Bateren Edict

The Bateren Edict (Bateren Tsuihorei) was issued by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in Chikuzen Hakozaki (currently Higashi-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture) on July 24, 1587, regarding Christian missionary activities and Nanban trade. ''Bateren'' is derived from the Portuguese word ''padre'', which means "father".

The original document can be found among the "Matsuura Family Documents" and is stored in the Matsuura Historical Museum in Hirado City, Nagasaki Prefecture. Normally, the document called "Bateren Edict" refers to the five documents dated July 24, refers to "Matsuura Family Document", but also refers to memoranda dated June 18, 1933, in the "Goshuinshi profession old class" discovered in the Jingu Library of Ise Jingu in 1933. Furthermore, since the discovery of the latter 11 "senses", various discussions have been held on the reasons for the differences from the five expulsion orders and the meaning of the two documents.

Background

Jesuit missions and leaders in Japan

Francisco Xavier (1549–1551), the mission’s founder, introduced Christianity in Kyushu, establishing its foundation. Cosme de Torres (1551–1570) led as de facto Superior, expanding the mission until his death. Francisco Cabral (1570–1581), as Superior, enforced rigid policies, causing cultural friction, and was dismissed by Alessandro Valignano in 1581. Gaspar Coelho (1581–1590) succeeded Cabral as Superior, managing relations with Japanese authorities until his death. Alessandro Valignano (1573–1606), appointed Visitor of the East Indies in 1573, held supreme authority over East Asia’s Jesuit missions, until his death in 1606. Visiting Japan three times (1579–1583, 1590–1592, 1598–1603), he championed cultural adaptation and founded St. Paul’s College in Macao (1594) to train Japanese clergy.

Nagasaki's formation and Christian settlement

Nagasaki's development as a significant port city in Japan was closely tied to the arrival of Christianity and Portuguese trade. Initially an unpopulated promontory covered with wild thickets, Nagasaki was selected around 1570 by Jesuit missionaries, with the support of the Christian daimyo Ōmura Sumitada (Don Bartolomeu), for its natural advantages as a port, including a narrow promontory that provided visual defense of the bay entrance. Sumitada, the first Japanese daimyo to convert to Catholicism, invited Jesuits to settle in Yokoseura in the early 1560s, where a church was built, and Portuguese ships visited in 1562 and 1563. However, Yokoseura was destroyed in 1563 by anti-Christian groups and jealous merchants, prompting the Jesuits to seek a new location. Nagasaki was chosen, and Sumitada offered to donate the land to the Jesuits to establish a settlement for displaced Christians, many of whom were exiles from other regions due to religious persecution or wars, granting perpetual usage rights and extraterritorial privileges in return for securing permanent port customs and entry taxes, with designated officials stationed to oversee their collection.Alejandro Valignano S. I. Sumario des las Cosas de Japon(1583). Adiciones de l sumario de Japon (1592). editados por jose Luis Alvarez-Taladriz. Tokyo 1954. Introduction. p. 70.

By 1579, Nagasaki had grown from a village of 400 houses to a town of 5,000 by 1590, and 15,000 by the early 17th century, becoming a hub for Portuguese trade and Catholic activity, with multiple parishes established to meet spiritual needs.FUSION URBAN PLANNING IN THE 16TH CENTURY. JAPANESE AND PORTUGUESE FOUNDING NAGASAKI, Cristina Castel-Branco, Margarida Paes, Technical University of Lisbon, BPJS, 2009, 18/19, 67-103, p.87-88, "In his Apologia, written in 1598, Alessandro Valignano, an Italian Jesuit who led the Company of Jesus in Japan for many years, gave the same account although he adds decisive elements such as the natural quality of the place with a promontory, visual defence of the bay entrance, and a thorough site selection previous to the founding. “About thirty years ago the port of Nagasaki, which is the territory of Don Bartholomé, Lord of Omura, was completely unknown and unpopulated. It is a naturally very good port, for a narrow promontory, which was then covered with wild thickets and brambles, juts out into the sea." The Jesuits, led by Valignano, accepted Ōmura’s donation to establish a secure base for their mission and facilitate Portuguese trade. Valignano saw Nagasaki’s strategic value for supporting displaced Christians and funding missionary activities. The donation was accepted conditionally, allowing the Jesuits to withdraw if needed, reflecting caution due to Japan’s political instability and the non-binding nature of Japanese donations, which could be revoked by lords or their successors.

Slavery in Japan before and after Portuguese arrival

In 16th century Japan, economic pressures and cultural practices led to widespread servitude resembling slavery. Parents, facing taxes from non-Christian lords, sold children into servitude under "great" rather than "extreme" necessity. Japanese lords wielded power akin to Roman vitae necisque potestas, treating peasants and servants as near-slaves, often using them as tax guarantors. During the Sengoku period, Daimyos and merchants sold war captives, especially women and children, into slavery, with Portuguese and Japanese sources documenting brutalities in conflicts like the 1553 Battle of Kawanakajima and 1578 Shimazu campaigns. The inter-Asian slave trade, including wokou piracy, exacerbated suffering, with reports of Chinese slaves treated like cattle in Satsuma, a fate shared by many Japanese[. The geninka system formalized servitude, involving children sold by parents, self-sold individuals, debt-bound workers, and those punished for crimes or rebellion including their wives and children. Women fleeing abuse could be forced into genin status, and lords demanded retainers’ daughters serve as genin. Famine and disasters drove people to offer themselves as genin for survival, with the status often becoming hereditary, perpetuating bondage across generations.

The Portuguese engaged in the slave trade in Japan, particularly in Kyushu, where political disunity and economic incentives facilitated the practice. Japanese slaves, often acquired through war, kidnapping,Thomas Nelson, “Slavery in Medieval Japan,” Monumenta Nipponica59, no. 4 (2004): pp. 479-480, "Fujiki provides a wealth of sources to show just how common the practice of abducting slaves was. Koyo gunkan 甲陽軍鑑, for instance, offers a graphic account of the great numbers of women and children seized by the Takeda army after the Battle of Kawanakajima 川中島 of 1553:.... Hojo godaiki 北条五代記 reveals how systematized the process of ransoming and abduction could become... Reports by the Portuguese corroborate such accounts. In 1578, the Shimazu 島津 armies overran the Otomo 大友 territories in northern Kyushu." or voluntary servitude due to poverty, were sold to Portuguese merchants and transported to places like Macau, Goa, and even Portugal. The Jesuits, while morally opposed to perpetual slavery, played a complex role. They tolerated temporary servitude (nenkihōkō) under certain conditions, as outlined by Bishop Cerqueira and Jesuit leader Alessandro Valignano, who argued that Japanese customs of servitude differed from European slavery. The Church attempted to regulate the trade, with decrees in 1571 by King Sebastião of Portugal and later by King Philip III in 1605, but enforcement was weak due to local resistance and economic interests.

