Hidden Christians UNESCO World Heritage Site: Nagasaki Prefecture

It had been a long time coming with multiple attempts, revisions, changes and amendments but finally Japan has succeeded in gaining UNESCO World Heritage Status for its sites linked to the persecution of Christians in Japan in the 16th to the 19th Century.  It was such a major endeavor with years of hard work, sweat and tears that many interested parties held ceremonies and group celebrations all over Nagasaki and its outlying islands.

In fact the Foreign Minister of Japan had the following to say:

1. Today on June 30th 2018 at the 42nd Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee a decision was made to inscribe on the World Heritage List “Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region”, which Japan had nominated as a candidate for the list
2. “Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region” bears precious evidence of the history of the people and their communities who secretly transmitted their faith in Christianity during the time of prohibition spanning more than two centuries in Japan. I heartily welcome the inscription of this property which tells a very unique history in the world. At the same time, I hope that the inscription this time will attract wider attention from people around the world on this valuable property built by the Hidden Christians in Japan who secretly continued their faith during the ban on Christianity.

Here is the list of the 12 sites that gained entry into the UNESCO World Heritage Site:

Remains of Hara Castle

Kasuga Village and Sacred Places in Hirado
(Kasuga Village and Mt. Yasumandake)

Kasuga Village and Sacred Places in Hirado
(Nakaenoshima Island)

Sakitsu Village in Amakusa

Shitsu Village in Sotome

Ono Village in Sotome

Villages on Kuroshima Island

Remains of Villages on Nozaki Island

Villages on Kashiragashima Island

Villages on Hisaka Island

Egami Village on Naru Island
(Egami Church and its Surroundings)

Oura Cathedral

There are quite a few websites that have documented many of these sites that has be accepted and in many instances rejected or omitted from the UNESCO World Heritage listing.

These sites are one of the best in my opinion:

http://oratio.jp/en

http://kirishitan.jp/en

In fact I have been to some of the sites and here are some of my reports from the above locations.  You can check them out below:

Oura Catholic Church-  To view please click on the link here:

Hara Castle-  To view please click on the link here:

The dream has become reality

Over the coming weeks and months I will attempt to blog and update my website on these Hidden Christian sites ( known in Japanese as Kakure Kirishitan) in order to provide as much information as I possibly can.

I am sure the amount of visitors and interested parties will continue to flourish and bring this important fact about Japanese Christian History into the World`s Public forums and discussions as well as many Christian Pilgrimage`s to the region.