Amakusa Shirō (天草 四郎, c. 1621– February 28th, 1638), also known as Amakusa Shirō Tokisada (天草四郎時貞), led the Shimabara Rebellion, an uprising of Japanese Roman Catholics against the Shogunate.
Religious persecution of the local Catholics exacerbated the discontent, which turned into open revolt in 1637. The Tokugawa Shogunate sent a force of over 125,000 troops to suppress the rebels and, after a lengthy siege against the rebels at Hara Castle, defeated them. In the wake of the rebellion, the Catholic rebel leader Amakusa Shirō led the rebellion.
Shirō was the son of former Konishi clan retainer Masuda Jinbei (益田 甚兵衛?)... though according to some sources, he may have been the illegitimate son of Toyotomi Hideyori. He was born in modern-day Kami-Amakusa, Kumamoto in a Catholic family. At age 15, the boy was charismatic enough was known to his followers as "heaven's messenger." Portuguese Jesuit missionaries had been active in Japan since the late 16th century.
When he had enough of all the genocide against Christians and the mistreatment of peasants in the Shimabara area, Shiro led the defense of Hara Castle and defeated the strongest of the Shogunate attackers in a series of coordinated defensive surges. But, because the rebel force had no logistical support, their morale was seriously weakened in the following days. Shiro displayed posters in the castle in an attempt to enhance the morale of rebel force, saying "Now, those who accompany me in being besieged in this castle, will be my friends unto the next world."
One of the rebel soldiers, Yamada Uemonsaku, betrayed Shirō. He got a message to the Shogunate that rebel food supplies were becoming strained. The Shogunate forces made a final assault, taking Hara Castle in the process. The Shogunate forces massacred almost 40,000 rebels, including women and children. Yamada, who betrayed his fellow rebels, was the only recorded survivor.
17-year-old Shiro was executed in the aftermath of the fall, his head being displayed on a pike in Nagasaki for an extended period of time afterward as a warning to any other potential Christian rebels. His Famous Last Words were: "I shall return after 100 years and take my revenge!" Ironically, an devastating earthquake had happened in Japan 1oo years after.
Even now, many Japanese Christians consider Shiro as a saint, but the Roman Catholic Church has not officially listed him as such.
A statue of Amakusa Shirō was installed at Shimabara Castle.
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Religious persecution of the local Catholics exacerbated the discontent, which turned into open revolt in 1637. The Tokugawa Shogunate sent a force of over 125,000 troops to suppress the rebels and, after a lengthy siege against the rebels at Hara Castle, defeated them. In the wake of the rebellion, the Catholic rebel leader Amakusa Shirō led the rebellion. 
Shirō was the son of former Konishi clan retainer Masuda Jinbei (益田 甚兵衛?)... though according to some sources, he may have been the illegitimate son of Toyotomi Hideyori. He was born in modern-day Kami-Amakusa, Kumamoto in a Catholic family. At age 15, the boy was charismatic enough was known to his followers as "heaven's messenger." Portuguese Jesuit missionaries had been active in Japan since the late 16th century. 
When he had enough of all the genocide against Christians and the mistreatment of peasants in the Shimabara area, Shiro led the defense of Hara Castle and defeated the strongest of the Shogunate attackers in a series of coordinated defensive surges. But, because the rebel force had no logistical support, their morale was seriously weakened in the following days. Shiro displayed posters in the castle in an attempt to enhance the morale of rebel force, saying "Now, those who accompany me in being besieged in this castle, will be my friends unto the next world."
One of the rebel soldiers, Yamada Uemonsaku, betrayed Shirō. He got a message to the Shogunate that rebel food supplies were becoming strained. The Shogunate forces made a final assault, taking Hara Castle in the process. The Shogunate forces massacred almost 40,000 rebels, including women and children. Yamada, who betrayed his fellow rebels, was the only recorded survivor.
17-year-old Shiro was executed in the aftermath of the fall, his head being displayed on a pike in Nagasaki for an extended period of time afterward as a warning to any other potential Christian rebels. His Famous Last Words were: "I shall return after 100 years and take my revenge!" Ironically, an devastating earthquake had happened in Japan 1oo years after.
Even now, many Japanese Christians consider Shiro as a saint, but the Roman Catholic Church has not officially listed him as such.