Hideyoshi’s foreign invasion plans

Toyotomi Hideyoshi, after consolidating power in Japan by 1585, harbored ambitions to expand Japanese influence abroad. In 1585, as Kampaku, Hideyoshi articulated ambitions to invade China to address resource shortages, later expanding to Korea, the Philippines, India.Ike Susumu, Modern Asian Studies Review Vol 8, 2017, p. 7, "The first indication that Hideyoshi intended to invade China was made during the 9th month of Tensho 天正 13 (1585), just after he had been appointed Kampaku 関白 regent and forced the surrender of two powerful warlords, Chosokabe Motochika 長 宗 我 部 元 親 in Shikoku 四 国 and Sassa Narimasa 佐 々 成 政 in Etcu 越中...Hideyoshi wrote in a letter to one of his own vassals, for those like Kato who have too many retainers and not enough rice to feed them, “asking Japan to foot the bill isnʼt going to be enough; weʼll have to get China to contribute, too” [Iyo Komatsu Hitotsuyanagike Monjo 伊予小松一柳家文書]. This was Hideyoshiʼs way, now that his hegemony over Japan was almost complete, of egging his military further on to an “adventure on the Continent” (Kara-iri 唐入り) with the promise of territorial expansion." He claimed divine legitimacy, asserting that his mother dreamt she carried the Sun in her womb when he was born, an auspicious sign that he would "radiate virtue and rule the four seas"(Zoku Zenrin Kokuhoki).Ike Susumu, Modern Asian Studies Review Vol 8, 2017, p. 8, "Later on in peace negotiations with the Ming Dynasty, the “Articles to Be Announced to the Imperial Ming Delegation” which Hideyoshi gave to Japanese representatives led by Ishida Mitsunari 石田三成 would contain the statement, “The great land of Japan is a holy land. Its god is the Creator. The Creator is its god.” Hideyoshi himself claimed that when he was born, his mother had a dream that she was carrying the Sun in her womb. In other words, it was an auspicious sign that the child whom she had given birth to would throughout his life “radiate virtue and rule the four seas” oku Zenrin Kokuhoki 続善隣国宝記 This article was of course not Hideyoshiʼs idea but rather proposed by such diplomatic advisors as Zen monk Saisho Jotai 西笑承兌, for Japanʼs Warring States Era was marked by the spread of religious syncretism incorporating Confucian ideas and Shinto beliefs into the framework of the Dharma. Hideyoshi’s vision included relocating the Japanese emperor to Beijing, appointing his nephew as regent of China, and establishing himself in Ningbo to oversee further conquests, including India, and Europe.Asao, Naohiro. Tenka Itto. Vol. 8 of Great Series: Japanese History. Tokyo: Shogakukan, 1993.Cratse, Gian, et al. History of Western Religion in Japan. Vol. 1. Tokyo: Taiyodo Bookstore, 1925.Nishimura, Shinji. Azuchi-Momoyama Period. The People’s History of Japan, vol. 8. Tokyo: Waseda University Press, 1922. These plans were driven by a desire for economic gain, territorial expansion, and recognition from foreign rulers, rather than purely military motives. The 1592 invasion of Korea, involving over 160,000 troops, was a step toward this goal but ultimately failed after six years, ending with Hideyoshi’s death in 1598.Routledge Handbook of Asian Regionalism, Edited by Mark Beeson and Richard Stubbs. Routledge, 2012, p.58, "In 1592, Japanese General Hideyoshi invaded Korea with more than 160,000 troops on approximately 700 ships, eventually mobilizing 500,000 troops, intending to conquer China after first subduing Korea (Swope 2005: 41). More than 60,000 Korean soldiers, eventually supported by 100,000 Ming Chinese forces, defended the Korean peninsula. After 6 years of war, the Japanese retreated and Hideyoshi died, having failed spectacularly in his quest to conquer China and Korea."Ike Susumu, Modern Asian Studies Review Vol 8, 2017, p. 7, "The next step towards the invasion of Korea was the conquest of Kyushu, when during the 6th month of Tensho 15 (1587) the island was apportioned into fiefs at Hakozaki 箱崎 in Chikuzen 筑前 Province....According to Hideyoshi, the division of Kyushu was motivated by the hope of “taking command as far as the continental and South Seas barbarians” obayakawake Monjo 小早川家文書 A few days after the partition of Kyushu, Hideyoshi toured the city of Hakata 博多, the gateway to the East Asia trade, urging the reconstruction of his new possession from the ruins of war into a base of logistics not only to take control of commerce, but also to launch an attack on Korea."

Fears of a Japanese invasion of the Philippines were recorded as early as 1586, with Spanish authorities in Manila noting Japanese espionage activities and preparing defenses against potential attacks.Memorial to the Council, 1586, in The Philippine Islands, 1493–1803, ed. Blair and Robertson, vol. 6, p. 183. Toyotomi Hideyoshi's 1586 request to Gaspar Coelho for Portuguese warships to aid his planned invasion of Ming China signaled his expansionist ambitions. The Spanish, aware of these plans, grew wary of Japanese activities in the vulnerable Philippines colony, leading to a 1586 Manila council memorial documenting concerns about Japanese colonization and prompting defensive measures.

