Christian Sorcerers on Trial

Delightful and deeply engaging. . . . Essential reading for scholars of Japanese religions, especially those interested in early modern Japan or the history of Christianity in Japan. * Journal of the American Academy of Religion * This is a brilliant volume. Christian Sorcerers on Trial is not only a very useful resource, both for specialists of Japanese religions and for scholars of early modern Japanese history, but also a captivating read for a general audience. * Japanese Journal of Religious Studies * This important book performs a number of functions: it tells a fascinating story, it reveals much of the life of men and women in Kyto and saka in the mid-nineteenth century, and it is a mine of information on juridical procedure. * Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies * For students and scholars of late Edo Japan, the material is truly fascinating as it vividly exposes societys inner mechanisms and folk practices that other primary sources generally do not touch upon . . . highly recommended reading. * Japan Review * A fascinating study of many of the secrets of the Kirishitan sect, revealing surprising and little-known facts about their religious practices, as well as being an interesting exploration into the mindset and attitudes of the devotees themselves. This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in Japanese religion, in Christianity, in Japanese history, law, or politics. * Contemporary Japan * Christian Sorcerers will be eagerly read by historians of Japan and scholars of comparative legal history, but should also have a much wider appeal. It is above all the moving story of a group of people by no means evil who became subject to a ruthless and, to modern sensibility, excessive punishment for relatively minor offenses. -- James McMullen * Monumenta Nipponica * Christian Sorcerers on Trial is a model of consummate scholarship and at the same time a gripping narrative which will be of great interest not just to students of Japanese religion and history, but to anyone curious about Japan in the decades immediately before its so-called opening up by the West . . . a fine example of what collaborative modern scholarship can do with complex and copious source material: highly recommended for specialists and non-specialists alike. * Asian Review of Books * Christian Sorcerers on Trial offers a deep insight into the lives of Osakas 19th century underclass. * All the Anime * Christian Sorcerers on Trial is a fascinating, startling, and revealing introduction to and translation of rich primary texts from a little-known but important episode in Japanese religious and cultural history. Scholars of Japanese religion, Japanese history, and Christian history will benefit from it. -- Elizabeth Morrison, Middlebury College This is a monumental study of Edo-period religious life, presenting the prosecution and crucifixion of the healer Toyoda Mitsugi who was charged with secretly practicing Christianity. Based on the most detailed testimonies ever compiled of the lives of popular religionists, their colorful clients, and the processes of their judicial interrogation, this work makes for truly fascinating reading. -- Helen Hardacre, author of <i>Shinto: A History</i> Christian Sorcerers is a veritable gold mine for understanding the late Edo period. These translations reveal much about popular religion, the failure of the shogunate to eradicate the pernicious Kirishitan sect, the lingering influence of the Christian religion, and the legal procedures and punishments for dealing with religious deviancy. This volume is destined to become a standard resource in the field. -- Mark R. Mullins, University of Auckland Masterfully translated and deeply revealing, Christian Sorcerers on Trial is a powerful example of the way legal records can be used to illuminate the cultural and mental universe of an era. Certainly no one who reads it will ever think of shio Heihachir without

Fumiko Miyazaki is professor emerita at Keisen University, Tokyo. Kate Wildman Nakai is professor emerita at Sophia University, Tokyo. Mark Teeuwen is professor of Japanese studies at the University of Oslo. Miyazaki, Nakai, and Teeuwen previously collaborated (with Anne Walthall and John Breen) on a translation of another late Edo source: Lust, Commerce, and Corruption: An Account of What I Have Seen and Heard by an Edo Samurai (Columbia, 2014).

Acknowledgments Maps Introduction Translation Strategies Main Protagonists Part I: Testimonies 1. Sano and Her Associates 2. Kinu and Her Associates 3. Mitsugi, Mizuno Gunki, and Wasa 4. Gunkis Male Disciples Umon and Heiz 5. Gunkis Associates and Son 6. Kenz and Others Implicated in the Investigation Part II: The Judicial Review Process 7. Submitting the Dossier for Review 8. Deliberations in Edo 9. The Senior Councillors Orders and Their Implementation 10. Aftermath Part III: Rumors and Retellings 11. The State of the Floating World 12. Night Tales from the Kasshi Day 13. A Biography of shio Heihachir Appendix 1: Mitsugis 1822 Arrest Appendix 2: Disposition of the Proscribed Books Appendix 3: Manuscript Versions of the Keihan Kirishitan Incident Dossier Glossary Notes References Index