Christianity in Japan is among the nation's largest minority religions in terms of individuals who state an explicit affiliation or faith. In 2024, there were 1.87 million Christians according to one study. In Japan, the number went down from 1.9 million Christians in 2019. In the early years of the 21st century, between less than 1 percentIshikawa Akito (22 November 2019), "A Little Faith: Christianity and the Japanese", Nippon.com. Retrieved 7 December 2019. and 1.5% of the population claimed Christian belief or affiliation. As of December 31, 2023, according to the Department of Religious Affairs of the Ministry of Culture of Japan, the total Christian denominations in Japan numbered 2,383 parishes (communities), 4,367 clergy, and 300,921 followers (0.73% of the total population of Japan).
Although formally banned in 1612 and today critically portrayed as a foreign "religion of colonialism", Christianity has played a role in shaping the relationship between religion and the Japanese state for more than four centuries. Most large Christian denominations, including Catholicism, Protestantism, Oriental Orthodoxy, and Orthodox Christianity, are represented in Japan today. Christian culture has a generally positive image in Japan. The majority of Japanese people are, traditionally, of the Shinto or Buddhist faith. The majority of Japanese couples, about 60–70%, are wed in "nonreligious" Christian ceremonies. This makes Christian weddings the most influential aspect of Christianity in contemporary Japan.
Etymology The Japanese word for is a compound of , the Japanese adaptation of the Portuguese word for Christ, , and the Sino-Japanese word for , as in .
History
Missionaries and early expansion
The first appearance of Christianity in Japan was the arrival of the Portuguese Catholics in 1549. Navarrese missionary Francis Xavier arrived in Japan with three Japanese Catholic converts intending to start a church in Japan. The local Japanese people initially assumed that the foreigners were from India and that Christianity was a new Indian faith. These mistaken impressions were due to already existing ties between the Portuguese and India. The Indian state of Goa was a central base for Portuguese India at the time, and a significant portion of the crew on board their ships were Indian Christians.
Later on, the Catholic missionary activities were exclusively performed by Jesuits and mendicant orders, such as the Franciscans and Dominicans. Francis Xavier (who would later be canonized a Catholic saint for his missionary work), Cosme de Torres (a Jesuit priest), and Juan Fernández were the first who arrived in Kagoshima hoping to bring Christianity to Japan. Xavier and the Jesuit order were held in good esteem, and his efforts seem to have been rewarded with a thriving community of converts.Gonzáles, Justo L. (Jan 2004) The Story of Christianity, 3rd edition. Prince Press/Hendrickson Publishers. Volume 1, pages 405–406 At baptism, these converts were given Portuguese Christian names and forced to adopt Western cultural habits. This practice contributed to suspicions that the converts were in reality foreign agents working to subvert the local social order.In the source, this claim is made of all of Xavier's converts across Asia in general, including but not limited to those in Japan
The earliest success Christianity witnessed in Japan occurred in Kyushu. Conversions of local warlords like Ōmura Sumitada, Arima Yoshisada, and Ōtomo Sōrin led to the conversion of many of their subjects. The conversion of several elites in the area was likely due to the decentralized nature of the Sengoku period (1467-1615) where warlords vied for control among themselves. This power vacuum led some warlords to believe that being more open to external sources of power and legitimacy as a possible method to gain an advantage. As several daimyos and their subjects converted to Christianity, the destruction of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples would often accompany it, with the Jesuits also contributing to the destruction and persecutions. Buddhist monks and Shinto priests would face persecution by being forcefully evicted out of their religious sites, be forced to marry, or forced to convert.
Perceived threat to Japan
Under Oda Nobunaga, the Jesuits enjoyed the favor of his regency. The successor of Oda, Toyotomi Hideyoshi at first protected Christianity, but later changed his policy with the publishing of the Bateren Edict, banning missionary activities. After conquering Kyushu, Hideyoshi visited Hakozaki and came to believe that Jesuits were selling Japanese people as slaves overseas, Christians were destroying shrines and temples, and people were being forced to convert to Christianity, resulting in the aforementioned edict. Alessandro Valignano, on 14 December 1582 wrote a letter to Governor-General of the Philippines Francisco de Sande Picón stating that it would be impossible to conquer Japan by military power and converting Japan to Christianity was the most important task of church. Scholars also theorise that Hideyoshi believed the true mission of the Christian missionaries was to convert the Japanese population to Christianity, overthrow the government, and turn it into a colony.
