4 days ago
‘26 Martyrs of Japan' pieces return home from Vatican
The portrait of St. James Kisai, left, and the painting of St. Francis Kichi are on display on June 15 in Osaka's Chuo Ward. (Yasuaki Oshika)
OSAKA--Two historic artworks featuring the '26 martyrs' are back home in Japan for the first time in 94 years and on display to the public.
The series of Japanese-style hanging scrolls, collectively known by the name '26 Martyrs of Japan,' have long been stored at the Vatican.
The '26 Martyrs of Japan' returned to their homeland following seven years of patient negotiations between Catholic officials from Japan and the Vatican side.
Two portraits from the celebrated set of artworks are currently being exhibited at the Catholic Tamatsukuri Church in Osaka's Chuo Ward.
Depicted on the picture scrolls are the 26 devoted Catholic worshippers who were crucified in 1597 at what is now Nagasaki Prefecture by the order of warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) under his anti-Christian policies.
The Christians were dragged through today's Kyoto and Osaka prefectures, as well as elsewhere, before reaching Nagasaki on foot for their execution.
The 26 martyred, canonized Catholics were selected for the motif by Seikyo Okayama (1895-1977), a baptized Japanese-style painter hailing from Hiroshima Prefecture.
Okayama, as a student of pioneering Japanese artist Takeuchi Seiho (1864-1942), was so impressed by the martyrs that he spent about 15 years perfecting the hanging scrolls showing the 26 Catholic believers in a Japanese style.
The painter applied natural mineral pigments to silk in particular in finishing the sweeping portraits, with each measuring 190 centimeters in length and 75 cm in width.
The illustrated scrolls were then donated to the pope in 1931.
An ongoing challenge is that the artworks have been badly damaged with the pigment falling off, due, in part, to the differences in humidity and other climate conditions between Japan and the Vatican.
Another cause of their deterioration lies in how they were kept: the hanging scrolls have been rolled up for storage.
Noticing their poor condition, Japanese Cardinal Manyo Maeda called for the restoration of the '26 Martyrs of Japan.' Working with other like-minded people, Maeda asked the Vatican to allow the pictures to be put on display within Japan.
Their seven-year mutual talks finally led to a decision in May this year to send two repaired portraits to Japan for exhibition.
At the time, Maeda, now 76, was attending the conclave as one of the cardinals that elected Leo XIV as the new pope to succeed his predecessor, Francis, who had died earlier.
The pair of paintings portray St. Francis Kichi, a carpenter captured near what is currently the Koshien district of Hyogo Prefecture, and St. James Kisai, who spread Christian teachings while working for the church of the Society of Jesus in today's Osaka Prefecture.
Also on display at the Catholic Tamatsukuri Church are the replicas of the '26 Martyrs of Japan.'
Chikako Kinoshita, 55, a great-granddaughter of Okayama, said she was deeply moved by the dramatic turn of events.
'It is like a dream,' she said.
Maeda stressed that the exhibition will provide visitors with a valuable opportunity.
'I believe that many people are still unaware of who the 26 martyrs were,' Maeda said. 'I hope they will learn about the history of persecution via the latest display and thereby reflect on religious freedom and the dignity of life.'
The exhibition will run through Sept. 15. It is open from 10 a.m. to noon and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Admission is free.
