For those wishing to visit churches
in the Nagasaki region
Code of etiquette
A church is a place of prayer. When visiting, you are kindly requested to observe the codeof etiquette and respect the church’s spiritual atmosphere.

World Cultural Heritage
Give prior notice before visiting the churches
When you wish to visit the churches listed below, please contact the relevant organizations andgive them prior notice via their websites. However, you can visit Oura Cathedral without
prior notification.

● Nagasaki Church Information Centre is in charge of visits to thefollowing churches
Shitsu Church, Ono Church, Kuroshima Church, Tabira Church, Egami Church, Former
Gorin Church, and Kashiragashima Church.
Dejima-Wharf 2nd floor, 1-1-205, Dejimamachi, Nagasaki City, 850-0862
Tel +81-95-823-7650, Opening hours: 9:30 to 17:30
http://kyoukaigun.jp/en/● Ojika Island Tourism is in charge of visits to the following church
Former Nokubi Church.
2791-13 Fuefukigo, Ojika Town, Kitamatsuura District, 857-4701 (within the Ojika
Port Terminal)
Tel +81-959-56-2646, Opening hours: 9:00 to 18:00
http://ojikajima.jp/● “KASSE JAPAN Co., Ltd. Kyushu Sanko Call Centre” is in charge ofvisits to the following church
Sakitsu Church.
9th floor, Taiyo Seimei Kumamoto Building, 4-3 Hanabata-cho, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto
City, Kumamoto Prefecture, 860-0806
Tel +81-96-300-5535, Opening hours: 10:00 to 17:00
https://www.kyusanko.co.jp/ryoko/pickup/sakitsu-church/

HiddenChristian Sites
in the Nagasaki
RegionNagasaki Prefecture
Kumamoto Prefecture
Nagasaki City
Sasebo City
Hirado City
Goto City
Minamishimabara City
Ojika Town
Shinkamigoto Town
Amakusa City

Published by Cultural Advancement and World Heritage Division,
Nagasaki Prefectural Government
Tel : +81-95-894-3171, FAX +81-95-829-2336
Email : s38080@pref.nagasaki.lg.jp
Photographers : Higurashi Yuichi, Ikeda Tsutomu
Issued in March 20２3

https://kirishitan.jp/en

Japan's
distinctive religious
tradition
Hidden Christian Sites
in the Nagasaki Region
inscribed on the World Heritage List
in 2018

EnglishIntroduction to the Nagasaki Region
Japan lies at the far eastern edge of the area in which Catholicism
was introduced during the Age of Exploration. The Nagasaki region,
located in the western part of Kyushu in the south-western part of
the archipelago, has served as Japan’s gateway for exchanges with
the Asian Continent from antiquity and, in the latter half of the 16th
century, Catholic missionaries were very active throughout theregion. As a result, newly baptised Japanese in the region could
receive pastoral guidance from these missionaries over a longer
period than anywhere else in Japan, and Catholic communities
became firmly established there.
Based on th ese communities, even after J apan banned
Christianity in the 17th century and not a single missionary wasallowed to remain in Japan, some Catholics in the Nagasaki region
nurtured a tradition of practising their religious faith in hiding in
the midst of the conventional society and its religions, such as
Buddhism and Shinto. After the ban on Christianity was lifted in thelatter half of the 19th century, the Hidden Christian communities
joined the Catholic Church as their ancestors did in the 16th
century and built churches in their villages, which visually marked
the end of their tradition nurtured during the ban. Against thishistorical background, the Nagasaki region still has an exceptionallylarge number of Catholics and churches, compared with otherregions in Japan.
The property, ‘Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region’,is a unique testimony to the history of people and their communities
who secretly transmitted their faith in Christianity during a time
when the religion was prohibited for more than two centuries.

Japan

Nagasaki Region
Kyushu１

Photo/ Crepuscular rays in Sotome
Photographer / Ikeda Tsutomu

２Japan's
distinctive religious
tradition nurtured in
the absence of
missionaries

Kasuga Village
and Sacred Places
in Hirado

Kasuga Village
and Sacred Places
in Hirado(Kasuga Village and
Mt. Yasumandake)(NakaenoshimaIsland)Who are ‘Hidden Christians’?
Those who secretly practised the Christianfaith in Japan from the 17th to the 19th
centuries despite the ban on Christianity❸❷

while living an ordinary life in the society arecalled Hidden Christians in the academic
field. The tradition of the Hidden Christians
includes the veneration of their own objects
to continue their religious faith, as well as

Remains ofVillages on
Nozaki Island

Ojika Town

selection of places to migrate in order tomaintain their religious communities.

