Shiro Amakusa (1621-28 February 1638) was the leader of the Shimabara Rebellion, a Catholic peasant uprising in Japan. Amakusa was only sixteen when he was called to lead the uprising in 1637, and he was beheaded after the revolt was crushed.
Biography[]
Shiro Amakusa was born in what is now Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan in 1621, the son of Catholic parents. By the age of 15, he was known to his followers as "Heaven's messenger" for his charisma, and miraculous powers were attributed to him. He became the leader of the Shimabara Rebellion, a 1637 uprising of Christians in Nagasaki, but the army of the Tokugawa Shogunate massacred almost 40,000 rebels, and Shiro was captured and beheaded.