ETHAS 052390

Japon test anti-chrétien

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052390
Anti-Christian test
Japan
17th century
Wood, bronze
Acquired in 2002
This "image to be trampled on" (fumie 踏み絵) is a Catholic medal: suspects were asked to step on it to prove they were not Christians. The practice of Christianity was forbidden in Japan from 1614 to 1873, on pain of death. The medal bears an image of Our Lady of the Rosary, surrounded by St Dominic and St Catherine of Sienna, a favourite theme during the Counter-Reformation.

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Japan of the samurai

Unlike China, Japan has always had only one imperial dynasty, which continues today. Its legitimacy stems from the uninterrupted succession of emperors, which mythology traces back to the sun goddess, Amaterasu. But from the 12th to the 19th centuries, real power was wielded by military juntas, directed by a commander-in-chief (shōgun) and based successively in Kamakura, Kyōto (Muromachi) and Edo (Tōkyō). The feudal period saw the rise of the military class (samurai 侍) attached to various local lords (daimyo 大名).

Samurai in armour, <i>Views & Costumes of Japan, </i>by<i> </i>Stillfried & Andersen, Yokohama, around 1870.

Samurai in armour, Views & Costumes of Japan, by Stillfried & Andersen, Yokohama, around 1870. Alfred Bertrand collection © MEG Inv. ETHPH 411917

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