Oura Catholic Church: Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture

The Oura Catholic Church in Nagasaki was established in 1865 and this church is officially known as "Oura Catholic Church, The Church of 26 Martyrs."  It was built by French priests as a dedication to the 26 saints martyred on Nishizaka Hill.

For this reason, the church faces Nishizaka Hill as a sign of respect to those that dies on this day.  The church was constructed in the Gothic style and is Japan's oldest existing wooden church.  It was designated a National Treasure in 1933.

French stained glass was installed in the interior some 100 years ago, but most of this was seriously damaged in the atomic bomb blast.  It has since been restored with some pieces of other stained glass from that period.  Oura Catholic Cathedral will always be famous worldwide as the church that discovered the "hidden followers" who had survived the religious persecution in the 16th Century.  It was the Oura Catholic Church that lured these hidden Christians back into society and to continue their faith without fear and reprisal.

I recommend viewing this church from the outside and from within as it will provide you with a feeling and of the dedication of those that apposed the Christianity ban all those years ago.  A well received site from all visitors.

Oura Catholic Church is situated very close to the Nagasaki Port Terminal, it is only about a 300 to 400 meter walk although there is a rather steep incline on the the hill area on which it is perched.  The other advantage is that is is very close to the famous Glover Gardens and as such 2 major attractions in Nagasaki can be achieved without too much walking and time wasting.  A double whammy that won't leave you disappointed!

Check out the Oura Catholic Church on the map below:

 

PS:  The latest news is that on the 29th of June 2018, the Oura Catholic Church has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.


Click on the photos below to enlarge:

The Church

On the cross

Imposing figures

Maria Statue

Powerful view

In Memorandum

Lots of images inside

The inside view of the Church

Please click on the video`s below to see more about the Oura Catholic Church Nagasaki:

Sotome Museum of History and Folklore: Nagasaki Prefecture

This Museum is in Sotome, Nagasaki.  The Museum features 2 floors of exhibits that teaches and educates the public on the history of the areas and its claim as the birthplace of Christianity in Nagasaki and ultimately Japan.

The first floor although quite interesting in its own right, is dedicated to the history of Sotome and the development of its society thru cultural events plus its development in farming/ fishing/ mining and other techniques over the years.

The main reason for me to come to this Museum today lies on the 2nd Floor of the building.  It is dedicated to the Christian History of Sotome and specifically during the 16th and 17th Century.  Sotome was home to a community of Hidden Christians and including ones that moved from various spots allover Japan to join a group of like minded people to practise their religion in secret and away from prying eyes.

The 2nd floor contains many artifacts and exhibits a lot of very interesting items that show how desperate the villages were to hold on to their religion during these times of persecution.  An example is a recording of prayers that were kept secret by the Hidden Christians of the area to be passed down from generation to generation as to not lose that they held on so dear to preserve.

If you have any interest in the plight of the Nagasaki Christians and would like to do a Christian Pilgrimage of the area then our Nagasaki Private Tours can take you to all the sights of the Sotome area and other Christian associated site within the Nagasaki Prefecture.  Please inquiry of what kind of service we can provide for you and your party.

Please check below to see where you can find the Sotome Museum of History and Folklore on a map:

 

Please click the photos below to enlarge:

Map of the Area

1st floor

Go to the 2nd floor

Lots of exhibits

Secret images

Timeline of Sotome Christians

Lots of English info

Please click on the videos below to see more information about the Sotome Museum of History and Folklore:

Shitsu and Ono Village in Sotome, Nagasaki Prefecture

As promised in a recent post, I am attempting to visit and report on as many of the new UNESCO Hidden Christian Heritage Sites so as to provide as much information in English as possible to prospective clients but also for those people who wish to come and check out these sites on there own accord.

Actually 4 years ago now I did a little bit of research into these prospective UNESCO sites when they were being analyzed as a candidate site.  I can tell you this, the sites were difficult to find, there was hardly any English literature or pamphlets, signposting was minimal and in all honesty I struggled to find most of the main attractions and heavily doubted that they would one day become a fully fledged UNESCO listed Heritage Site.

