It was in this region that the revolt against the Shogun began
in 1867, and Satsuma, the chief clan in the island of Kyushu, has had
great power in the Government ever since the Restoration, except during
its rebellion of 1877. It is hard to disentangle what belongs to
Christianity and what to mere hostility to the Central Government in the
movements of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. However that may
be, Iyeyasu decided to persecute the Christians vigorously, if possible
without losing the foreign trade. His successors were even more
anti-Christian and less anxious for trade. After an abortive revolt in
1637, Christianity was stamped out, and foreign trade was prohibited in
the most vigorous terms:--
So long as the sun warms the earth, let no Christian be so bold
as to come to Japan, and let all know that if King Philip
himself, or even the very God of the Christians, or the great
Shaka contravene this prohibition, they shall pay for it with
their heads.[45]
The persecution of Christians, though it was ruthless and exceedingly
cruel, was due, not to religious intolerance, but solely to political
motives. There was reason to fear that the Christians might side with
the King of Spain if he should attempt to conquer Japan; and even if no
foreign power intervened, there was reason to fear rebellions of
Christians against the newly established central power.
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