Hirado City❽

Before the period of the ban on
C h r i sti a ni ty , C h r i sti a ns w e r e c a l led

Kirishitan in Japan, from the Portuguese‘Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region'
bear unique testimony to the tradition of people
and their communities who secretly transmitted❾(Egami Churchand its Surroundings)

their faith in Christianity while surviving in the

Villageson Hisaka Island

sites consist of 12 vital components that express the❿history of the tradition from the beginning of the

distinctive religious system that they had❼

to as Kakure Kirishitan.

Villageson KuroshimaIslandsuch as Buddhism and Shinto, in the absence of
missionaries due to the ban on Christianity. Thesethe people who refused to follow themissionaries and insteadcontinued thenurtured during the ban came to be referred⓫

midst of the conventional society and its religions,

Sasebo City

Villageson KashiragashimaIslandEgami Village
on Naru Island

Oura
Cathedral

Shinkamigoto Town⓬
NagasakiPrefecture

absence of missionaries and hiding of Christians,
through the remaining Christians’ endeavours to❺

the hiding triggered by contact with missionaries.

Shitsu Village
in Sotome❻

Goto City❶

MinamishimabaraCity

Ono Village
in Sotome

areas including peninsulas and small islands in the

Remains ofHara Castle

Nagasaki City

continue their faith and communities, to the end of

The 12 components are located in very remoteword ‘cristão’. After the ban was abolished,

Nagasaki region where practitioners received
pastoral guidance from Catholic missionaries

Kumamoto
Prefectureduring the Age of Exploration to a greater extent
Sakitsu Village
in Amakusa

than in any other region of Japan. Japan itself lies❹at the far eastern edge of the area in Asia where
Christianity was introduced at that time.

0｜12 components｜

Remains ofHara Castle
T he si t e o f t he mai nbattlefield during the
Shimabara-Amakusa
Rebellion, after which
the remaining Christians
had to go into hiding
an d find ways out tocontinue their religious
faith by themselves.

❶
３

Kasuga Village
and Sacred Places in Hirado(Kasuga Village and
Mt. Yasumandake)(NakaenoshimaIsland)Hidden Christi ans conceal ed their faith in thisvillage by venerating the mountain that had
be en wor shi pe d si n ce b efo re th e i ntro du c t i o nof C hristi ani ty to Japan and the i sl and on
which their ancestors had been martyred.

❷❸

Sakitsu Village
in Amakusa

Shitsu Village
in Sotome

Ono Village
in Sotome

In Sakitsu, Hidden
Christians were able toconti nue practi si ng
their faith over time by
substituting everyday
items used in daily life
and work for Christian
devotional objects.

At this village, Hidden
Christians were able topractise their faith bysecretly revering sacredicons.

In Ono Village, Hidden
Christians practised
their religious faith byvenerati ng their own
deities secretly enshrinedin Shinto shrines.

❹

❺

❻

10

Villageson KuroshimaIsland20

30

Remains ofVillages on
Nozaki Island

40

Amakusa City

50 km

Villageson KashiragashimaIslandVillageson Hisaka Island

Hidden Christians maintained
their religious communities
after they settled in former
cl an pasturel ands on
Kuroshima Island in needof redevelopment.

Hidden Christians maintained
their religious communities
after they migrated to
Nozaki Island, which wasregarded as sacred by
Shinto believers.

Hidden Christians maintained
their religious communities
after they migrated toK a s hi r a ga s hi m a I s l a n d,which once had been used
for sick people.

Hidden Christians maintained
their religious communities
in these villages after
migrating to undeveloped
land on the island inaccordance with a migration
policy established by the
Goto clan.

❼

❽

❾

❿

Egami Village
on Naru Island(Egami Churchand its Surroundings)
Egami Church bears witness
to the history of Hidden
Christian migrants to Naru
Island.

⓫Oura
CathedralThe site of the ‘Discovery
of Hidden Christians’, an
encounter with returned
Catholic missionaries thattriggered the end of
Hidden Christians’ hiding.

