Saturday, the 1st of November, 2014
1:30 PM ～ 4:20PM
Usuki-city Public Hall

Organized by Marega Project
Institutions consist the project teamNational Institutes for the Humanities
National Institute of Japanese Literature
National Museum of Japanese History
The Historiographical Institute, the University of Tokyo
Oita Prefecture Ancient Sages Historical Archives
Vatican Library (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana)
Co-hosted by Oita Prefectural Board of Education, Usuki city Board of Education
Supported by Kirishitan Nanban-Bunka Koryu Kyotei Kyogikai <The Council for Exchanging
Kirishitan and Namban Historical Culture >[Kunisaki-city, Hiji-machi, Oita-city, Usuki-city, Tsukumi-city, Taketa-city]

●Program●
13:30 Opening
Opening Remarks by Organizer
Yuichiro Imanishi (Executive Director, National Institute of the Humanities,
Director-general, National Institute of Japanese Literature)
Opening Remarks by Organizer
Monsignor Cesare Pasini (the Prefeto, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana)Interpreted by Kosuke Kunishi (Kyoto University)
Welcome message
Goro Nakano (the Mayor of Usuki- city)
13:50 Introduction
Kazuo Ohtomo (Representative of Marega Project,
National Institute of Japanese Literature)
13:55 Session I
Chronology of Marega fonds in Vatican library
Delio Vania Proverbio (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana)Interpreted by Kosuke Kunishi (Kyoto University)
14:50 Session II
Preserving and Sharing Fascination of Archival Materials collected by Father
Marega ~Introduction of Research Methodology and Progress of
the Survey~
Yoko Matsui (Historiographical Institute, the University of Tokyo)
15:15-15-25

Break

15:25 Session III
Generating System and Provenance of anti-Christian Documents in Early Modern
Bungo
Akihiro Sato (Oita Prefecture Ancient Sages Historical Archives)
15:55 Discussion with Project Members and Audience
Coordinated by Silvio Vita (Kyoto University of Foreign Studies)
Hiroshi Kurushima (National Museum of Japanese History)
16:20 Closing Remarks
Kazuki Iguchi(The former president of Kyoto Prefectural University)

●Contents●
Profiles of Presenters

1

Introductory Remarks by the Organizers
IMANISHI Yuichiro (Executive Director, National Institute for the Humanities,
Director-general, National Institute of Japanese Literature)

4

Monsignor Cesare PASINI (the Prefetto, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana)6

Welcome message
NONAKA Nobutaka (Head of Oita Prefectural Board of Education)

9

NAKANO Goro (Mayor of Usuki- city)

10

Introduction
OHTOMO Kazuo (Representative of Marega Project,
National Institute of Japanese Literature)

11

Session I
Cronologia del fondo Marega in Vaticana
Delio Vania PROVERBIO (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana)

12

Session II
Preserving and Sharing Fascination of Archival Materials collected by Father Marega～Introduction of Research Methodology and Progress Survey～
MATSUI Yoko (Historiographical Institute, the University of Tokyo)

16

Session III
Generating System and Provenance of anti-Christian Documents in Early Modern Bungo
SATO Akihiro (Oita Prefecture Ancient Sages Historical Archives)23

●PROFILES OF PRESENTERS●
Cesare PASINI* Teacher of Patrology in the Milanese Seminary (Saronno) (1978-1989)* Dottore incaricato at the Ambrosiana Library (1986-1991), Dottore incaricato at the
Ambrosiana Library (1986-1991), Dottore incaricato at the Ambrosiana Library(1991-2007)* Vice Prefect of the Ambrosiana Library (November 1995-June 2007)* Director of the Accademia di sant’Ambrogio (April 2003-June 2007) from to* Prefect of the Vatican Library (June 25, 2007- )* A president of Comitato Vaticano di Studi Bizantini (May 20, 2012- )* A member of Accademia di sant’Ambrogio (from its foundation on April 24, 2003),
Association International des Études Patristiques (AIÉP), Associazione Italiana di Studi
Bizantini (AISB), Associazione Italiana per lo Studio dei Santi, dei Culti edell’Agiografia (AISSCA), and Comitato Scientifico del Centro Internazionale di Studie Documentazione Pio XI di Desio* In his capacity as the Prefect of the Vatican Library, he is a member, perdurante
munere, of the following institutions: The Pontifical Committee of Historical Sciences,
The Pontifical Academy of Science, The Board of Directors of the Vatican School of
Paleography and Archives, Consiglio della Fondazione Camillo Caetani di Sermoneta.
* He received the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters in StAmbrose
University in Davenport (Iowa, USA). (On December 2nd 2012)【Research Content】The study of the Byzantine Hagiography,
The study of the Greek Paleography
The study of the history of the Ambrosiana Library in Milan,
Vatican Library in Vatican City State and in the figure of
St.Ambrose of Milan===Major publications===
Editions of Vita eusebiana (1981), Vita pseudoatanasiana (1999), di san Filippod’Agira, and of Vita premetafrastica di sant’Ambrogio di Milano (1983)
The catalogue of Codici e frammenti greci dell’Ambrosiana (1997), Inventario
agiografico dei manoscritti gre-ci dell’Ambrosiana (2003) and Bibliografia dei
manoscritti greci dell’Ambrosiana (2007)
Delio Vania PROVERBIO* The Papyrological Institute of Florence, to comprehensively survey the Coptic Papyri
collection (1995, 1996, 2000 and 2001)* Teacher of The Pontifical Urbaniana University, The Pontifical Oriental University, andThe University of Udine (for five years)1* The Vatican Library (as assistant researcher, in 2014)* His Holiness Benedict XVI appointed him as Scriptor Orientalis Bibliothecae
Apostolicae Vaticanae (On June 24th 2011)===Major publications===
La recensione etiopica dell'omelia pseudocrisostomica de ficu exarata ed il suo tréfonds orientale
published in 1988 and more https://vaticanlibrary.academia.edu/DelioVaniaProverbio

IMANISHI Yuichiro* Executive Director, National Institute for the Humanities* Director-General, National Institute of Japanese Literature【Research Field】 Japanese Classical Literature【Research Content】Study of various problems of the Heian period literary history===Major Publications===
Notes for the Tales of Genji published in 1998
Notes for Kagero Nikki (the Mayfly Diary) published in 2007
OHTOMO Kazuo* Professor (Director) of National Institute of Japanese Literature* Representative of Marega Project【Research Field】 Early-modern History of Japan【Research Content】Study of Social Structure in early-modern Japan,
Study of archival studies in early-modern Japan===Major Publications===
Reign and Rites of Early-modern State of Japan published in 1999
Tokugawa Shogunate in Edo and Information Management published in 2003
Sojaban (Master of Ceremonies) of Tokugawa Shogunate and Information Management
published in 2003
Silvio VITA
* Professor of Kyoto University of Foreign Studies* Former Director of Italian East Asian Studies* Former Professor of La Sapienza University of Rome
【Research Field】Cultural History, Cultural history of East Asian Religions【Research Content】Study of early-modern and modern history of Japanese Buddhism
Study of history of cultural contacts of Europe and Japan===Major Publications===
Buddhist AsiaⅠpublished in 2003
Buddhist AsiaⅡpublished in 20102

MATSUI Yoko
*Professor of Historiographical Institute, the University of Tokyo【Research Field】 Early-modern History of Japan【Research Content】Study of foreign relations of early-modern Japan and communityof Nagasaki===Major Publications===“The Foreign Relations of Early-modern Japan from the Perspective of Gender”
published in 2010
Kaempfer and Siebold –Foreigners who told “Sakoku” Japan published in 2010
“Dejima Nagasaki and Foreign Women –Reconsidering “Prohibition of Women
Entry”” published in 2009
SATO Akihiro* Director of Oita Prefecture Ancient Sages Historical Archives【Research Field】Early-modern History of Japan【Research Content】Domination structure of Kyusyu Baku-ryo===Major Publications===
The Historical Walk of Oita Prefecture published in 2008
Oita Prefecture History –Early-modern Ⅳ published in 1990
“Shoya (village headman in the Edo period) in Baku-ryo (Shogunate's territories)
of Naoiri District Bungo-koku” The History of Kyusyu published in 2002
“ The intermediate governing system of Baku-ryo of Hita District –Kaisyo(meeting place) and Sujidai in Gokaijyodome(record of circular)”Hita and Kusu
Region –Nature, Society, and Education published in1992
KURUSHIMA Hiroshi* Museum Director of National Museum of Japanese History【Research Field】Early Modern History of Japan, Museology【Research Content】Study of Historic characteristics of Japanese community in thelatter half of the early modern times / Study of Ceremonies, rituals, and festivals inearly modern society / Study on Educational programs in historic museums===Major Publications===
The Administration and United Villages (Kumiaimura) of Early Modern Baku-ryo(Shogunate's territories) published in 2002.
Exhibiting”Other Culture”and Exhibiting “Own Culture”:Comparison of Exhibition
Plans of Foreign Relation in Rekihaku and British Museum published in 20083

