Former Shitsu Aid Center

 

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I want to save people in the Sotome from poor life. Former Shitsu Aid Centeris indispensable

in talking about the history and culture of the region. In 1879, Father Marc Marie de Rotz,

a French missionary who has been assigned to the Sotome, has a variety of farming,

fishing, medical, and educational programs to save local residents from plight. I did an activity.

 

Former Shitsu Aid Center is a delivery facility for women, in 1883. It was founded with the

cooperation of members of the Church of St. Joseph, which was founded and trained by the

Father himself. In 2003 in 12, some of these facilities were designated as nationally

designated important cultural properties as the remains of valuable birth and welfare facilities

in the early Meiji period.

 

 

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Martyrdom of the 26 Saints of Japan

 

 

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Nishizaka Hill in Nagasaki is the place of Martyrdom of 26 Japanese Saints. The 26 Martyrs of

Japan were a group of Catholics who were executed by crucifixion on February 5, 1597.

The Twenty-six Christians led by Paulo Miki, including six foreign missionaries and three young boys,

were arrested in Kyoto and Osaka on the order of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the National ruler, for preaching

Christianity. 

They were marched 800 km through the snow to Nagasaki and crucified in front of large crowd on

Nishizaka hill on Feb. 5, 1597.

 

Paul Miki said from the Cross

All of you who are here, please listen to me.

I am a Japanese by birth, and a brother of the Society of Jesus. I have committed no crime, and the

only reason why I am put to death is that I have been teaching the doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I am very happy to die for such cause, and see my death as great blessing from the Lord.

At this critical time, when you can rest assured that I will not try to deceive you, I want to stress

and make it unmistakably clear that man can find no way to salvation other than the Christian

way. The Christian law commands that we forgive our enemies and who have wronged us.

I must therefore say here that I forgive Taikosama (Hideyoshi).

 

Then they all ascended to heaven with the happy of giving the life to Christ.

 

Nishizaka hill, the site of Martyrdom in 1597

The martyrs said that  ” All people, bless God ! ”

The 26 Japanese martyrs have  been canonized in 1862

 

Peace Fountain at Peace Park

 

 

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Peace Fountain reminds us of the tragic scene unfolded shortly after America dropped

the Atomic Bomb on Nagasaki at 11:02 am on Aug. 09, 1945. With the completion of the

Peace Fountain on Aug. 3, 1969, a monument inscribed with an epitaph was constructed.

Many people were burned deeply and died, crying and groaning for water. When people

recovered their peaceful life in 1965, a campaign for a Peace Fountain was launched.

 

Recorded on the monument are the name of the founder including the People’s Congress

for Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and Promotion of Peace and the Committee for the

Construction of the Peace Fountain.

 

 

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General information

Address	Heiwakoen, Matsuyama-machi, Nagasaki-city
Access	3 minutes walk from Heiwa-koen-shita Tram Station

Atomic Bomb Museum

 

 

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The museum exhibits a number of photograph that depict the devastation

caused by atomic bomb showing the lead-up to this tragic day, the history of the development of

nuclear arms and our desire for peace.

 

 

 

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General information

Address	7-8 Hirano-machi, Nagasaki-city
Access	5 minutes walk from Genbaku-shiryokan Tram Station
Open hours	8:30 to 17:30  September to December 8:30 to 18:30  May to August 8:30 to 20:00  August 7 to 9
Admission fee	JPY 200
Days closed	December 29 to 31

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St. Andrew Chistian Seminary

 

 

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St. Andrew Christian Seminary building stands on the eastern end of Dejima

and features a light blue exterior and a tower with a cross.

It is the oldest surviving Protestant Seminary building in Japan.

It was built as a church school in 1878 and opened the following year as the Dejima

Shinbashiguchi English and Japanese School.

It later changed its name to Dejima Shinbashiguchi Anglican Seminary and offered

theological education. After closing in 1886, it was used as accommodation for foreign

missionaries.

 

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Monument of the Child Praying for Peace

 

 

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At the bottom of the steps leading down from the front of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum

The Monument of a Child Praying for Peace depicting a girl wearing a kimono and holding

 

 

a folded paper crane.  At that time of the atomic bombing there were several schools in

the Ground Zero area and some 10,000 school children are through to have perished in

the bombing.

 

 

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On the 20th anniversary of the atomic bombing, donations were collected widely from

children who express their wish for peace, and this statue was unveiled on August 9, 1967

and remains to this day as a symbol the aspiration for eternal peace.

