Shimabara Rebellion

Q: What was the significance of the Shimabara Rebellion?

The Shimabara Rebellion was attributed to Christianity, resulting in foreigners being expelled from Japan (except for the Dutch in Nagasaki) and Japan following an isolationist policy for the next 200 years.

Q: What role did Christianity play in the Shimabara Rebellion?

Although the exact catalyst for the rebellion is still debated, overtaxation, famine, and harsh penalties resulted in growing discontent, which seems to have boiled over. As Christianity had been outlawed in Japan in 1612 and the island of Kyushu had a large - persecuted - Christian population, the government was quick to attribute the Shimabara Rebellion to Christianity.

Matthew Allison

Shimabara Rebellion

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Definition

The Shimabara Rebellion was a peasant uprising that occurred from 17 December 1637 to 15 April 1638 in Japan's southern island of Kyushu. Economic desperation, famine, and religious persecution led the peasants of the Shimabara peninsular region to take up arms against the shogunate (military government), culminating in the siege of Hara Castle, where the rebellion was quashed and its leader, a 16-year-old boy, was slain.

More about: Shimabara Rebellion

Timeline

Dec 1637 - Apr 1638
The Shimabara Rebellion in Japan, which the shogunate blames on Christians, leading to an expulsion of all Europeans.

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