(595) Isaniwa Yukiya and Hidden Christian in Matsuyama

  First of all, I'm going to explain about Isaniwa Yukiya, whom you know very well:
In 1889 (M22), the town and village system started using. Isaniwa Yukiya became the first mayor of Dogo-Yuno-machi town in 1890 (M23) at the age of 62. At that time, the buildings of Dogo Hot Springs had become too old and had to be reconstructed.

Therefore, Isaniwa Yukiya planned to reconstruct the building into a magnificent, three-story structure. Because of the large cost (130,000 yen at that time), many residents opposed the plan.

Isaniwa persuaded them by saying, "The first thing that counts is building something that no one else can imitate, even 100 years from now". And he finally completed the reconstruction of the main building in 1894 (M27).

Next, I am explaining about Hidden Christian in Matsuyama. This picture shows the Monument to Nagasaki Christian Deportation in Matsuyama.

The inscription says:
In the first year of Meiji (AD 1868), more than 100 of hidden Christians were deported from Nagasaki to Matsuyama. They endured three and half years of hard labor, and were forced to give up their faith.

  A guiding booklet explained about the Monument as follows:
In those days, continuing from the Shogunate era, Christianity was prohibited, and its followers were subject to severe punishment. However, even in the Nagasaki region, there were still Christian believers. Christian believers in the Nagasaki region had been divided and entrusted to various clans, with the aim of persuading them to convert. Matsuyama clan had the Christian believers under its care. Isaniwa Yukiya and Naitou Meisetsu and another person were assigned the role of handling the foreign religion believers.

  I was surprised to find Isaniwa Yukiya here. There was Isaiwa Yukiya whom we don't know very well. Why him? What was so special about Isaniwa Yukiya? I was interested in how Isaniwa persuaded and converted the Christian believers?

 

  Naito Meisetsu wrote about Isaniwa in his autobiography:
Meiji government officers visited Matsuyama clan to inspect the condition of the Christian believers. The Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs recommended that our clan officers take a gentler approach, as it would be more effective. So, as an inexperienced student, I was tasked with giving a sermon to the believers. Since I had little experience, I asked Isaniwa Yukiya, a more experienced individual, to go in my place. He was eloquent and had some knowledge of religious matters, so he spoke gently and generously, using various analogies to deliver a successful sermon.

  One of the believers argued vehemently, but his arguments were heard, and it was clear he had misunderstood. In the end, both sides expressed their views, and the matter was left unresolved for that day.

  With the arrival of foreign diplomats, including Mr. Parks from England, who interfered in various matters, including the treatment of these believers. As a result, the handling of Christian believers needed to be somewhat lenient.

  In 1873 (M6), Urakami Christians were allowed to return to their homes. Thus, Christianity and Christian believers gradually gained acceptance.

Deportation: 国外追放
inscription: 碑文
Shogunate: 幕府
subject: 服従している
entrusted: ゆだねる
autobiography: 自叙伝
inspect: 視察する
vehemently: 激しく
lenient: 厳しくしない

*

資料、Materials

(591) vitiligo 尋常性白斑

女優・奥菜恵さんが自身のインスタグラムを更新し「身体の色素が抜けて徐々に広がっていく病気」の「尋常性白斑という病気」を発症したことを告白。2023.09.01

I read Okuna Megumi's Instagram on Sep. 1st. I was very surprised to know there are many people suffering from 尋常性白斑 in Japan. At the same time, I remembered "The Michael Jackson Story".

  Around the time of Dangerous, it was obvious to see that his brown skin had become white.

---

Regarding the lightening of his skin, Michael later admitted that he had a disease called vitiligo and he used white makeup to hide the white spots on his skin.

The Michael Jackson Story　マイケル・ジャクソン・ストーリー ラダーシリーズ

• 作者: ジェイク・ロナルドソン
• 出版社/メーカー: ＩＢＣパブリッシング
• 発売日: 2013/08/16
• メディア: Kindle版

IN the word list of the book, vitiligo is translated into Japanese, as 白斑. Now I can connect 尋常性白斑 and vitiligo.

  There are so many articles about Michael Jackson's skin color on the Internet.

https://rotaractarts.com/black-or-white-the-sad-truth-behind-michael-jacksons-skin-color/

Vitiligo, is an autoimmune condition which affects about 1-2% of the world's population. It causes white patches on the skin. Although it can occur to people of all skin type, it is more noticeable if the person has a dark complexion, as in Jackson's case. People who have this condition typically first start seeing signs of it beginning between 10 and 30 years old. The spread occurs quickly for most, for others over a span of years and for a lucky few, the white patches do not spread. According to studies, approximately 30% of people who had the condition had inherited it from family.

*

(590) Tales of Big Snakes #3 Wakigafuchi

Were there any big snakes here in Matsuyama?

I happened to find an article about big snakes at Wakigafuchi deep water in this book.

日本魔界伝説地図 (Gakken Mook)

• 作者: 東雅夫
• 出版社/メーカー: 学研プラス
• 発売日: 2010/07/14
• メディア: ムック

There once were a pair of big snakes at Wakigafuchi deep water.

Please look at the map. The distance from Ishiteji temple to Wakigafuchi deep water is about 4 kilometers in a straight line.

To tell the truth, I didn't know of Wakigafuchi at all. But Wakigafuchi seems to be famous here in Matsuyama. Next picture is the front cover of the latest issue (Sep. 2023) of Matsuyama-Hyakuten booklet. Wakigafuchi is drawn.

 

Naito Meisetu, a samurai of Matsuyama fief, wrote about Wakigafuchi in his autobiography.

(1847-1926) 

Natsume Souseki made a haiku poem about Wakigafuchi.

(1867-1916)
蛇を切った岩ときけば淵寒し
If you hear of a rock on which a snake was cut,
it is cold in the deep water

Here is the picture of the Snake Bone and Stone Sword in Ishiteji temple.

(2023.07.18)

The "Snake Bone", is a bone of a male serpent that was killed by a monk of Ishite-ji Temple. If the bone is a skull of the snake, I roughly guess the snake was about 6 m long.

The serpent had been troubling people in the old days. The monk exterminated it by the power of Buddha Dhama. He threw this stone sword at the snake.

The female snake was still alive at that time. 

I read about a female big snake at Wakigafuchi in this book.

A lord named Hanzo lived near Wakigafuchi deep water. One day a beautiful woman came to Hanzo's house. She was so beautiful and so polite he let her in, and she came to live in his house as a servant. Her name was Oryo.

One night, Oryo went out alone without saying anything to Hanzo, but he saw her leave, so he followed her. She walked very fast toward Wakigafuchi deep water and dived from the cliff into the river and twisted her body remarkably.

Hanzo was frightened to see this. He went back home to get a gun and returned to Wakigafuchi to discover who she really was. He waited for a while. A dragon appeared on the surface of the river.

Suddenly it transformed itself into Oryo. Getting up on the rock, she tied her hair looking at her image in the water. Hanzo decided to shoot this creature. He aimed at her neck and fired.

The dragon roared. Seven days later, the remain of the dragon was found in the lower stream. Until recently, the snake bone festival, which deifies the skull of the dragon, was held every year in Wakigafuchi area. Now the bone was enshrined at Shrine of the Dragon Princess

I did a little survey on Hanzo Miyoshi. According to the historical record of Miyoshi family, the female snake was killed between 1587 and 1602.

The End

(589) Tales of Big Snakes #2 The Eight-headed Dragon

Boa constrictors are native to South America.

How about our Japan? Are there, were there any big snakes?

Have a look at next picture. A man in white is fighting with snakes. It is YamatanoOrochi. The eight-headed Dragon. The man is a god called "Susano-o". He killed the big snake which had eight heads and eight tails.

Pic. 1

落語で読む古事記 はじまりは高天原 スサノオノミコトとクサナギノツルギ

• 出版社/メーカー: PHP研究所
• 発売日: 2019/04/24
• メディア: Kindle版

He was cutting through one of the snake's middle tails when he found a sacred, shining sword inside.

