Footprints of Juan Naito, Christian feudal lord
during the Warring States period (No.1)
There is a monument to Juan Naito fifteen minutes on foot from JR Yagi
station. The history of Juan, which has been expunged from official Japanese
history, has been restored thanks to the efforts of missionaries, and has
become a bridge linking Yagi-cho and the city of Manila, Philippines.
It is said that he was born in the year after St. Francis Xavier landed
in Japan.
He was born at Yagi castle in the Tanba area, and his childhood name was
Goromaru. When he was in his teens, he went to Nanban Temple, guided by
Katarina, a Christian who had run away from Yamaguchi prefecture.
He became certain that worldly conversation was nothing but prejudice and
lies. The words of a Christian priest also made a deep impression on him
and he decided to turn to Christianity. He was baptized when
he was 14 years old. The name Juan (Portuguese form of John) is his Christian
name.
He invited the priest to Yagi castle to preach to his wife, children and
vassals. Their hearts were filled with a sense of peace and they were baptized
in turn.
Juan’s wife was given the Christian name as Maria, and his first son was
named Thomas, his second daughter Tekla, and his second son Paulo.
Later, Juan’s father was killed in a battle, and his mother was killed
by a monk, a relative, in a quarrel over who should inherit a house.
Though this was a most painful time for Juan, he overcame it through his
faith in the Lord. He deplored the state of the world during that
period of warfare and this served further to strengthen his faith in the
Lord.
He held a simple funeral service for his mother and used the money left
over to invite to the castle poor people from round about and gave them
food. It is said that the funeral, which should been shrouded in
gloom, became an occasion for rejoicing.
(Esther Atsuji is responsible for the wording of this article.)
References:
｢いま甦るジョアン内藤」 広瀬幸雄氏著
「内藤如安に関する年表」各務英明氏著