Great Genna Martyrdom

[8][9][10] It was preceded by an incident with the Christian Japanese merchant Hirayama Jōchin, who had received an official seal to trade with Manila.

In 1620, Hirayama tried to smuggle two Mendicant priests disguised as merchants (Pedro de Zúñiga [es] and Luis Flores) on his way back from Manila into Japan, but before they could enter Japanese territory, his ship was attacked by Dutch and English forces and its cargo was confiscated.

[13] This confession resulted in the burning alive of the two priests and Hirayama as well as the decapitation of the remaining crew in Nagasaki on 19 August 1622.

[13] Due to this smuggling incident, the prosecution of Christians was intensified and the bugyō Gonroku ordered the killing of all priests imprisoned in the Nagasaki and Ōmura prisons as well as some of their followers.

[12] The Imago primi saeculi, a 1640 book about the Society of Jesus, contains a description of the Great Genna Martyrdom: To make the punishment longer and more cruel, the fire was six cubits away from the (martyr's) body.

But there was not one of them who did not look to the heavens with his eyes, not one who did not endure the fire without moving his heart and body, even though the wood was burning strongly around them.While this account implies that the condemned in principle could have untied their restraints, this would not have resulted in them being able to flee.

[8] All 55 executed Christians were beatified by Pope Pius IX as part of the beatification of the 205 Martyrs of Japan on 7 July 1867.