 
Pic. 2

This sword became one of the Three Imperial Regalia. The sword is called Grass-Cutting Sword, and is enshrined at Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya.

Pic. 3

Replica of the Three Imperial Regalia in Yushinden（又新殿）of Dogo hot spring

Behind the throne, we can see a part of the sword (left) and a low stand on which the Comma-Shaped Gem (middle), and the Sacred Mirror (right). 

After reading the oldest history book, called "Kojiki", I'll show you the summary.

古事記物語―若い人への古典案内 (現代教養文庫)

• 作者: 太田善麿
• 出版社/メーカー: 社会思想社
• 発売日: 2023/09/11
• メディア: 文庫

日本の神話―Japanese myths 【講談社英語文庫】

• 作者: ラルフ・マッカーシー
• 出版社/メーカー: 講談社インターナショナル
• 発売日: 1999/06/18
• メディア: 文庫

The eight-headed snake was killed in Age of Mythology, that it, more than 3000 years ago.

To be continued to issue #3

(588) Tales of Big Snakes #1 Boa Constrictor

Look at this picture. Can you guess what it is?

It looks like a hat, but not a hat. A six-year-old boy drew this picture and he said: "It is the scariest animal."

I'll show you the next one.

 

It is a big snake swallowed an elephant. It is the inside of the big snake. The boy read a book about the jungle, called True Stories. It said: "Boa constrictors swallow their prey whole, without chewing. Afterward they are no longer able to move, and they sleep during the six months of their digestion."

These pictures are taken from a book, called "The Little Prince".

The Little Prince

• 作者: de Saint-Exupéry, Antoine
• 出版社/メーカー: Mariner Books
• 発売日: 2000/06/01
• メディア: ペーパーバック

I did a little survey on boa constrictors on the internet. Here is a summary about it.

<a href="https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/rattlesnake_23718866.htm#query=boa%20constrictor&position=1&from_view=search&track=ais">Image by brgfx</a> on Freepik

To be continue to issue #2

(586) Why did Michael Jackson wear surgical masks?

I read The Michael Jackson Story.

The Michael Jackson Story　マイケル・ジャクソン・ストーリー ラダーシリーズ

• 作者: ジェイク・ロナルドソン
• 出版社/メーカー: ＩＢＣパブリッシング
• 発売日: 2013/08/16
• メディア: Kindle版

General information

  Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958. He began singing and dancing when he was just five years old and lived almost his whole life on stage. From the time he had his first hit record at the age of 11 (Jackson 5 "I Want You Back") until his death in 2009, is fan watched him grow up into one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th century.
  Michael was always in the news, there were many books written about him, and he was popular with millions of fans around the world, but he was also a man of mystery. Michael Jackson was a legend, and like so many legends, it is difficult to know what is true and what is not.

  I have been wondering why Michael Jackson wore surgical masks? But I couldn't find any answers in this book. I searched for the articles about Michael's surgical masks on the Internet.
Here is one of them.

https://thedetailchannel.medium.com/the-real-reason-michael-jackson-wore-surgical-face-masks-b88f02d29519

The Real Reason Michael Jackson Wore Surgical Face Masks

  Considering the recent pandemic, face masks have become more and more commonplace the world over. But when Michael Jackson was first photographed sporting1) his own surgical attire2), it only added to his eccentric public persona during the mid-1980s.
1) Sport / 《口語》<･･･を>見せびらかす、誇って示す
2) Surgical attire / sˈɚːdʒɪk(ə)l ətάɪɚ手術着

Health concerns:
Michael Jackson was first seen wearing a surgical mask in June 1986. In his auto biography, Moonwalk, Jackson said he was initially given a mask by a dentist to keep out germs after he had his wisdom teeth pulled.

