This week in Christian history: Baylor charted, 'Four Chaplains' tragedy

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, January 30, 2022

'Christian Daimyo' dies in exile – Feb. 3, 1615

Justo Ukon Takayama (1552-1615), a Japanese Christian daimyo who was expelled from Japan for his religious beliefs. | Wikimedia Commons

This week marks the anniversary of when Justo Ukon Takayama, a Japanese military leader and political figure who lived during one of the most violent times in Japan’s history, died in exile.

Baptized as a child and taking the name “Justo” in honor of Saint Justin Martyr, Ukon was raised during the final years of the era in which Japan was split into chronic civil war.

In 1614, Ukon was one of many Christians forcibly exiled from Japan for his religious beliefs, eventually ending up with his family and others in Manila in the Philippines.

“Ukon followed the dictates of his own conscience,” noted a website dedicated to his memory. “In a society which was rapidly veering toward servile submission to a central authority, Ukon chose the path of personal liberty.”