Context: For those familiar with the early Edo Period, you may recognize the Shimabara Rebellion. It was one the largest rebellions in Japanese history, and was one of only a handful of instances of serious unrest during the relatively peaceful period of the Tokugawa shogunate’s rule.
It is usually portrayed as a Christian rebellion, driven by the Shogunate’s persecutions of Christians. Even the Shogunate used it as a justification to close off the country to everyone besides the Dutch. But the cause of the Shimabara Rebellion was a lot more complicated than just a religious one.
Before the formation of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Shimabara Peninsula was ruled by the Arima Clan, who were Christians and heavily converted the population of their own domain to Christianity. However, the Arima clan were deposed and replaced with heavily Anti-Christian Matsukura Clan.
Now while the Matsukura were Anti-Christian and persecuted them, they also *heavily* taxed everyone in their own domain. It got excessive and outright draconian. For examples, there was a method of execution called “Mino Odori,” where individuals who could not pay the yearly tax were dressed in a cloak and burned alive. Shimabara was described as a true hell, as even the children of those unable to pay the tax were captured and executed.
The people’s anger towards Matsukura’s oppressive policies eventually erupted, and discontented *rōnin* of the region and impoverished peasants plotted and then murdered the magistrate of the region, taking control of Shimabara and Hara Castles and their large stockpile of weapons. Eventually, the rebels elected Amakusa Shirō as their leader.
Again, it must be emphasized that yes, while a lot of the rebels were Christians, it was **not** the sole factor of rebellion; While it did play a part, it was also the heavy taxation and mismanagement of the Matsukura Clan that lead to the Shimabara Rebellion. Not to downplay the religious factor, as it just happened that Christianity was more of an unifying identity that people rallied behind. Even Amakusa believed himself to be the second coming of Jesus. But there also were non-Christian peasants as well. In short, it was mainly a rebellion by peasants against Matsukura’s misgovernance, with Christians later joining the rebellion and even hijacking it as well.
After the end of the Rebellion, the Matsukura were investigated by the Shogunate, and removed. Even the clan head, Matsukura Katsuie, was executed without seppuku (dishonored officials were usually allowed to die by seppuku; which goes to show how severe his actions were), and was the only *daimyo* to be beheaded during the Edo period
HistorianEntire311 on
Moral of the story never give management of a land to a greedy selfish idiot
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Context: For those familiar with the early Edo Period, you may recognize the Shimabara Rebellion. It was one the largest rebellions in Japanese history, and was one of only a handful of instances of serious unrest during the relatively peaceful period of the Tokugawa shogunate’s rule.
It is usually portrayed as a Christian rebellion, driven by the Shogunate’s persecutions of Christians. Even the Shogunate used it as a justification to close off the country to everyone besides the Dutch. But the cause of the Shimabara Rebellion was a lot more complicated than just a religious one.
Before the formation of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Shimabara Peninsula was ruled by the Arima Clan, who were Christians and heavily converted the population of their own domain to Christianity. However, the Arima clan were deposed and replaced with heavily Anti-Christian Matsukura Clan.
Now while the Matsukura were Anti-Christian and persecuted them, they also *heavily* taxed everyone in their own domain. It got excessive and outright draconian. For examples, there was a method of execution called “Mino Odori,” where individuals who could not pay the yearly tax were dressed in a cloak and burned alive. Shimabara was described as a true hell, as even the children of those unable to pay the tax were captured and executed.
The people’s anger towards Matsukura’s oppressive policies eventually erupted, and discontented *rōnin* of the region and impoverished peasants plotted and then murdered the magistrate of the region, taking control of Shimabara and Hara Castles and their large stockpile of weapons. Eventually, the rebels elected Amakusa Shirō as their leader.
Again, it must be emphasized that yes, while a lot of the rebels were Christians, it was **not** the sole factor of rebellion; While it did play a part, it was also the heavy taxation and mismanagement of the Matsukura Clan that lead to the Shimabara Rebellion. Not to downplay the religious factor, as it just happened that Christianity was more of an unifying identity that people rallied behind. Even Amakusa believed himself to be the second coming of Jesus. But there also were non-Christian peasants as well. In short, it was mainly a rebellion by peasants against Matsukura’s misgovernance, with Christians later joining the rebellion and even hijacking it as well.
After the end of the Rebellion, the Matsukura were investigated by the Shogunate, and removed. Even the clan head, Matsukura Katsuie, was executed without seppuku (dishonored officials were usually allowed to die by seppuku; which goes to show how severe his actions were), and was the only *daimyo* to be beheaded during the Edo period
Moral of the story never give management of a land to a greedy selfish idiot