Moonwalk

• 作者: Jackson, Michael
• 出版社/メーカー: Arrow
• 発売日: 2010/06/10
• メディア: ペーパーバック

Upon his death, Jackson's autopsy confirmed he had some persistent lung problems throughout his lifetime.
Privacy:
However, it is likely that Michael Jackson was also protecting himself from the more tangible threat of the public, instead of any illness they may have been harbouring.

  

Why did Michael Jackson wear surgical masks? I asked.

ChatGPT instantly replied;
Michael Jackson was often seen wearing surgical masks in public, particularly during the later years of his life. There were a few reasons for this:
Health Concerns: Michael Jackson had a number of health issues, including lupus3) and vitiligo4), which affected his skin an immune system. He was also very sensitive to the sun due to a skin condition called vitiligo, which led to the loss of pigmentation in patches of his skin. Wearing a surgical masks and other protective clothing helped him shield his skin from the sun and potential infections.

3) Lupus / ˈluːpəs （米国英語）狼瘡（ろうそう）《種々の皮膚のびらんや疾患を特徴とする》

4) Vitiligo / viˈtɪlɪgo（米国英語）〔病理〕白斑（はくはん）《色素が失われて白い斑点ができる皮膚病》

Privacy: As one of the most famous and recognizable celebrities in the world, Michael Jackson often faced intense public scrutiny5) and paparazzi attention. Wearing a mask allowed him to partially conceal his face and maintain a level of privacy when he was out in public.
5) Scrutiny / skrúːṭəni（米国英語）　じろじろ見ること

Fashion Statement: Michael Jackson was known for his unique fashion choices, and the surgical mask became one of his signature accessories. It added to his enigmatic6) and mysterious image, which he carefully cultivated throughout his career.
6) Enigmatic / ènɪgmˈæṭɪk（米国英語）, 得体の知れない、不思議な

Respiratory7) Protection: In some instances, Michael Jackson may have worn surgical masks as a precaution against inhaling pollutants, allergens, or other airborne particles, which could have been particularly important given his health concerns.
7) Respiratory / résp(ə)rət`ɔːri（米国英語）呼吸（作用）の
It's important to note that while there were various reasons for Jackson's choice to wear surgical masks, he never explicitly8) stated all of his motivations. The combination of health considerations, privacy concerns, and his distinct sense of style likely contributed to his decision to wear surgical masks in public.
8) Explicitly / ɪˈksplɪsʌtli（米国英語）（言葉に出して）はっきりと、明白に
*

(583) Can ChatGPT solve a math problem?

How can I enjoy using ChatGPT?

  ChatGPT can produce many answers to a given problem. I enjoy the diversity of ways of thinking about a problem.
  ChatGPT gives me many kinds of suggestions. But it doesn't seem to know which one is the right one. So, I have to choose the one I like and the right one among them.

Today I am going to ask ChatGPT to solve a math problem.
Here is a math problem.

１００ｋｇのジャガイモがあり、その重量の９９％が水分であるとします。それを一晩外に放置したら、水分が９８％になりました。さてジャガイモの重さは何ｋｇになったでしょうか？

Suppose you have 100 kg of potatoes and 99% of their weight is water. After leaving them outside overnight, the water content is reduced to 98 %. How many kilograms do the potatoes weigh now?

Results of Experiments

  I had to keep rephrasing the question in several ways to get a correct answer. ChatGPT answered correctly to the fourth rephased question. The correct answer is 50 kg.

  A few days later, I let ChatGPT solve the problem again. But I didn't get the correct answer. So, I regenerated response of ChatGPT many times to get the correct one. I did it 9 times. Only the 8th response was correct, 50 kg. Others were wrong.

Experiment 1.
I kept rephrasing the question until a correct answer was responded.

The 1st answer from ChatGPT was "the potatoes now weigh 2 kg". WRONG
The 2nd and 3rd one was also 2 kg. WRONG

The 4th question was rephrased like this.
Can you solve the next problem?
Suppose you have 100 kg of potatoes and 99% of their weight is water.
After leaving them outside overnight, the water content of the potatoes is reduced to 98% of their weight. How many kilograms do the potatoes weigh now?

