In 1829, three women and three men were paraded through Osaka and crucified.
No one in Japan had been identified and.
This was a startling development.
Two of the men dabbled in divination; the third was a doctor who collected books in Chinese on Western learning and Christianity.
Middle-aged widows, the women made a living as mediums, healers, and fortune-tellers.
Placards set up at the execution ground proclaimed their crime: they were devotees of the "pernicious creed" of Christianity.
In 1829, three women and three men were paraded through Osaka and crucified