Jesuit stance on iconoclasm

The Jesuits, led by figures like Francisco Cabral and Alessandro Valignano, officially opposed the destruction of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines by Christian converts, viewing such acts as counterproductive to their mission. However, zealous converts, particularly in agricultural and fishing communities, begain to see traditional institutions as complicit in feudal oppression. This led to violent iconoclasm in regions like Nagasaki and Kumamoto, where temples and shrines were burned.Nelson, John K. (1996) A year in the life of a Shinto shrine, Seattle, University of Washington Press, p.15, "In spite of the Jesuit goal for converting the ruling class first, many agricultural and fishing communities saw in the transcendent message of loyalty to an omnipotent god a way to liberate themselves from centuries of oppression and submission. Converts learned to view traditional institutions such as temples and shrines as having been in collusion with the feudal lords, who had so long kept them in abject poverty. Inspired by the zealous preaching of certain Jesuit priests (and, later, those from Franciscan and Augustinian orders, who came from the Spanish Manila), the new religion´s fervour spilled over into violent action, as numerous temples and shrines throughout what is today Nagasaki and Kumamoto Prefectures were put to torch." The Jesuits aimed to convert the ruling class first, but the fervor of lower-class converts often spilled into destructive acts, complicating the mission’s relationship with Japanese authorities. Historians like Andre C. Ross note uncertainty about direct responsibility, but Jesuit leaders Francisco Cabral and Valignano opposed such violence, advocating accommodation with Japanese customs to sustain the mission.Andrew C. Ross, A Vision Betrayed: The Jesuits in Japan and China, 1542-1742, Orbis Books (1994/12/1) p.47

Luís Fróis’s História de Japam, over-relied upon as a key source on Christian iconoclasm (e.g., temple destruction) due to the scarcity of contemporary Japanese records, is unreliable, often compressing events across years into brief accounts, making contemporary missionary letters more trustworthy. These letters reveal the establishment of the Todos-os-Santos Church in 1569, built by Jesuit priest Gaspar Vilela using materials from a dismantled Buddhist temple donated by Nagasaki Jinzaemon Sumikage.Amaro, Bébio Vieira. "Research Concerning the Establishment of Nagasaki's Port Town." Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians of Japan 67.2 (2016): pp.14-17 This act symbolized the Christian mission’s impact on local religious landscapes, with reports of other religious sites destroyed, possibly small prayer spaces in fishing villages. The motives—whether missionary zeal, actions by Christian converts fleeing persecution,Amaro, Bébio Vieira. "Research Concerning the Establishment of Nagasaki's Port Town." Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians of Japan 67.2 (2016): p.14., p.20 or wartime strategies by daimyo—remain debated due to scarce corroborating evidence. Japanese and Western records diverge in their accounts: missionary letters focus on Christian activities but omit local perspectives, while Japanese sources, written during the anti-Christian Tokugawa period, lack reliability due to bias and temporal distance.Amaro, Bébio Vieira. "Research Concerning the Establishment of Nagasaki's Port Town." Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians of Japan 67.2 (2016): pp.3-4 The daimyo, like Ōmura Sumitada, who sheltered Christians in 1569, often navigated a dual identity as both Christians and Buddhists, reflecting a pluralist flexibility. For instance, evidence suggests a daimyo took the tonsure in Shingon Buddhism around 1574, highlighting the coexistence of faiths.Immanent Power and Empirical Religiosity, Conversion of the Daimyo of Kyushu, 1560–1580, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 47/2: 247–278, p.258, "Indeed his experimentalism may have retained a pluralist flexibility, if we consider the Japanese evidence that (probably in 1574) he also took the tonsure (shukke) in Shingon Buddhism along with a priest name (Higashibaba 2001, 39–40)"

Church acquisition

Churches were acquired through donations or purchases, often facilitated by Christian daimyo like Ōmura Sumitada. Many temples, weakened by the Sengoku period’s instability and Oda Nobunaga’s attacks on religious institutions (e.g., the 1571 burning of Enryakuji),Rie Arimura, The Catholic architecture of early modern Japan: Between adaptation and Christian identity, Japan Review 27 (2014): 53–76, p. 59, "Furthermore, Oda Nobunaga 織田信長 had set out to destroy religious institutions, or at least limit their power, as part ot his strategy to unify and create a centralized regime in Japan. His burning of Enryakuji 延暦寺，the main temple of the Tendai sect on Mount Hiei in 1571，is but one example. Similarly, Toyotomi Hideyoshi 豊臣秀吉 eliminated a community of Shingon 真言 monks known as Negoroshu 根采衆.31" were sold by Buddhist monks to missionaries for survival.

Jesuit missionaries, with the support of local lords, repurposed non-sacred and abandoned spaces for Christian worship. In 1555, Ōtomo Sōrin in Funai, Bungo, donated a field for a house with an integrated chapel and funded a large estate for a new church. In 1576, Arima Yoshisada provided a non-Christian temple, reused as a church without modifications. Churches were also established within castles, such as Ichiki Tsurumaru in Satsuma and Sawa in Yamato (modern Nara), linked to Takayama Tomoteru. Many reused Buddhist temples were abandoned due to the Sengoku period’s instability. Local authorities’ permission and donations from Christian daimyo and Portuguese traders were critical for acquiring these sites.

During Alessandro Valignano's time, most Catholic construction projects in Japan were managed by Japanese lords, who played a key role in expanding building efforts. Valignano, in his instructions, advocated for respecting local architectural traditions and consulting native master builders. This adaptability allowed Japanese builders to maintain their organization, resources, and construction techniques across the first and second stages of evangelization.

Religious nativism

Social perceptions of missionaries in Japan were marked by defamatory rumors, notably claims that they consumed human flesh. Fernão Guerreiro’s Jesuit Annual Report documents persistent harassment, including acts like throwing corpses at priests’ doorways to convince the ignorant that missionaries ate human flesh, fostering hatred and disgust. Rumors also circulated that missionaries came to eat children, extracted eyeballs for sorcery.Okada A. 1955 Kirishitan Bateren, tokyo, shinbun-do, p.159 Similar slanders, such as claims in Ōmura Yoshimi’s Kyushu Godōzaki that missionaries skinned and ate livestock alive, reflected a broader mystical belief that foreigners, especially missionaries, brought death and destruction. Historian Akio Okada attributes these ideas to xenophobic fears of foreigners and pagans, viewing their presence as inherently tied to ruin.

