Christianity
was introduced by
Francis Xavier / Francisco
de Xavier, a Jesuit missionary arriving in Japan in
1549. Oda Nobunaga favored the Europeans and
tolerated the religion to be spread throughout the
country by Catholic missionaries especially from Spain and Portugal. In
1612 the Tokugawa shogunate totally banned Christianity and ordered
the foreigners to leave the country. Missionaries
who continued their work undercover were later executed. In 1637 at Shimabara, Christian farmers who had been
groaning under heavy taxation raised a large scale revolt. It was put
a
year later and the government prompted to sever contacts with the West
- except for some Dutch merchants.
