Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Maria Statue: Nagasaki City

The Maria Statue Nagasaki is located in Kaminoshima right on the waters edge and facing the open seas.  Perched atop a hill at the entrance to Nagasaki Port the statue was  constructed in 1897 and its main purpose was to welcome foreign ships to what was once a predominately a Christian town.

This had a double edged purpose so as to make the foreign guests feel comfortable in doing business in an area of Japan that was rife with Christians as apposed to other areas of Japan where Christianity was the exception and not the rule.  It is for this reason that Nagasaki became one of the 4 major trading ports throughout Japan and thrived as a friendly and approachable place to outside guests to visit and feel like that a connection even if it was just a spiritual one.

Below the Kaminoshima Church stands the statue of Our Lady on the Cape aka the Maria Statue Nagasaki.  The area and the colour of the waters were beautiful on this  day and the statue with its perfectly white outline perfectly contracted to the brilliant blue seas.  I was in awe of the location, the striking beauty of the statue and the general feeling of well being and peacefulness that was provide to me on this amazing day.

I would thoroughly recommend this area to anyone who would like to learn more about the Christian History of Japan and in particular Nagasaki.  Even if the weather is not as good as one this day of my visit I am sure you won't be disappointed!

Please check out the Maria Statue Nagasaki on a map:


Please click on the photos below to enlarge:

From afar

Close up

In all her glory

Offerings to Maria



An inspiration to all!

Powerful image from all angles