Paper short abstract:

This paper will try to understand the significance of being a descendant of Christians (ruizoku) as a social "attribute" in the Edo period by using records from the Marega Collection and other extant documents from the Usuki domain related to the surveillance system of this group of people.

Paper long abstract:

As it is well known, in Early Modern Japan the anti-Christian policies and the restrictive measures adopted to enact them at a local level more generally functioned as methods for social control. The concrete manifestations of this system in village life were the yearly verification of religious affiliation to local temples known as shūmon aratame, and the regular checking on the descendants of Christians, or ruizoku aratame. In my presentation I will pay specific attention on the material related to the latter activity in order to have a close examination at how the people labelled as descendants of Christians (ruizoku or "cognates") were treated and considered in early modern society.

To this purpose I will put to use the abundant mass of records found in the Marega Collection first of all by integrating them with other available sources, in particular other collections of documents from the same domain. By so doing it will be possible to see what gaps in the documentation the Marega papers can help us to fill, and get back a comprehensive picture of the records from both sides involved in the surveillance of the descendants of Christians in Usuki, the domain administration as well as the local villages and their authorities.

Needless to say, this approach will help to understand the rigid mass surveillance system under which the descendants of Christians spend their lifetime.

However, in analyzing the target of this system we need to understand that the framework indirectly went beyond the specific group that it aimed to keep under control. To identify the group, all the other people were also to be checked. My perspective will aim at getting closer to the real lives of the descendants of Christians within this larger framework. I will then try to consider the term ruizoku as one of the social "attributes" of individuals who were also peasants, merchants or craftsmen living in the Edo period. The available records can help us to understand the significance of this attribute and the perception of "Christians" in that time and society.