The Roman Catholics who had been recently forced out of the city of Nagasaki and the town adjacent gathered themselves together under the command of Massida, and resolved to make a final stand in the island of Amacusa, at that time belonging to Terasawa, formerly governor of Nagasaki, and under the charge of his retainer Miako tobe. The first move of this Christian army was to seize the castle of Tomioka. This put them in possession of the island, after which the army crossed over to occupy the castle of Simabara, situated about twenty miles from Nagasaki, and meditated an attack upon that town. The movements of both parties seem to have been slow, as, after a delay of twelve months, the government issued orders to the Daimios of the island of Kiusiu to collect, equip and send forward an army under the command of Itakura Suwo no kami to besiege the castle and town of Simabara. Itakura, probably acting upon the advice of his augurs, the Buddhist priesthood, attacked the city upon the first day of the year, and was killed in the attempt, when the command devolved upon Matzdaira Idzu no kami, with Toda san mong and Matzdaira Sin saburo. After sustaining a siege of two months, and repelling several attacks, the Christians were at last overcome and the castle was taken. The whole of the persons found in the city--men, women, and children--were massacred, to the number of 31,000. The three leaders were taken, together with a woman, beheaded, and the heads put up on the gate of the Dutch factor’s house at Hirado. After the affair was over, the native accounts say that “the guns from Nagasaki were of great use, therefore he presented money.” The factor at the time appears to have been named Koekkebekker, and the statement that money was presented implies in the native account that it was given to the Dutch for the assistance derived from their cannon, which are said to have fired from a ship and a battery on shore 426 balls. A great deal has been made of this against the Dutch, as using their influence to extirpate Christianity from the empire; but when the guns were demanded by the Japanese, the Dutch factor was powerless to refuse. A few native vessels were at this time permitted to trade with China, Hainan, Formosa, and Tonquin; and there must have been a considerable number of Japanese collected in Macao and its neighborhood, some probably traders or runaway sailors, others as refugees on account of religion, or as being educated for the priesthood. Up to a recent period the remains of a large building with a garden-wall were visible on the Lappa, opposite Macao, which was known to the Chinese as the “Yut pone lao,” or Japanese hall, now better known as the “Fan kwei lao,” or hall of the outer devils.