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 smal …

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

  The Cathedral is one of the significant Christian Pilgrimage site in Japan.  Established 1865, this church is officially known as “Oura Cathedral, the Church of 26 Martyrs.” It was built by the French priest Berna …

Oura Cathedral, in Nagasaki…の続きを読む

  Christian missionary activities in Japan began after Francis Xavier came to Hirado in 1550. The Jesuit missionaries who accompanied Francis Xavier carried out missionary activities in Hirado, Omura, Nagasaki, Goto …

St. Francis Xavier…の続きを読む

  Nagasaki Port was opened in 1570 by Omura Sumitada, the first Japanese feudal lord to be baptized as a Christian. At that time, a group of Christian families immigrated to the area along with Father Figueiredo. Ma …

Opening the port created Christian town …の続きを読む

  In 1582, four young boys boarded a ship at Nagasaki Port bound for Europe. They were dispatched as representatives of the Japanese Christian feudal lords, departing with Alessandro Valignano, the Jesuit missionary …

Tensho youth mission to Europe in 1582…の続きを読む

  In 1596, the Spanish ship San Felipe, heading from the Philippines to Mexico, washed ashore on the Tosa-Urato coast due to a typhoon. Shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi confiscated the ship’s vast cargo. At that time, the …

Causes of the Martyrdom of 26 Saints…の続きを読む

  26 Christians arrested in Kyoto who were consisted of 20 Japanese, 4 Spaniards, 1 Mexican, and 1 Portuguese. They were forced to walk barefoot to Nagasaki for about a month. On February 5, 1597, all 26 Christians …

26 Saints were the first martyrs in Japa…の続きを読む

  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 …

Nagasaki was a small Rome in 1569…の続きを読む

  The number of Christians in Japan continued to grow, reaching approximately 300,000 by 1614. Fearing that this increasing influence could lead to rebellion, the Tokugawa Shogunate issued a ban on Christianity in N …

Ban on Christianity in 1612…の続きを読む

  Twenty-five years after the martyrdom of the 26 Saints, the blood of Christians was once again shed on the hill of Nishizaka in Nagasaki.     A total of 55 Christians were martyred, having been arrested at Su …

Genna great Martyrdom in 1622…の続きを読む