No likeness on file
Gajusz Akashi Jiemon
BlessedResearched
Feast: 10 September (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
—
unknown
Died
1627
verified
Beatified
7 July 1867
by Pius IX
Canonised
—
not yet
Who they were
Caius Jiyemon had been a Buddhist monk before becoming a Christian and a Dominican tertiary. A good catechist, he was burned alive at Nagasaki in August 1627 with Blessed Francis of Saint Mary and his companions.
He is one of the 205 martyrs killed in Japan for the Catholic faith between 1617 and 1632 whom Pius IX declared Blessed on 7 July 1867.
The miracles
In 1867 Pius IX approved four signs in the cause of the 205 martyrs of Japan; the source does not describe them.
Why that counted as sanctity
A former Buddhist monk who became a catechist and martyr.
Sources
- Conferenza Episcopale Italiana - Santo del giorno, 27 agosto (Martirologio Romano)
- Directorio Franciscano (Franciscan Order, Spain) - Beatos Francisco de Santa María, Bartolomé Laurel, Antonio de San Francisco y compañeros, mártires de Japón (1627)
- Acta Sanctae Sedis 2 (1867), pp. 478-481 and 638-641 - decrees of Pius IX on the 205 martyrs of Japan (1617-1632)
- Directorio Franciscano (Franciscan Order, Spain) - Beatos Ricardo de Santa Ana y compañeros, mártires de Japón (beatification of the 205 on 7 July 1867)
- Wikidata Q24036034 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.