Persecution under the Shogunate
Under Hideyoshi and the succeeding Tokugawa shogunate, Catholic Christianity was repressed and adherents were persecuted. During Toyotomi rule especially, foreign missionaries were killed in Japan, some by (Japanese-style) crucifixion; most famously, the twenty-six martyrs of Japan were tortured and crucified on crosses outside Nagasaki to discourage Christianity in 1597. (Hideyoshi nonetheless showed favor to daimyō who had converted, such as Konishi Yukinaga.) Following a brief respite as Tokugawa Ieyasu rose to power and pursued trade with the Portuguese powers, there were further persecutions and martyrdoms in 1613, 1622 (Great Genna Martyrdom), 1623 (Great Martyrdom of Edo) 1630, 1632 and 1634.June 6th - Servant of God Sebastian Vieira, SJ at Society of Jesus, Singapore
The Tokugawa shoguns eradicated Christianity in Japan via murder, persecution and decrees. In 1637, Matsukura Katsuie imposed a high tax onto people and oppressed Christians. This, combined with famine, led in 1638 to the Christian-led Shimabara Rebellion, where an estimated 37,000 people (mostly Christians), were massacred. The rebellion started as a peasant movement, but later Christians joined the cause. This was the largest rebellion in the history of Japan. In 50 years, the crackdown policies of the shoguns reduced the number of Christians to near zero.
By this point, after the Shimabara Rebellion, the remaining Christians had been forced to publicly renounce their faith. Many continued practicing Christianity in secret, in modern times becoming known as the . These secret believers would often conceal Christian iconography in closed shrines, lanterns or inconspicuous buildings. For example, Himeji Castle has a Christian cross on one of its 17th-century roof tiles, in place of a mon, indicating that one of its occupants was a secret Christian.Guide to World Heritage Site Himeiji Castle. Ryuusenkaku.jp. Retrieved on 2011-06-15.
Drawn from the oral histories of Japanese Catholic communities, Shūsaku Endō's historical novel Silence provides detailed fictionalised accounts of the persecution of Christian communities and the suppression of the Church.
Opening of Japan
Captain Herbert Clifford was an officer in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and the founder of the Loochoo Naval Mission (1843). Clifford worked with missionary the Rev. Bernard Jean Bettelheim, who was the first Protestant Christian missionary to Okinawa.
After Japan was opened to greater foreign interaction in 1853, many Christian clergymen were sent from Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox churches, though proselytism was still banned. After the Meiji Restoration, freedom of religion was introduced in 1871, giving all Christian communities the right to legal existence and preaching.
Quakers have had a significant impact in Japan. The American Quaker Elizabeth Janet Gray Vining was hired by Emperor Hirohito in 1946 to be a private tutor to his son, Crown Prince Akihito. She taught English and introduced all of the children of the Imperial Household to western culture and values. "Vining was chosen because she was not only a Quaker known to be a pacifist but also an author of children’s literature, whom the Japanese expected to be sympathetic to the 12-year-old crown prince in the midst of the postwar confusion. Some also write that the imperial side found Vining more ideal than the other candidate [a Presbyterian], as she, having lost her beloved husband in an accident, had experienced the utmost sorrow in life and therefore would have compassion for others."Why an American Quaker tutor for the crown prince? An Imperial Household strategy to save Emperor Hirohito in MacArthur’s Japan.” Kaoru Hoshino, Master’s Thesis, U. of Pittsburgh, 2010
Quaker influence is thought by many to be the foundation of the Pacifism promoted by members the Royal Family. This pacifism has stood in stark contrast to right-wing nationalists.
Culture Japan remains one of the most secular nations in the world according to the World Values Survey.
Christianity in Japan is spread among many denominational affiliations. In the early 2000s, 70 percent of Japanese churches had an average attendance of less than 50, though membership was often almost double this figure.OMF International – Japan, the Land of Contrasts . Omf.org. Retrieved on 2011-06-15.
Holidays
The celebration of selected Christian holidays has gained popularity in Japan since the Second World War – primarily as commercial events, but with also an emphasis on sharing time with loved ones, either significant others or close family.
Except in Japan's minority Christian communities, Easter is not typically marked by any special form of celebration.
Christmas in Japan is celebrated on a much larger scale as a commercial and secular festival, but again is not an official public holiday. Christmas lights,Shizuko Mishima, About.com guide. Christmas in Japan , Japan travel section of About.com. Retrieved 2010-01-27. Santa Claus, parties, gift exchanges, and eating Western-inspired Christmas foods, especially Kentucky Fried Chicken and strawberry shortcake, are all familiar features of this event. Many Christians have criticized this as a commercialization of the holiday, being contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ. In Japan, rather than being a family or religious occasion, Christmas is seen as a time to spend with friends or a significant other. Christmas Eve is celebrated as a couple's holiday on which romantic gifts are exchanged.
St. Valentine's Day in Japan is also celebrated, but the normal Western cultural traditions are often reversed – women give men a gift of chocolate, and on White Day, one month later, the favor is returned. Gifts are not exclusive to romantic relationships; women exchange gifts most frequently between one another and will occasionally give male co-workers chocolate, although this latter exchange is often referred to as an obligation gift. It is not as common for couples to go out on dates together; that element seems to be reflected in Christmas Eve instead.
Expression
Christian weddings have become prominent as an alternative (or addition) to traditional Shinto ceremonies. This is partially due to the successful missionary efforts of Japanese Christian churches and commercial endeavors. Architecturally resembling churches, wedding chapels have sprung up across Japan to meet the needs of Japanese who do not join Christian churches but still desire the ceremony.
Major denominations
Catholicism