English: This print shows Fumi-e (踏み絵: fumi "stepping-on" + e "picture"); step on a picture with the likeness of e.g. the Cross of Jesus or the Virgin Mary. This method was used to discover practicing Christians (Kirishitan) of the Catholic Church and sympathizers, which was banned by the Tokugawa Shogunate at that time. Originally, the method of discovery itself was called efumi (絵踏), but the method itself is often called fumi-e. People who protested or were reluctant to step upon pictures of the Virgin Mary or Christ were identified as Christian. They were taken to Nagasaki and ordered to renounce their religion, if they refused they were tortured. If they kept refusing then they were executed including by burning at the stake. The systematic persecution began in 1614 and carried out by regional governments. By the mid 17th century, the Shogunate demanded the expulsion of all European missionaries and the execution of all converts. The prosecution lasted for over 2 centuries.