Biography
James Kisai
About James Kisai
James Kisai served the Jesuits in Osaka as a porter and then as a catechist. The Singapore Jesuit account traces his early education to a Buddhist teacher, his later baptism, marriage, and fatherhood. After his wife returned to Buddhism, it says, they separated and he entrusted their son to a Christian family.
Diego Yuki remembers him as an older man devoted to Christ’s Passion, known for kindness. His work at the Jesuit residence included receiving guests.
Arrested with Paul Miki and John of Goto, he made his first Jesuit vows shortly before the execution. His commitment as a brother was completed at the end of a long journey under guard.
He was crucified at Nagasaki with the twenty-six martyrs on February 5, 1597. The group was canonized by PiusIX in 1862.
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