Persecution Invisible In Japan: What Japanese Imperial Nationalists misunderstood on Christianity?

Hi! It's Shellil Linn.(ｰ ｰ;)

As in the UK or in Republic of Ireland, people live in islands are likely to be isolated than communicative with other tribal, ethnic groups. Especially, Japan is very isolated from the Asian contient for the Japan Current, the Kuril Current flow from the contienent to Japan, so as the wind.

The Japanese tradition had been the polytheism mixture of Shintoism and Buddhism. Historically, Shintoism has been taking the expansionistic strategy to take over the administratively centralized nation since 5th century.

However, their rituals and the grand Shrine construction cost have been a burden of national budget since the ancient time, too. So nobles and scholars tried their best to theorize the Shintoism, but failed again and again.

One reason the failure of theorization is the "goodness structure is supported by local community, but don't have both horizon communication route within each Shintoist sect group. Also, the ordinary people's faith and nobles' "theories" has been dissociated until now.

"Namban-dera, the first Church in Kyoto established in 16th century.

In the 16th century, Tokugawa Shogunate had made a big decision on the political policy for the religious authorities and movements. Shogunate government established the domestic laws and let the religious body be compulsory incorporated to the Shogunate authority, so the Shogunate government can take social control over all the religious body and movements.

By the strict carrot and stick policy with brutal persecution over Christians and other minority religious movements, the religious literacy has deteriorated generally, and the mindlessness caused to encourage the mystical fear and anxiety.

At the end of Tokugawa dynasty, the rightwing imperialists had visited post-civil war United States. And they were so amazed how "the United States movement had been keeping the civilian control by Christian religion".

Those imperialists had never seen how much conflict there are in the Christian society, never seen the KKK and minority races' conflict even their ship Kanrin-Maru had passed by the immigration ship carried a cabin full of Chinese immigrants to San Francisco.

So, the 19th century imperialists misunderstood the relationship between Christianity each Church authorities, and the government. They misunderstood that the United States government is utilizing the Christianity to integrate the nation and taking over the control of all Christian Churches!

That's why the imperialists thought that if they set the Japanese emperor as the highest living godness if Japan, let people hail to the "new goodness". If they do so, the new government can have more monotheistic polytheism in the order of the imperialistic theoretical Shintoism under government control.

Although Christian nor Catholic concern that the Christian churches, the government of each country and region, and the people have never been in such easy and simple condition as Imperialistic Shintoist believed, they thought they can establish the new integrated & unified politico-religious body.

To maximize the effect of carrot, the Meiji government have needed someone to segregate by stick.
And the Japanese Catholics, Christians and communists became the scape goat "to make stick effectively give damage" to the civil mentality.

So, the persecution toward the Catholic and Christians are still severe in Japan even for a little children.

Please pray for us as well as those who are in more trouble in all over the world.