⓬４

Honmaru (the main enclosure)of the Remains of Hara Castle
during the Shimabara-Amakusa
Rebellion (Component ❶, depicted
in ‘Shimabara Jinzu Byobu’,housed in the Akizuki Folklore
Museum.)The value as

World
Heritage
Outstanding Universal ValueⅠ

Beginning of the absenceof missionaries andhiding of Christians

Nakaenoshima Island(included in components ❸)Kasuga Village and Mt. Y asumandake(included in components ❷)Ⅱ

Hidden Christians'
endeavours to continue
their religious faithCatholicism was first introduced to Japan by a Jesuit

Hidden Christian communities disappeared in Japan

priest, Francis Xavier, in 1549. It spread nationwide due

except for the Nagasaki region, where Catholic

to the evangelising activities of the Jesuits who came tomissionary activities had taken place more

Japan after Xavier, and also due to the protection

extensively than in any other parts of Japan in theafforded by baptised feudal lords (Kirishitan Daimyo)

initial phase of the introduction of Catholicism. This

who sought to profit from overseas trade. However, theregion provided the foundations for the maintenanceban on Christianity, which had begun with an edictof the secret faith even into the 18th century andissued by Toyotomi Hideyoshi expelling the missionaries,

afterwards. Here, Hidden Christians tried to find

was tightened under the Tokugawa Shogunate, by whichways out to practise their secret faith. Their own

all the churches were destroyed and all the missionaries

objects provided a focus for their worship: forwere ordered to leave Japan. In 1637, during theexample, a mountain and an island in Kasuga Village

nationwide ban on Christianity, remaining Catholics

and Sacred Places in Hirado, everyday items thattook up arms against the tyranny of their local lord andwere used in their life and work in Sakitsu Village inwere besieged in Hara Castle. The Shogunate was

Amakusa, sacred images in Shitsu Village in Sotome,

shocked at this Shimabara-Amakusa Rebellion andand Shinto shrines in Ono Village in Sotome.

Ono Shrine (included in component ❻)Photographer / Ikeda Tsutomu

adopted its national seclusion policy (known as Sakoku)
to prohibit the arrival of Portuguese ships that could be
used to smuggle missionaries into Japan. After the last
missionary within Japan had been martyred in 1644,
the remaining Japanese Catholics could only maintaintheir faith and communities on their own in secret.
These believers are referred to as Hidden Christians.
Many such communities disintegrated in rapid
succession in the latter half of the 17th century due toa series of large-scale crackdowns on remaining Catholics,
forcing them to either renounce their religious faith or
be martyred.

5

Photographer / Ikeda Tsutomu

An abalone shell used as a Hidden Christian devotional toolin Component ❹, and now preserved by villager*The part encircled by a red line was regarded
as a representation of the Virgin Mary.

‘Plaquette of the Immaculate
Conception’ (Preserved incomponent ❺ and now
housed in the Father de Rotz
Memorial.)
Photographer / Ikeda Tsutomu

6Okinokojima Shrine(included in component ❽)Shirahama Village(included in component ❾)Illustration of the ‘Discovery of Hidden Christians’(A. Villion, Yamato Hijiri Chishionokakioki.)

Oura Cathedral (component ⓬)at the time of its construction* Photo reprinted by courtesy of Nagasaki Bunkensha

Ⅲ

Hidden Christians'
endeavours to maintaintheir religious communities

Ⅳ

To cope with increases in the population in Sotome, some ofthe villagers began to migrate to the Goto Islands and otherremote areas at the end of the 18th century. Many of theFollowing the opening of Japan to overseas trade in 1854, Catholic missionaries returned to Nagasaki andconstructed Oura Cathedral for Westerners within the Nagasaki Foreign Settlement. In 1865, a group of

Remains ofVillages on
Nozaki Island

Villageson KuroshimaIslandmigrants were Hidden Christians, and theydecided where tosettle, considering how they could maintain their religious
communities and live alongside pre-existing communities andtheir religions. These destinations included abandoned
pasturelands of the feudal lord in the Villages on KuroshimaIsland that needed redevelopment, a location that was

The transitional phase triggeredby contact with missionaries,
leading to the end of Hidden Christians' hiding

Villages on
KashiragashimaIslandHidden Christians from Urakami came to the cathedral and revealed to the missionary that they had beenpractising Christianity in secret. This event came to be known as the Discovery of Hidden Christians,
following which many Hidden Christian communities professed their faith despite the fact that the ban on
Christianity was still in effect. The authorities once again strengthened the suppression of Christians,

Ono Village
in Sotome

Egami Village on Naru Island(Egami Church and its Surroundings)

Shitsu Village
in Sotome

Villageson Hisaka Island

leading to the last wave of persecutions. In 1873, however, due to Western countries lodging strong
protests to the Meiji Government, the ban on Christianity was eventually lifted in Japan. Consequently,
Hidden Christians split into three groups: (1) those who reaccepted Catholicism under the guidance of theregarded as sacred by Shinto practitioners in the Remains ofMigration toremote islands
and other locations

Villages on Nozaki Island, and a location in the Villages on
Kashiragashima Island that had been used for sick people andtherefore had no settled communities, and untouched land in

missionaries and rejoined the Catholic Church, (2) those who continued with their own practices, and (3)those who decided to convert to Buddhism or Shinto.
Simple churches were built in the villages where the inhabitants reconverted to Catholicism. Amongthese churches, Egami Church on Naru Island is a representative example clearly demonstrating how

the Villages on Hisaka Island.
Specific sites and devotional tools provided a focus for the

0

10

20

30

40

50 km

traditional techniques were adopted to deal with the environment in the places Hidden Christians
migrated to.

