A closer look
When the Tokugawa shogunate decided to eradicate foreign influence, they didn't just ask nicely; they enacted brutal torture campaigns and forced citizens to publicly trample on Christian crosses (fumie). The Kakure Kirishitan (Hidden Christians) realized that surviving required absolute stealth. Since owning a crucifix was a death sentence, they flawlessly camouflaged their faith within Buddhism. They adopted statues of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy, deliberately choosing iterations holding a child. To the shogun's inspectors, it looked like standard Buddhist devotion, but to the worshippers, they were secretly venerating the Virgin Mary.