Introductory Remarks
IMANISHI Yuichiro(Executive Director, National Institutes for the Humanities)
Father Mario Marega arrived in Japan during the early Showa period and worked as a Salesian
priest. During that time, he discovered and collected approximately 10,000 documents relating toKirishitan in Bungo, which are currently stored at the Vatican Library. The two volume Bungo
Kirishitan Historical Documents, which Father Marega wrote while in Japan and published during
and shortly after the end of World War II, shows that these documents are invaluable for elucidating
the journey of Christianity in Japan from late medieval to early modern times.
The Vatican Library and the National Institutes for the Humanities (NIHU, an Inter-University
Research Institute Corporation) has begun the joint project of researching and surveying theseprecious Kirishitan documents. I am delighted that we are able to hold today's project symposium in
Usuki on the theme of "The Fascination of the Archival Materials of Bungo Christians collected by
Father Mario Marega in the Vatican Library" with the Vatican Library Director Cesare Pasini inattendance.
In the beginning, Professor Silvio Vita (Kyoto University of Foreign Studies) brought the planfor this project to the attention of the National Institute of Japanese Literature through Professor
IGUCHI Kazuki (former president of Kyoto Prefectural University and director of the Kyoto
Prefectural Library and Archives; current National Institute of Japanese Literature Steering
Committee member). The National Institute of Japanese Literature reflected upon the importance of
this plan and consulted with the NIHU, its parent organization. As a result, the NIHU and Vatican
Library entered into a detailed agreement regarding its implementation, and with the participation of
the National Institute of Japanese Literature, the National Museum of Japanese History (part of the
NIHU), The University of Tokyo's Historiographical Institute, and the Oita Prefecture Ancient Sages
Historical Archives, a comprehensive survey of and research on the Marega texts held at the Vatican
began.
I would like to take this opportunity to again express my gratitude to Director Pasini andeveryone else at the Vatican Library for their efforts in the creation of this agreement.
It goes without saying that the transmission of Christianity to Japan at the end of the 16th
century was the most significant event in Japanese culture since the transmission of Buddhism. As
was the case with Buddhism, Christianity's teachings were not the only thing transmitted. The
European civilization that had fostered Christianity came as well.
Missionaries did not only preach Christianity’s doctrines to Japanese people; they also spent a
considerable amount of energy working to understand Japanese culture and the Japanese language.
In the latter half of the 16th century, the Portuguese missionary Luís Fróis (who spent over 30
years in Japan) wrote Historia de Iapam (The History of Japan). Its extant manuscript spans
approximately 2500 pages, and its Japanese translation takes up approximately 6000 400-character4

pages. He left for later generation’s information regarding the words and deeds of Nobunaga and
Hideyoshi that cannot be obtained from Japanese records like Shinchō kōki (a chronicle of Oda
Nobunaga) and Taikōki (a biography of Toyotomi Hideyoshi). Over 1000 pages in the Japanesetranslation of Historia de Iapam is devoted to recording the history of Bungo.
Furthermore, the Jesuit Rodrigues wrote the Japanese grammar book Arte da Lingoa de Iapam,
and Jesuit missionaries created the Japanese-Portuguese dictionary Vocabvlario da Lingoa de Iapam.
These are today used by linguists as basic materials in Japanese language research.
Japanese orthography written in Roman letters by the missionaries is precious evidence
regarding the pronunciation of medieval Japanese. For example, many people from the generation
before us in Kyushu pronounced sensei (teacher) as shenshei, and, thanks to this written orthography,
it is known that this pronunciation has historical backing that dates at least to the Muromachi period.
This is because Vocabvlario da Lingoa de Iapam and other Kirishitan Roman-alphabet publications
write せ not as "se" but "xe," which pronounced "she." The missionaries tried to faithfully reflect
the pronunciation of Japanese people at the time when writing the language down in Roman letters.
However, due to the Tokugawa Shogunate's Kirishitan proscription, the future of not only the
religion but also research on Japan from a European perspective was blocked off. Severe oppression
and martyrdom awaited Kirishitan, the tragedy of which cannot be expressed in words. As is wellknown, in this context some "hidden Kirishitan" managed to escape the net of oppression and protect
their beliefs for over 200 years during the Edo period.
On the other hand, those who left behind their faith also were unable to escape suffering. In his
1966 novel Silence, Catholic author Endō Shūsaku explores what Christianity is to Japan. The main
character is a Jesuit missionary who had renounced his faith. The issue of Christianity and Japan /Japanese people is an important theme in the literature of Japan, a country that has at every historicaljuncture repeatedly encountered foreign civilization and thought.
It is my hope that this joint project between the Vatican Library and the NIHU progresses
smoothly and obtains new knowledge that can contribute to the academic world.
In closing, I would like to express my appreciation to the Oita prefecture and Usuki city boardsof education for their efforts to make today's symposium fruitful, and to the Council for Exchanging
Kirishitan and Nanban Historical Culture for its support. Thank you.

5Antichi documenti sul cristianesimo giapponese conservati nelle Carte Marega
Una proficua collaborazione fra la Vaticana e le Istituzioni giapponesi
Monsignor Cesare PASINI(the Prefeto, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana)Nel Salone Sistino della Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, fra le molte raffigurazioni che rievocano
i lavori compiuti da papa Sisto V, compare anche un lungo corteo di persone: sono i partecipanti alla
processione festosa per la presa di possesso del Papa in Laterano, il 1° maggio 1585. Fra di essi
figurano quattro dignitari a cavallo: sono i membri della prima delegazione giapponese pervenuta aRoma, composta da alcuni fra i primi cristiani di quella lontana terra che nel 1549, con Francesco
Saverio, era stata raggiunta dall'evangelizzazione dei missionari gesuiti. Si trattava di quattro
rappresentanti dei daimyō (signori feudali locali) convertiti al cristianesimo, che nella loro stessa
presenza in Europa e a Roma, davano prova del fecondo frutto delle missioni gesuite e francescane
nell'estremo oriente: erano stati ricevuti da papa Gregorio XIII il 23 marzo di quell'anno, e Sisto V,
succedutogli il 10 aprile, nel congedarli li aveva insigniti della cittadinanza romana.
La raffigurazione della delegazione giapponese nel Salone Sistino non è l'unico documento che in
Vaticana ricordi quei primi cristiani, fieri di essere giunti a Roma dal Papa a testimoniare la loro fede.
Fra i manoscritti conservati in Biblioteca si annovera anche la lettera che essi consegnarono al Papa
(Borg. cin. 536)!
Ma a questo contesto si ricollegano anche altri documenti di straordinaria importanza,

6

ugualmente conservati in Vaticana. Si tratta del fondo denominato Carte Marega, dal nome delsalesiano don Mario Marega.
Mario Marega (nato nel 1902 a Mossa, in provincia di Gorizia) era giunto in Giappone agli inizidel 1930. Iniziò ad insegnare filosofia ai giovani salesiani a Miyazaki e a Takanabe, per poi spostarsi
ad Ōita, dove svolse l'attività di cappellano. Nel 1947 torna per la prima volta in Italia. Nel 1949 fece
ritorno in Giappone, prima a Usuki e infine, in qualità di parroco, a Meguro (Tokyo). Morì a Brescia
il 30 gennaio 1978.
Il salesiano Marega aveva raccolto quelle carte nei decenni Trenta e Quaranta del secolo scorso,
facendole poi pervenire a Roma e anticipandone una prima classifica¬zione in due volumi usciti in
Giappone nel 1942 e nel 1946. Sono circa diecimila documenti originali concernenti la persecuzione
che si abbatté sui cristiani del Giappone proprio all'indomani della delegazione del 1585. Quando
infatti nel 1590 i quattro giovani rientrarono in Giappone, la situazione stava ormai evolvendosi inmodo negativo per i cristiani dopo gli inizi promettenti dei decenni precedenti. L'iniziale contesto,
che aveva ben accolto i portoghesi con i missionari gesuiti, e gli spagnoli con i francescani, traendo
beneficio dal commercio con quelle nazioni, fu infatti travolto dal pericolo di instabilità politica e diopposizione militare che si percepiva venire dai feudatari convertiti al cristianesimo. Così, conl'avvento al potere dello shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) e specificamente con l'editto da luiemesso il 17 marzo 1612, si entrò in una fase di severa e violenta repressione sistematica delcristianesimo, che si protrasse sostanzialmente sino alla caduta dello shogunato dei Tokugawa con larestaurazione del potere imperiale nel 1868. In quei secoli il cristianesimo poté continuare solo in
un'esistenza catacombale, in cui la fede venne eroicamente trasmessa in ambito familiare, emergendopoi in modo commovente al termine di quella lunghissima parentesi storica.
I documenti cui stiamo riferendoci, non promanano dalla comunità cristiana, ma provengono
dall'amministrazione civile locale e riguardano in massima parte la località di Usuki (l’antica Bungo)e Takeda. Fino al 1593 la città di Usuki col suo castello era rimasta in potere della famiglia Otomo.
Con la morte di Otomo Yoshishige, che si era convertito al cristianesimo, il feudo passò nelle manidi Fukuhara Naotaka, che la governò per mezzo di Ota Masayuki. Infine, dal 1600 al 1868 Usikiservì da residenza ai daimyō della famiglia Inaba. Le Carte Marega sono proprio i documenti“governativi” originariamente raccolti nell'archivio residenziale del daimyō della famiglia Inaba di
Usuki.
Per comprendere la molteplice tipologia di quei documenti è necessario ricordare alcuni aspetti
concreti di quelle situazioni. Anzitutto, poiché la semplice proibizione a professare la fede cristiana
non sortiva l’effetto sperato di arginare il fervore missionario e lo zelo delle popolazioni
cristianizzate, l’amministrazione shogunale decretò l’obbligo di apostasia di massa (nel 1614, nel
1635 e ancora nel 1646): in concreto costrinse le popolazioni dei villaggi cristiani all’iscrizione
forzata presso una pagoda buddista, la quale era poi tenuta a trasmettere i relativi documenti (atto diapostasia e certificato di iscrizione) all’archivio del daimyō. In base a tale documentazione, gli
archivisti del daimyō procedevano alla redazione dei “registri dei Cristiani”.
Quale ulteriore misura volta a sradicare il cristianesimo fu anche escogitata la pratica periodica
dell’e-fumi, una cerimonia nella quale si imponeva di calpestare una croce o un’immagine sacra.
7