Hidden Christian faith, and the migration of Hidden Christians
contributed to the continuation of their religious beliefs forover two centuries.
Obiraki Village(included in component ❿)7

Photographer / Ikeda Tsutomu

Warabe Village(included in component ❼)Egami Church(included in component ⓫)Photographer / Ikeda Tsutomu

Photographer / Ikeda Tsutomu

8

HiddenChristian Sites
in the Nagasaki
RegionInterrelationships of the 12 components
Ⅰ

Beginning of the absenceof missionaries andhiding of Christians

1600
Introduction of
Christianity to Japan in 1549.

Ⅱ

Ⅲ

Hidden Christians'
endeavours to continue
their religious faith

1637～1641

1700

Hidden Christians'
endeavours tomaintain theirreligious communities

１800

Ban on Christianity
throughout Japan in 1614

1865～1873

Agreement on migration of peasants is
concluded between Omura and Goto clans in 1797.

Lifting of the ban on
Christianity in 1873

Martyrdom ofTwenty-six Martyrs of Japanin 1597

Discovery of Hidden Christians
in 1865

Introduction of
Catholicism in Nagasaki
in １５６７

for the end of⓬ Trigger
Hidden Christians‘ hiding
Completion of Hara Castle
in 1604

Shimabara-Amakusa Rebellion in 1637

The site of a historic event, after which Japanese❶ Christians had to find ways out to continue their

Ban on Christianity in Hirado
in 1599

Venerating the mountain❷ that was worshiped since

before the introduction of

Execution of Japanese Catholics
in 1622 and 1624

Introduction of
Catholicism in Sakitsu
in 1569

Introduction of
Catholicism in Sotomein 15７１

and the island❸ Christianity
on which early Japanese❹Some Japanese Christians
chose to continue theirreligious faith in hidingamid
the intense searches. They
tried to find ways out topractise their faith bythemselves.

Christian❺ Reveringsacred icons in secret❻

Venerating their own
deities secretly enshrinedin Shinto shrines❸❷

１２ components❶ Remains of Hara Castle❷ Kasuga Village and Sacred Places in Hirado(Kasuga Village and Mt. Yasumandake)❸ Kasuga Village and Sacred Places in Hirado(Nakaenoshima Island)❹ Sakitsu Village in Amakusa❺ Shitsu Village in Sotome❻ Ono Village in Sotome❼ Villages on Kuroshima Island❽ Remains of Villages on Nozaki Island❾ Villages on Kashiragashima Island❿ Villages on Hisaka Island⓫ Egami Village on Naru Island(Egami Church and its Surroundings)⓬ Oura Cathedral

9

Amakusa Kuzure crackdown
in 1805

Christians were martyred
Substituting everyday
items for Christian
devotional objects

Establishmentof Japan’snational
seclusion policy(known as
Sakoku)❽Migration starts
from Sotome to
the Goto Islands
and other areas❼
Sasebo City❻❺❼

Migration to pasturelands,
in need of redevelopment,
abandoned by the Hirado clan❽

Migration to an
island regarded as a sacred
Shinto site❾

Migration to an island thatonce had been used forsick people❿

Migration to undeveloped landin accordance with a policy
established by the Goto clan❾
NagasakiPrefecture⓫❿

Goto City

Shinkamigoto Town⓬
Nagasaki City

Migration toremote islands
and other locations❶
Minamishimabara
City

Kumamoto
Prefecture

18８８

Hidden Christian migrants
from Sotome decided
where to settle, taking
into consideration how
they could live alongside
pre-existing communities
and the existing religions
while continuing topractice their faith.

Hirado City

Ojika Town

Hidden Christian villagers
did not rejoin the Catholic
Church but their religious
syste m nur tured dur ing
the ban on Christianity haschanged over time.

Contact
withforeignmissionaries

religious faith by themselves

Introduction of
Catholicism in Hirado
in 15５０1900
Promulgation of the Constitution of
the Empire of Japan in 1889

Opening of Japan
in 1854

Last missionary inJapan is martyred in 1644.