In 1553, rumors of missionary cannibalism emerged in Bungo. Ōtomo Sōrin, a local lord, issued an edict to stop people from throwing stones at missionary houses. In 1563, Ōmura Sumitada became Japan’s first Christian daimyō, adopting the baptismal name Dom Bartolomeu. His conversion provoked strong opposition, as Buddhist monks incited a rebellion that led to the burning of the monastery and Christian farmers’ homes at Yokoseura Port, reducing much of the port to ashes. In a letter dated October 14, 1564, Luis de Almeida, Japan’s first Western surgeon and missionary, reported that Arima Haruzumi ordered the destruction of Christian crosses in his domain and mandated that Christians revert to their former beliefs. In 1573, Fukahori Sumikata further intensified the persecution by burning down the Todos os Santos Church.

Overview of the Bateren Edict

The Bateren Edict, issued by Toyotomi Hideyoshi on June 19, 1587, was a decree ordering the expulsion of Christian missionaries (referred to as "bateren," from the Portuguese padre) from Japan. Promulgated during Hideyoshi’s campaign to unify Kyushu, the edict was a response to several perceived threats posed by Christianity.

''Shinkoku'' and religious nativism

Hideyoshi declared Japan a "Land of the Gods" (Shinkoku), arguing that Christian teachings were a pernicious doctrine incompatible with Japan’s syncretic religious traditions, which blended Shinto, Buddhism, and Confucianism.Handbook of Christianity in Japan / edited by Mark R. Mullins. p. cm. — (Handbook of oriental studies, Section 5, Japan ; v. 10) ISBN 90-04-13156-6 I. Japan—Church history. I. Series. pp. 251-252, "A more antagonistic dynamic between Shinto and Christianity in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries is more easily identified. Early evidence is to be found, for example, in Hideyoshi's expulsion edict of 1587 and his 1591 letter to the Governor General of Goa (Gonoi 1990, 150ñ1). In both, Hideyoshi deploys Shinto symbolism to justify the expulsion from Japan of Christianity and its missionaries. Item 1 of the edict reads: Japan is the Land of the Gods. Diffusion here from the Kirishitan Country of a pernicious doctrine is most undesirable. His 1591 letter begins in the same vein. The fact is that our land is the land of the gods and then proceeds to an exposition of what Takagi Shÿsaku (1993) has identified as Yoshida Shinto theories of the origins of the universe." His push for deification after death likely fueled his religious nativism, as he might fear any obstacles to his own divinization as an absolute ruler. Handbook of Christianity in Japan / edited by Mark R. Mullins. p. cm. — (Handbook of oriental studies, Section 5, Japan ; v. 10) ISBN 90-04-13156-6 I. Japan—Church history. I. Series. pp. 251-252, "Asao Naohiro has observed that Hideyoshi was consciously constructing the idea of Japan as land of the gods as a counter and response to the idea of Europe as land of the Christian God. Ieyasu's letters to the Governor General of the Philippines in 1604 and the Governor General of Mexico in 1612 articulate the same ideas about Christianity's incompatibility with Japan as shinkoku, the land of the gods (Asao 1991, 108ñ18; Gonoi 1990, 203ñ5). More research needs to be done on this linkage between the Christian proscription and Shinto ideas, but it would not be surprising, given the nature of the nativistic dynamic, if counter-Christian concerns were somewhere present in the anxiety of both Hideyoshi and Ieyasu to have themselves deified and venerated after their deaths."

Military strategy and foreign policy

The Bateren Edict, which expelled missionaries, banned missionary activities, and pressured Christian daimyo to abandon their faith, was a key part of Hideyoshi’s military and diplomatic strategy. This strategy, justified by his claimed divine right as the Child of the Sun, aimed at future conquests of the Philippines, India, and Europe, with missionaries and Christian daimyo seen as potential obstacles.

Portuguese slave trade and meat eating

The edict was partly motivated by the depletion of Kyushu’s labor force due to the Portuguese slave trade and meat eating, which Hideyoshi saw as detrimental to the local economy.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. p. 333, "In conclusion, the interrogatory sent by Hideyoshi shows that the ruler was more concerned with economic aspects and the impact of the way Jesuits acted in Japan rather than moral issues. The depletion of the fields of Kyushu from human and animal labor force was a serious issue to the local economy. This conclusion overturns what has been stated by the previous historiography, since Okamoto, who defended that Hideyoshi, upon arriving in Kyushu, discovered for the first time the horrors of the slave trade and, moved by anger, ordered its suspension.1053 However, as we saw before, the practice was much older and most certainly known in the whole archipelago, although apparently restricted to Kyushu. Because the Kanpaku consolidated his rule over the island, conditions were favorable for him to enact such orders." Although an earlier memorandum included references to the slave trade, the final edict omitted these, focusing instead on religious and political issues.
His tolerance of abductions and enslavement during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598), driven by daimyo plundering for profit, reveals his complicity in human trafficking. While he criticized missionaries and European traders for enslaving Japanese people abroad, his own actions in Korea, which involved much more violent practices, highlight a moral contradiction noted by historians. His condemnation of Christianity lacked ethical consistency, as his primary concern was preventing Japan’s humiliation by foreign powers, not opposing slavery itself. Hideyoshi’s worldview justified this asymmetry: Japan’s actions, including spreading its culture or committing wartime atrocities, were deemed necessary or honorable, while foreign cultural influence or harm to Japan was framed as invasion or degradation. This logic rested on an ethnocentric belief in Japan’s divine status and the perceived barbarity of others, exposing a double standard in his policies and rhetoric.

