Background
Chuan Sawano was born around 1580, in Torres Vedras, Portugal.
Chuan Sawano was born around 1580, in Torres Vedras, Portugal.
He arrived in Japan (around 1610). Was a well-known preacher at Hirado in Kyushu (around 1615). Is known to have preached (until 1633) when he was arrested in Osaka and sent to Nagasaki. In 1633, Ferreira was captured and renounced Christianity after being tortured for five hours. He became the most famous of the "fallen priests" and changed his name to Sawano Chūan (Japanese: 沢野忠庵). He registered at a Buddhist temple in accordance with Japanese law, and called himself "a member of the Zen sect".
After his conversion, he served the Shogunate as an anti-Christian spy and acted as interpreter when foreigners who smuggled themselves into Japan were questioned by Shogunate officials. Was popularly referred to as Edo-Chuan or Meakashi (detective) Chuan.
He is also said to have devised the fumie system of discovering Christians. Fumie are copper tablets with a crucifix, to be trodden on by persons who want to show that they are not Christians. He participated in government trials of other captured Jesuits. He was often present during the use of fumie, whereby suspected Christians were ordered to trample on an image of Jesus Christ.
He also is alleged to have privately written a book on religion entitled 「顕偽録」 (The Deception Revealed) in 1636, but it was not published for 300 years and there is some controversy concerning who wrote it.
He died in Nagasaki in 1650. Some reports claim that, just before his death he recanted, was tortured and died as a martyr, while other reports merely note that he died.
After his apostasy he married a Japanese woman.
