The Great Martyrdom of Edo/Genna

In 1612 Tokugawa Ieyasu issued the edict to ban Christianity. This marked the beginning of the persecution of Christians in Edo. However, considerable numbers of Christians remained in Edo and the missionaries continued to be secretly engaged in missionary work.

Iemitsu, who became the Third Shogun in 1623 (Genna 9), reinforced persecution as one of the methods to portray the power of the Shogunate towards Daimyo (the feudal lords). While this was ongoing, those who worked hard to convert people to Christianity, such as Jerome de Angelis, S.J., Francis Galves, O.F.M., Simon Empo, S.J. and John Hara Mondo, were arrested and imprisoned in the Kodenmacho Prison.
On December 4^th 1623 (Genna 9, October 13^th), to set an example to the people, fifty men including the aforementioned were taken from the prison and paraded through Muromachi, Nihonbahi, Shinbashi, the busiest areas in Edo in those days. They were then burnt alive at the site of Mita Fudanotsuji. Twenty days later, a further thirty-seven people including the families of those martyred and the people who sheltered the Christians were executed.
This massive martyrdom was known all over the country and later referred as “The Great Martyrdom of Genna/Edo“.

The Memorial Festival of Martyrs

Takanawa Catholic Church is located near the site where this Martyrdom took place and is dedicated to Our Lady Queen of Martyrs. The first memorial festival was held in 1960 and the festival continues to be celebrated annually each November ever since.

The Monument of Martyrs of Edo

A monument to commemorate the martyrs was built on December 4^th 1956 on the execution site in the ground of Chifukuji, a small Buddhist temple. Later when Chufukuji was moved, the monument was moved to nearby St. Mary’s International school and subsequently to Takanawa Catholic Church in 1971 when the school moved elsewhere.