Omura Sumitada
Encyclopedia
Ōmura Sumitada Japanese daimyo
lord of the Sengoku period. He achieved fame throughout the country for being the first of the daimyo to convert to Christianity
following the arrival of the Jesuit missionaries in the mid-16th century. Following his baptism, he became known as "Dom Bartolomeu". Sumitada is also known as the lord who opened the port of Nagasaki to foreign trade.
, lord of Shimabara, and his wife, who was a daughter of Ōmura Sumiyoshi. His childhood name was Shōdōmaru 勝童丸. At age 5, he was adopted by his uncle Ōmura Sumisaki, and succeeded to the Ōmura family headship in 1550. As Sumisaki had no legitimate heirs, and the Ōmura clan had its origins in the family line of the Arima, Sumisaki readily adopted the young Shodomaru, who took the name Sumitada at the time of his succession.
of Hizen-Saga. Sumitada found the answer to his problems in the form of Christianity
. In 1561, following the murder of foreigners in Hirado (in the area of influence of the Hirado clan), the Portuguese
began to look for other ports where they could trade.
In response to their search, Sumitada offered them safe haven in his domain, at Yokose-ura. This cast a great impression on the Portuguese
, and particularly on the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). This they readily agreed to, and soon after, in 1563, Sumitada and his retainers became Christian, and Sumitada took the baptismal name Bartolomeu. However, Sumitada was radical in his faith, razing Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, defacing his ancestors' graves, and because he forced Christianity on his retainers and the people of his domain, he ran the serious risk of a general uprising.
Following Toyotomi Hideyoshi
's campaign against the Shimazu clan
, the Ōmura were confirmed in their holdings, though Nagasaki was taken from the Jesuits and made into a chokkatsu-ryo, or direct landholding, of the Toyotomi administration.
and retired, living in a mansion at Sakaguchi. He died there of tuberculosis, on June 23, 1587, and was fortunate not to see the exile of the Jesuits that followed soon after.
Jesuit father Luís Fróis
had once wrote:
(from The Samurai Sourcebook)
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
lord of the Sengoku period. He achieved fame throughout the country for being the first of the daimyo to convert to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
following the arrival of the Jesuit missionaries in the mid-16th century. Following his baptism, he became known as "Dom Bartolomeu". Sumitada is also known as the lord who opened the port of Nagasaki to foreign trade.
Early life
Ōmura Sumitada was born in 1533, the son of Arima HaruzumiArima Haruzumi
Arima Haruzumi , Japanese feudal lord in the Sengoku era. Initially known as Arima Sadazumi, he held the title of Shuri-dayu and a position in the shobanshu, the private guard of the Shogun...
, lord of Shimabara, and his wife, who was a daughter of Ōmura Sumiyoshi. His childhood name was Shōdōmaru 勝童丸. At age 5, he was adopted by his uncle Ōmura Sumisaki, and succeeded to the Ōmura family headship in 1550. As Sumisaki had no legitimate heirs, and the Ōmura clan had its origins in the family line of the Arima, Sumisaki readily adopted the young Shodomaru, who took the name Sumitada at the time of his succession.
Career
Following his succession, he was immediately faced with a multitude of pressures, the greatest of which was the attack from Ryūzōji TakanobuRyuzoji Takanobu
was a Japanese daimyo of the Sengoku period, who ruled a region in northern Kyūshū. He was the eldest son of Ryūzōji Chikaie, and upon headship, became the 19th head of the Ryūzōji clan. Takanobu's son, Masaie, would become the last head of the Ryūzōji....
of Hizen-Saga. Sumitada found the answer to his problems in the form of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. In 1561, following the murder of foreigners in Hirado (in the area of influence of the Hirado clan), the Portuguese
Nanban trade
The or the in Japanese history extends from the arrival of the first Europeans to Japan in 1543, to their near-total exclusion from the archipelago in 1614, under the promulgation of the "Sakoku" Seclusion Edicts.- Etymology :...
began to look for other ports where they could trade.
In response to their search, Sumitada offered them safe haven in his domain, at Yokose-ura. This cast a great impression on the Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
, and particularly on the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). This they readily agreed to, and soon after, in 1563, Sumitada and his retainers became Christian, and Sumitada took the baptismal name Bartolomeu. However, Sumitada was radical in his faith, razing Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, defacing his ancestors' graves, and because he forced Christianity on his retainers and the people of his domain, he ran the serious risk of a general uprising.
The opening of Nagasaki
Goto Takaakira, an illegitimate son of Ōmura Sumisaki who hated Sumitada, led an uprising and burned Yokoseura, ending the foreign trade there. As a result, in 1570, Sumitada opened the port of Nagasaki to the Portuguese and sponsored its development. When the Ryūzōji attacked Nagasaki in 1578, the Portuguese assisted Sumitada in repulsing them. Following this event, on June 9, 1580 Sumitada ceded Nagasaki "in perpetuity" to the Society of Jesus.Following Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...
's campaign against the Shimazu clan
Shimazu clan
The were the daimyō of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan.The Shimazu were identified as one of the tozama or outsider daimyō clans in contrast with the fudai or insider clans which were hereditary vassals or allies of the Tokugawa clan,The Shimazu were...
, the Ōmura were confirmed in their holdings, though Nagasaki was taken from the Jesuits and made into a chokkatsu-ryo, or direct landholding, of the Toyotomi administration.
Later life
Sumitada handed over domainal administration to his son Omura YoshiakiOmura Yoshiaki
was a ruling head of the clan of Omura throughout the latter Sengoku Period of Feudal Japan. As Yoshiaki was the respective son of Omura Sumitada, he followed his father in succession at some variable time, at which relations with the Jesuits and trade with the Portuguese had been already firmly...
and retired, living in a mansion at Sakaguchi. He died there of tuberculosis, on June 23, 1587, and was fortunate not to see the exile of the Jesuits that followed soon after.
Contemporary descriptions
There is also a certain event that is quite known to this day, in which the PortuguesePortuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
Jesuit father Luís Fróis
Luís Fróis
Luís Fróis was a Portuguese missionary.He was born in Lisbon and in 1548 joined the Society of Jesus . In 1563, he came to Japan to engage in missionary work, and in the following year arrived in Kyoto, meeting Ashikaga Yoshiteru who was then Shogun...
had once wrote:
(from The Samurai Sourcebook)