80-year-old Japanese sculptor Eiji Oyamatsu has almost completed a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary nearly 10m high. The image, which he began carving 40 years ago, is dedicated to the thousands of people who died in the 17th century during the Shimabara uprising - an alliance of local swordsmen and Catholic farmers who had against the unpopular policies of the Tokugawa shogunate, including the persecution of Christianity; and the consequent persecution of Christians in Nagasaki. Shogunate forces occupied Nagasaki, which was then the main center of Japanese Christianity. The local swordsmen, or samurai, in this case called the ronin, were wandering swordsmen. They fell into vagabond after their master fell out of favor, or was killed by the court.
Portugal and Japan began trading in 1543, the Portuguese being the first Europeans to reach the islands. This period of early trade is commonly known as the Nanban Trade Period, during which the port of Nagasaki, through the initiative of the famous Jesuit Gaspar Vilela and the Japanese feudal lord Omura Sumitada, was converted to Christianity, was ceded to the Jesuits. As the only Japanese port open to foreign trade, Nagasaki became the center of Japanese Catholicism.
As the Tokugawa fought the Shimabara Rebellion, much of what is now Nagasaki and Kumamoto was devastated. Christians and Japanese peasants had no place to hide other than to die in Hara castle, to try to confront the army sent by the shogunate. It is estimated that more than 30,000 rebels were killed there. The remains of Hara Castle are located in Minami-Shimabara, in Nagasaki, where volunteers decided to build a base for Oyamatsu's sculptures.
A Catholic himself, Oyamatsu visited the remains of Hara Castle circa 1971. According to The Asahi Shimbun, he was “choked at the absence of memorials or similar facilities. other at this location”. Ten years later, when Pope John Paul II visited Japan (including Nagasaki in his journey), Oyamatsu decided to make a giant statue of the Virgin Mary as a memorial.
Oyamatsu insists that he will work alone on the project, rejecting all offers of support or funding: “I want to see how far I can go with my own abilities. A climber wouldn't have much fun if he took a helicopter ride to the top of the mountain, would he? "
Oyamatsu named his statue "Mary Kannon of Hara Castle". Kannon is the Buddhist deity of compassion. In the 17th century, Japanese Catholics painted the image of Our Lady similar to the Buddhist god Kannon so that they could be kept at home without fear of persecution by the military.
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