The_26_Martyrs_of_Japan_(film)
The 26 Martyrs of Japan (film)
Japanese film on Catholic priests
The 26 Martyrs of Japan[1] (Junkyō chi-shi Nihon nijūrokuseijin) is a 1931 film released in Japan based on the martyrdom of twenty-six Catholic priests and layman in 1597. This silent film was produced by Seiju Hirayama, a Catholic landowner in Japanese-occupied Korea, who invested a huge amount of his personal fortune in producing this work, which was open to the public. Although it is a commercial film, it was produced under Hirayama's initiative with the cooperation of many people involved in the Catholic Church. It was the first full-fledged narrative film produced by the Catholic Church in Japan, which was in the process of becoming independent from the leadership of foreign missionaries during this period.