Adams received blame for the expulsion of Portuguese Jesuits in 1614. An alternative explanation is that Catholic conversion among daimyo and samurai created a faction that the Tokugawa rulers considered dangerous. They had already faced religious factions during their rise to power. Conversion among intermediate elites could divide them from both their superiors and their dependent populations. On this interpretation, concern for political control helps explain the expulsion alongside the dispute with Adams.
Chapter · 1:28:45-1:30:22
Catholic factions and the expulsion of the Jesuits
Fear of a rival religious faction offers an explanation for the 1614 expulsion beyond Adams's influence.