ChatGPT

To solve this problem, we need to calculate the weight of the potatoes after the reduction in water content.
Initially, 99% of the weight of the potatoes is water, which means that 99 kg out of 100 kg is water and 1 kg is the solid matter.
After the reduction in water content to 98%, the water would constitute 98% of the total weight, and the solid matter would be 2% of the total weight.
To find the weight of the potatoes after the reduction, we can use the following calculation;
Weight of potatoes = Weight of solid matter / Percentage of solid matter
Weight of potatoes = 1 kg / 2%
Now, we convert the percentage to a decimal by dividing it by 100:
Weight of potatoes = 1 kg / 0.02
Weight of potatoes = 50 kg
Therefore, after the reduction in water content, the potatoes would weigh 50 kg.

この問題を解くためには、水分の割合が減少した後のジャガイモの重さを計算する必要があります。
最初に、ジャガイモの重量の９９％が水分であると仮定します。つまり、１００ｋｇのうち９９ｋｇが水分であり、１ｋｇが固形物です。
ジャガイモの水分含有量が９８％に減少した場合、水分は総重量の９８％を占め、固形物は

総重量の２％になります。
減少後のジャガイモの重さを求めるために、以下の計算式を使います：
ジャガイモの重さ　＝　固形物の重さ　／　固形物の割合
ジャガイモの重さ　＝　１ｋｇ　／　２％
次に、割合を少数に変換するために１００で割ります：
ジャガイモの重さ　＝　１ｋｇ　／　０．０２
ジャガイモの重さ　＝　５０ｋｇ
したがって、水分の減少後、ジャガイモの重さは５０ｋｇになります。
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The fourth answer is correct, 50 kg.

Experiment 2:
Regenerate response many times
Today I asked ChatGPT to solve the same question.
The 1st response was wrong, so I kept regenerating response. At the 8th regeneration, correct answer was responded.

ChatGPT 8/8

To solve this problem, we can set up an equation based on the given information. Let's denote the weight of the potatoes after leaving them outside overnight as x kg. According to the problem, initially, 99% of the weight of the potatoes was water. This means that 1% of the weight was the actual solid matter (potato material). So, initially, the weight of the solid matter was 1% of 100 kg, which is 1 kg.
After leaving the potatoes outside overnight, the water content reduces to 98% of their weight. This means that 2% of the weight is the solid matter. Therefore, we can set up the following equation:
2% of x kg = 1 kg
To solve for x, we can convert 2% to a decimal by dividing it by 100:
0.02*x = 1 kg
Now, let's solve for x:
x = 1 / 0.02
x = 50
Therefore, the potatoes weigh 50 kg after leaving them outside overnight.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The 8th generation of response is 50 kg, correct.

But the 9th generation of response became wrong again.

ChatGPT 9/9

To solve this problem, we'll start by determining the initial weight of water in the potatoes and then find the final weight after the water content decreases.

1. Initial Weight of Water:
The potatoes initially contain 99% water, so we can calculate the weight of water as follows:
Initial weight of water = 99% of 100 kg
= (99/100) * 100 kg
= 99 kg

2. Final Weight of Water:
After leaving the potatoes outside overnight, the water content is reduced to 98% of their weight. We can calculate the weight of water after reduction as follows:
Final weight of water = 98% of the new total weight of potatoes

3. Total Weight of Potatoes:
Since the water weight is reduced, the remaining weight mut be the weight of the actual potatoes. We can calculate this using the equation:
Total weight of potatoes = 100 kg - Final weight of water 

Now, let's calculate the final weight of water and the total weight of the potatoes:
Total weight of potatoes = 100 kg - (98% of the new total weight of potatoes)
Now we can solve this equation:
Total weight of potatoes = 100 kg -(0.98*Total weight of potatoes)
Expanding the equation:
Total weight of potatoes = 100 kg - 0.98*Total weight of potatoes
Total weight of potatoes + 0.98*Total weight of potatoes = 100 kg
1.98*Total weight of potatoes = 100 kg
Total weight of potatoes = 100 kg / 1.98
Total weight of potatoes ≒ 50.505 (rounded to three decimal places)
Therefore, the potatoes now weigh approximately 50.505 kg after the reduction in water content.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

