Oura Catholic Church: Nagasaki City

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:

Hidden Christian Tours in Nagasaki

Tour Nagasaki specializes in Christian Pilgrimages. Since the inclusion of Nagasaki’s Hidden Christian Sites under the UNESCO Heritage Listing, our services to these remote and hard to get to regions have become a popular destination.

This is the area of Nagasaki that we specialize in.

Check on the map below:

 

Please check out these destinations on the video below:

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:

26 Martyrs Museum: Nagasaki City

The 26 Martyrs Museum was built on Nishizaka Hill in Nagasaki, Japan in June 1962 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the canonization by the Roman Catholic Church of the Christians executed on the site on the 5th of February 1597.

Its interior is reminiscent of a church with stained-glass windows, making for excellent viewing of the exhibits. On display are artifacts related to Christianity in Japan, including old documents, statues and jewelry. Explanations of many of the pieces are in English and give the viewer an upclose look back at many of the hardships and challenges were placed on the Nagasaki Christians in the 16th and 17th Century.

As with most of my stories and investigations into all things Nagasaki, it took me about 8 visits to the actual 26 Martyrs Monument before I stumbled upon this gem of a museum. It doesn`t even get close to half of the visitors that the Atomic Bomb Museum but each corresponding visit by yours truly has opened another angle or targeted wave of investigation into a never ending story of the Nagasaki Hidden Christians.

Well worth a visit and worth every penny of its 500 yen entrance fee.
1 or 2 hours of your time can be used up with ease at this location.

Here is a map of the 26 Martyrs Museum in Nagasaki City:

Here are a few photos taken from the exterior of the 26 Martyrs Museum:
Please click to enlarge.

Please check out the 26 Martyrs Museum in these videos below:

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 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.

Shusaku Endo`s Literary Museum: Sotome, Nagasaki Prefecture

Please click on the video below to see the trailer of the original author`s new Hollywood Movie called Silence directed by Matin Scorcese.

Please click on the video below to see more of the Shusaku Endo`s Literary Museum

The Shusaku Endo Literature Museum was established in May 2000, with the cooperation of his widow and family, under one premise, that it in built and commands a view of the calm Goto-Nada Sea.  The Museum is located in Sotome, Nagasaki and is known as the area where the Nagasaki Christians were persecuted during the ban on Christianity.  While not originally from Nagasaki, Mr Endo felt a strong bond with the district, in fact he referred to Sotome many times as his 2nd home.

The Museum contains more than 25 000 exhibits as well as the traces of his life. It also displays items connected to Mr. Endo's literature. Born in Tokyo in 1923, Shusaku was baptized as a Catholic at the age of 11. As an adult, he pursued the question of Japan's spiritual climate and Christianity. He was an author who, throughout his lifetime, used the approach of literature to investigate the issue of religion in depth.

My time at the Museum was enjoyable and educational.  I learnt many a new thing about the region, the history of Japan and Nagasaki as well as about the writer of course.  Someone could easily spend 3 or 4 hours just at the Museum itself but with many new attractions in and around Sotome linked to the Hidden Christians of Nagasaki, maybe 1 to 2 hours would be a more than necessary in order to fit more destinations into one`s itinerary

The area is in a rural setting outside of Nagasaki City, so of course a private tour would seem to be the best options in order to navigate this rather out of the way region.  There are buses that frequent the area but they are limited and don`t allow for very much flexibility.


A real find this place especially if you are looking for stories and information about Nagasaki’s Hidden Christians.

Please look below to see the Shusaki Endo Literary Museum of a map:

 

Please click on the photos below to enlarge:

Amazing views

The Museum

Silence

Mr Endo`s desk

A picture of Martin Scorcese 

The man himself

The Library

Well presented

Plenty to see