What is the World Heritage Site “Hidden Christian Sites in Nagasaki and Amakusa Region”?

<The introduction of Christianity and the banning policy>
The history of Christianity in Japan began in the 16th century. With the arrival of Jesuit missionary Francisco Xavier to Japan, a flourishing Christian culture flourished, centered on the local feudal lords of ports of call, known as Christian feudal lords, who turned their attention to the profits brought by foreign trading ships.

However, from the end of the 16th century, those in power who feared the unity of believers began to ban and suppress Christianity. The most decisive event was the Shimabara-Amakusa Uprising, in which more than 2 Christians rose up. Christianity became the great enemy of the Tokugawa shogunate, which was consolidating its ruling system, and crackdowns on Christians were tightened. After that, a system of national isolation was established due to the shogunate's strict ban on religion and maritime ban policies. Missionaries were no longer allowed to enter the country. From here, the long years of silence for Hidden Christians began.

<250 years of silence>
Christianity has become a phantom religion that should not exist. However, in the Nagasaki and Amakusa regions, leaders arose to replace the missionaries, and baptisms, funerals, and religious ceremonies according to the church calendar were secretly performed around them. "Hidden Christians" who believe in and inherit Christianity while outwardly living as Buddhists have their own unique beliefs, such as likening Amaterasu Omikami and Kannon statues to Christ and Mary, and offering prayers in the local language. It took shape.

<Miraculous discovery of believers and lifting of the ban on Christianity>
At the end of the Edo period, when the Japan-France Treaty of Amity and Commerce was signed, Oura Cathedral was built in a foreign settlement in Nagasaki. A month later, a woman visited the cathedral and confessed her faith to the priest. A missionary and a hidden Christian are reunited 1 years after the ban on Christianity...this is what the world calls a miraculous ``discovery of believers''.

In 1873, under pressure from other countries, the government lifted the ban on Christianity. In the hidden Christian communities in Nagasaki and the Amakusa region, some continued to practice their own faith, while others reverted to Catholicism. Churches were built one after another in various places, like flowers that have endured the long winter and welcomed spring.

What is noteworthy is the unique culture that was developed in the absence of missionaries.
While coexisting with existing society and religion, a unique form of faith was created that at first glance looks like a traditional Japanese religion. The 12 constituent assets tell the story of how Hidden Christians continued their faith and how it changed after the ban on Christianity was lifted, from the ``trigger of hiding'' to ``the end of hiding.'' I'm telling you. It is now possible to trace the historical footsteps of Hidden Christians.

[Nagasaki City] Oura Cathedral

It is the oldest existing church in Japan, built in the late 19th century for foreign residents who came to Japan when the country opened.
After the completion of Oura Cathedral, hidden Christians secretly visited the priest and confessed their faith. It was the setting for the ``Discovery of Believers,'' in which it was discovered that Christianity had been handed down in Japan. There are many things to see, such as beautiful stained glass windows and a statue of Mary brought over from France, and at the attached Oura Cathedral Christian Museum, you can learn about the origins of the cathedral and the introduction of Christianity.

[Nagasaki City] Sotome Shitsu Village

The Shitsu village maintained its faith by secretly worshiping sacred paintings. After the ban on Christianity was lifted, Father de Rotz built the symbolic Shitsu Church. It is a one-story church with beautiful white stucco walls that can withstand the sea breeze. Within the village are the former Shitsu Aid Center, founded by Father de Rotz to support women's independence, and the ruins of a mansion where holy paintings were hidden.

*Advance notice is required to tour Shitsu Church. For more information .

[Nagasaki City] Sotome Ono Village

In order to camouflage their own faith, the Ono village enshrined the object of their faith in a shrine and used it as a place of prayer, secretly passing on their faith. After the ban on Christianity was lifted, Ono Church was built. Ono Church was built as a one-story building to withstand strong winds, and is characterized by its strong stone masonry exterior walls known as ``de Rotz walls.''

*Advance notice is required to tour the church. For more information .