"Are you here to see Mr. Kimura? Please follow me!" After negotiating with the receptionist at the entrance of the law office, the staff quickly led them into an office.
Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long, only about three to four minutes in the office, when a relatively young lawyer dressed in a suit walked in.
"Good afternoon, it's a pleasure to meet you," the young lawyer nodded, then said, "You must be here because of Mr. Kimura, please allow me to explain the situation."
Soon, the lawyer began to explain about Mr. Kimura, who turned out to be a wealthy antique dealer. However, due to his wife's early death and having no children or adopted heirs, he chose a unique way to handle his estate.
He left a commission with his lawyer, hoping that those who found the clues he left could help fulfill his greatest wish before passing.
These clues were placed within high-end antique shops, as only those with sufficient wealth, leisure, and talent in this field could discover the information and thus were capable of helping Mr. Kimura achieve his vision.
Of course, Mr. Kimura wouldn't let others work for him without compensation. According to the notary document he left with the lawyer, he stored artifacts worth over $200,000 in a Swiss bank vault.
If they could help fulfill his wish, then these artifacts worth over $200,000 would be given to those who completed the task as a reward for their search efforts.
"That means the client hopes to find a religious painting over 300 years old," Liang En furrowed his brows after carefully reviewing the commission.
The situation now seemed much more complicated than he had imagined, as the piece Mr. Kimura sought was a Catholic painting of Jesus’ Passion that he had missed buying 40 years ago due to an accident.
According to the lawyer, Mr. Kimura was a rare Catholic believer in Japan and had been devout from a young age, which helped him in international trade.
Because of his devout faith, Mr. Kimura was deeply committed, so as he grew older, he often remembered a Catholic religious painting that slipped through his fingers due to financial constraints when he was younger.
At that time, Mr. Kimura was only in his twenties, but due to family reasons, he was considered a very reliable person at the local Catholic church and was commissioned to purchase a certain Catholic relic from the Sengoku period at an antique shop.
However, when he arrived at the antique shop, he discovered that the item had been eyed by someone else who hadn’t brought enough money to make the purchase outright.
Realizing this, he immediately returned to the church to get money, but due to traffic, he arrived a step later than the other person and missed buying this precious religious painting.
Although the church did not blame him, this incident left a deep regret in his heart, and even on his deathbed, he made finding this item a condition for passing on his legacy.
"Does it have to be that specific painting?" After hearing the lawyer's explanation, Liang En asked a critical question, "If it must be that one, I might not be able to accept this task."
After all, only a few sparse descriptions of that painting remain today, making it incredibly difficult to locate the target, almost as challenging as a card game.
Not to mention, he currently knew nothing about the person who bought the painting back then. If the current owner of the painting was unwilling to sell, or if they asked for a high price, then taking on this task would not be worthwhile.
"No, of course not, Mr. Kimura wouldn’t have such a strict requirement," the young lawyer gently shook his head. "He simply hoped to donate a representation of the history of Catholicism in Japan to the local church in Osaka."
"So according to what he stated in his will, anyone who can donate a Catholic saint image from that era to the local church in Osaka will be able to receive Mr. Kimura's legacy."
"That sounds like a very simple task, doesn’t it?" Fan Meng whispered as they left the law office and headed to a café across the street.
"After all, no specific target has been designated, so we just need to find something similar and hand it over to the local Catholic church in Osaka."
"This task is much more difficult than you think," Liang En shook his head as he looked up something on his phone. "Such items are not common in Japan."
"Uncommon? I remember that there were quite a few Catholic daimyos during the Sengoku period in Japan, and there were not a few believers, so I think such items should be relatively easy to find," Fan Meng slightly furrowed his brow.
"You are correct, but the stories told in the series Nobunaga's Ambition are about the Sengoku period of Japan, and the events that happened afterward caused a significant change in the spread of Catholicism in Japan,"
Liang En laughed.
"After the Sengoku period ended, the Tokugawa shogunate issued the isolationist sakoku edict and strictly prohibited the spread of Catholicism, so these kinds of Japanese artifacts are very rare."
"I know that—" Jeanne d'Arc waved her hand and then began to speak about the history of Catholicism in Japan.
As a devout believer, Jeanne d'Arc's study of history was focused mainly on religion, particularly Catholicism, so she spoke with authority.
In March 1612, the shogunate issued a decree banning Catholicism, targeting cities under direct shogunal control (Shizuoka, Edo, Kyoto, Nagasaki) and prohibiting missionaries from proselytizing.
In 1613, it further ordered the expulsion of missionaries, the closure of churches, and the prohibition of Japanese from holding private religious ceremonies throughout the country.
In April 1616, Ieyasu died, and Hidetada succeeded him. In August of the same year, the so-called "Genna Era ban on Catholicism" was issued, demanding the eradication of the church and the strict prohibition of practicing the faith from the nobility down to the peasants. Except for Ming ships, foreign merchant ships that practiced the faith were only allowed to trade at Hirado and Nagasaki.
From 1619 to 1635, approximately 280,000 Japanese Catholics were executed in extremely cruel punishments. Most were forced to renounce their faith, but some remained steadfast and joined secret religious organizations.
However, the underground church made the shogunate perceive Catholicism as even more dangerous, leading to increased suppression. In 1620, it banned Japanese from sailing on foreign ships and exporting weapons; in 1622, after a massacre of foreign and Japanese clergy, it expelled the Portuguese the following year; in 1624, it prohibited the Spanish from trading with Japan.
In January 1632, Hidetada died, and Iemitsu succeeded him as the third shogun, intensifying the suppression of Catholicism even more. In 1633 and 1634, the first and second sakoku edicts were issued, implementing the "Licensed Ship" system.
In 1635, the third sakoku edict was issued, prohibiting all Japanese ships, including those with special permits, from sailing overseas and barring Japanese expatriates from returning to the country.
In 1636, the fourth sakoku edict was issued, further stipulating that children of Western and Portuguese nationals born in Nagasaki were not allowed to stay in Japan, with violators facing execution.
In 1637, the Shimabara Rebellion demonstrated the strong and profound influence of Catholicism in Japan and the threat it posed to the shogunate, prompting a more resolute expulsion of the Portuguese.
In 1639, the shogunate issued the fifth and final sakoku edict, prohibiting Portuguese ships from coming to Japan and cutting off all contact and influence between the overseas church and Japanese Catholics.
Thus, the isolationist system was firmly established, and Catholicism gradually disappeared from Japan until the Meiji Restoration, when Japan reopened its doors.
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