The punishment for Christians became more severe and sadistic going into the 17th century. In a practice known as fumie, Christians that were caught had to publicly step on an image of Christ on the cross, renouncing their faith (via BBC). Those who refused could be subject to crucifixion, or in some cases “reverse hangings,” where a martyr was bound tightly and lowered upside down into a pit of excrement. Others were burned alive, crushed, and slowly sliced with bamboo saws. The fumie became an annual tradition in Nagasaki, a port city that had plenty of European contact and was nearly 50% Christian at its peak.

An estimated 2,000 martyrs chose to die rather than renouncing their faith. Some performed the fumie but existed as “hidden Christians,” secretly praying, celebrating Easter, and incorporating Japanese elements into their religious practice to avoid persecution. For nearly two centuries, Japanese Christians had to practice their faith in the shadows, until the 19th century, when the country was opened up, the fumie banned. The ban on Christianity was finally lifted in 1873. The BBC reported in 2019 that approximately 1% of Japan’s present population is Christian. The largest Christian community is in Nagasaki.