When Matsukura Shigemasa became the new federal lord of Shimabara in 1616, many people were Christians. Initially, he acquiesced in Christianity, because he needed people’s cooperation to build Shimabara Castle. H …

Unzen jigoku Martyrdom…の続きを読む

  26 Christians arrive at Tokitsu Port by the boat on the cold night of February 4, in 1597 and stayed one night on the boat. At dawn on February 5, they got off the ship with a cold b ody and landed at Togitsu Port …

26 Saints Pilgrimage route on February 0…の続きを読む

  The site is located in Minami-Arima, Minami-Shimabara City. It was the primary battlefield of the Shimabara Rebellion in 1637—a large-scale peasant uprising against the Shogunate’s persecution of Christians, led b …

Shimabara Rebellion in 1637…の続きを読む

  Nakamachi Church is located near JR Nagasaki Station which was constructed for Japanese Christians in 1986. The church was dedicated to the 16 Saints of Nagasaki (St. Thomas and the 15 Martyrs) in 1988, and the mo …

Nakamachi Church, in Nagasaki…の続きを読む

  Father Maximilian Kolbe was born in Poland in 1894 and was a priest of the Conventual Order of St. Francis. He had been active in promoting the veneration of the Immaculate Virgin Mary. He came to Japan in 1930 an …

Saint Kolbe Memorial Museum, at Hongouch…の続きを読む

  Christianity in Japan holds a profound and unique history unlike any other in the world. Its journey began in 1549 with the arrival of Francis Xavier, the first missionary, leading to the rapid spread of the faith—prim …

History of Japanese Christianity…の続きを読む

  This is a church with Gaudi-style twin tower designed by Kenjiro Imai, built next to the Nishizaka Martyrdom site    When there was a plan to build a memorial hall for the 26 Japanese Saints next to Nishizaka Mart …

Saint Filippo de Jesus Church ( Japan 26…の続きを読む

  The site where Christian Gaspar Nishi Genka was martyred in 1609, located on Kurose Hill overlooking Nakae no shima between Hirado and Ikitsuki. The tomb facing the sea is called Gaspar-sama and is a revered place …

Kurose no Tsuji, martyrdom site of Gaspa…の続きを読む

  Severe oppression began with the Tokugawa Shogunate’s ban on Christianity. Missionaries were expelled overseas, while those who remained in secret were captured and martyred. Konishi Mansho, the last remaining pri …

Hidden Christians from 1612…の続きを読む

  Kasuga Village and Mount Yasugatake is a Christian Pilgrimage site and is registered on the World Heritage as Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region. This idyllic, remote village was refuge to a small commu …

Hidden Christian site, Kasuga Village…の続きを読む