Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan
Japanese missonaries and converts to the Catholic church, venerated as Saints
Feast: 6 February (current Roman calendar, memorial) · not in the 1962 Missal
Who they were
On 5 February 1597, during the persecution begun by the regent Toyotomi Hideyoshi, twenty-six Christians were crucified on Nishizaka hill in Nagasaki and killed with lances: six Franciscans, the Japanese Jesuit Paul Miki and two Jesuit novices who took their vows hours before they died, and seventeen lay converts, among them two young boys.
The miracles
As martyrs, they did not need approved miracles. Their memorial is 6 February.
Why that counted as sanctity
Priests, religious and lay people, Japanese and foreign, adults and children died together for Christ, forgiving their executioners from their crosses.
Connected on this site
- Antoine Deynan Saint one of this group
- Bonaventura of Meako Saint one of this group
- Cosmas Takeya Saint one of this group
- Francis of Nagasaki Saint one of this group
- Francisco Blanco Saint one of this group
- Francisco of Saint Michael Saint one of this group
- Gabriel de Duisco Saint one of this group
- Gonsalo Garcia Saint one of this group
- James Kisai Saint one of this group
- Joachim Sakakibara Saint one of this group
- John Kisaka Saint one of this group
- John of Goto Saint one of this group
17 more
- Leo Karasumaru Saint one of this group
- Luis Ibaraki Saint one of this group
- Martin of the Ascension Saint one of this group
- Matthias of Miyako Saint one of this group
- Michael Kozaki Saint one of this group
- Paul Ibaraki Saint one of this group
- Paul Miki Saint one of this group
- Paul Suzuki Saint one of this group
- Pedro Bautista Blásquez Saint one of this group
- Peter Sukejiro Saint one of this group
- Philip of Jesus Saint one of this group
- Saint Thomas Kozaki Saint one of this group
- Thomas Xico Saint one of this group
- Francisco Blanco Saint“Francisco Blanco, OFM was a Spanish Catholic Franciscan missionary and martyr, one of the Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan (日本二十六聖人 Nihon Nijūroku Seijin).” — Wikipedia
- Paul Miki Saint“Canonized by Pope Pius IX in 1862, Miki is recognized as one of the Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan.” — Wikipedia
- Philip of Jesus Saint“Philip of Jesus, OFM (Spanish: Felipe de Jesús; 1572 – 1597) was a New Spanish Franciscan missionary who became one of the Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan.” — Wikipedia
- Caius of Korea Blessed“Caius of Korea (1571 in Korea – 15 November 1624 in Nagasaki, Japan) is the 128th of the 205 Catholic Martyrs of Japan beatified by Pope Pius IX on 7 July 1867, after he had canonized the Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan five years before on 8 June 1862.” — Wikipedia
- Vatican News - Saint of the day (Italian): Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan
- Wikipedia - Paul Miki (canonisation of the 26)
- Wikidata Q578963 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — 26 Martyrs of Japan (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.