  The wrong part is:
3. Total Weight of Potatoes:
Since the water weight is reduced, the remaining weight mut be the weight of the actual potatoes. We can calculate this using the equation:
Total weight of potatoes = 100 kg - Final weight of water 
⇩
Total weight of potatoes = 100 kg - Weight of reduced water

Weight of reduced water = 99 kg - 98% of Total weight of potatoes

(1 - 0.98) * Total weight of potatoes = 100 kg - 99 kg
Total weight of potatoes = 1 kg / 0.02 = 50 kg

(578) Enma the king of hell

  It is said that when you die, you cross the Sanzuno-kawa river to the court of King Enma. When you are brought before King Enma by demons, he will question you with a very scary face to see if you did anything wrong before you died.

The questions are based on a document called "Enma-cho", which is a record of a person's conduct during his life, and is used as trial material. Even if there is something that the accused wants to hide from Enma, there is a mirror in which his actions during his life are reflected, so he cannot deceive himself in any way. The mirror is called Jyohari-mirror.

If there is a serious sin, he will be sent to hell without mercy.


According to the lunar calendar, some temples hold events on January 16th for New Year's Day and July 16 for Obon,
when the dead take a rest,

the cauldron of hell stops boiling,

and King Enma rests.

  Seigoji-temple holds the Enma Festival on January 16th of the lunar calendar.

Throwing rice cake at Enma Festival at Seigoji-temple in Uwajima city.
*

(572) An Eden near Dogo hot spring

What is the garden of Eden?

Garden of Eden story; summary
  On the sixth day of Creation, God created 'man' in the form of Adam, moulding him from 'the dust of the ground' (Genesis 2:7), breathing the breath of life into Adam's nostrils. God then planted a garden 'eastward in Eden' (2:8), containing both the tree of life and 'the tree of knowledge of good and evil' (2:9).

  Adam is tasked with keeping or maintaining the garden. God tells him he can freely eat of every tree in the garden, except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for to eat of that tree would be to die.

Genesis 2:8 ヤㇵウェ神は東の方のエデンに一つの園を設け、彼の作った人をそこにおかれた。
Genesis 2:9 ヤㇵウェ神は見て美わしく、食べるのによい全ての樹、さらに園の中央には生命の樹と善悪の智慧の樹を地から生えさせた。

Michelangelo: The Sistine Chapel (Mini Masterpieces S.)

• 出版社/メーカー: Leopard Books
• 発売日: 1996/07/09
• メディア: ハードカバー

An Eden near Dogo hot spring
  When I read a diary written about 130 years ago by an English teacher of Matsuyama middle school, Mr. Hawkins, I got to know that there was an Eden near Dogo hot spring. I cannot imagine at first such a garden in Dogo area.

(Twenty Months in Japan by Hawkins, on May 6th, Meiji 26, 1893)
  We walked thence through fields to Dogo for a bath. The wheat is just fruiting.1) Sugiura San, an expert guide, did not take me the usual way to the bath house, but turned up toward a shrine, and then told me that there was a nice place just to the right. The narrow way led to an Eden, except that fruits were absent. Hidden in the little valley were score2) of rustic summerhouses3), some of them built right over the stream. There were quaint4) bridges; arbors5), covered by the beautiful blue blossoming wisteria that hung in long bunches; rockeries6) and alleys7) winding amid shrubs and flowers.

（訳 with the help of DeepL)

日本で過ごした二十ヶ月

• 作者: H・G・ホーキンス
• 出版社/メーカー: 創風社出版
• 発売日: 2023/09/20
• メディア: 単行本（ソフトカバー）

　その後、畑の中を歩いて道後まで行き、お風呂に入りました。麦はちょうど実をつけたところだ。1)　ガイドの杉浦さんは、風呂場まで普通の道を通らず、神社の方へ曲がって、右の方にいい所があると教えてくれた。その細い道は、果物がないことを除けば、エデンの園に通じていた。小さな谷間に、素朴な夏の別荘3)が何軒2)もあり、中には小川のすぐそばに張り出しているように建てられているものもありました。趣のある4)橋、青く美しい花を咲かせる藤が長い束になって垂れ下がる東屋5)、低木や花に囲まれた築山6)や小道7)が曲がりくねっていました。

Kagetsu-tei Restaurant in Dogo had a garden of Eden?