Political threat

Ōmura Sumitada donated Nagasaki to the Jesuits for personal benefit, retaining control as the town and Jesuits remained loyal. He granted perpetual usage rights and extraterritorial privileges in return for securing permanent port customs and entry taxes, with designated officials stationed to oversee their collection. Suspicions that Christian daimyo were ceding control to foreign powers raised concerns about undermining Hideyoshi’s authority. If Sumitada suspected a Spanish takeover or fort, he would have reacted harshly, like Hideyoshi against the friars. Missionaries noted such an invasion was impossible, or the donation wouldn’t have happened.The Founding of the Port of Nagasaki and its Cession to the Society of Jesus, Diego Pacheco, Monumenta Nipponica, 1970, Vol. 25, No. 3/4 (1970), pp.322-323,"If Don Bartolome gave to the Fathers what in fact he gave them in the port of Nagasaki, reserving for himself the dominion and the trading dues, as has been said, it was primarily because it seemed good to him and it was profitable, and no harmn could befall him from it; for the Fathers and all the town and port of Nagasaki remained as obedient and subject to him as before; neither had they the power to go againlst him nor was there any danger that they might try to do so.... But if perchance he had seen that we were attempting to hand over that town to the kings of Spain and that we tried to establish a fort there with a Spanish garrison, would he have been pleased with all this and considered it a good thing? I believe most definitely that if Don Bartolome had only suspected such a thing, he would have dealt with all of us in the same way as Taiko has now dealt with the friars."" Ties with Portuguese traders fueled fears of foreign interference, though concerns of a Christian “fifth column” were exaggerated, as Portuguese Macau and Spanish Manila lacked the capacity to challenge Japan.

George Sansom notes that the teachings of Christianity challenged social hierarchies and existing political structures, analyzing the Bateren Edict as a visceral defensive reaction by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who, from the perspective of a dictator and autocrat, feared missionaries not merely as heretics but as a force undermining the foundation of social order.Sansom, George Bailey, Sir (1965). The Western world and Japan. CHaddon Craftsmen, Inc. p. 129. CRID 1130282270102463744. ""From his standpoint as a dispotic ruler he (=Hideyoshi) was undoubtedly right to regard Christian propaganda as subversive, for no system can survive unchanged once the assumptions upon which it is based are undermined. However high their purpose, what the Jesuits were doing, in Japan as well as in India and China, was to challenge a national tradition and through it the existing political structure. This last is an animal that always defends itself when attacked, and consequently Hideyoshi's reaction, however deplorable, was to be expected and does not seem to need any fuller explanation."" The Christian-influenced legal code in Nagasaki, blending Japanese customs with milder punishments and separating civil, criminal, ecclesiastical, and secular cases, implicitly challenged Hideyoshi’s absolute authority as a dictator by undermining his rigid control over Japan’s social-political order.

Iconoclasm

The destruction of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines by Christian converts, particularly in Kyushu, was cited as a grievance, though Hideyoshi’s own history of attacking Buddhist institutions suggests this was a pretext. The destructions were confined to specific territories and not a nationwide phenomenon. Jesuit leaders promoted restraint, allowing Christianity to coexist with hostile local religions in many areas. Hideyoshi exaggerated the political significance of limited temple and shrine destructions, portraying them as a national humiliation. Historically, such destruction was not widespread, and the narrative of its prevalence was amplified by Hideyoshi’s strategic biases.

Nanban trade

The edict banned Christian missionary work but welcomed trade with Christian domains to secure a trade monopoly and strengthen his power. Hideyoshi later seized Nagasaki, one of the Japan’s wealthiest trading port, along with Mogi and Urakami from the Ōmura and Arima clans, destroyed churches, and fined residents heavily. Historian Fujino Tamotsu notes that Hideyoshi made Nagasaki a directly controlled territory to monopolize its unparalleled trade profits.

Discussion

The edict followed a confrontation between Hideyoshi and Jesuit missionary Gaspar Coelho, triggered by accusations of temple destruction and slave trading by Seyakuin Zenshu, a Buddhist advisor. It addressed economic concerns, such as labor shortages in Kyushu due to the slave trade and meat eating, and political fears of Christian daimyo like Ōmura forming a pro-European faction. The 1580 donation of Nagasaki to the Jesuits, while profitable for Ōmura, fueled suspicions of foreign encroachment. Hideyoshi’s vision of Japan as a Shinkoku, influenced by Zen monk Saisho Jotai and Yoshida Shinto theories, clashed with the Christian worldview, particularly as converts, inspired by missionary zeal, destroyed traditional religious sites. The mission’s appeal to oppressed agricultural and fishing communities, who saw Christianity as liberation from feudal oppression, further alarmed authorities. However, Hideyoshi’s inconsistent enforcement—allowing Valignano’s return in 1590 and using missionaries as trade intermediaries—reflects his pragmatic reliance on Portuguese commerce. As a despotic ruler, Hideyoshi viewed Christianity as subversive, challenging Japan’s syncretic religious and political structure,The Founding of the Port of Nagasaki and its Cession to the Society of Jesus, Diego Pacheco, Monumenta Nipponica , 1970, Vol. 25, No. 3/4 (1970), p.317, "The chief difficulty which the missionaries found with Nagasaki on their hands was the administration of justice. As Doctor of Law, Valignano thoroughly understood the grave problems involved in this administration; at the same he was able to find a solution which on the one hand was in accord with Japanese customs and on the other did not violate either Christian mentality or the laws of the Church. We do not know any detail the laws which Oomura Sumitada drew up with Valignano's advice, but from the words of the Visitor we can deduce that the code for the new city of Nagasaki was an improvement in two respects on the legislation then in force in Japan. The first and most important feature was the introduction of the distinction between criminal and civil cases and between ecclesiastical and secular jurisdiction; the second was an appreciable mitigation of penal severity." a reaction historians like Asao Naohiro link to a nativist response against European influence.

Historian Rômulo da Silva Ehalt argues that human trafficking predated Portuguese arrival in Japan and was widely known across the archipelago, challenging Okamoto Yoshitomo's claim that Hideyoshi, enraged by discovering the slave trade, issued the Bateren Expulsion Order out of moral outrage. Instead, Hideyoshi's interrogatory reveals his primary concerns were economic, such as labor shortages in Kyushu and the influence of Jesuit missionaries, rather than ethical issues. Hideyoshi ordered the return of displaced people—whether trafficked, kidnapped, or voluntarily fled—to their fiefs to stabilize agricultural production, a policy applied nationwide, not just in Kyushu.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. pp. 330-331 ,"Fróis was, in fact, explaining his audience that Hideyoshi’s was poised to demand the return of people who were displaced by events such as war, kidnapping, or even people who had voluntarily fled their village...And the order for return of laborers to one’s fief was one of the necessary maneuvers to guarantee these conditions. These people could be displaced not only by conflict or kidnappings, but also by fleeing economic and social conditions. 1050 These were moves occurring in all Japanese territory and were not restricted to areas of Kyushu." He also expressed concerns about meat consumption depleting livestock essential for agriculture and war, offering to build a facility for foreigners to consume hunted animals if missionaries couldn't abstain from meat. These actions reflect Hideyoshi’s focus on consolidating control and ensuring economic stability.