 

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Megane-bashi bridge

 

 

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The oldest stone arch bridge in Japan. Meganebashi or Spectacles Bridge, over the Nakashima

River was built in Nagasaki in 1634 by the Chinese monk Mokusunyoujo who is a second

generation of Chinese monks living at Kofukuji Temple. It is said to be the oldest stone arch

bridge in Japan and has been designated as an Important Cultural Property.

 

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Megane Bridge is also part of the first group of bridges built over Nakashima River. Megane Bridge is

made of stone and is a double arch bridge. It received the nickname “Spectacles Bridge” because its

two arches and their reflection in the water create the image of a pair of spectacles.

 

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General information  

Address	Uonomachi, Nagasaki-city
Access	3 minutes walk from Meganebashi Tram station

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Peace Park

 

 

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Peace Park was established in 1955 near the Ground Zero where the Atomic bomb was

dropped at 11:02 am on Aug. 09, 1945.  Peace Memorial Ceremony is held in front of the

statue on August 9 every year and the Mayor of Nagasaki makes the “Nagasaki peace

declaration” for the whole world.

 

Peace Fountain

The Peace Fountain reminds us of the tragic scene unfolded shortly after America dropped the

Atomic bomb in Nagasaki at 11:02 am on Aug. 09, 1945.

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Bell of Nagasaki

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Peace Statue

Completed in 1955, ten years after the Atomic bombing. The 9.7 meter high statue sitting on a 4

meter tall pedestal, made by renown sculptor Kitamura Seibo who born in Minami-Shimabara-city,

Nagasaki-prefecture in 1884. The raised arm points to the threat of nuclear weapons and the

out-stretched arm symbolizes peace.

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Monuments presented from all over the World

 

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Dejima Wharf

 

 

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Elegant international & domestic tourist harbour. Made up of around 20 unique shops and

restaurants lined up at the water front, offering various choices such Japanese, Western,

and Italian cuisine, to beauty salons, outdoor shops and more.

 

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It is quite the popular spot for people who want to relax while viewing the sea beyond as they

dine outdoors.

 

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Nagasaki Harbour

Located in the center of East Asia and is surrounded by the beautiful green mountains.

The city has flourished due to foreign trade through the port.  Now the port is home to Mitsubishi

Heavy Industries, which has one of Japan’s largest shipbuilding facilities.

 

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Not only ships but also many industrial goods such as wind and thermal generators are

manufactured and exported from Nagasaki. Recently, the port was changed by the appearance of

a beautiful park and Venus Bridge or the long cable-stay bridge. The port facilities will be further

improved as a major gateway with a long tradition of international exchange and together with a

geographically advantageous location.

 

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General information  

Address	1-1 Dejima-machi, Nagasaki-city
Access	a short walk from Dejima Tram Station a short walk from Tsuki-machi Tram Station 15 minutes walk from JR Nagasaki Station

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Endo Shusaku Literary Museum

 

 

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The peaceful Sotome, the setting of Endo Shusaku’s novel Silence. Sotome area of Nagasaki

city has an abundance of natural beauty in its sea, mountains and rivers. It also is blessed with

a unique history and culture of Christianity. In particular, the area in which the Endo Shusaku

Literary Museum stands is known as the site of a Christian village, one of Endo’s most notable

work, Silence.

 

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From the literary museum, there is a magnificent view. In a sweep of eye one can see sun as

it majestically sets over the sea of Goto, along with the Silence Literary Monument in Shitsu

Bunka Mura. Endo Shusaku and the Sotome area are linked through Silence ; this bond has

been built up starting from when Endo was writing the novel, and continues into the present day

with the construction of literary museum.

 

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Following Endo Shusaku’s death, this Literary Museum was established thanks to kindness of

his family, and was filled with Endo’s persona belongings, mementoes, manuscripts, and his

extensive collection of books.  The Museum exhibits trace the footsteps of Endo Shusaku as

one of Japan’s greatest writers of literature. In addition, it has facilities for collecting, preserving,

and exhibiting materials related to Endo’s public perusal and research, and operating as an

information center.

 

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Note : Silence

Silence is a 1966 novel of theological fiction by author Endo Shusaku, published in English by

Peter Owen Publishers. It is the story of a Jesuit missionary sent to 17th century Japan, who

endures persecution in the time of Hidden Christians that followed the defeat of the Shimabara

Rebellion. The recipient of the 1966 Tanizaki Prize, it has been called “Endo’s supreme

achievement and “one of the twentieth century’s finest novels Written partly in the form of a letter

by its central character, the theme of a silent God who accompanies a believer in adversity was

greatly influenced by the Catholic Endō’s experience of religious discrimination in Japan, racism

in France, and a debilitating bout with tuberculosis.

 

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