Alla cerimonia annuale, che si svolgeva presso la pagoda di appartenenza, assistevano i fedeli
iscritti; i bonzi della pagoda trasmettevano poi all’archivio del daimyō il relativo certificato diavvenuto e-fumi. La pagoda buddista, infine, inviava all’archivio residenziale del daimyō un ultimo
certificato al momento della morte di un cristiano o di un apostata (e procedeva a tenere sotto
controllo i suoi familiari e discendenti).
Le Carte Marega consistono essenzialmente in questo archivio formato da atti di apostasia,
certificati di iscrizione alla pagoda, registri dei cristiani, certificati di e-fumi, certificati di nascita e dimorte dei cristiani e dei loro discendenti, dai tempi di Tokugawa Ieyasu fino alla seconda metàdell’Ottocento. Fortunosamente rinvenuto da don Marega, esso è oggi conservato in Biblioteca
Vaticana (salvo una più piccola raccolta da tempo presente nella Biblioteca della Pontificia
Università Salesiana).
Questi preziosi documenti ‒ spesso ancora custoditi, in buone condizioni, nelle sacche che lecontenevano in origine ‒ ci ricordano i martiri cristiani, insieme agli altri che non ressero alla prova,
e costituiscono in ogni caso una documentazione singolarissima per lo studio della cristianità in
Giappone: non sono infatti note agli studiosi di queste tematiche altre collezioni di dimensioni cosìampie. Utilizzate insieme ad altri documenti di archivio conservati in loco e ai resti delle vestigia
materiali dei cristiani ancora esistenti, le Carte Marega permetteranno certamente di ricostruire unquadro storico riccamente articolato nei dettagli: un passo in avanti nella conoscenza di una storiacosì delicata e importante da approfondire.
È per questo motivo che è nata una collaborazione fra la Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana e
Istituzioni giapponesi facenti capo al National Institute for Humanities (NIHU) per l'inventariazione,
la conservazione, la digitalizzazione, lo studio e la catalogazione della Carte Marega conservate in
Vaticana. In Vaticana l'importanza delle Carte Marega fu individuata alcuni anni fa grazie alla
solerzia indagatrice di Delio Proverbio, scriptor Orientalis della Biblioteca: ne vennero vari contatti
con il mondo giapponese, in particolare con il professore Silvio Vita dell'Università di Studi Stranieri
di Kyoto. E ne è nato un progetto che si svilupperà su un arco temporale di sei anni e che prevede lacollaborazione del National Institute of Japanese Literature (di cui è membro il responsabile delprogetto, prof. Ohtomo Kazuo), del National Museum of Japanese History, dello HistoriographicalInstitute dell'Università Statale di Tokyo e dell'Archivio Storico della Prefettura di Ōita.
Anche nell'elencazione arida delle Istituzioni e nel richiamo ad alcuni nomi fra i tanti, si
comprende come una simile impresa si realizzi grazie al convergere di molteplici competenze e alla
fattiva disponibilità di molte persone. E si comprende ancora una volta come la cultura sappia aprirevie di proficua intesa e di fruttuosa collaborazione, raggiungendo buoni traguardi e offrendone a tutti
i frutti conquistati.

8

Hosting the Marega Project Symposium in Usuki
NONAKA Nobutaka(the Superintendent of Oita Prefectural Board of Education)
Co-hosting the Marega Project Symposium in Usuki, I salute the speakers and attendees ofthis Symposium, as the representative of the Oita Prefectural Board of Education
As you know, the archival materials collected by Father Marega in the Vatican Library are
assumed to be collected by Italian Father Mario Marega （1902～1978）, who came to Japan in
1929, in the course of research on historical materials related to Kirishitan in Bungo provenance. He
published two volumes of Bungo Kirishitan Shiryo as the result of his research, however, the original
documents have been missing for a long time. Though, in 2011, this group of historical materials isfound after the efforts of so many people at Vatican Library. Total amounts of the Marega materials
are estimated approximately ten thousands items. As materials introduced in Bungo Kirishitan
Shiryo, most of them are unpublished. Such huge aggregation of Christian materials hardly exists
even in Japan. Therefore, the project is expected to contribute the many and various fields of study.
Researching with the archives and ruins and relics remained in Oita prefecture, it is considered to berealized the lives of the early modern people.
Oita Prefectural Board of Education concludes the agreements with the National Instituteof the Humanities dated February 18, 2014 to cooperate and promote “Research on preservation andpublication of archival materials collected by Father Marega in the Vatican Library”.

Based on thiscooperation agreement, Oita Prefectural Ancient Sage Archives participates in Marega project.
In the Symposium, we invite Monsignor Cesare Pasini, the Director of Vatican Library and
Delio Vania Proverbio, the Head Curator of Oriental Manuscripts and hold it to approach thefascination of the archival materials collected by Father Marega through learning the chronology ofthe discovery, survey methodology, and potentialities. We also expect to view the research andutilization of Bungo Kirishitan related historical materials such as archives and remains in ourcommunity as well as Marega’s archival materials.
We are grateful to those who have supported and cooperated on this symposium and hopethat this symposium is fruitful and meaningful for all of you who join.

9“Marega Project” Symposium in Usuki
Welcome Message
NAKANO Goro (the Mayor of Usuki-city)
I would like to thank you for coming Usuki-city today.
Firstly, we are delighted with “Marega Project” symposium in Usuki opening splendidly
and we are grateful to organizers who plan this symposium to be held in here Usuki-city.
In the city, there are many cultural properties such as Usuki Magaibutu (stone-cliff
Buddha) which is a national treasure, the ruin of the Usuki-jyo (the castle of Usuki), and historical
townscape of Nioza. Recently, topics about Christian ruins represented by Shimofuji Area Kirishitan
Cemetery (a historic site designated by Oita Prefecture), which was excavated in Notu-machi of
Usuki-city, come to be highlighted.
In a situation like that, the news reported that huge quantities of materials collected by
Father Marega were found in the Vatican Library. We heard that there are many historical materials
related to Usuki Domain in the library. Whenever I hear about discoveries of cultural property
connected to Christian, I renew my recognition of the history of Usuki-city which has profoundconnections with Christian.
We wish more people to see historical materials collected in the city, and we opened
Usuki City Historical Museum in this April. As special exhibition, we are holding“Kirishitan(Christian) and Usuki” at the moment. In the exhibition, we are focusing on the “storm”
of Kirishitan persecution by Edo Shogunate, which roared in Usuki where Kirishitan culture
bloomed during the rule of Ohtomo Sorin (Christian Daimyo), and “the history of hardship” of
Kirishitan.
We regard the discovery of documents collected by Father Marega as precious materials
to know the life of Kirisitan in the Edo Period and their descendants. As the local people related tothe history, we expect the development of study from now on.
Marega Project are said to research about ten thousand items and the survey has just begun.
I hope this project become successful, and I also hope you come back again to Usuki-city and holdthe symposium when the accomplishment is achieved.
Today is the first day of the fantastical event, “Usuki-Takeyoi” which represents Oita
Prefecture. Historic streets of Usuki will be illuminated by twenty thousand take-bonbori (thebamboo paper-covered lamp) and elaborated lamps of bamboo objet at 32 places.
After studying the history about Kirishitan, I hope you enjoy the stage of the Usuki
history, and I would like to wish you look back to the past.

10

Introduction
OHTOMO Kazuo
With approximately ten thousand documents relating to Kirishitan in the Bungo area
during early modern times having been discovered at the Vatican Library, the "Marega Project," aJapanese research institute-Vatican Library joint survey research endeavor, has started.
While the project’s activities have just begun, the aim of this symposium is to report on
information that has come to light (such as how this vast number of historical documents relating toKirishitan proscription were transmitted), share the current state of the ongoing survey at the Vatican,
and encounter the appeal of the Marega texts.
The issue of how these documents were transmitted—in other words, why they exist—isvery important for the survey. Furthermore, when various research is carried out in the future thatmakes use of the collection, this will serve as foundational information. It will also be importantwhen creating a document catalogue and image database, at which time an even more detailed
investigation of the topic will probably be required.
Through the following questions, this symposium seeks to elucidate how these documents
were transmitted. First, "why are these documents held at the Vatican library?" This relates to
Researcher Proverbio's presentation. Considering that many researchers have searched for thisdocument collection, his presentation presents us with significant discoveries.
Second, "what documents did Father Marega gather? how did he gather them? how did hemanage them?" This relates to the fact that Father Mario Marega created this collection based on his
own research and preservation interests, and is separate from the facts surrounding the documents
being stored at the Vatican Library. In her presentation, Professor Matsui will discuss the situation
surrounding the management of the Marega texts (going through the plastic bags they are containedin) as well as the findings of the general survey that has been carried out over the course of the past
two years. She also will give us a glimpse into the survey activities themselves. Investigating thetransmission and structure of each document group within this collection will surely become evenmore important in the coming years.
Third, before Father Marega collected these documents, "how were they transmitted (inthe Edo period)?" In his presentation, Director Satō will carefully review the content of documents,
approaching this issue while making clear the roles and functions of villages and domains.
The first two questions are temporally related to the 1930s and 1940s, and involve both the
Italian and Japanese languages. The third question relates to the world of old historical documents,
or komonjo.
While the survey and research has just begun, we decided to invite Library Director Mons.
Cesare Pasini and Head Curator Delio Vania Proverbio and hold this symposium in Usuki in order toshare aspects of the project's accomplishments and activities with everyone, particularly Oita
residents. I look forward to everyone's active participation throughout the day.
Thus concludes my explanation of today's objectives. It is my hope that this symposium
will further strengthen the cultural ties between Japan and the Vatican. Thank you.
11