In 16th-century Kyushu, zealous lower-class Christian converts destroyed Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, perceiving them as symbols of feudal oppression. Yet, the motives—missionary zeal, retaliations of converts escaping persecution, peasant uprisings, or daimyo's public safety and defense strategies—remain uncertain due to biased and unreliable Western and Tokugawa-era Japanese sources. Jesuit leaders Francisco Cabral and Alessandro Valignano, succeeding Cosme de Torrés, opposed iconoclasm as counterproductive, and significant destruction after Valignano’s Visitor appointment is questionable, undermining claims of widespread Jesuit-driven iconoclasm. Christian daimyo like Ōmura Sumitada, who blended Christian and Buddhist identities, as shown by a daimyo’s 1574 Shingon tonsure, likely allowed temple destruction for strategic, not solely religious, purposes.

Criticisms

Hideyoshi’s motivations are criticized as inconsistent and possibly hypocritical. His claim of Christian attacks on Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples contradicts his and Nobunaga’s own destruction of Buddhist institutions, such as the Negoroshu monks. His sudden shift from viewing Christians as allies, as Nobunaga did, to enemies is seen as poorly justified, possibly driven by arbitrary or economic concerns rather than moral outrage.Christianity and Biblical Translations in Japan, Seth Wallace Jones, Phd Thesis, pp.13-14, "Hideyoshi’s choice seems to have been for completely arbitrary reasons. While there were factors that could have contributed to him being swayed, such as the close relationships between European traders and newly converted southern daimyo, the facts are not clear as to why he suddenly switched stances on the Christian issue. Until the fateful night when he questioned Coelho, he was friendly with the Christians, even seeing them as a tool much like Oda Nobunaga. His claim in the edict that he found the attacks of Christian daimyo on Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples appalling is also hypocritical. Both Hideyoshi and Nobunaga often attacked Buddhist temples that they perceived as threats to their political power, 19 so this drastic change in attitude towards them is illogical. It was so inconceivable to the Jesuits and Japanese Christians that they continued on with their mission" Fears of a Christian “fifth column” were exaggerated, as neither Portuguese Macau nor Spanish Manila had the capacity to challenge Japan.Xizi Chen, Squabbles between the Jesuits and the Franciscans: a historical review of policies of two christian orders in Japan, Trans/Form/Ação, Marília, v. 46, n. 1, p. 235-250, Jan./Mar., 2023., p.248, "Thus, Hideyoshi must have been informed that Spanish missionaries had formed a fifth column and prepared the way for colonial conquest. Whether he believed this is another matter. Certainly his fears for national security of Japan were exaggerated, as neither the Portuguese in Macau nor the Spaniards at Manila were even in a remote position to challenge Japan. Persecution happened from time to time after the martyrdoms. This led to hard times for all missionaries in Japan, even during Ieyasu’s reign when Portuguese-Japanese trade was promoted. The mission in Japan progressed from bad to worse, hitting rock bottom in 1614 when Ieyasu issued an expulsion decree ordering all missionaries to leave Japan. From then on, Japan closed the door to the outside world." The removal of the slave trade condemnation from the final edict suggests economic pragmatism, as Hideyoshi relied on Portuguese trade. Later, during the 1597 Korean invasion, his administration endorsed the enslavement of Korean captives to finance the war, contradicting earlier moral stances, as noted by historian Okamoto.Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Doctoral Dissertation, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017., pp.432-433, "Martins’ decision established a new rule for Portuguese merchants in Japan – Japanese or Koreans were not to be purchased nor taken out of the archipelago. By reading the 1598 document, it seems that the Jesuits decided to finish their permit system, in place since the Cosme de Torres era, and prosecute slave traders. Interestingly, the main difference here between the ecclesiastical legislation and the local Japanese legislation, enforced by Hideyoshi’s administration, was that the bishop included the Koreans in his ban, while the Japanese ruler expected to use them"

Aftermath

The edict demanded that missionaries leave Japan within 20 days, though it was not consistently enforced. Hideyoshi continued to use Jesuits as interpreters and trade intermediaries, indicating pragmatic motives behind the decree.

Portuguese slave trade

Hideyoshi’s 1587 Bateren Edict, driven by economic concerns over labor depletion rather than moral objections, as Maki noted, briefly curtailed slave trades. However, his 1597 second invasion of Korea actively endorsed the slave trade, transforming it into a major industry. Contemporary sources describe a “gruesome scenario” where Japanese forces brought crowds of Korean prisoners to islands for sale to Portuguese merchants, who circumvented Macanese bans and Martins’ excommunication. While the Jesuits completely withdrew their desperate measure of regulating the slave trade of Portuguese merchants and made a strong statement that they would not relent in excommunicating merchants outside their jurisdiction, Hideyoshi’s policies expected Korean enslavement, reversing earlier restrictions. The 1592 Dochirina Kirishitan emphasized redeeming captives as a Christian duty, rooted in Christ’s atonement,Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. pp. 283-284, "This obligation and compassion were, in fact, part of the Christian doctrine as taught in Japan since the beginning of the mission. The teachings of the Jesuits presented the act of redeeming captives as a pious duty...Based on the imitation of Christ as a means of salvation, the Jesuits taught that redemption of captives and slaves was one of the so-called works of mercy that should be practiced by Christians926. Ogawa and Kataoka explain that these deeds were explicitly exposed in the Dochirina Kirishitan どちりなきりしたん, a manual for Japanese converts first published in 1592. 927" yet Jesuits lacked the authority to enforce the prohibition of slavery, as Valignano repeatedly argued.

