PICTURES OF MARTYRDOM A Japanese print representing Takayama Ukon. Photos from Google Images.
February is not a happy month in Philippine-Japan relations. The Battle of Manila raged 76 years ago in February 1945 and a persecuted Japanese feudal lord died here in February 1615.
By the late 1500s, the Dutch were already in the Spice Islands, the Spanish were colonizing the Philippines, and the Portuguese were in Macao. They all wanted to have part of the action in China and Japan, in both trade and religion. The Japanese were Buddhists and Shinto believers. Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, wanted conversions.
Japan was feudal with four major ranks. The
10 Ways Samurai Were Nothing Like You Thought
10Samurai Were Not So Elite Though we think of the samurai as an elite fighting force, the majority of Japan’s army were foot soldiers called
Ashigaru began as common rabble plucked from rice fields, but when
daimyo realized a well-trained standing army was superior to on-and-off warriors, they trained them to fight. Ancient Japan had three kinds of warriors samurai,
ashigaru and
When
ashigaru rather than the ranks of their more affluent counterparts.
Ji-samurai certainly weren’t as respected as true samurai, but their assimilation into the
ashigaru was hardly a demotion. Japan’s