Session I

Cronologia del fondo Marega in Vaticana
Delio Vania PROVERBIO (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana)

Old documents, mostly of the 17th and the 18th centuries, from Indian subcontinent,
Indochinese peninsula, Indonesian archipelago and Northeast Asia are preserved in different
collections in the Vatican Library, according to their different origins: “Barberini orientali”(including items from Japan and Tonkin) from the Barberini Library, originally founded andincreased by the Barberini family during the 17th and the 18th centuries, acquired by the
Vatican in 1902; “Borgiani indiani” (71 items), “Borgiani siamesi” (2 items), “Borgiani
tonchinesi” (41 items) from the Library of Propaganda Fide, with origin dating back from thelibrary of Collegio Urbano founded in 1627, entered in the Vatican in 1902; “Vaticani
estremo-orientali” (including number of documents from China’s neighboring countries),
formed in 1922 under the guide of French Sinologist Paul Pelliot, containing the most ancient
Far Eastern documents in the Vatican Library; “Vaticani indiani” (74 items), documents
mainly entered between the second half of the 18th century and the first decade of the 19th,
together with some manuscripts which had arrived previously in the Library but wereincorporated later in the collection; “Vaticani indocinesi” (1 item) formed only recently in
2004.
These documents, relating to the history of the Church, aboriginal religious writings,
literature, dictionaries, etc., are in various languages and scripts – Annamese, Batak, Burmese,
Hindi, Japanese, Javanese, Khmer, Konkani, Korean, Lao, Malabar, Malay, Malayalam,Mongolian, Nepali, Newari, Pāli, Prakrit, Sanskrit, Siamese, Sinhalese, Tamil, Telugu,
Tibetan, Urdu – mainly written on paper, but also on palm leaves or engraved on metal
plates.
Currently the Vatican Library is starting a project of organizing, digitizing and cataloging
its unedited Marega collection, containing over 10,000 items of Japanese 17th century
documents, collected by Salesian missionary Mario Marega during his stay in Japan, and sent
to Rome during World War II.

12

Una prima, ancorché ellittica presentazione dell’Archivio feudale della famiglia Inaba − le cui
sopravvivenze furono raccolte e riunite in quella che lo stesso salesiano goriziano denomina da subito“Collezione Marega” − si deve al medesimo Marega, che ne illustrò taluni aspetti in un breve articolo
pubblicato nei Monumenta Nipponica ‒ la neonata rivista della Sophia University ‒ per l’anno 1939.1
In quel contributo furono trascritti e tradotti tre documenti della sua collezione.2
Sempre nel 1939, furono trascritti e tradotti altri otto documenti, in un lungo articolo pubblicato nel
terzo volume degli «Annali Lateranensi» (pubblicazione del Pontificio Museo Missionario Etnologico,oggi parte dei Musei Vaticani).3 Quei
documenti, che Marega corredò di una
riproduzione fotografica a tutta pagina
in bianco e nero, erano pervenuti
materialmente a Roma nel 1938, per il
tramite di Mons. Vincenzo Cimatti(1879-1965), allora Prefetto ApostolicodiMiyazaki−destinati,comeaffermato dallo stesso Marega, al
Museo Missionario Etnologico.4
Quanto alla sorte della stragrande
maggioranzadeidocumenti

oggi

rinvenuti, una prima indicazione ci
viene da una annotazione di sua mano,vergata al frontespizio dell’esemplare –ritrovato fra le sue carte − del secondo
volume del catalogo intitolato Zoku
Bungo k(i)ris(hi)tan shiryo (pubblicato
a Tokyo nel 1946). La nota recita: «I
documentiliho

consegnati

originali
tutti

a

S.E.

l’Internunzio Mons. Arcivescovo».

Father Mario Marega

1

Vedi M. Marega, E-fumi, «Monumenta Nipponica», 1939, 2/1, pp. 281-287.

2Documenti nrr. 99-T (con foto), 320 (con foto), 105-T.

3

Vedi M. Marega, Memorie cristiane della regione di Oita, «Annali Lateranensi», 3, 1939, pp. 9-59:

documenti nrr. 228A, 299, 302, 303, 304, 309, 32-T, registro del marire Ki’an [s.n.].
4

Vedi Marega, Memorie cristiane, cit., p. 21; Id., Documenti sulla storia della chiesa in Giappone. Gli

editti di persecuzione del 1619. Testi e note critiche, «Annali Lateranensi», 14, 1950, pp. 9-59, ovedichiara (a p. 17) di aver donato al Museo Missionario Etnologico un altro documento, il nr. 324(editto di persecuzione dei cristiani indigeni, 1613). Si vedano anche taluni appunti trovati fra leCarte Marega, segnatamente i documenti A9.2.18.1, A9.2.19.1.

13

In effetti, nel rapporto nr. ***, sottoscritto in Tokyo il 14 agosto 1953 da James R. Knox, segretariodell’Internunziatura Apostolica, per conto di Mons. Maximilien de Furstenberg (1904-1988) ‒Delegato Apostolico (dipendente dalla S.Congregazione «de Propaganda Fide») dal 22 marzo 1949,1
e poi nominato Nunzio Apostolico il 28 aprile 1952 ‒ indirizzato a Mons. Giovanni Battista Montini ‒il futuro papa Paolo VI, allora Prosegretario di Stato ‒ si legge quanto segue:«Eccellenza Reverendissima, il Rev. Don Marega, missionario salesiano, ha voluto umiliare al
Santo Padre per la Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana tutta una collezione di documenti ufficiali
riguardanti la persecuzione dei primi cristiani in Giappone. S.E. l’Ambasciatore Italiano a Tokyo2
ha gentilmente offerto all’Ecc.mo Internunzio l’occasione di mandare detti documenti ed altri libri
con la prima nave della nuova linea italiana tra Genova e Yokohama. Sono stati indirizzati a Vostra
Eccellenza Rev.ma 2 bauli e una cassa con questi effetti.
1) il baule di legno semplice contiene i documenti già catalogati. I numeri si trovano registrati in
un quaderno apposito.
2) Nel baule foderato di lamiera si trovano i documenti ancora da catalogarsi, ma sono tutti
racchiusi in sacchi di carta, su cui è scritto il contenuto dei documenti: atti di nascita o altri simili
documenti (atti di morte) dei discendenti dei
cristiani non solo ma di tutti gli abitanti dello
stato feudale di Usuki. Si trova anche una
carta dell’antica Oita (Panai) che è stata
copiata prima della guerra da una carta
originale.
3) Nella cassa ci sono due cassetti dilamiera con altri documenti che formanol’oggetto d’un libro di Don Marega. Inoltre ci
sono i volumi descritti nel Rapporto 665[l’Introductio in Sanctam Scripturam el’Archaeologia

Biblica,ingiapponese,

preparati dal Rev. Joseph Shibutani]3».

Il 18 dicembre 1953, con lettera nr. ******,
Mons. Montini scrive al Prefetto della Biblioteca
Apostolica Vaticana, il benedettino Anselmo M.
Albareda: «Mi do premura di rimettere a parte,indirizzate alla Paternità Vostra Reverendissima,
1

Succedeva a Mons. Paolo Marella, che era stato nominato Delegato Apostolico il 15 settembre

1933.
2

Blasco Lanza D’Ajeta (1907-1969), allora di fresca nomina.

3

Nagasaki 1951 e 1952; accessionati con la segnatura R.G.Bibbia.V.1254, 1255.

14tre casse di documenti qui inviate dalla Ec.ma Internunziatura Apostolica di Tokyo […]».
Albareda gli risponde il 23 dicembre, assicurandogli che le tre casse di documenti sono giunte in
Biblioteca, e soggiungendo di aver «dato le opportune disposizioni per l’inserzione dei documenti e
dei libri nei fondi della Biblioteca Vaticana».
In riferimento al suddetto materiale, con lettere del 3 e 5 aprile 1954 (nrr. *** e ***), l’Internunzio
Maximilien de Furstenberg scrive ad Albareda, inviandogli il primo volume del Zoku Bungok(i)ris(hi)tan shiryo,1 unitamente al seguente estratto dalla lettera di Marega all’Internunziatura: «Le
avevo promesso a Tokyo di inviarle il primo volume giapponese, in cui sono stampati i documenti
inviati in italia, con l’aggiunta, nel libro, del numero distintivo di ogni singolo documento usato inquesto primo volume. Nel libro che Le invio a parte, ho aggiunto a mano il numero distintivo di ogni
documento usato nelle singole pagine. Così, a Roma, chi volesse vedere l’originale può vedere dove ildocumento venne stampato. Ho già preparato la versione in italiano di questo primo volume; non sodove sia bene inviarlo: se ad “Annali Lateranensi” perché venga stampato, oppure direttamente in
Vaticano».
Albareda gli risponde il 15 maggio, ringraziandolo per l’interessamento e la sollecitudine. Rimane
tuttavia perplesso «dinanzi al quesito dello stesso Don Marega […] infatti finora non mi è giunta
alcuna informazione circa l’eventuale stampa del citato volume».
Infine, con lettera nr. **** del 6 dicembre 1957, Mons. de Furstenberg faceva pervenire ad
Albareda ‒ che gli risponderà il 31 gennaio 1958, inviando contestualmente una lettera di
ringraziamento allo stesso Marega ‒ «un volume dal titolo “La battaglia di Shimabara” (1637), nel
racconto di un combattente che ha partecipato agli avvenimenti esposti». Il manoscritto verràaccessionato, con la segnatura Vat. estr. or. 57, per cura del domenicano Marie-Hyacinthe Laurent(1906-1968), scriptor Latinus presso la Biblioteca Vaticana, come risulta da una annotazione a sua
firma apposta al margine della predetta lettera dell’Internunzio − annotazione datata 18 giugno 1957.
La grande collezione documentaria raccolta da Mario Marega viene momentaneamente
accantonata, in attesa di una sistemazione. Qualche anno più tardi, questo accantonamento si
cristallizza in una forma più stabile: nel 1965, col censire il materiale non accessionato, sedimentatosi
in Biblioteca fino al dicembre 1964, il summenzionato padre Laurent costituisce il cosiddetto
Deposito A, collocando nelle prime 21 posizioni i documenti giapponesi di Marega.2 L’oblio ha
preservato questa precisa configurazione finché, 47 anni dopo, nel marzo del 2011 l’archivio Marega ètornato a rivivere.

