Japanese Anti-Christian Edict Board. This is from an area that was under the control of the Aizu Feudal Domain, pro-Shogunate and anti-Western Samurai. The edict board is inscribed with decrees prohibiting the practice of Christianity and the Christian faith. The date is important, as this edict was posted during the Boshin Civil War in which the Aizu Samurai were fighting for the Shogun. The Aizu Samurai were against the opening of Japan 15 years prior to this edict, and were very much opposed to Western ideas and the religious teachings of Christianity. This rare Kosatsu edict board would have been placed in a public area, probably under the entrance gate to a Shrine or Temple, warning Japanese that Christianity was outlawed with the punishment of death.
This collection houses art and artifacts from China, Ethiopia, India and Japan.