Introduction of
Catholicism in Shimabara
in 1563

Ⅳ

The transitional phase triggered bycontact with missionaries, leading to
the end of Hidden Christians' hiding

18８２

18９３

18７９

18８２

18８７

18８１
Goto Kuzure crackdown in 1868
(Royanosako martyrdom site)

Amakusa City❹

End of
HiddenChristians'
hiding

1９１８

Representative example that demonstrates
the adaptation to the topography to which
Hidden Christians migrated⓫

10

HiddenChristian Sites
in the Nagasaki
RegionIntroduction to 12 components❶❹

Remains ofHara Castle

Sakitsu Village
in Amakusa
Photographer / Ikeda Tsutomu

Honmaru (or the main enclosure) of
Ha ra Ca s tle a t the ti me of the
Shimabara-Amakusa Rebellion(‘ Harajo Koizu ’, housed in the
Historiographical Institute of the
University of Tokyo.)❷❺

Kasuga Village
andSacred Places
in Hirado

Shitsu Village
in Sotome(Kasuga Village
andMt. Yasumandake)

Photographer / Higurashi Yuichi

Stone objects on the summit of Mt.
Yasumandake, which had special
significance for Hidden Christians.

Kasuga Village of Hidden
Christians who venerated Mt.
Yasumandake.

‘Saint Michael’, an icon secretly kept
and venerated by Hidden Christians.
(Copy, housed in the Nagasaki Museumof History and Culture.)❻

Kasuga Village
andSacred Places
in Hirado

Ono Village
in Sotome
Photographer / Ikeda Tsutomu

Omizutori ceremony held on
Nakaenoshima Island to collect holywater for the Hidden Christianbaptismal ceremony.

Nakaenoshima Island where Japanese
Catholics were executed in the earlyphase of the ban on Christianity andlater venerated as a site of martyrdom
by Hidden Christians.

The current Sakitsu Church standing at
the site of the former village headmen'shouse, in which the Efumi ceremony
was held by the authorities to find
Hidden Christians during the ban on
Christianity.

Photographer / Higurashi Yuichi

Photographer / Higurashi Yuichi❸(Nakaenoshima Island)

１１

Statues of the traditional Japanesedivine beings used as Hidden
Christian devotional items;
Daikokuten (left) and Ebisu( r i g h t ) . T h e s e s t a tu e s a re n o w
kept by a villager.

Honmaru of the Remains ofHara Castle at present

Photographer / Ikeda Tsutomu

Kado Shrine, a Shinto shrinein which an early Japanese
Catholic is enshrined.

Shitsu Church built on a hill
overlooking Shitsu Village

Photographer / Higurashi Yuichi

Ono Church built in the centreof Ono Village

１２

HiddenChristian Sites
in the Nagasaki
RegionIntroduction to 12 components❼❿

Villages on
KuroshimaIslandVillageson
HisakaIslandPhotographer / Ikeda Tsutomu

Kozenji, a Buddhist temple with which
all the people on the island had toaffiliate themselves.

Maria Kannon statue from
Eiri Village (Housed in
Dozaki Church ChristianArchive Centre.)❽⓫

Remainsof Villageson
NozakiIslandEgami VillageonNaru Island
Photographer / Higurashi Yuichi

Remains of Funamori Village
established by Hidden Christians
who migrated to the southern tipof Nozaki Island.

Former Nokubi Church standingon the site of the house of theformer Hidden Christian leaders
called Chokata.

(Egami Churchand its Surroundings)⓬

Villageson
KashiragashimaIslandOura
Cathedral
Photographer / Ikeda Tsutomu

Th e flo o r l ev el o f Ega m i
Church is set high above
the ground to deal withthe high humidity.

Photographer / Ikeda Tsutomu

The current Kashiragashima
Church standing on the siteof the temporary church.

Former Gorin Church, the firstc h u rc h o n H i s a k a I s l a n d t h a t
was later moved to its current
location.

Photographer / Ikeda Tsutomu

Photographer / Ikeda Tsutomu❾

Graves of the Maeda family who led
the migration to KashiragashimaIsland.
*As the graves are located on
p r i v a t e p r o p e r ty , th e y a re n o t
open to the public.

１３

The current Kuroshima
Church standing on thesite of the first church.

Photographer / Ikeda Tsutomu

The interior of Oura Cathedral,
where the ‘Discovery of Hidden
Christians' took place.

Egami Church is built ina l oc a t io n c l o s e t o as p ri n g a n d p ro t ec t e dfrom strong sea winds.

Photographer / Ikeda Tsutomu

Oura Ca thedra l , whic hunderwent extension
wo rk a ft e r t he b a n o nChristianity was lifted.

１４