1

Accessionato il 18 maggio 1954 con la segnatura Riserva.III.74. Al frontespizio si legge una nota

autografa di Marega: «I documenti originali sono a Roma».
2

Cp. P. Vian, Il Dipartimento dei Manoscritti, in: >>>, pp. 383, 387.

15

Session II

Preserving and Sharing Fascination of Archival Materials collectedby Father Marega~Introduction of Research Methodology and Progress of the Survey~
MATSUI Yoko
(Historiographical Institute, the University of Tokyo)
In their presentations, Director Pasini and Dr. Proverbio discussed Father Mario Marega
sending to the Vatican the historical documents he had gathered, how they came to be stored in 21
bags, the circumstances surrounding the launch of the current survey project, and so on. In thispresentation, along with discussing the appearance of the 21 Marega text bags that are currently
preserved at the Vatican, I will report on the aims, progress, and characteristics of the survey carriedout in September of this year. (After this presentation, Director Satō will discuss in detail the natureand content of the historical documents found in the Marega text collection.)
1. The Marega Texts
1.1 Marega's Research on Japan and Bungo Kirishitan Historical Documents
In addition to being a Salesian priest, Marega was a leading Japanese studies researcher in Italy. He
translated the Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters) into Italian, and carried out research on stories suchas the Chūshingura (The Treasury of Loyal Retainers). And, of course, he is also known in the worldof Kirishitan 1 research for his two-volume Bungo Kirishitan Historical Documents (Bungo
Kirishitan shiryō). These two document collections have provided foundational historical materials
for research on Kirishitan in the Bungo area. They are often used by scholars and quoted inmonographs, such as the work of Professor Murai Sanae (who is in attendance today), Oita
Prefectural History, Usuki City History, and so on.
Marega's collection of wood-block print books, manuscripts, and color-printed ukiyoe arefound at Salensia University, and his collection of Bungo Kirishitan historical documents are stored
at the Vatican Library. In addition to its value in of itself, his collection also shows the kind of
historical documents he gathered and the topics he wanted to research. Obtaining an overall image of
his collecting is also an important task.
1.2 The Historical Documents as Objects: An Overall Picture
The Marega texts are stored in a total of 21 bags. While, as discussed earlier, the documents werearranged in some ways so that they could be stored at the Vatican, they basically remain in the samestate as when they arrived. It appears that these bags are based on Marega’s original organization of
the documents. Currently each bag is referred to with the letter "A" and a number between 1 and 21.
1

Japanese Christianity/Christians before 1868.

16

We are surveying the bags in the order they are numbered. However, it appears that this is the order
they were placed in by the Vatican for organizational purposes rather than an order created byMarega.
2. The Marega Project Survey
2.1 The Survey's Overall Goals
The Marega Project's survey involves the following process:① General Survey: Numbering, creation of general survey sheets, the recording of items as articles.
② Preservation Measures: Placing documents in envelopes, repairing them so they can withstandbeing photographed, considering preservation methods.
③ Photographing all Documents: Taking high-quality digital photographs for preservation andpublic release.
④ Creating a Catalogue of Each Individual Document: Recording basic information regarding eachhistorical document.
After the above steps have been carried out, the survey will attempt to reach the following final
goals:⑤ Public Release of Catalogue and Images: Provide access to a databased catalogue and images.
⑥ Development of Appropriate Preservation and Research: Passing down the historical documents
to future generations for the advancement of research.
2.2 Survey Characteristics① This survey aims to utilize these historical documents as a whole while keeping in mind theirpast and future by, for example, recording their current state (which is a reflection of the path they
have taken in the past) and considering preservation measures for passing down these documents tofuture generations.
② This survey is being carried out with the cooperation of many people, including individuals
associated with the Vatican Library, domestic scholars (who belong to humanities research
institutes—such as the National Institute of Japanese Literature—as well as The University ofTokyo's Historiographical Institute and Oita prefecture organizations), Italian researchers, Japanese
students studying abroad in Italy, and so on. It is a survey based on international as well as domesticcooperation.
③ This survey aims to ultimately pass on its accomplishments to society by, for example, publicly
releasing its catalogue database and digital images of the historical documents.
3 The 2013-2014 Survey(Primarily ① General Survey. ② Vatican Library Preservation Measures and ③ Photographing
All Documents also began).
3.1 General Survey Steps
17

1) Unpacking. Carried out while photographing the documents' current states for record keeping
purposes.
2) Document Numbering. Done in a way that reflects the documents' original states (wrapping paper,
strings, envelope memos, etc.).
3) Storing in Containers. Placing the historical documents in containers (envelopes, papers, etc.)with the document numbers written on them.
4) Creating Survey Sheets. Recording the states (not the content) of the documents on numbered
survey sheets: language, size, preservation state (damage due to bugs, etc.), existence/non-existenceof memos (including Marega's numbering), and so on.
5) Record Book Creation and Document Storage. Giving the documents themselves numbers, which
are then written in a record book. The documents are then stored in cases.
6) Survey photographing. Taking photographs necessary for the creation of a summary catalogue andfor preservation measures.
3.2 "De-bundling" and Recording of Current State
In order for the documents to be preserved, managed, and used into the future, it is not necessarily
appropriate to keep them in their current state. However, their current state is meaningful in that it
traces the path they have taken up until the present. It enables one to gather information, such as how
they were originally preserved (e.g., the Usuki domain document bags), the kind of understanding
from which Marega analyzed and organized the documents (e.g., categories, memos), how they weresent from Japan, received, and treated (e.g., memos by people other than Marega, etc.), and so on.
Thus, it is necessary to leave a record of their current state so it can be recreated if necessary. For
this reason, when changing their current form, the process is recorded in photographs, and numbersthat reflect their original states are given to them.
3. 3Progress Report2013 Academic Year Survey
・September 16th to 20th, 2013 (Five Days, 9 individuals participated): completed A1, A2, and partof A3.
2014 Academic Year Survey＊June 9th to 13th, 2014
・Meeting and survey (Aoki, Kanayama, and Vatican staff) regarding Preservation Measures (②).
・Based on this meeting and survey, the Vatican library preservation and restoration team began
preparing the documents to be photographed.
＊September 8th to 26th, 2014 (15 days)
・Divided into a first half and second half. 20 individuals participated. The current state of the
documents in bags up to A12 and partially including A13 were recorded, and survey slips werecreated for documents in bags up to and including A11.
＊Commencement of full-scale photography (③)
・The Vatican Library holds many precious materials, and has a digital scanner that can capture18

large-size materials.
・Each document is individually set in the scanner, and a specialist on the Italian side scans them.
・Since this was the first time, both parties began work while discussing things over in detail.
・In the future appropriate photography will continue to be carried out. In the case that any problems
arise, a Japanese person will need to be present to act as a liason and coordinate things. An
Italian-speaking Japanese graduate study abroad student who has been participating in the survey has
agreed to help out in this regard.
・Basic metadata is attached to each image.
3.4 Parts of the Collections that Have Already Been Surveyed＊There are at the very least three document groups included in the 21 bags.
1) Documents related to the publication of the two "Bungo Kirishitan Historical Documents"
volumes. (A1, A2)
2) Categorized documents stamped / inscribed with a reference number by Marega, classified tosome extent, and wrapped in newspaper or other material. Regarding the extent of organization,
there are some items that simply have numbers attached to them, and others on which are written
Italian-language memos relating to their content. (A5~A11)3) Items that Marega were unable to fully organize or research after he acquired them. (A3, A4)＊Below, as time allows, I will discuss the characteristics of each of these groups.
★A1, A2: It appears that these contain draft manuscripts for "Bungo Kirishitan Historical
Documents" as well as the texts contained therein.
→ It seems that after the publication of these documents Marega compared the published versions
with their originals.
For A1, they were divided into brown envelopes, on which their time period is written in blue ink.
・Some correspond with what is written in red and blue pen in the table of contents of the second
Bungo Kirishitan Historical Documents volume that is found in A1.
In A2 there are three gray patterned document boxes and one set of documents wrapped in white
paper.
・In the three document boxes, just as was the case with A1, the documents contained in the first
volume of Bungo Kirishitan Historical Documents are organized into envelopes.
・In the white paper bundle, there are manuscripts: "Harajō kiji" 原城記事 (three volumes), "Arima
jinki shū" 有馬陣記集, "Shimabara Amakusa nikki" 島原天草日記, and "Jashūmon no gi ni tsuki
naimitsu mōshiage no kakitsuke" 邪宗門之儀に付内密申上之書付. Interestingly, here we findvarious manuscripts related to the Shimabara Rebellion, which was closely related to Kirishitan.
★A3, A4: Items that Marega was unable to fully organize or research after he acquired them. Bothuse very similar boxes from the same clothing store. There are no numbers or memos written byMarega regarding individual documents. These bags primarily contain documents reported to the
Usuki domain's Office of Religious Affairs regarding religious investigations, the death, birth,

