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IMAGE: During this period, letters were written on a half-sheet of paper folded horizontally and written from right to left. When the writer reached the left edge, they continued writing on. view more
Credit: Kumamoto University Library
In Japan, the suppression of Christianity increased from the end of the 16th century to the beginning of the 17th century, and many missionaries and Japanese believers were martyred during this period. New research has uncovered a letter indicating that Hosokawa Tadaoki, lord of the Kokura domain from 1600 to 1620, ordered the execution of Diego Hayato Kagayama, a chief vassal of the Hosokawa family, and the banishment of Genya Ogasawara, both Christians. The punishment and martyrdom of both men was previously known only from reports by Jesuit missionaries to Rome. The discovery of primary historical documents created within the Hosokawa family has clarified both the authenticity and the limitations of missionaries writings of
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IMAGE: Japanese domestic winemaking, which began in 1627, is thought to have ended in the wake of the Hosokawa clan s transfer to the Higo Domain (modern-day Kumamoto Prefecture). The documents were. view more
Credit: Professor Tsuguharu Inaba
Researchers from Kumamoto University (Japan) have found an Edo period document that clearly indicates the Hosokawa clan, rulers of the Kokura Domain (modern-day Fukuoka Prefecture), completely stopped producing wine in 1632, the year before the shogunate ordered them to move to the Higo Domain (now Kumamoto Prefecture). The researchers believe that the discontinuation of wine production was directly related to this move and because it was considered to be a drink of a religion that was harshly suppressed in Japan at that time, Christianity.