* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Arima Harunobu
有馬晴信
Description
Overview
Arima Harunobu (1567–1612) was a devout Christian daimyo and lord of Shimabara in Hizen Province. His baptismal names were Dom Protasio, later João. He dispatched the Tenshō Youth Embassy and actively engaged in nanban trade. He was active from the late Sengoku through the early Edo period and was martyred in Keichō 17 (1612).
Faith and Diplomacy
He received baptism and converted to Christianity in Tenshō 8 (1580). In Tenshō 10 (1582), together with Ōmura Sumitada and Ōtomo Sōrin, he dispatched the Tenshō Youth Embassy to Rome. At the Battle of Okita Nawate (Tenshō 12, 1584), he wore sacred relics bestowed by the Pope in the Philippines, displayed a great cross and the name of Jesus Christ on his battle standards, and defeated Ryūzōji Takanobu.
Military Career and Service to Toyotomi and Tokugawa
He surrendered to Hideyoshi's Kyushu Campaign in Tenshō 15 (1587) and served the Toyotomi clan. He participated in the Bunroku-Keichō Campaigns (1592–1598). At the Battle of Sekigahara (1600), his son Shigenao sided with the Eastern Army. In Keichō 4 (1609), he dispatched a trading expedition to Taiwan and was among the most active daimyo in nanban trade.
The Taiwan Incident and Martyrdom
The Macau incident of Keichō 14 (1609) became a turning point. When the Portuguese ship Nossa Senhora da Graça arrived in Nagasaki, Harunobu surrounded and captured the vessel and took its crew captive, but Captain André Pessoa scuttled the ship. Seizing on this incident, the magistrate's office accused him of treason and implicated him in the Okamoto Daihachi incident. On May 7, Keichō 17 (1612), he was condemned to exile in Kai Province and was subsequently martyred.