Japan’s “Christian Century” is the source of many fascinating aspects of Japanese history, from modern firearms to tenpura. But there’s one more way that the century from 1543-1639 shaped Japan–as the source of its first conspiracist moment!
Sources
Dickey, Colin. Under the Eye of Power: How Fear of Secret Societies Shapes American Democracy
Popper, Karl. The Open Society and Its Enemies: New One-Volume Edition
Hesselink, Reinier. The Dream of Christian Nagasaki: World Trade and the Clash of Cultures, 1560-1640
Leuchtenberger, Jan. Conquering Demons: the “Kirishitan”, Japan, and the World in Early Modern Japanese Literature
Images
A Portuguese ship being unloaded in Nagasaki. The Portuguese presence made the city a hub of the global slave trade. Note the presence of an African man in the bottom left, as well as the camel in the bottom right.Smaller ships congregate around Portuguese trading vessels in Nagasaki’s harbor. Though it’s far from realistic, this may give you some idea of the relative scale of the carracks compared to average Japanese vessels.The site of the former Suzuta Prison, where Christians from the Nagasaki area were detained before being executed.A fumi-e (stepping image) of Jesus on the cross. This practice of detecting Christians by forcing them to trample on a sacred icon began in Nagasaki, but was so effective it became common practice around Japan.
