translated into their own language...and in many ways, the efforts of presenting the Gospel in terms that resonated with the culture they knew may've not been complete.
Truthfully, it could be argued that Naaman the Syrian in II Kings 5 would have been considered a Kakure, as he went home and continued to kneel before the god of his king even after acknowledging who the Lord was and being exposed to him. ..though he had preserved access to the Torah through the nation of Israel and so it may be a different story from the Kahure who literally had no access to extensive information to keep referring
And now, sadly, they're dying out.
That said, I was wanting to know what the thoughts were of any Catholic believers here if they have ever pondered on the issue. Do you feel that the Hidden Christians are off completely or do you feel that they are in relationship with the Lord?
Also, do you personally feel you would have done the same as a Catholic when placed in the situation they were in?
I say that in light of a documentary I saw recently that intrigued me - in regards to studies I've been doing on Japan/Christianity's development there.
Kakure Kirishtan , hidden Japanese believers in Japan who went underground after MASSIVE persecution began against believers in the time prior to Japan locking itself away from the world (during the life of St.Francis Xavier and prior when others, Nestorian Believers especially, were trailblazers in making serious inroads into Japan with the Gospel with St.Francis Xavier setting the way as it concerns Inculturation/finding ways of presenting the Gospel in cultural terms that the local populace would understand...and thus, helping them to better understand Christ) - and in going underground, they actually developed into something radically different from those who helped in their foundations since they were cut off from access to the outside world for centuries. The Hidden Christians have been amazing to me in light of their serious loyalty to St.Francis Xavier for helping them in their growth and also their actions in how they tried to cope with persecution.
- Lack of Oppression Hurts Christianity in Japan" ( )
- - "Photo-Documentary of Christian history in Japan with Concentration on Hidden Christians" (
There are others who feel that what the Japanese did is to be condemned without any sympathy...as others feel that the “Hidden Christians” of Japan have let our faith become so intertwined with our culture that it no longer bears much resemblance to true Christianity. Of course, its sad to see how over time the Crypto-Christians confused their Christian beliefs and their Japanese disguises, resulting in the emergence of a hybrid religion no longer resembling the orthodox faith of the missionaries. However, I think that its interesting to see how the Japanese strategy of adopting Japanese cultural forms to mask their Christian faith continued for 240 years and yet their survival plan backfired...
When I look at the Hidden Christians, I'm saddened by what they experienced - and also not surprised by their reactions. It is perhaps more interesting to look at the Hidden Christians who rejected the Church once it arrived, or to scoff at the erroneous teachings that came up during the centuries of hiding. I probably would've too if I didn't grow up with a Bible/had all the facts for so long of a time..
To my knowledge, many of the early Japanese Christians were not very well catechized simply because there weren't enough priests. Towards the beginning of the Tokugawa Shogunate, it seemed that Christianity was seen as a perilous foreign influence - due partially to the fact that it was seen (fairly or unfairly) as an attempt by the Portuguese to weaken the traditional structures. Adding to the issue was the fact that things became worse when a group of persecuted Christians actually did rebel...and Christianity became outlawed for Japanese, with the priests being expelled and a very long and very harsh era of persecution beginning.
As a practical matter the Church had to go underground since the government was putting a lot effort into completely rooting out and destroying the Church - setting up check-points where people would be required to stomp on a sacred Christian image, usually of the crucified Christ, or else be apprehended as a secret Christian..with the sentence for being a Christian usually being death after torture.
It seemed like the situation was complicated further by the fact that the action of Christian practices having to underground was done simultaneously with the actions of the West when the Vatican didn't really have a high priority in sending more priests to aid them. Many have noted that the intense persecution the Church was undergoing was more or less unknown on the other side of the world and the Latin Church was focused on how there was much to do throughout Asia. Trying to smuggle in new priests into the country seemed even more problematic since it was a very rare occurrence.