19movement, tonsure, etc. of ruizoku,1 and so on. Similar documents are bundled together. They were
probably stored at the storehouse, etc. of the Office of Religious Affairs. In A4, there are somedocuments that have become stuck together due to water leakage, etc. that are hard to separate.
★A5～A11 Documents stamped / inscribed with a reference number by Marega.
A5: In A5, groups of bound volumes and unbound papers are bundled in newspaper. There are four
bundles. The documents relate to the strengthening of the religious investigation in Shōhō 3 (refer toSatō's presentation), and so on.
A6: Bundles of single papers are wrapped in newspaper. There are two bundles. They are collectionsof oaths stating that one is not a Kirishitan.
A7: Bundles of single papers are wrapped in thick paper. There are nine bundles. The documents arereports to the Office of Religious Affairs relating to ruizoku marriage, adoption, movement, tonsure,and so on. While it is similar to A3 and A4, it includes Marega's stamps and written reference
numbers.
A8: Bound bundles of single papers. There are six bundles. They are primarily collections of reports
to the Office of Religious Affairs regarding religious investigations.
A9: Two bundles of bound single sheets of paper. Notifications regarding ruizoku birth, death, etc.
A10: Three bundles. They are pasted together documents such as notifications regarding the numberof people in domain retainer households (used as basic information in religious investigations)bound with a booklet that includes the totals of the numbers presented in them. To take photographsof these, it will be necessary to undo their binding. This will be done sometime next year or later.
There were also approximately 70 notebooks reporting monthly population increases and decreases(used as basic information in religious investigations) with their right-side bindings severed. Aftermonthly records were gathered for the year, they were probably no longer needed, and hence theirbindings were severed so they could be reused. There are also traces of them being used while stillbound for writing practice and so on. Marega stamped and wrote reference numbers on these.
A11: Two bundles. They include notebooks with severed bindings like A10, as well as some thatremain whole. Otherwise there are reports relating to birth, death, ruizoku joining / leaving villages,
and so on.
⇒ Presently approximately half of the general survey has been completed. We reconfirmed Marega
numbered and organized to some extent nine out of the eleven bags. In this survey, with the help ofProfessor Vita from the Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, Professor Del Bene from the
University of Rome, and Dr. Proverbio, we were able to catch a glimpse of Marega’s survey research
process through his Italian-language memos. In our future surveys as well, I would like to focus onwhat Marega tried to collect, organize, and research, as well as how he did so.
＊The circumstances surrounding Marega's acquisition of the documents were diverse, as well as theset of places from which he got them. I had thought that many of them would be documents that had
been preserved by villages, but it appears that many of them had actually been preserved by the1

An individual who had an ancestor within the past seven generations that was a Kirishitan.

20

Usuki Domain Office. This was one of our discoveries.
・Through these documents, the structure of religious investigations and of document management
can be understood, such as how the domain's Office of Religious Affairs had these documents
created, as well as how they gathered and preserved them. The domain documents include
information on the domain overall (not just some villages), as well as the samurai class (not only
farming villages). It is now possible to grasp the overall situation in the domain during certain time
periods, since these documents were brought together by year and preserved. It appears that we will
be able to obtain a lot of information, such as that regarding the domain's system and domain
retainer organization. For example, we have discovered that in each unit several people were absent
because they were in Edo (Tokyo), as well as that there were jobs from around the end of the 17th
century / beginning of the 18th century such as "Fushimi Long-term Duty" and "Osaka Long-term
Duty."
・While these documents are only ones relating to investigations of Kirishitan, analyses from various
angles are possible because it is a large, exhaustive collection.
Conclusion
In closing, I would like to touch upon the potential of the Marega texts survey project. In addition to
the development of research in fields such as Kirishitan history, domain political history, and area
history, when actually engaging in the survey, I felt doing so itself was meaningful and presents
various possibilities, which I have written below.
① Exchange regarding and development of survey, organization, management, repair, etc. methods.
・Both sides involved in the project gain experience: in the survey, individuals devise better methods
for surveying, organizing, and so on in accordance with the documents’ states, and, while doing so,they deepen their mutual understanding of the methods the other side has experience in throughrepeated conversation.
② Advancement in Human Exchange
Various researchers, technicians, and assistants are transcending categories such as nationality,
institution, and field while engaging in this project. I would like to further this exchange throughopportunities like this symposium. It can be expected that this survey project will bring about humanexchange that will continue into the next generation.

21

List of Participants of Marega Project Survey
September 2013
OHTOMO Kazuo, AOKI Mutsumi, KATO Kiyofumi (NIJL)
KURUSHIMA Hiroshi (National Museum of Japanese History)
MATSUI Yoko (Historiographical Institute, the University of Tokyo)
SATO Akihiro (Oita Prefecture Ancient Sages Historical Archives)
Silvio VITA (Kyoto University of Foreign Studies)
Marco Del BENE (Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza")<Research Cooperator>
ABE Megumi
June 2014
AOKI Mutsumi, (NIJL)
KANAYAMA Masako (Gangoji Institute for Research of Cultural Property)
September 2014
OHTOMO Kazuo, AOKI Mutsumi, NISHIMURA Shintaro, OTA Naohiro,
KATO Kiyofumi, MINO Yukinori (NIJL)
MATSUI Yoko, MATSUKATA Fuyuko, SATO Takayuki, MORI (SHIMIZU) Yuko
(Historiographical Institute, the University of Tokyo)
SATO Akihiro, OTSU Yuji (Oita Prefecture Ancient Sages Historical Archives)
OHASHI Yukihiro (Waseda University)
Silvio VITA (Kyoto University of Foreign Studies)
Marco Del BENE (Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza")<Research Cooperator>
SHIMIZU Rika, ABE Megumi, HARADA Akiko, MATSUURA Kazunosuke, Matteo LUCCI
Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana
Mons. Cesare Pasini (Prefetto)
Delio Vania Proverbio (Head Curator of Oriental manuscripts）
Ángela Núñez Gaitán (Preservation Department)
Clara YU Dong

(Curator of Oriental manuscripts)

Irmgard Schuller(Laboratorie Fotografico)

everybody else in the Vatican Library

22

Session III

Generating System and Provenance of anti-Christian Documents
in Early Modern Bungo
SATO Akihiro(Oita Prefecture Ancient Sages Historical Archives)

Introduction
A multitude of Kirishitan1-related remains and relics from the end of the medieval period and earlymodern period remain in Oita prefecture. The below table contains a list of the primary ones foundin six municipalities that have established "The Council for Exchanging Kirishitan and Nanban
Historical Culture"
1530

Ōtomo Sōrin born.

Ōtomo Ruins (National Historic Site), Oita city

1543

Portuguese drift ashore on Tanegashima.

1549

Francisco de Xavier comes to Kagoshima.

1551

de Xavier comes to Funai at the invitation ofPlace of Departure of de Xavier, Hiji town

Sōrin.
1555

Luís de Almeida opens child hospital in Funai.
Number of believers in Kutami, Naoiri district

Kirishitan Cave Bethel (Prefectural Historic Site), Taketa city

(Taketa city) reaches 300.
1578

Sōrin is baptized.

1580

Noviciado (practice center) opens in Usuki.

1581

Collegio (academy) opens in Funai.

1582

Itō Mancio and others head to Europe.

1587

Sōrin dies.

Ōtomo Sōrin’s Grave, Tsukumi city

Hideyoshi issues Jesuit Purge Order.
Petro Kibe Kasui born.
16th-17th century
th

Kakidaki Kirishitan Grave (Prefectural Historic Site), Usuki cityth

16 -17 century

Shimofuji Kirishitan Cemetery (Prefectural Historic Site), Usuki city

Inscribed in 1612

Copper bell (Santiago Bell, Important Cultural Property), Taketa city1612

Edo shogunate issues Order Banning Kirishitan.

1619

Kanayama Hanzaemon and Diego are martyred.

Hiji Martyr’s Park, Hiji town

1620

Petro Kibe arrives in Rome.

Kibe Memorial Park, Kunisaki city

1639

Petro Kibe is martyred.

1660~

Exposure and mass arrest of hidden Kirishitan in
Bungo

1

Japanese Christianity/Christians before 1868.

