Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region
Sunday, 4 September 2022 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: Asia / Asien General , UNESCO World Heritage
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Remains of Villages on Nozaki Island © Pachopi/cc-by-sa-3.0
🔊 Listen to this Post Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region is a group of twelve sites in
Nagasaki Prefecture and
Kumamoto Prefecture relating to the history of
Christianity in Japan . The Nagasaki churches are unique in the sense that each tells a story about the
revival of Christianity after a long period of
official suppression . Proposed jointly in 2007 for inscription on the
UNESCO World Heritage List under criteria
ii, iii, iv, v, and vi , the submission named at the time
Churches and Christian Sites in Nagasaki on the
Tentative List , was recognized on January 30, 2018, as a World Heritage Site.
The initial nomination included 26 sites; however, after reconsideration the Nagasaki Prefecture reduced the monuments to 13 sites. Twelve sites were recognized. Concerns over the Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region have been widely discussed in the academic literature.
Kasuga Village and Sacred Places in Hirado - Mount Yasumandake © Daisuke fukumoto/cc-by-sa-3.0
Christianity arrived in
Japan in 1549 with the
Jesuit missionary
Francis Xavier . Fanning out from
Nagasaki , the new faith won many converts, including a number of
daimyōs .
Toyotomi Hideyoshi then
Tokugawa Ieyasu persecuted those professing to be Christian. After the
Shimabara Rebellion of 1637–1638, the official suppression of Christian practices was combined with a
policy of national seclusion that lasted over two centuries. With the
advent of Western powers and reopening of Japan in the 1850s and the reforms of the
Meiji Restoration , missionary activity was renewed and a number of
Hidden Christians resurfaced.
Ōura Cathedral of 1864 is the first of the churches built in subsequent years (
History of Roman Catholicism in Japan ,
Kirishitan , and
Kakure Kirishitan ).
On 30 June 2018, thanking the UNESCO for the admission in the World Heritage List, the then Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe publicly declared that the Hidden Christian Sites “convey the ‘shape’ of a faith that is unique to Japan and they are truly unparalleled worldwide as heritage of humankind.”
Read more on
japan.travel – Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region (UNESCO) ,
japan-guide.com – Hidden Christian sites in Nagasaki and Amakusa region ,
UNESCO.org – Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region and
Wikipedia Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region (
Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State -
Weather report by weather.com -
Johns Hopkins University & Medicine - Coronavirus Resource Center -
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Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index ). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at
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