November 2008 Volume 2 Number 10 N e w s l e t t e r f o r F i l i p i n o C a t h o l i c s i n N a g a o k a D i s t r i c t , N i i g a t a D i o c e s e

B O N D I N G 絆

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER KASUI KIBE, S.J.

PART IV WINNING A MARTYR’S CROWN

The plight of the Christians in Japan was even more desperate than Fr. Kibe had imagined. The newly appointed governor of Nagasaki, Takenaka Uneme, was determined to eradicate every trace of Christianity from his province. A small band of missionaries was still working in Nagasaki and its environs but Fr. Ishida, the Jesuit Provincial Su-perior had been imprisoned six months earlier, together with the Provincial Superior of the Augustinians and some other missionaries. While the number of missionaries was steadily decreasing, the gov-ernment did all that it could to win the Christians over to Buddhism. Their plan was to make apostates not martyrs and to this end all conceivable means ranging from bribery to torture were used against the Christians especially priests and catechists. One of the most effective means to get Christians to apostatize was the torture of “the pit”. Victims are hung by their feet to a framework erected over a pit of foul-smelling offal in such a way that their heads were actually in the pit. To check the circulation of the blood, their bodies tightly bound with ropes and at times veins were opened in order to lower the blood pressure so as to prevent premature death and prolong the torture as long as possible. To that same end, they were fed daily. A single motion of the hand or a whispered “nembustu” was sufficient to signal apostasy and obtain deliverance from torture. As soon as Frs. Matsuda and Kibe set foot on Japanese soil in Bonotsu, they went to Nagasaki to consult the missionaries there on their future course of action. Fr. Kibe stayed in Nagasaki for a time till 1633 then he went to Central Japan and later on to Tohoku region where he ministered until he was captured in Sendai in 1639. The three priests captured in Sendai were John Porro, Martin Shikimi and Peter Kibe. They were questioned on four separate occasions but could not be induced to renounce their faith. A ten successive days of hearing was conducted to make every effort to “brain wash” the priests but it was all to no avail and so finally in desperation, they were condemned to the pit. The torture proved to be too much for Frs. Porro and Shikimi and both apos-tatized. They were prevailed upon to give up their faith and to pray to Buddha. They were kept in prison fo several years. Fr. Kibe however, was not to be broken even to the pit. On the contrary, he kept urging the two dojuku hanging there with him to remain firm. Finally infuriated by this, the men guarding him cut him loose and ran a spear through him. Fr. Kibe died in the pit in July, 1639. We see that this zealous pilgrim who had displayed so strong a faith from his earliest years was rewarded for his long pilgrimage in faith with a martyr’s crown. (NOTE from the Editor: The  four  articles were  excerpted  from  a  booklet  entitled  PETER  KASUI  KIBE.S.J. written  by  Fr. Hubert Cieslik, S.J. and translated in English by Fr. Francis Mathy, S.J.) 

BEATIFICATION OF 188 JAPANESE MARTYRS NOVEMBER 24, 2008 - IN NAGASAKI

FR. PETER KIBE AND THE 187 JAPANESE MARTYRS, PRAY FOR US!