With the global isolation that the persecuted Japanese Church faced, it seemed like the Hidden Christians had to do the best they could with what they possessed - whether that be practicing the prayers they remembered or praying to Jesus and hoping for the day the Church would be properly established in Japan. The realization of how their struggle would last for a long time led them to pass whatever information they could to their children - but this got complicated with being a Crypto-Christian group that knew that anything that they fashioned had to resemble, at least in part, something properly Buddhist or Shintoist to avoid persecution.
Although much of the world had long forgotten the Japanese in their struggle and a remnant did hold out as long as they could, it seems that what evolved was a culture where they had never seen a priest or heard the Bible directly from a printed copy - leading to information getting lost in translation
Sad to witness how they were on the back-burner..though even in places such as China, there were (to my knowledge) many complaints given by other missionaries there who felt that Asian nations generally were treated the same way as it concerns disrespect/assuming that the West was what they needed to conform to...and if not done on the terms of the West, then there was little concern with addressing ways of inculturation within Asian lands. Its one of the reasons why Crypto-Christianity even began, due the persecution that happened later with the Chineese Rites Controversy---which wasn't apologized for till much later when others realized that how Christendom developed in the West was going to be naturally different from how it was to rise up in the East, just as Christianity/discipleship in European lands was radically different in many ways from how it was in Jewish culture and lands such as Palestine and the Middle East.
Much of it does remind me of how many Jews acted after coming back from the Exile of 70 years, as living in Babylon and Persia led to the rise of many things that were not originally apart of the culture....such as synagouges (in light of lacking a physical temple) and the rise of rabbis in place of priests. The language of Hebrew began to die out, as noted in Nehemiah 13:23-25 Nehemiah 13 ..though that was due more so to intermarriage and not reinforcing what was apart of their heritage. I think that the Hidden Christians are similar to what occurred to others who live in isolation from others and think that what it is they grew up with was truly what things were originally. If I grew up in a home under intense persecution and inherited a tradition from my parents that was conveyed to them by their parents to be what true Christians originally brought, I'd naturally not question it. And if I was told to hold out to help arrived, I'd naturally assume that what I was taught to keep in the meantime was what the original faith was....
In seeing their example, I know others have said what they had was simply religion and no relationship with CHrist. However, I don't really think that what they have is just religion handed down truthfully anymore than it was for others where they did what they knew in obediance to the Lord - even though they didn't have all the facts for a myriad of reasons. I'm reminded of Acts 10 with Cornelius who never heard of Jesus - and yet he knew of how he was to live righteous and he was devout in sharing with the poor/giving alms and the Lord said it was like a memorial to Him. Romans 2 comes to mind where Paul said that those without the law become a law unto themselves and that the Lord would judge them based on what they knew/were obediant to - and Romans 3:25-26/Acts 17:30 where Paul notes that God overlooked certain things when there was ignorance and that the Lord made provision in Christ (Acts 3:17, Acts 13;27, etc.), I have to take that seriously.
________________________
With the Hidden Christians, perhaps it was the case that Catholic Missionaries (and all others, including Protestant) prepared them for much of the errors they may've fallen into when it came to losing connection with how the Catholic Faith was originally. For to my knowledge, the Kakure weren't given access to Bibles translated into their own language...and in many ways, the efforts of presenting the Gospel in terms that resonated with the culture they knew may've not been complete.
Truthfully, it could be argued that Naaman the Syrian in II Kings 5 would have been considered a Kakure, as he went home and continued to kneel before the god of his king even after acknowledging who the Lord was and being exposed to him. ..though he had preserved access to the Torah through the nation of Israel and so it may be a different story from the Kahure who literally had no access to extensive information to keep referring
And now, sadly, they're dying out.
That said, I was wanting to know what the thoughts were of any Catholic believers here if they have ever pondered on the issue. Do you feel that the Hidden Christians are off completely or do you feel that they are in relationship with the Lord?
Also, do you personally feel you would have done the same as a Catholic when placed in the situation they were in?
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Trying to be as accurate as possible in my understanding of them and how to best treat the situation. Blessings 
