Nakae no Shima is a Christian Pilgrimage site and is the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hidden Chriatian Sites in the Nagasaki Region. Located two kilometers off the coast of Hirado Island, Nakae no Shima is a small, uninhabited island where religious leaders were executed during the persecution of Christians. The island is considered sacred, and water collected there is used for baptism.      

Nakae no Shima / Christian Pilgrimage s…の続きを読む

  The church is a Christian Pilgrimage site and was designed by Tetsukawa Yosuke, a famous architect of various churches in Nagasaki-prefecture, and built between December 1915 and October 1917. It is one of the latest brick churches in the prefecture of Nagasaki. Tetsukawa Yosuke has called this one of his best works. The beautiful building facing Hirado Strait offers artists and photographers a motif typical of the Tabira district. The church has been designated an important cultural asset by the Japanese government.     The history of the Tabira district began with the work of two foreign missionaries. In 1886, the French missionary Emile Raguet, in charge of Kuroshima Church at the time, purchased one hectare (2.5 acres) of wilderness at his own expense and urged three families in need to settle there. The same year, Marc-Marie de Rotz of Shitsu Church bought one hectare and sent four families to cultivate the pristine land. Gradually the number of the settlers increased a nd reached 80 families by the early Taisho era (1910s). In 1914, the Japanese priest Nakata Tokichi arrived in the parish. To replace the humble prayer house, he made tremendous efforts to raise funds for a formal church. Tetsukawa Yosuke designed the brick building, and the parishioners cooperated in the construction project, gathering a large number of …

Tabira Church…の続きを読む

  Beautiful and exciting Shine. Udo Shrine is a Shinto shrine in the cave of the cliff side facing the Pacific Ocean. It is located about 35 km south of Miyazaki city. In legend, a goddess of sea built a hut to give birth to a great god here. Then it is said that Empress Suiko (554-628) built the shrine there.           Entrance of Shrine          Shrine in the Cave             Pacific Ocean   The priest of Tendai Buddhism built a Buddhist temple in 782, on the order of Emperor Kanmu. In the middle ages, this area had been the training place for mountain priests because of the steep rocky cliffs.                 Shrine Gate      Chrysanthemum pattern               To the Shrine           Down to the Shrine            Shrine entrance                Rocky cliffs        Main Shrine in the Cave         Shrines in the Cave           Shrine in the Cave    

Udo Shrine…の続きを読む