Image to Trample On ("Fumi-e"): Madonna of the Immaculate Conception

板踏絵無原罪の聖母

At a glance — Sculpture · Azuchi-Momoyama period · held by Tokyo National Museum · designated Important Cultural Property of Japan.

Fact Sheet

Designation: Important Cultural Property (重要文化財)
Category: Sculpture
Period: Azuchi-Momoyama period
Date: 1501–1700
Held by: Tokyo National Museum
Location: Ueno, Tokyo
Catalogue ID: cobas-58541

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Same period: Azuchi-Momoyama sculpture →
At this museum: All 1632 works here →

The government of the Edo period (1603–1868) banned Christianity in the early 1600s. To identify Christians for persecution, officials forced suspected believers to step on Christian images like this; those who refused were arrested. Officials initially used images made of paper, but later used confiscated items like this for their durability.

— Museum description: Tokyo National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.

Record & Sources

Designation: Important Cultural Property (重要文化財), Government of Japan
Catalogue ID: cobas-58541 (permanent)
Official record: Japan Search — jpsearch.go.jp/item/cobas-58541
Holder's collection: ColBase — Tokyo National Museum
Photograph: Tokyo National Museum, via ColBase — CC BY 4.0. CC BY 4.0 licence

Cite this page: “Image to Trample On ("Fumi-e"): Madonna of the Immaculate Conception（板踏絵無原罪の聖母）.” Treasures of Japan, catalogue no. cobas-58541. Tokyo National Museum. https://treasures.yamato-kenkou.com/treasures/image-to-trample-on-fumi-e-madonna-of-the-immaculate-conception/ — entry last verified 1 November 2026.

Full record data (as published in the official catalogue record)

Genre: Sculpture
Category: Historical materials:Christian-related materials
Cultural property designation: Important Cultural Property
Material: Wooden frame with a bronze tablet
員数: 1枚
分類: 彫刻
種別: 歴史資料:キリシタン関係遺品
品質形状: 牌：銅製、枠：木製
法量: 長10.5×幅7.4

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Important Cultural Property