23

Documents created during the time of Kirishitan proscription can also be found in public
institutions and private households. Currently, a survey of Father Mario Marega's "Bungo Kirishitan
Historical Documents" (below, the Marega texts) is underway. They are thought to be mostly fromthe 17th century onwards.
While it goes without saying that the Marega texts are indispensable for research related to
Bungo Kirishitans, when engaging in research on these texts, it is also important to take into accountthe historical documents and Kirishitan remains and relics in Oita prefecture. By engaging in thiskind of holistic research, it becomes possible to concretely investigate the history of Kirishitan
proscription from multiple angles.
In this presentation, I will consider the creation and transmission of documents related to
Kirishitan proscription in Usuki domain based on the results of the work that has been done on the
Marega texts (including the ones that remain in Oita prefecture).
There is a considerable amount of scholarship on Kirishitan proscription policies in Usuki
domain, such as Murai Sanae's work (Bakuhansei seiritsu to Kirishitan kinsei, Bunken Shuppan;
Kirishitan kinsei to minshū no shūkyō, Yamakawa Shuppansha, etc.). This presentation's analysis
will draw from Murai's scholarship.
1. Texts from the Beginning Period of Kirishitan Proscription Policies in the Usuki Domain(1) Kan'ei 12 (1635) Texts
The Edo shogunate's proscription of Kirishitan began with issuance of "Articles" (jōjō) on the 6th
day of the 8th month in Keichō 17 (1612). The second article stated, "Kirishitan converts arebanned." Based on this, the Usuki domain began efforts to ban Kirishitan, driving out missionaries
from their Rezydencja in Takada (Oita city) and Notu (Usuki city). Many Kirishitan renounced theirfaith, especially during the years of Keichō 19 (1614), Genna 10 (1624), and Kan'ei 10 (1633).
"A Certificate from the Investigation of Converted Kirishitan" (Marega texts A2.3.1.1),
dated the 5th day of the 8th month of
Shōhō 3 (1646), states that Sukezaemonof Miyakawauchi village (Usuki city)
renounced his faith and that him and his
family are not Kirishitan. It also contains
the signatory seal of their "parishioner
temple" (danna-dera) verifying its content. It certifies that he left behind Christianity in Keichō 19(1614), became a parishioner of the True Pure Land sect's Myōshōji Temple (Oita city), and in
Kan'ei 11 (1634) stepped on a "Kirishitan image" (efumi) in front of a certain magistrate, thereby
proving that he was not a Kirishitan. From this document, it can be seen that former Kirishitan werebeing made to carry out efumi in Kan'ei 11 (1634). Marega states that this is the "oldest record" ofefumi "from Usuki domain" (Bungo Kirishitan shiryō).
By Kan'ei 12 (1635), on the surface there were no Kirishitan in Usuki domain. In that year,
the domain was making each family create an oath declaring that it was not a Christian (called "A
Submitted Oath from the Investigation of Kirishitan"). People were made to make these oaths, which24stated thattheshogunatestrictlyordered theproscription of Kirishitan. A document created on the 8th day of the 11th month of the same year
regarding Sōjirō from the village of Yokoo (Marega texts A2.4.10.1.1) testifies that 14 people(Sōjirō's family, errand boys, maidservants, tenant farmers, etc.) signed in blood a statement thatthey will "not become Kirishitan" and are parishioners of Manjuji temple in Funai (Oita city).
Manjuji's signatory seal also appears verifying the content of the document. Sōjirō signed his nameand pressed two seals, while others stamped circular ones. From this text, it can be seen that theysubmitted a document testifying that this year and last year they were not Kirishitan, as well as that
their parishioner temple attested to this fact. In other words, from Kan'ei 10 (1633) documents werecreated as part of religious investigations to prove that people were not Kirishitan, and parishioner
temples certified them. In this document, the parishioner temple verified that the number ofparishioners (14) was correct, placing its seal above where the number of people and its name are
written. Approximately 80 oaths like these are included in bag A6 of the Marega texts. While I
would like to engage in a detailed analysis of them in the future, one does wonder as to the nature of
the content of these oaths, particularly those of former Kirishitan.
These oaths were gathered for each village unit. The village unit headman wrote down thenumber of former Kirishitans in each household (by gender) and thentotaled the number of people in and oaths from the village unit. This
information was recorded in a "Kirishitan Investigation Record Book" andsubmitted to domain's Office of Religious Affairs. For example, there is the"Kirishitan Investigation Record" of Ino village (Usuki city) that is dated
the 20th day of the 11th month of Kan'ei 12 (1635) (Marega texts Ａ
2.3.13.1). On its first page, the title "A Record of the Number of Oaths andPeople in the Investigation of Kirishitan," is found, and a total of 583 men and women and 69 oaths
are listed. This number of oaths is the same as the number of listed households. In the Shibao village
unit's (Usuki city) "Kirishitan Investigation Record," (Bungo kirisutokyōshi, Oita Prefecture Ancient
Sages Historical Archives), 526 men and women and 72 oaths (households) are listed. It records thetotal number of individuals in the village unit who renounced their Christian faith, stating that five of
269 men and five of 257 women are former Kirishitan.
When submitting oaths or a "Kirishitan Investigation Record" to the domain, each village
headmen was made to separately present a certificate ("Kirishitan Investigation Certificate") For
example, in the Higashikono village's (Usuki city) "Kirishitan Investigation Certificate " (Marega
texts A2.4.10.2.1), dated the 14th day of the 12th month of Kan'ei 12 (1635), it is written that the25content of theoaths are correct,
that "units of ten
people" arekeeping watch
over each other,and so on.
In this way, in response to the shogunate's orders to carry out a religious investigation in
Kan'ei 12 (1635), the Usuki domain made each household create an oath and made their parishioner
temples certify it. These oaths were then brought together by village unit, and village headmen weremade to submit certificates so they would manage Kirishitan-related affairs responsibly. Thesesubmitted documents were probably kept by the Office of Religious Affairs as basic materials for
Usuki domain's Kirishitan proscription policies.
(2) Shōhō 3 (1646) Texts
From the Shimabara-Amakusa Revolt onwards, the shogunate further strengthened its Kirishitan
proscription policies. In Usuki domain, along with mutual surveillance being reinforced by there-organizing of the "units of ten
people" into "units of five people," inShōhō 3 (1646) new documents werecreated as part of the Kirishitan
proscription policy.
For example, consider the"Kirishitan Investigation Five-Person
Unit Certificate," dated the 16th day of the 8th month of that year (Marega texts A2.3.3.1), which
was composed by a five-person unit comprised of a household in Ikehara village (Usuki city) and
four households in Terakōji village (Usuki city). It lists five items to be followed relating to theproscription of Kirishitan and bears the signatory seals of the head of each of the five households.
Additionally, each of the households' parishioner temples also affixed their signatory seals attesting
to the fact that the household's members are parishioners. For households including people withdifferent parishioner temples, each temple’s seals are attached. In the case of the Zenkichi family(the fifth household) from Terakōji village, two people were parishioners of Myōshōji Temple in
Hetugi (Oita city), and four people were parishioners of Fugenji Temple in Notu (Usuki city). Eachtemple certifies in the document that these individuals are temple members. The document serves as
an attestation for a total of thirty people. Also, in this five-person unit, there was one Kirishitan who
renounced his/her faith in Keichō 19 (1614), and two who renounced their faith in Genna 8 (1622).
There are approximately 100 “Kirishitan Investigation Five-Person Unit Certificates” included in the
bag A5 of the Marega texts. While I would like to engage in a detailed analysis of them in the future,ones does wonder particularly the way the five person units that included former Kirishitan wereorganized, and how members of these units—which included people from different villages—kept
26

watch over each other.
Furthermore, during the same time, former Kirishitan were made to submit the
aforementioned "Certificate from the Investigation of Converted Kirishitan." In these documents, thesignatory seals of parishioner temples are affixed above the name of each household. In thehousehold of Sukezaemon from Miyakawauchi village, there was one person with a different
parishioner temple, and therefore that temple’s signatory seal is affixed as well. The domain’s Officeof Religious Affairs wrote "Miyakawauchi Village Conversion Document Sukezaemon" on thefore edge of the document submitted by Sukezaemon, and then stored it. Thus, it appears that
submitted documents were used as basic records regarding former Kirishitan.
"Kirishitan Investigation Five-Person Unit Certificates" and "Certificates from theInvestigation of Converted Kirishitan" from Shōhō 3 (1646) were attempts by Usuki domain to
re-organize, improve and strengthen its Kirishitan proscription policy and also appear to mark the
beginning of a new era in terms of the five-person unit and the temple registration system (tera-uke
seido).
2. Documents from After the Establishment of Kirishitan Proscription Policies in Usuki Domain(1) Documents Relating to Religious Investigations
In Usuki domain, the position of Religion Magistrate was created in Kan'ei 5 (1665), and from Enpō
5 (1677) onwards efumi was carried out using a copperplate Christian image borrowed from theNagasaki Magistrate's Office. After religious investigations that used efumi turned into an
established annual custom, people were instructed to create almost the same set of documents at thestart of every new year.
"Household Records" were one of the types of documents created for the Hōreki 5 (1755)
religious investigation. One can be found in the Nyūbaru village unit's (Oita city) "Copy of the
Hōreki 5 Government Office Order"("Ikemi Family Documents," Oita
Prefecture Ancient Sages Historical
Archives). Based on the previous year's
record, the names, relationship, ages, andparishioner temples of each person inhouseholds were written down while
taking into account changes due to people joining and leaving them as a result of birth, death,marriage, moving, and so on. This information was then brought together for each village as a
"Household Record," which served as a basic record regarding efumi. It was also noted if an
individual had an ancestor within seven generations that was a Kirishitan. Such people were calledruizoku.
Documents entitled a "Record of [People] in Other Areas” and a "Record of Sick People"
were also created in connection with "Household Records." These listed the people who were unable
to go to the village unit head's house to do efumi. A "Record of [People] in Other Areas" was created
to confirm that people who were in other places for work and so on had carried out efumi there. A
27

