The 26 Martyrs of Japan (film)

The 26 Martyrs of Japan[1] (Junkyō chi-shi Nihon nijūrokuseijin) is a 1931 film released in Japan based on the martyrdom of twenty-six Catholic priests and layman in 1597. This silent film was produced by Seiju Hirayama, a Catholic landowner in Japanese-occupied Korea, who invested a huge amount of his personal fortune in producing this work, which was open to the public. Although it is a commercial film, it was produced under Hirayama's initiative with the cooperation of many people involved in the Catholic Church. It was the first full-fledged narrative film produced by the Catholic Church in Japan, which was in the process of becoming independent from the leadership of foreign missionaries during this period.

This article is about the Japanese film. For the Catholic priests that inspired the film, see 26 Martyrs of Japan.
The 26 Martyrs of Japan
Directed byTomiyasu Ikeda
Written byTomiyasu Ikeda
Screenplay byTomiyasu Ikeda and Hermann Heuvers
Based onYamato hijiri chishio no kakioki
by Aimé Villion
Produced byHirayama Seiju and Hirohisa Ikenaga
StarringKaichi Yamamoto, Masu Toyofushimi, Naoe Yamada, Isuzu Yamada, Chiezō Kataoka
Production
company
Running time
152 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Budget300,000 yen

Synopsis

Pedro Baptista, a Spanish priest of the Franciscan order, arrives in Japan and conducts missionary work in the Kinai region, mainly in Kyoto. After the wreck of a Spanish ship, Hideyoshi Toyotomi began suppressing the church, and priests and laity are captured and executed in Nagasaki. Time passes and in 1862, about 250 years after his martyrdom, 26 of the martyrs are canonized in the Vatican.

Reception

The film was generally well received by film critics and the Japanese Catholic hierarchy.[2] Hirayama embarked on a tour of America to screen the film, despite racist opposition, stating "I performed at 117 schools in the United States, gave lectures at the same time, attended 97 churches, five Protestant churches, six times at theaters, and wrote articles in 70 newspapers and magazines. The total number of visitors was 146,740 including 2,340 priests, nuns, seminarians."[3] It was screened in Europe as well. Hirayama considered the film to be a work of propaganda against Western misconceptions of Japan.[4]

References
  1. "The 26 Martyrs of Japan (1931)".
  2. 日本カトリック新聞」（313号 1931年10月11日、314号、同年10月18日
  3. 『長崎カトリック教報』109号（1933年）「平山政十氏の近信
  4. 「日本二十六聖人の映画に就て」『声』663号、1931年4月
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