The Spanish 1542 New Laws offered some recourse, as seen in Gaspar Fernández’s 1599 liberation in New Spain, where he argued his enslavement lacked just war justification, and Japanese were equivalent to free indigenous people, citing that Spanish laws banning the enslavement of Japanese. Only 4 of 225 identified chino (Asian) slave sent from Philippines to Acapulco were Japanese. After the 1614 Jesuit expulsion from Japan, Jesuits worked to liberate Japanese and Korean slaves, while Portuguese merchants continued the slave trade. Post-1614, Dutch and English buyers joined the trade possibly due to Portuguese trade bans. Many slaves were sold in Nagasaki and Hirado by Portuguese, Dutch, English, and Spanish traders. From their arrival in Japan until their expulsion, the Portuguese traded an estimated hundred to thousand Japanese slaves.

Failed invasion of Korea and thriving slave trade

Hideyoshi’s 1592 invasion of Korea with 160,000 troops, followed by a second campaign in 1597, aimed to conquer China but failed spectacularly. After six years, Japanese forces retreated, and Hideyoshi died in 1598, having mobilized 500,000 troops without achieving his goals.

During the Japanese invasions of Korea, approximately 50,000 to 60,000 individuals were captured by Japanese forces,Turnbull, Stephen (2002), Samurai Invasion: Japan's Korean War 1592–98, Cassell & Co, ISBN 978-0304359486, OCLC 50289152, p. 230 with only 7,500 repatriated to Korea through diplomatic efforts post-war. The Bateren Edict restricted the slave trade and exempted Jesuits from intervening in merchants' activities for a few years,Rômulo Ehalt, Geninka and Slavery: Jesuit Casuistry and Tokugawa Legislation on Japanese Bondage (1590s–1620s), Itinerario (2023), 47, 342–356 p. 349, "The practice continued at least until 1590, when Japanese ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi ended a cycle of various prohibitions started in 1587 against kidnappings and human trafficking in Japan. The visitor of the then–Jesuit vice-province of Japan, the Italian priest Alessandro Valignano, a trained lawyer whose actions had deep repercussion in the policies adopted by the various missions of the order in Asia, decided to interfere and halted members of the Society of Jesus from intermediating sales of Japanese individuals to Portuguese merchants.39 The measure soon lost its practical effect. During the following decade, the Imjin War brought some twenty- to thirty-thousand war prisoners to the islands, creating a regional boom in human trafficking" yet captives continued to be trafficked to Nagasaki. Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s administration sought to finance the war through the Portuguese slave trade, abandoning earlier moral objections. Bishop Pedro Martins excommunicated those trading Japanese and Korean slaves, including those in temporary servitude, a policy Bishop Cerqueira later reinforced. Hideyoshi’s tacit approval of daimyo-led abductions and enslavement for plunder implicates him in human trafficking. Atrocities, including the enslavement of non-Japanese, were rationalized as necessary and honorable, reflecting the Toyotomi regime’s ethnocentric worldview. While the Portuguese traded an estimated hundreds up to thousands of Japanese slaves since their arrival in Japan, Jesuits and the Problem of Slavery in Early Modern Japan, Rômulo da Silva Ehalt, 2017. p, 102, "Their interference as the guardians of the keys to justification of the enslavement of Japanese would have dire consequences and impact lives of hundreds, if not thousands of individuals acquired or hired in Japan" the number of Korean slaves abducted to Japan was far greater.

Slave practices and ''karayuki-san''

The slave trade persisted despite the edict, as enforcement was lax and economic incentives remained strong. By the late 16th century, the practice of ''nenkihōkō'' (temporary servitude) was common, with some Japanese voluntarily entering servitude to escape poverty. The establishment of ''yūkaku'' (pleasure quarters) by Hideyoshi in 1589, such as Kyoto’s Yanagihara, facilitated human trafficking, with women and girls sold into prostitution. This practice evolved into the karayuki-san phenomenon, where Japanese women were trafficked to Southeast Asia, particularly after the Edo period’s expansion of pleasure quarters like Maruyama in Nagasaki, where women were sold to Chinese and other foreign clients.

''San Felipe'' incident

In 1596, the Spanish ship '' San Felipe'' ran aground in Japan, and its pilot, Francisco de Olandia, allegedly boasted about Spanish colonial ambitions, prompting Hideyoshi to execute 26 Christians in Nagasaki in 1597. No primary sources confirm Olandia’s testimony,Visiones de un Mundo Diferente Política, literatura de avisos y arte namban, Coordinadores: Osami Takizawa y Antonio Míguez Santa Cruz, Centro Europeo para la Difusión de las Ciencias Sociales,　ISBN: 978-84-608-1270-8, p. 79, "Según esta versión, cuando el Gobernador enviado por Hideyoshi a Tosa interrogó a algunos miembros de la tripulación del San Felipe, uno de los testimonios fue el del piloto del navío, un tal Francisco de Landia, y éste supuestamente quiso impresionar a Masuda enseñándole en un mapa la gran cantidad de territorios sobre los que gobernaba Felipe II –de la misma forma en que, recordemos, fray Juan Cobo había hecho con Hideyoshi tiempo atrás–; de lo hablado en esta entrevista, cabe aclarar, no hay testigos directos ni documentos escritos." and tensions between Portuguese Jesuits and Spanish Franciscans intensified, with each blaming the other for the martyrdoms. Concerns about a Christian 'fifth column' were overstated, as Portuguese Macau and Spanish Manila lacked the resources and influence to pose a significant threat to Japan. Whether Toyotomi Hideyoshi genuinely believed in these unrealistic threats remains a subject of academic debate.

According to Luis Frois’s ''History of Japan'', before the 1587 Edict of Expulsion and prior to the ''San Felipe'' incident, Toyotomi Hideyoshi suspected that missionaries were conspiring to use Christian daimyo to conquer Japan, alleging they employed sophisticated knowledge and cunning methods to win over Japanese nobles and elites with a unity stronger than the Ikkō sect, aiming to occupy and conquer Japan. Frois’s account is not definitive history but reflects Jesuit perspectives on Hideyoshi’s suspicions. Historian Elisonas notes Hideyoshi’s skepticism toward Jesuit Coelho’s authoritative tone with daimyo. Spanish merchants alleged Jesuits, including Martins, Organtino, and Rodrigues, described Spaniards to Hideyoshi’s minister as pirates and the Spanish king as a tyrant, claims Rodrigues denied. These accusations and the Jesuits’ perception of Hideyoshi’s suspicions may have led the Jesuits to craft self-defensive narratives, a possibility that remains plausible. Elison (Elisonas) argues that the Franciscan account is more plausible, but acknowledges that its veracity cannot be definitively confirmed.

