Justo Takayama

Life events

1. Born — 1552

   Born Takayama Hikogoro, eldest son and heir of Takayama Tomoteru, lord of Sawa Castle in Yamato Province, Japan.

2. Baptized — 1564

   Baptized into the Roman Catholic Church at age twelve, taking the name Justo (Latin: Iustus), after his father Takayama Tomoteru converted following encounters with Portuguese missionaries.

3. Other — 1571

   Fought in a battle as part of his coming-of-age ritual, killing an opponent in a duel but sustaining severe wounds; during convalescence he recognized he had grown indifferent to his Catholic faith and subsequently renewed it.

4. Other

   Served under the warlords Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, acquiring Takatsuki Castle in present-day Osaka Prefecture and participating in the Ishiyama Hongan-ji War (1570-1580), the Battle of Yamazaki (1582), and the Battle of Shizugatake (1583).

5. Other — 1587

   When Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered all Christian daimyos to renounce their faith and expel missionaries, Takayama refused, surrendering his castle and domain at Takatsuki rather than apostatize.

6. Exiled — 1614

   On 8 November 1614, following Tokugawa Ieyasu's prohibition of Christianity, Takayama departed Nagasaki with approximately 300 other Japanese Christians, arriving in Manila on 11 December 1614 to a welcome from Spanish Jesuits and local Filipinos.

7. Died — 1615

   Died of a violent fever at midnight on 3 or 5 February 1615, forty-four days after arriving in Manila; the Spanish colonial government accorded him a Christian funeral with full military honors and buried him at San Ignacio Church in Intramuros, Manila.

8. Other — 2017

   Beatified as a martyr on 7 February 2017 in Osaka, with Cardinal Angelo Amato presiding on behalf of Pope Francis, who had approved the beatification on 21 January 2016.

Relationships

Documented claims

• When ordered to apostatize in 1587, Takayama surrendered his castle and domain at Takatsuki rather than renounce Roman Catholicism, a decision that ended his career as a ruling daimyo. (likely)
• Spanish Philippine colonial officials proposed invading Japan to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate and restore Takayama to power; he declined and actively opposed the plan. (likely)
• Pope Francis approved Takayama's beatification on 21 January 2016; the ceremony was held on 7 February 2017 in Osaka, with Cardinal Angelo Amato presiding on the pope's behalf. (certain)
• Takayama is the only Japanese daimyo buried on Philippine soil; his remains at the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches, Quezon City have not been fully identified by DNA testing. (likely)
• Takayama's canonization cause was first attempted in 1630 by Manila priests, failed due to Japan's isolationist policies, then again in 1965, before finally advancing in 1994 when the Congregation for the Causes of Saints validated the diocesan process. (likely)