Julião Nakaura
Christian samurai of the Sengoku period, member of Tenshō embassy
Feast: 21 October (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Born to a Christian samurai family around 1567, Julião Nakaura lost his father in battle at age two and was raised by a devout mother. As a youth he was chosen by Father Valignano as one of four young envoys sent on the Tenshō embassy to Europe, where an audience with Pope Gregory XIII marked him deeply and sustained him in later hardship.
Returning to Japan in 1590, he began his novitiate and was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1608. Unlike missionaries who left during the persecutions, Nakaura stayed, secretly visiting persecuted Christians by night. Captured in 1632, he was tortured for months and executed in the 'pit' torture at Nagasaki, dying on 21 October 1633 after declaring, 'I am Julián Nakaura, the one who went to Rome.' He was beatified in 2008 with 187 other Japanese martyrs.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
Jesuit priest and one of the four young Japanese envoys of the Tenshō embassy; martyred at Nagasaki in 1633, beatified 24 November 2008 with 187 other Japanese martyrs.
The cause
Julião Nakaura has been beatified; the cause continues. Favours received, and offers of help, go to the postulation, the office that carries the cause forward: Jesuits: the cause of Julião Nakaura.
- Santi, beati e testimoni (santiebeati.it) - Beato Giuliano Nakaura
- Wikidata Q3769401 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.