Hideyoshi ordered the execution of 26 Christians in Nagasaki, known as the 26 Martyrs of Japan. Triggered by a lavish Franciscan church in Kyoto, seen as lèse-majesty, the initial target of 170 was reduced to 26. The Nanbanji temple was dismantled, but smaller churches remained, and no further major restrictions were imposed, indicating Hideyoshi’s focus was on authority, not eradicating Christianity, mirroring his approach to Buddhist institutions. The notion of a Christian fifth column lacks strong evidence, as the charge was specifically lèse-majesty, not a broader conspiratorial threat.

Invasion plans for the Philippines

Hideyoshi’s ambitions to invade the Philippines persisted, with plans articulated in 1591–1593. Japanese emissaries, such as Harada Magoshichiro and Kiemon Harada, conducted reconnaissance in Manila, and Hideyoshi demanded tribute from the Spanish governor in 1592. Spanish defenses were weak, with only 4,000–6,000 soldiers, and fears of invasion persisted, particularly after reports that Hideyoshi planned to use the Ryukyu Islands and Taiwan as staging points. However, the invasion never materialized, as Hideyoshi’s focus remained on the Korean campaign.

Inconsistent execution of edicts

The 1587 edict was not rigorously enforced, as Hideyoshi valued trade with the Portuguese and used Jesuits as intermediaries. Missionaries reduced public activities but continued their work covertly. The edict’s inconsistent application allowed Christianity to persist in Nagasaki, where Jesuit influence remained strong until the early 17th century.

Tokugawa persecution

Under Tokugawa Ieyasu, who succeeded Hideyoshi, Christian persecution intensified. In 1614, Ieyasu issued a comprehensive expulsion decree, ordering all missionaries to leave and destroying Christian institutions. This was followed by Tokugawa Hidetada’s decrees in 1616 and 1619, which mandated forced conversions to Buddhism and public executions. The 1619 Kyoto executions (52 people, including four children and a pregnant Womban) and the 1622 Nagasaki executions (55 people, including children as young as three) marked a brutal escalation.Joseph Broeckaert: Vie du B.Charles Spinola et notice sur les autres martyrs du Japon, Bruxelles, H. Goemaere (Libraire-Éditeur), 1868. These measures, justified by appeals to Shinto, Confucian, and Buddhist unity, aimed to eradicate Christianity, forcing believers underground and effectively closing Japan to foreign religious influence.

Transcriptions

First version

The first edict was issued on the 18th day of the 6th month of the 15th year of the Tenshō era, according to the traditional Japanese calendar, which corresponds to the date July 24, 1587, in the Gregorian calendar.

Translation

# Being a Christian should be at the discretion of the person.
# It is unreasonable for the daimyo to force its people to become a Christian even though the temples and peasants in the territory are not willing to do so.
# It is only temporary that the daimyo orders to rule the country, so even if the daimyo changes, the peasant does not change, so it is possible for the daimyo to rule the country wrong. if the daimyo says something wrong, he can do what he wants.
# A daimyo with more than 3,000 Kan and 200 towns can become a Christian with the permission of Hideyoshi.
# Those (daimyo) who have less may be up to the person's wishes, like Hassyu-Kussyu (number of buddhism sects), since it is religious matter
# have heard that Ikko-shu may show more than Ikko-shu for Christians, but Ikko-shu not only does not pay the annual tribute to the daimyo by setting up a temple territory (Jinaicho) in the country, but also tries to make whole Kaga province Ikko-shu. Togashi, the daimyo, was banished and ordered to be ruled by a priest of the Ikko sect. It's a fact that can't be hidden anymore.
# The monks of Honganji temple are allowed to set up a temple in the land of Tenma (= Tenma Honganji), but this kind of temple territory (of the Ikko sect) has never been allowed.
# It is not possible for a daimyo with a national county or territory to make his vassals Christians than for a sect of Honganji to set up a temple territory. Those who do not understand can be punished.
# It does not matter that a person with a lower status (rather than a daimyo, etc.) becomes a Christian at will, as in the case of the eight sects and nine sects.
# It is unreasonable to sell Japanese to China, Nanban, and the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, in Japan, the buying and selling of people is prohibited.
# Buying and selling cows and horses, and killing and eating them are also a shame.

However, Hideyoshi says that he will punish those who take this opportunity to harm the missionaries. Although compulsory conversion to Christianity is prohibited, the people are free to believe in Christianity on their own initiative, and the daimyo can become a believer with the permission of Hideyoshi. In fact, it guaranteed freedom of religion. Immediately after this, Hideyoshi took Nagasaki from the Jesuits and made it a ''tenryo''.

Second version

The second version of the edict was issued the next day, on the 6th month, 19th day of the year Tenshō-15, which corresponds to July 25, 1587.

Translation

# Even though Japan is a country protected by its own gods, it is completely unreasonable to introduce the evil law from the Christian country.
# I have never heard that local people are brought closer to the (Christian) teachings, made (Christian) believers, and destroyed the temples and shrines. It is only temporary that (Hideyoshi) has the daimyo of each country rule the territory. You should obey the law from the Tenka (Hodeyoshi's rule) and do various things as its rule but it is unreasonable not to do it with a sloppy attitude.
# Christian missionaries, by their wisdom, thought that they would leave it to the free will of the people to make them believers, but as I wrote earlier, they violated Japanese Buddhist law. It is not possible to have a Christian missionary in Japan, so get ready in 20 days from today and return to the Christian country. It would be a shame if anyone insisted that he was not a Christian missionary even he is.
# Since the trade ship is coming to do business, it is different from this (Edict), so continue to do business in the future too.
# From now on, it is permitted to visit Japan from the Christian country at any time, even if you're not a merchant, as long as it doesn't interfere with Buddhist law, so I'll allow it.
6th month, 19th day, Tenshō era, 15th year

See also

*Toyotomi Hideyoshi
*Imjin War
*Slavery in Japan

Notes

References

{{Reflist

Christianity in Japan
1587 in Japan
Edicts
Religious expulsion orders
Persecution of Christians