Japan closes; the trampling images

Edicts of 1633 and 1635 barred Japanese from going abroad or returning, and in 1639 Portuguese ships were forbidden to trade with or visit Japan, leaving only the Dutch (confined from 1641 to Dejima in Nagasaki harbour) and the Chinese; every Japanese was required to register with a Buddhist temple. Suspects were made to step on holy images (fumi-e), and an edict of the 1650s offered 300 pieces of silver for informing on Christians who had returned to the faith.

The mechanism

CUSTODY OF THE WORD

How it was checked

• EvidenceT5 INDEPENDENT SECULAR; Status: ADDED 2026-09-19
• Letter eraTHE RELEASES, AND THE ENCLOSURE THAT FOLLOWS EACH 1382 to 1694
• SourcesRECORD — Britannica, 'Sakoku'; R. De Luca SJ, 'The Discovery of the “Hidden Christians” of Japan', La Civiltà Cattolica (2019) · checked 19 September: Britannica (read in a browser; WebFetch is refused by the site), 'sakoku'; R. De Luca SJ, 'The Discovery of the Hidden Christians of Japan', La Civilta Cattolica 2019 (read in a browser)