Page 2 Ugnayan

The Faith of Our Christian Forebears of 400 Years Ago THE BEGINNING OF CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN Christianity was first brought to Japan by St. Francis Xavier in 1549. He stayed in Japan for only a little over two years, but his missionary activity continued under the direction of dedicated Jesuits such as Cosme de Torres, Lawrence Ryosai and Luis de Almeida. Thanks to their great devotion the Catholic Church was well established and began to grow with churches and hospitals in Kyoto, Osaka, Yamaguchi and in the Kyushu region. The Christian faith spread among the feudal nobility and the samurai, as well as the general population. SAINT PAUL MIKI AND HIS FELLOW MARTYRS (26 MARTYRS OF JAPAN) This period of Jesuit mission in the later part of the 16th century coincided with Oda Nobunaga’s consolidation of his rule over most of Japan. However, total control was only achieved by his successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was determined that nothing would interfere with the complete unification of Japan. In 1587, Hideyoshi issued a decree expelling all Catholic missionaries which was probably done to limit the influence of European nations in Japanese affairs. As a consequence of this decree, a Jesuit priest Paul Miki and a Franciscan priest Pedro Bautista with 24 companions were martyred in Nishizaka in Na-gasaki in 1597. This group included 20 Japanese,, 4 Spaniards, 1 Portuguese and 1 Mexican, Felipe de Je-sus. They became known as the 26 martyrs and were canonized by Pope Pius IX in 1862. Their feast day in Japan is the 5th of February. PERSECUTION AND MARTYRDOM IN THE EDO PERIOD The persecution of Christians grew even more severe, with the establishment of the Tokugawa ad-ministration in Edo (present day Tokyo) in 1603 by the Shogun Ieyasu. At that time, there were approxi-mately 400,000 Catholics in Japan and some tens of thousands were martyred during the early Edo period. The scale, the ferocity and the length of the persecution of the Christians in Japan during this period is something that has no comparison. From among these many martyrs, 205 were beatified in 1867, which included a group of 55 Christians martyred in Nagasaki on September 10th, 1622. Another group of 16 mar-tyrs including the Dominican Thomas Nishi and the first Filipino saint Lawrence Ruiz were canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1987. BEATIFICATION OF PETER KIBE AND 187 MARTYRS The Beatification ceremony that will take place on November 24, 2008 in Nagasaki will honor the faith and devotion of 188 martyrs from this early Edo period. The Christians are from all over Japan and come from all levels of society: lay people, priests, women and children, samurai, commoners and dis-abled. The two largest groups are the 52 faithful from Kyoto martyred in 1622 and 53 from Yonezawa in Yamagata prefecture martyred in 1629. THE RENEWAL OF THE CHURCH IN JAPAN During the 250 years of the Edo period, the “hidden Catholics” of Nagasaki and Goto in Northern Kyushu, secretly maintained their faith and passed it down to the following generations. In the mid 19th century, Japanese ports were reopened and foreigners were once again able to visit Japan. Priests belonging to the Paris Foreign Missionary Society were sent on mission to Japan and began building churches in many parts of Japan. A group of “hidden Catholics” from Urakami, a district of Nagasaki visited the new church and professed their faith to the French priest: a dramatic encounter after 250 years of persecution. Catholics were not free from oppression and discrimination, but eventually freedom of religion was ac-knowledged for everyone and the Catholic Church was able to minister openly again. The Beatification of the 188 martyrs is an important occasion for the Church in Japan to reflect on the faith of our Christian forebears of 400 years ago. We need to develop a “strong faith in God,” “to place our Hope in God no matter what” and “to live with love all the days of our lives.” NOTE from the Editor: From Archdiocese of Tokyo, 2008

ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS SEASONS

(Advent begins on November 30, 2008 and ends on December 24, 2008 sundown. Christmas begins on Christmas vigil – December 24 until the feast of the Baptism of Jesus on January 11, 2009.)

Advent is a season of preparation. In Advent, we thank God for Christ's first coming, pre-pare for his final coming at end of time. God chose to come here and walked the earth, grew up, lived the truth, died and has risen. This is a time to get ready by rejoicing that our God is not far away and unfamiliar with the struggles of human life. Christ is here right now among us, in our joys and sorrows. God has already begun to bring in the Kingdom, and Christ will come again. That's Advent. "Lo, I am with you always, to the end of age," says Jesus.

We hope  that you  take    the Advent Season seriously as a spiritual preparation  to welcome the Child Jesus, our Savior at Christmas   in our hearts and in our families by  joining  the Advent Recollection, Confession and Holy Mass  in  your  respective churches. We  also  encourage  the Filipinos  to  join  the  Japanese Christians  in  the Christmas Vigil Mass  and  thereafter  to  join  them  in  the  Christmas  party.  Let  us  celebrate Christmas as one Christian Community!  

Page 3 Volume 2 Number 10

CHURCHES ADVENT RECOLLECTION, CONFESSION,

and HOLY MASS

CHRISTMAS VIGIL /CHRISTMAS DAY

1. Nagaoka Church November 30 (1-5 PM) December 24 – 8 PM December 25 – 9 AM

2. Naoetsu, Takada, Myoko Churches, and Kakizaki

November 30 (1-5 PM) December 24 – 8 PM December 25 – 9 AM

3. Itoigawa Church December 5 ( 1-5 PM) December 24 – 7 PM December 25 –11 AM

4. Yasuzuka December 14 (1-4 PM) December 24 –7:30 PM Christmas Day –10 AM

5. Kashiwazaki Church December 21 (1-5 PM) December 24 – 8 PM December 25 – 10 AM

6. Tokamachi Church December 28 (1- 5 PM)

December 23 – 3 PM December 25 – No Mass

You can now download UGNAYAN from http://www.faminialagao.com/ugnayan.html  or read it online.

Address: 〒943 ‐0834   Ni igata ‐ken   Joetsu ‐sh i   Nish ish i ro ‐cho   2 ‐3 ‐20 Telephone Number: 025 ‐526 ‐2026     Fax Number: 025 ‐526 ‐7336

34th Nagaoka District WOMEN’S GATHERING

Fujin no Tsudoi

Tokamachi Church September 23, 2008

THEME :

THINGS THAT MARTYRS TELL

TO PRESENT DAY FAMILIES

Speaker – Fr. Tsutomu Sato