正岡子規と夏目漱石が行った道後湯の町コースの散策（明治28年 (1895）10月6日）のとき、鴉渓（からすだに）の花月亭というところで読んだ句の一つが次の俳句である。

亭ところどころ (Tei tokoro dokoro)
渓に橋ある (Tani ni hashi aru)
紅葉かな (Momiji kana)
In various places of the Japanese restaurant's garden
There are bridges in the valley
Autumn leaves

Where Kagetsu-tei restaurant once stood花月亭跡

鴉渓とは、石手から道後へ流れる御手洗川沿いの渓谷で道後十六谷のひとつだそうだ。明治17年(1884)、広島宮島の景勝地紅葉谷にならって造庭し「新紅葉」と呼び、現在の「ふなや」旅館の庭園にその面影が残ると説明を受けた。
I was explained that traces of the Eden of Dogo remain in the garden of the current "Funaya" hotel. 

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(566) Nagasaki Kirishitan Rutakuhi Monument

   Please look at this picture. It reads Nagasaki Kirishitan Rutakuhi, meaning Nagasaki Christian exile Monument. The obelisk style monument is 3.5m high.

The front of the pedestal1) is bordered and engraved with the names of the eight dead. In front of this, two small old tombstones are enshrined.
1) pedestal: （円柱・彫像の）台座

The inscription says: in October of the first year of Meiji (AD 1868), more than 3,000 of us were exiled from Nagasaki for being Catholics. More than 100 of us were exiled to Matsuyama. We  endured three and a half years of hard labor, including being forced to apostatize2) in a three-foot prison, during which time eight of us returned to heaven.

2) apostatize: （信仰、党などを）捨てる、脱する

 REPLICA THREE-FOOT PRISON
(The statue of Yasutaro in the replica "three-foot prison" installed at Otome Pass in Shimane prefecture and the statue of the Virgin Mary who descended.)

  I was shocked to know of the monument because this exile occurred in the Meiji era. I knew tortures against Christians in the Edo era, about 400 years ago. The system of shogunate was based on the class system. It ranks Samurai at the top, followed by peasants, craftsmen and merchants. The Christian principle of equality didn't go with this rank system. The new government, Meiji government abolished the class system of the Edo period, and ensured the equality of all people. But it took five more years to abolish the prohibition of Christianity. In 1873, it was done because of the pressure from foreign countries, not of understanding freedom of religion.

  The reality of these tortures against Christians was reported in Western countries through foreign missions. This led to an outpouring3) of international public opinion. It harshly condemned4) the Meiji government for oppressing5) believers of the same religion as themselves.
3) outpouring:　（感情の）ほとばしり
4) condemn: 責める、避難する
5) oppress: ・・・を迫害する

  Nighnteen years later, in 1892, the 24th year of the Meiji, an American came to Matsuyama as an English teacher of the Japanese government Middle school. He was a Methodist, kind of Protestant. He wrote in his diary about Roman Catholic Christians of the Edo period in Japan.

  He said, "It seems, however, that much of the evil that befell these early Roman Catholic Christians resulted from the effort to establish Christianity as the State religion."

  I think, he wanted to say that even Christianity should not be the State religion.

Lastly, I am happy to say this.

Today's Japan's constitution mentions about freedom of religion. Article 20.  Freedom of religion is guaranteed to all. No religious organization shall receive any privileges from the State, nor exercise any political authority.

信教の自由は、何人にたいしてもこれを保障する。いかなる宗教団体も、国から特権を受け、又は政治上の権力を行使してはならない。

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