At first, the bakufu persecuted Christians by forcing them to step on a wood sheet containing a likeness of Jesus (this practice is called 'fumie') or by encouraging whistle-blowing to reveal Christians, and Buddhist temples were commissioned by the bakufu to prove that their parishioners were not Christians (this system is called 'terauke seido').
当初、幕府はキリスト像が刻まれた板を踏ませる踏絵や密告の奨励などを行うことによりキリシタンの取締りを実施し、キリシタンではないことを仏教寺院に請け負わせてその証明とした（寺請制度）。