Nagasaki was a small Rome in 1569
Todos os Santos Church, the first church in Nagasaki, was built in 1569.
The feudal lord Omura Sumitada and the Jesuits reached an agreement in 1570 to
develop Nagasaki into a port for Nanban trade (with Portugal and Spain).
Nagasaki Port opened in 1571, the same year the first Portuguese ship arrived.
Following this, the development of the “Town of the Cape” began as a Christian
settlement, and the small Church of São Paulo was constructed at the tip of the cape.
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Following the initial construction, several other churches were established:
- Misericordia Headquarters Church (1583)
- Santa Maria Church (1600)
- Santa Clara Church (1603)
- Santiago Church (1604)
- San Juan Bautista Church (1605)
- San Antonio Church (1606)
- San Pedro Church (1607)
- San Francisco Church (1611)
- San Agustin Church (1612)
For 45 years after the first church was built, Nagasaki flourished as a Christian town.
By 1614, the majority of its 25,000 residents were Christians, earning the city the
nickname “Little Rome.”
However, following the Tokugawa Shogunate’s nationwide ban on Christianity in 1614,
most of these church buildings were destroyed within a 15-day period starting from
November 3rd.