Thomas Tsugi, SJ (1571 – 1627) was a Japanese Catholic preacher and member of the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

. He was killed during the anti-Catholic persecutions in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and was beatified by

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

in 1867.

Biography

Tsugi was born in 1570 near Omura,

, to a wealthy family of Japanese

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

. Educated by the priests of the

at Arima, he joined the order in 1589."Thomas Tsuji", Jesuits.global
/ref> As a Jesuit, Thomas traveled Japan and became very popular as an eloquent and persuasive

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...

. Under the edict of 1614, Tsugi was arrested and exiled to

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

, where he spent four years. Desiring to continue his

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

work in his homeland, he returned to Japan in disguised as a merchant. In 1619, suffering some moments of doubt, he asked to be relieved of his vows. He later returned and was readmitted, resuming his missionary work and life of

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

. The Japanese authorities soon caught up with him and recaptured him. They imprisoned Thomas and sentenced him to death. In 1627 Thomas Tsugi became a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

burned to death Death by burning is an execution, murder, or suicide method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment for and warning agai ...

Nagasaki, Japan is a prefecture of Japan, mainly located on the island of Kyūshū, although it also includes a number of islands off Kyūshū's northwest coast - including Tsushima and Iki. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,246,481 (1 February 2025) a ...

— along with several companions.Monks of Ramsgate. “Thomas Tzugi and Others”. ''Book of Saints'', 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 5 September 2016
/ref> He was heard to proclaim as he died, "Praise the Lord of all nations!" He is one of the 205

martyrs of Japan The were Christians, Christian missionaries and followers who were persecuted and executed, mostly during the Tokugawa shogunate period in the 17th century. The Japanese saw the rituals of the Christians causing people to pray, close their eyes w ...

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...

in 1867, who are remembered on the 10 September each year.

References

Sources

Blessed Thomas Tsugi
at Patron Saints Index 1571 births 1627 deaths Japanese beatified people 17th-century venerated Christians Japanese Jesuits {{Japan-bio-stub