TAKAYAMA UKON(1552 - 1615)
A forgotten story of a Japanese Samurai
who became a Christian
If you asked me a few days ago whether I knew something
about Ukon Takayama, I would answer: “Never heard of him”. But,
I can excuse myself. I am not a Japanese and I know very little
about Japan. But, when Japanese Catholics, particularly the
Japanese youth know very little about one of their greatest saint
then there is something to worry about. When a martial art master
and an expert in the traditional Japanese art of the Tea Ceremony
becomes a saint there is something to marvel at. Who is then this
new saint of Catholic Church coming from the Far East from the
W h o e v e r fi n d s
their life will lose
it, and whoever
loses their life for
my sake will find it
(Matt 10:39)
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land of rising sun to impact us with his
extraordinary testimony of faith?
Japan in 16th Century
In order to understand the situation of Japan in
the time of our blessed Ukon Takayama, we
need to understand the meaning of two words:
daimyo and shogun. The word ‘DAIMYO’
means “a large private land”. Thus, daimyos were
powerful families who owned vast territories of
land in Japan. A shogun was the military dictator
of Japan. Although nominally appointed by the
Emperors of Japan, the shoguns were the de
facto rulers of the country. There were many
daimyos, but there could only be one shogun.
The Takayama family belonged to one of the
many powerful daimyos.
Japan of the 16th century was plagued by the
civil wars between powerful samurai generals
who wanted to become a shogun. During that
time, there were three contestants for the title of the shogun: Nobunaga Oda, Hideyoshi
Toyotomi, and Ieyasu Tokugawa. On the other hand, it was a time of the Gospel. In 1549, saint
Francis Xavier introduced Christianity to Japan and the message at first found a fertile ground
in the country. Three years after the arrival of saint Francis Xavier to Japan, Hikogoro (Ukon)
Takayama was born. It was the year 1552 and the place was Osaka.
Takayama Ukon
Hikogoro grew up in a large family, he had one sister and two brothers, then he got married and
had three sons and one daughter. At the age of 12, he was baptised and given a name Justo,
which means just or righteous. As an adult, he was actively propagating the faith. He established
a seminary in Osaka, built a church in Osaka and Akashi City and influenced other daimyos to
become Christians. The records show that by 1581, 75% of the total population of Osaka eighteen thousand - were Christians.
Unfortunately, this rapid increase of Christianity was seen as a threat by some of the powerful
generals. At that time, Ukon Takayama was serving under the leadership of general Hideyoshi
Toyotomi, who aimed to become a shogun. In 1587, he decided to expel all foreign missionaries
from Japan and ordered all his Christian daimyo to renounce their faith. The Samurai creed of
blind loyalty to one's master clashed with the Christian creed of blind loyalty to God alone.
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After prayer and discernment, Ukon decided to give up his powerful status rather than his faith.
His decision cost Ukon everything. He lost his position, land, and hometown and became a
refuge in his own country. He moved to another area of the
country and began to learn the traditional Japanese art of the
Instead of
Tea Ceremony of which he became a master. During those
rebelling
against the
persecution he
endured, he
chose to suffer
years, he also went into the deeper study of catechetics.
General Nobuganda was murdered and general Hideyoshi
passed away. This created an opportunity for Tokugawa to
control the whole nation and become a shogun. In 1612,
Tokugawa banned Christianity in Japan. Ukon and his entire
family moved to Osaka and then left for the Philippines. The
sea voyage to Manila took 43 days and impacted the health
of Ukon. Upon the arrival to Manila, he got a hero welcome.
The governor of Philippines even proposed to send the navy to Japan to fight Tokugawa and
support the persecuted Christians. Ukon, however, surrendered all of these into the hands of
the Lord of history, whose plans are different from ours. Exhausted by the voyage and affected
by the change of the weather, he passed away 40 days after the arrival, on February 3, 1615. The
Philippines gave him a state funeral already recognising at that time that he was an
extraordinary person.
A Loser who won the crown of glory
When one looks at the story of Ukon from the worldly perspective, it is a story of a loser. He
lost everything: riches, position, land, and life. On the other hand, general Tokugawa is
considered as great military mind who ended the wars in Japan and brought 300 years of peace.
But, it was a peace without Christ, a peace through violence, a peace that was paid with the
price of innocent victims. It was a worldly peace that comes after the ruin of wars.
We know that during his time in Japan, Ukon took care of widows and orphans, those who lost
their husbands and fathers in the cycle of the civil wars. His caring for the poor and handicaps is
also attested in the historical records. Ukon was also a great speaker, who could present the
story of Jesus in such a way that his Japanese listeners were drawn to it.
We are very familiar with this passage from the Gospel: “Whoever finds their life will lose it,
and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it” (Matt 10:39). General Tokugawa became a
shogun, and lost his soul. Ukon Takayama lost his life for Christ’s sake and gain everything.
Ukon Takayama will be beatified as a martyr. Many may find it as a surprise, after all, he did not
die a martyr death. However, we need to remember, that the word ‘martyr’ in its original
meaning means “witness’. Our blessed Japanese brother indeed gave true witness to his faith.
Christ meant for him more than anything on earth. The Japanese Bishop’s Conference
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proposed his Beatification at this 400th anniversary of his death, in February 2017 and Pope
Francis approved it.
Conclusion
For Japan and the entire Catholic community, it is a day of great rejoicing. Takayama Ukon once
again reminds us about the cost of
discipleship. “Salvation is free, but
discipleship will cost you your life”, said
the twentieth-century martyr Dietrich
Bonhoeffer. That is the message of our
new blessed brother. We want to climb
the heights of popularity and riches,
but Ukon was going down embracing
the shame and poverty of the cross.
With ever y choice for Christ, he
became visible poorer, but at the same
time, spiritually richer. He was storing
treasures for himself in heaven, “For
where your treasure is, there your heart
will be also” (Matt 6:29). The Japanese
bishops in their leaflet about Takayama
write: “In the present age, when we are
urged to make choices from among
various values that promise happiness,
people who adhere to Jesus can learn
from the life of Ukon to follow the
Lord directly, without deviation or error”.
Blessed Takayama Ukon pray for us!
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