The 26 Martyrs of Japan were a group of Roman Catholic martyrs who were executed in Nagasaki on February 5, 1597, under the orders of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the chief imperial minister of Japan. The group included Franciscans, Jesuits, laymen, and young boys, with 20 of the martyrs being Japanese. Their deaths marked the beginning of centuries of persecution against Christians in Japan. They were canonized (formally declared saints) in 1862, and their feast day is observed on February 6.
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