The Amakusa Five

…The name Amakusa first appeared in the Shoku Nihongi, and in the Wamyōshō it is divided into five districts, including Hata and Amakusa. At the beginning of the 13th century, the Amakusa clan was appointed as the land steward of Honto (To) (present-day Honto), and during the Sengoku period, the Amakusa Goninshu (five Amakusa clansmen) of Shiki, Amakusa, Kamitsuura, Oyano, and Sumoto were based in various areas, but after Toyotomi Hideyoshi's conquest of Kyushu, they came under the rule of Konishi Yukinaga. In the second half of the 16th century, Christianity was introduced, and the wave of faith spread throughout the island. …

*Some of the terminology used to refer to the "Amakusa Five" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…天草の名は《続日本紀》に初めて見え，《和名抄》では波太，天草など5郷に分かれている。13世紀の初めに，天草氏が本戸(砥)(現在の本渡)の地頭に任ぜられ，戦国時代には志伎，天草，上津浦，大矢野，栖本の天草五人衆が各地に割拠していたが，豊臣秀吉の九州平定以後，小西行長の支配に属した。16世紀後半にはキリスト教が伝わり，信仰の波が全島に広がった。…

※「天草五人衆」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

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