Well, upon my second visit, I was pleasantly and very surprised to the lengths and efforts that the Nagasaki Community has gone thru to get the message out to the world of the plight that the Nagasaki Christians endured during the decree to ban Christianity and kill anyone who defied this order by the all powerful Shogunate.

The signs are strategically placed, the roads have been widened, car parks installed and even cafes strategically placed along the way to act as rest stops to throughly create a feeling of wellbeing and to make the sites a well designed and thought out sightseeing location.

Not all is perfect yet!  There still needs to be some more improvement but from what I have seen to what now is in place, a big thumbs up from me is absolutely given.  I will be back to do some more documenting and plan to blog in more detail about each building and attraction in these villages.

Please check out these villages on the maps below:

   

For now, please check out this video below:

Maria Statue: Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture

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 in Nagasaki below on the 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

Please click on the video to see more of the Maria Statue in Nagasaki:

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.

Check out some of these locations on the map below:

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.

Kita Arima Christian Monument: Nagasaki Prefecture

The Kita Arima Christian Monument is a symbol of the many Christians who died for their Christian faith mostly during the 17th century.  There are many of these statues, monuments, reminders, posts, tombstones and the like all over the Shimabara Peninsular in Nagasaki as this area of Japan was a hive of Christian activities during the 16th and 17th centuries.  I have been discovering and searching for these site for a while now and more keep popping up all over the place.

In 1549, St. Francis Xavier and two other priests arrived in Kagoshima to bring Christianity to Japan from Spain. There were an estimated 300,000 Christians by the end of the sixteenth century. Problems arose and Christianity was suppressed and the first Martyrs of Japan died in 1597.  250 years later, when Christian missionaries returned to Japan, they found a community of Japanese Christians that had survived underground and were approached cautiously by the descendants of the Christians after their suppression.

There were 205 Japanese Christian Martyrs between 1597 and 1637.  One of these incidents is documented with a Nagasaki Christian Monument in the town of Kita Arima on the Shimabara Peninsular.  Here 29 Christians were martyred in the Arima River, death by drowning for not renouncing their Christian faith, in times where Christianity was banned throughout all of Japan by the rulers.  It was quite an intense feeling to be at the site of such atrocities that were committed so many years ago but as with all shocking incidents it is better to learn from our past rather than hiding the real truth!

Please check out the Kita Arima Christian Monument on this map below:

 

Please click on the photos below to enlarge:

Remembering the dead

29 Christians died here

The place where the Christians were drowned

Remembering the turbulent times

Please click on the video below to see the Kita Arima Nagasaki Christian Monument:

Arima Christian Heritage Museum: Shimabara Peninsular, Nagasaki Prefecture

The Arima Christian Heritage Museum in Nagasaki is an interesting place that one can see and interact with many facets of Japanese History and especially its interaction and involvement with people from other countries through culture, trade and religious experimentation.

The Museum is well signposted in English, has enough literature and footnotes as well as a 10 minute video to explain the histories and problems of the day in which Christianity was outlawed and those that continued to follow their faith (even though the consequences meant death) were dealt with in the most gruesome manner.

No stone is unturned at the Arima Christian Heritage Museum as all topic of reference are discussed in full details.  These include the Martyring of Nagasaki Christians, the connection between trade and evil forces from abroad, as well as the Hara Castle massacre whereby 37 000 peasant Christians were murdered as a result of their unwillingness to stop practicing their faith and because of their defiance to follow the rank and file orders of their over bearing Lord of the time.

I will recommend this place to anyone who has an interest in the history of the Nagasaki Christians, as there is just enough information to fill in the gaps and to provide a picture worth viewing.  However because of the Museum`s remote location most probably a Private Tour will be needed to access this and other remote places.

Please click on the click to see Arima Christian Heritage Museum in Nagasaki on this map:

 

Click on the photos below to enlarge:

Renounce your faith or else!

Christianity arrived in Japan with the traders

An interesting 10 minute video with subtitles

Christians being Martyred

The Arima Christian Heritage Museum

Religious cleansing

Martyrdom

The Hara Castle Massacre

Rebellion forces holding out the lords soldiers

The end result 37 000 Christian dead

Entrance

Please check out these videos below to see more about the Arima Christian Heritage Museum in Nagasaki: