彦五郞 (高山) Tacayama (abt. 1552 - 1615)

Born about 1552 in 日本遠江国榛原郡

Died 3 Feb 1615 at about age 63 in Maynilà, Filipinas

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Biography

Justo (高山) Tacayama is Notable.

Takayama Hikogorō (高山 彦五郞) was born in Haibara, Yamato Province about 1552, to a samurai family who served as daimyo of Sawa Castle in the province. He was baptised into the Roman Catholic Church by Portuguese missionaries in 1564 under the Christian name of Justo (Iustus). After coming of age, he changed his name to Shigetomo (重友), but he is well-known in Japan under the title of Ukon (右近). Contemporary European visitors to Japan referred to him as Dom Justo "Ucondono" (右近殿). In contemporary romanisations of Japanese, Justo's family name would be romanised as Tacayama, his childhood name Ficogoro, his real name Xiguetomo, and his title Vcon or Ucon.

During a coming-of-age ceremony in 1571, Ukon fought with a compatriot to the death; even though he slew his opponent, he suffered heavy wounds. While recovering, he began to neglect his Christian faith. He married in 1574 and had three sons (one survived) and a daughter during his marriage. In the years that followed, Ukon and his father fought to their high positions as daimyo and began to own Takatsuki Castle under the rule of Oda Nobunaga and Hashiba Hideyoshi, the latter known in contemporary European documents as Faxiba Fideyoxi.

Ukon and his father ruled Takatsuki, then known contemporarily in Europe as Tacatçuqi or Tacatçuqui, as kirishitan daimyo, or in the romanisation of their time, qirixitan or quirixitan daimio (daimeo). In time, several of the subjects of the Takayamas in Takatsuki converted to Christianity. However, Hideyoshi, who was granted the surname of Toyotomi, became increasingly hostile to Christians in Japan, and in 1587 issued an order to expel foreign Catholic missionaries and force Japanese Christians to renounce their faith. Several kirishitan daimyo obeyed the order and renounced Catholicism, but Ukon disobeyed, as he would rather give up his land and his possessions.

Ukon lived under the protection of his allies for decades. However, in 1614, the former shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was known in European documents at the time as xogun Tocugava Iyeyasu, prohibited Christianity. As such, on 8 November 1614 Ukon and 300 other Japanese Christians left Japan from the port city of Nagasaki, then known by the Europeans as "Nagasaqui". They arrived in the Philippines, then part of the Spanish East Indies, on 11 December. Justo died in Manila in February 1615, and was buried at a Jesuit church with military honours, the only daimyo to be buried on Philippine soil.

Justo's cause for sainthood began on 10 June 1994, when he was declared a Servant of God. He was beatified in Osaka on 7 February 2017.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ncregister.com/news/17th-century-catholic-samurai-martyr-beatified%3famp

See also:

• Wikipedia: Dom Justo Takayama
• Wikidata: Item Q749873, en:Wikipedia