Amakusa Shirō Tokisada was a 17th century Japanese Catholic from the Amakusa islands who participated in the Shimabara Rebellion against daimyo Matsukura Katsuie over heavy taxation and persecution of Christians. The rebellion was suppressed, and Amakusa was beheaded at the age of 17; Matsukura would subsequently be deposed by the shogun, though Christian persecution in Japan would not end until the 1870s after the Meiji Restoration
Design
The banner Tokisada carries is based off of Amakusa Shirō's real-life camp banner (Japanese: 天草四郎陣中旗, HepburnAmakusa Shirō Jinchūki) painted by Yamada Emosaku.[1] This banner depicts a Communion chalice and host flanked by two angels. The text reads in Portuguese (the language of the Jesuit missionaries in Japan) Lovvado seia o sãctissimo sacramento (modern spelling: Louvado seja o santíssimo sacramento), meaning "Praised be the most holy sacrament"; note that Kaneko's drawing is missing the final o in the first word that is present on the real banner.
↑"怨霊がまとわりつく旗は、南蛮絵師の山田右衛門作画という、熊本県天草市立天草切支丹館所蔵の重要文化財「天草四郎陣中旗」がモデルだ。" Kazuma Kaneko Works III (2008). Published by Shinkigensha. Japanese. p. 27. ISBN-13: 978-4-7753-0609-3.