"Record of Sick People" was created as a list of people who could not leave their own village forsickness or other reasons. Each village was visited and such individuals would then carry out efumi.
Blind people also would carry out efumi in their own villages, and therefore they were listed in thisrecord. These created documents were collected by village unit heads and submitted to the domain.
Village units would record the days that someone wasborn, died or joined/left the unit. They would then calculate andsubmit to the domain's religious and county magistrate the unit’s
increase or decrease in population. Changes in village unit
members were submitted with regard to everyone, not only people
like ruizoku. There are cases in which copies of these records(called the "Monthly Record of Birth, Death, Joining, and Leaving") remain today. One such
example is the Nyūbaru village unit's (Oita city) "Hōreki 11 Copy of the Monthly Record of Birth,
Death, Joining, and Leaving" ("Ikemi Family Documents," Oita Prefecture Ancient Sages Historical
Archives). These records were used as basic materials when creating the "Household Records."(2) Documents Relating to Management of Ruizoku
In the Usuki domain on the 16th day of the 7th month of Jōkyō 4 (1687), individuals with important
positions in the domain were gathered at the domain castle and told about the "Kirishitan
Prohibition" that had been promulgated by the shogunate ("Jōkyō 4 Government Office Record, v.
2," Usuki city). The encouraging of people to report Kirishitan as well as the handling of them when
they, ruizoku, and so on passed away was emphasized. One can find "Government Office Records"
from this time onwards regarding the reporting and subsequent handling of the death of former
Kirishitan and children born to Kirishitan who had not yet renounced their faith. In them, thesubjects that came up at the "Government Office," where chief retainers and so on engaged indeliberations, can be seen.
Even if a former Kirishitan or a child born toKirishitan who had not yet renounced their faith passed away,
the management of his or her ruizoku would continue. To doso, a "Ruizoku Name Record" was created for each village
unit. They were updated to reflect changes such as births,
deaths, people joining and leaving the family, and so on. The
oldest remaining "Ruizoku Name Record" relating to the
Nyūbaru village unit (Oita city) is from Hōreki 6 (1756). In this document, 197 ruizoku are listedfrom the unit's Haru village (Oita city).
Each time there was a change (birth, death, marriage, adoption, moving, tonsure, etc.) in
the ruizoku, the village unit headman had to report it to the domain's religious magistrate. Also, as is
written in the Jōkyō 4 (1687) "Kirishitan Prohibition," in the case of death, a postmortem
examination was required.
For example, in "Kirishitan Record" (Marega texts A2.3.11.1), it is written that Omure
village (Usuki city) reported to the domain's religious magistrate the death of a three-year old named28

Seihachi due to smallpox on the 16th day of the 6th month in Kyōhō 13 (1728). Since hisgreat-grandfather's grandfather was a former Kirishitan, the child was considered a ruizoku, and thedeath was reported. The ruizoku death notification submitted by the village stated that he died andthat there were no abnormalities in his corpse. It was jointly signed by village headman and his
assistants, as well as the five-person unit that included Seihachi's family. Attached to this document
is a document by the head priest of Ryōninji Temple, Seihachi's parishioner temple in Kibino village(Usuki city), with the same information included. Even if a ruizoku died from an illness, apostmortem examination was carried out by village officials, the five-person unit the person
belonged to, and the head priest of the person's parishioner temple. The domain's Office of Religious
affairs organized and managed the documents submitted by the village and temple, binding them
together and writing a summary of their content on the fore edge. There are many such documents inbags A3, A4, etc. of the Marega texts.
The village unit headman would copy and leavebehind records of these report submissions in a "Ruizoku
Request Record." For example, the Hōreki 6 (1756) record
for Nyūbaru village unit's Haru village (Oita city) reports a
total of ten items: five deaths, one birth, one adoption, one
marriage, one tonsure, and one missing person ("Hōreki 6
Ruizoku Request Record," "Ikemi Family Documents," Oita
Prefecture Ancient Sages Historical Archives). In these reports, a ruizoku's death is titled "Kirishitan
Record." They were jointly signed by the village headman and his assistants, as well as the
five-person unit that the person belonged to. Other reports were entitled “Memos” and created by thevillage headman. Here, it can be seen from the difference in reporting style that the death of aruizoku was treated in a special way.
One of the types of documents created by village unit headman was called a "Record ofRequests and Reports." These were collections of copies of various reports, requests, and so on
submitted by village units. Some relate to village units overall, while some relate to individual
villages. There are 38 items related to Haru village in Nyūbaru village unit's (Oita city) "Hōreki 6
Record of Requests and Reports " ("Ikemi Family Documents," Oita Prefecture Ancient Sages
Historical Archives). The 10 items listed in the "Hōreki 6 Ruizoku Request Record" ("Ikemi Family
Documents," Oita Prefecture Ancient Sages Historical Archives) are also found there. While thenames of individual people are not listed in the latter, in the former the names of the village headman,
his assistants, members of the five-person unit the individual in question belonged to, and thereligious magistrate are written.
Village unit headman also created "A Memo Copy of Ruizoku Birth, Death, Joining andLeaving by Gender." There are nine items related to Haru village in Nyūbaru village unit's (Oita city)"Hōreki 6 Memo Copy of Ruizoku Birth, Death, Joining and Leaving by Gender" ("Ikemi Family
Documents," Oita Prefecture Ancient Sages Historical Archives): five deaths, one birth, one adoption,
one tonsure, and one missing person. Considering that all the items found in "Hōreki 6 Ruizoku
Request Record" besides marriage are listed here, it appears that this document was a summary of29items relating to increases and decreases in the village ruizoku population. The sender, receiver, andsubmission date are not listed in the document.
Considering that the sender, receiver, and submission date were not included, it appears
that the village unit headman copied all the submitted documents into a "Record of Requests andReports," subsequently extracted items related to ruizoku, and then wrote them in the "Ruizoku
Request Record" and "Memo Copy of Ruizoku Birth, Death, Joining and Leaving by Gender." In thisway, the village headman grasped the situation surrounding ruizoku by creating the foundational"Ruizoku Name Record," reported changes such as birth, death, and people joining and leaving
ruizoku families, and recorded them in various documents.
(3) Items Written in "Government Office Records"
As previously described, in "Government Office Records," in which topics are listed that came up in
the "Government Office" (where feudal retainers and the like would engage in discussions), items
relating to the death of former Kirishitan and children born toKirishitan who had not yet renounced their faith can be found.
However, after this information, they discuss items related toruizoku that have gone missing.
For example, the only item related to Haru village (Oitacity) in Nyūbaru village unit's "Hōreki 6 [1756] Government
Office Record" (Usuki city) is about the ruizoku Kesajirō goingmissing. His missing status was reported for the first time on the 4th day of the 2nd month ("Hōreki
6 Record of Requests and Reports " and "Ruizoku Request Record," "Ikemi Family Documents,"
Oita Prefecture Ancient Sages Historical Archives). On the 15th day of the 2nd month, it is again
reported that he is missing: people looked everywhere for him and could not find him ("Ruizoku
Request Record," "Ikemi Family Documents," Oita Prefecture Ancient Sages Historical Archives).
The subsequent developments are recorded in the last day of February entry of the "Hōreki 6
Government Office Record" (Usuki city). It states that Kesajirō was found in Hyūga (Miyazaki
prefecture), and they are trying to bring him back. On the 4th day of the 3rd month it was reportedby the village unit headman to the religious magistrate and county magistrate that they succeeded("Hōreki 6 Record of Requests and Reports " and "Ruizoku Request Record," "Ikemi Family
Documents," Oita Prefecture Ancient Sages Historical Archives). On the 18th day of the same month,
it is written in the "Hōreki 6 Record of Requests and Reports " and "Ruizoku Request Record"("Ikemi Family Documents," Oita Prefecture Ancient Sages Historical Archives) that he was made tocarry out efumi.
In this way, items related to ruizoku in "Government Office Records" were primarily about
missing people. The content of village unit headman reports are found in the various types of
documents created by them.
Conclusion
Above, I discussed the creation and transmission of documents relating to Kirishitan proscription in30

Usuki domain. Here, I will summarize my presentation and provide an overview of the potential of
the Marega documents.
In Kan'ei 12 (1635), when on the surface there became no Kirishitans in the Usuki domain,
following the shogunate's strict order to proscribe Christianity, the domain made each household
create oaths ("A Submitted Oath from the Investigation of Kirishitan") that included a temple’s
attestation (or multiple temple’s attestations) that the individuals therein were its parishioners. The
village unit headman then brought together the oaths of his village unit in a "Kirishitan Investigation
Record Book," which was then submitted along with the oaths themselves and village headman's
certificates to the domain's Office of Religious Affairs. The domain was also organized into afive-person unit system, and in Shōhō 3 (1646), each unit was made to create and submit to the sameoffice a "Kirishitan Investigation Five-Person Unit Certificate." This document included attachedattestations from the parishioner temples of each household that its members were in factparishioners. These documents show that the five person units were comprised of people fromdifferent villages, and that former Kirishitan were scattered throughout the units so that people could
keep an eye on them. The documents submitted during the beginning of the Kirishitan proscription
policy period in Kan'ei 12 (1635) and Shōhō 3 (1646) were probably held by the domain's Office ofReligious Affairs. Since copies were not kept in villages, one could say that the ones included in the
Marega texts are foundational historical documents for this period.
Documents from after the establishment of the Kirishitan proscription policy remain invarious forms. Entries relating to Kirishitan can be seen throughout copies of the documents
submitted by village unit headman and other people, "Government Office Records," which chronicle
the topics discussed at domain meeting places, and so on. Village unit headmen and others left
behind documents related to religious investigations such as "Household Records," documents
created to manage ruizoku such as "Ruizoku Name Records" and "Ruizoku Request Records," and soon.
Besides the document copies remaining in some villages and the records of topics
discussed at the domain government office, there are almost no extant documents relating toKirishitan proscription in Usuki domain. Since many of the documents that were submitted byvillages, etc. and stored at the domain’s Office of Religious Affairs are included in the Marega texts,
various issues—such as the lives of ruizoku in villages, the domain’s Office of Religious Affairs'
method for storing submitted documents, and so on—will probably become concretely clear as
survey research on the Marega texts progress.

31Marega Project Symposium in Usuki
The Fascination of the Archival Materials Collected by Father Marega
Copyright 2014 by Marega Project
National Institute of Japanese Literature
OHTOMO Kazuo’s Office10-3 Midori-cho, Tachikawa city, Tokyo, 190-0014, Japan
Translated by Dylan Luers Toda (from Japanese into English)

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2014 年 10 月 29 日印刷
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