Joachim Hirayama
Feast: 10 September (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Joachim Hirayama, also called Diaz, was one of the thirteen Japanese sailors who, with Blessed Luis Flores and Blessed Pedro de Zúñiga, were arrested for their faith as soon as they landed at Nagasaki and, after various torments, were martyred together. The Holy See names him among the leaders of the 205 martyrs, and the cause bears his name.
He is one of the 205 martyrs killed in Japan for the Catholic faith between 1617 and 1632 whom Pius IX declared Blessed on 7 July 1867.
The miracles
In 1867 Pius IX approved four signs in the cause of the 205 martyrs of Japan; the source does not describe them.
Why that counted as sanctity
A Japanese sailor named in the title of the cause of the 205 martyrs.
The cause
The cause continues. No postulation address is published here yet. Favours received through this person’s intercession, and offers of help, are best sent to the religious order or congregation they belonged to, or to the diocese where the cause was opened; either will pass them to the postulation.
Connected on this site
- Luis Flores Blessed“Joachim Hirayama, also called Diaz, was one of the thirteen Japanese sailors who, with Blessed Luis Flores and Blessed Pedro de Zúñiga, were arrested for their faith as soon as they landed at Nagasaki and, after various torments, were martyred together.” — this site's research
- Conferenza Episcopale Italiana - Santo del giorno, 19 agosto (Martirologio Romano)
- Acta Sanctae Sedis 2 (1867), pp. 478-481 and 638-641 - decrees of Pius IX on the 205 martyrs of Japan (1617-1632)
- Directorio Franciscano (Franciscan Order, Spain) - Beatos Ricardo de Santa Ana y compañeros, mártires de Japón (beatification of the 205 on 7 July 1867)
- Wikidata Q24036049 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.