In 17th century Japan, after Catholic missionaries were expelled from the land, the Shogunate forced the citizens to perform the ritual of image-trampling, in which one tramples on an image of Christ or Mary casted in brass as a proof of dissociation with Christianity. All citizens were required to register with a Buddhist temple, and on the surface level, there are no Christian in Japan. However, there were Christians who kept their practice secret, while performing the ritual of image-trampling and being registered with a Buddhist temple. How did they navigate their religious identity under oppression? How did they perform agency to keep practicing their religion amidst the harsh persecution by Japanese authorities? In this paper, I will explore the ways of forced conversion through image trampling and the ways in which Christians persisted in their beliefs and practices underground through venerating a Buddhist bodhisattva of compassion, Kannon (Sk.Avalokiteshvara) as Mary and Christ.
The ritual of efumi, which literally means image trampling, started in the 1630s as a way to force Christians to apostatize and renounce their beliefs. In the 1630s, many Christians were captured and tortured by the Magistrate in an effort to coerce them into conversion. The method typically involved subjecting individuals to severe torture, followed by presenting the fumie as an opportunity for apostasy (Koga 1923, 174). Those who refused to perform e-fumi faced repeated cycles of torture and were eventually offered the chance to trample the image again. Many, overwhelmed by the excruciating pain they endured, ultimately stepped onto the image to avoid further suffering. The act of breaking an icon was a heavy burden in the beginning of efumi, and the Magistrate knew the efficiency of it. For Christians, the sacredness of these objects was destroyed through the act of trampling.. The governmental document Kirisuto-ki [The Record of Christianity] records how Christians reacted when they performed the ceremony: “Women, young and old, when they were required to step on fumie of Deus, got flushed, throw away their hats, breathed and sweated heavily, or some women appeared to perform fumie in a way that others could not see them (Kirisuto-ki 1797 [1985], 635).” Some Christians, especially at the early stage, mentally and even physically struggled to trample on the image. Their agitation affirms how effective and brutal the ritual was against Christians. Trampling the image meant breaking the sacrality themselves, which also meant that they were no longer part of the religious community and faith that they were deeply part of. To evade the torment, they started performing the ritual of penance after efumi by chanting the prayer of contrition (Kataoka 1979, 114). Later, e-fumi became an annual ritual which every citizen in Nagasaki and neighboring domains was required to perform every new year. It was a political measure to make sure there were no Christian left in the region. Town officials visit each household, accompanied by a person carrying the image and a note-taker. Family members dress formally to welcome the officials. Upon entering, the note-taker reads out the names of the family members. The head of the family is first called to perform the ritual: they bow to the town official, approach the fumie, step on it barefoot, return to their place, and bow again. This ritual is then repeated by the spouse and children, with younger children being assisted, and sick individuals performing from their beds. After the family completes the ritual, the head receives the registration book and stamps their seal. The family’s registered temple also stamps the seal after the ritual.
Some individuals, even after performing the trampling ritual and being registered with a Buddhist temple, continued to practice Christianity in disguise. These individuals are known as hidden Christians or crypto-Christians. Many of them lived in the Kyushu region, but due to the secretive nature, most groups did not communicate with one another, leading to variations in practice across different regions. In the Amakusa region, hidden Christians venerated Maria Kannon, a Buddhist figurine of the bodhisattva of compassion, Kannon (Ch. Guānyīn, Sk. Avalokiteśvara), which they revered as a disguised representation of Mary. These Kannon figurines, made of white porcelain, were imported from Quanzhou, China. Originally depicted as male or genderless, Avalokiteśvara embodies compassion. However, in China and Japan, the bodhisattva became feminized as Guanyin or Kannon. One particular form, Koyasu Kannon (Child-giver Kannon), was depicted holding a child. This type of Kannon was especially popular in China, and Japan imported many white porcelain statuettes. Hidden Christians venerated these statuettes as representations of Mary holding Christ.
Many Maria Kannon statuettes remain today, attesting to the effectiveness of this camouflage; authorities did not strictly destroy them, as they were considered Chinese and Buddhist artifacts. However, the use of Kannon by hidden Christians was not merely a result of limited access to Christian objects or their oppressed status. As art historian Wakakuwa Midori (2008, 375) points out, Japanese Christians themselves recognized the divine mother’s grace in these beautiful white porcelain figures and sympathized with an Asian-looking statuette as something closer to their own cultural identity. Although they lacked the freedom to openly practice their faith, they exercised agency in choosing the most meaningful objects for veneration.
In premodern Japan, on the surface, Christianity had disappeared. However, some stepped on an image of Christ while secretly venerating a white porcelain statuette of Mary. Instead of embracing the European image of Mary as a foreign woman from the Iberian world, they chose one that felt more familiar. Despite oppression and limited access, hidden Christians adapted and maintained their religious identity in the ways available to them.
In 17th-century Japan, after the expulsion of Catholic missionaries, the Shogunate enforced the ritual of efumi (image-trampling) to suppress Christianity. All citizens were required to register with Buddhist temples, and Christian practice seemingly disappeared on the surface level. However, some Christians maintained their faith in secret while publicly conforming to state mandates. This paper examines how hidden Christians navigated religious oppression by performing efumi and practicing Christianity clandestinely. Forced apostasy through torture and trampling on sacred images inflicted deep psychological and spiritual trauma. Hidden Christians, at the same time, however, venerated a statuette of the bodhisattva Kannon as a figure of Mary, adapting Buddhist imagery to sustain their beliefs. The use of Maria Kannon statuettes illustrates how these communities exercised agency, blending cultural familiarity with covert devotion. Despite persecution, hidden Christians preserved their faith through adaptation and resilience, demonstrating how religious identity endured under suppression in early modern Japan.