AMAKUSA

In the winter of 1637, tens of thousands of farmers and fishermen in western Kyushu rose up against their lords. Many of them were secret Christians in a country where Christianity had been banned. They gathered in a ruined castle on a cliff above the sea and held out for three months against an army of more than a hundred thousand men.

At their head, they said, was a boy of about sixteen: Amakusa Shirō. People believed he could work miracles, and that an old prophecy had foretold his coming.

When the castle fell, almost everyone inside was killed. Shirō's head was displayed in Nagasaki. Japan closed itself to the outside world, and the Christian faith went underground for more than two centuries.

Told as a narrative history from beginning to end, with a cast of characters, a map, and a travel guide to the places you can still visit today, this book says plainly what the records show, what historians still debate, and which famous stories are only legends — including the miracles and the question of who really led the rebellion.

Inside, you'll find:

How western Kyushu became Japan's most Christian land, and how that ended
Persecution, crushing taxes, and an old prophecy
The heaven-sent child, and the older men behind him
The uprising in Shimabara and Amakusa, and the move to Hara Castle
The New Year's Day assault that killed the shogun's commander
The siege, a Dutch warship, and the swordsman Miyamoto Musashi
Arrow letters, and a painter who tried to betray the castle
Hunger, the final assault, and the end
Punishment, the closing of Japan, and the hidden Christians who survived
A guide to visiting the places in this story today, from Amakusa to Hara Castle, Shimabara, and Nagasaki
If you want a miracle-working saint, this is not your book. If you want the real story of the boy at the center of Japan's deadliest rebellion, turn the page and meet the real Amakusa Shirō.