UNESCO · Cultural · 2018
Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region
長崎と天草地方の潜伏キリシタン関連遺産ながさきとあまくさちほうのせんぷくきりしたんかんれんいさんNagasaki to Amakusa Chihō no Senpuku Kirishitan Kanren IsanVillages where a banned faith survived in secret
The Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region are twelve components in Nagasaki and Kumamoto prefectures — ten villages, the ruins of Hara Castle and Oura Cathedral — that bear witness to Japanese Christians who secretly maintained their faith during the prohibition of Christianity from the 17th to the 19th century. They were inscribed in 2018.
Overview
Christianity reached Japan with the Jesuit Francis Xavier in 1549 and spread quickly in western Kyushu, where several lords converted and Nagasaki became a Christian port. The Tokugawa shogunate, fearing foreign influence, banned the religion nationwide in 1614, expelled missionaries and persecuted believers. After the Shimabara-Amakusa uprising of 1637–1638, a revolt of peasants, many of them Christian, the ban was enforced with systematic rigour: everyone had to register with a Buddhist temple, and suspected Christians were made to tread on sacred images.
Without priests, communities in remote villages of Nagasaki and Amakusa kept their faith in secret for more than two centuries. They outwardly lived as Buddhists or Shinto worshippers while venerating objects that disguised Christian meaning — Buddhist Kannon statues as the Virgin Mary, abalone shells, sacred mountains and islands — and passed down prayers orally. Many settled on remote islands such as the Goto Islands, where they could live unobserved.
In 1865, soon after Oura Cathedral was built for foreign residents in Nagasaki, a group of villagers from Urakami revealed their faith to a French priest, an event known as the Discovery of the Hidden Christians. The ban was lifted in 1873; many hidden Christians then rejoined the Catholic Church and built the churches that now stand in their villages, while others continued their own inherited practices.
Why it is World Heritage
The property was inscribed under criterion (iii) alone. It bears unique testimony to a cultural tradition nurtured by hidden Christians in the Nagasaki region who secretly transmitted their faith in Christianity during the time of prohibition, from the 17th to the 19th century.
The components trace the whole story: the ruins of Hara Castle mark the beginning of the ban's harshest phase; the villages show the different ways communities adapted — venerating local sacred places, disguising their faith within Shinto and Buddhism, or migrating to remote islands; Oura Cathedral marks the end of the concealment. The later churches are part of the villages but represent the period after the prohibition rather than the hiding itself.
Component sites
Remains of Hara Castle
原城跡Hara-jō-atoRuined castle in Minamishimabara where tens of thousands of insurgents of the Shimabara-Amakusa uprising held out until their defeat in 1638; the event led the shogunate to intensify the ban.
Villages in Hirado
平戸の聖地と集落Hirado no Seichi to ShūrakuTwo components: Kasuga village with the sacred mountain Yasumandake, and the uninhabited island of Nakaenoshima, a place of martyrdom venerated by hidden Christians from afar.
- 天草の崎津集落Amakusa no Sakitsu Shūraku
Fishing village where believers worshipped through objects of their daily life such as abalone shells; Sakitsu Church stands by the harbour.
- 外海の出津集落・大野集落Sotome no Shitsu Shūraku, Ōno Shūraku
Two coastal villages north-west of Nagasaki where hidden Christians maintained their faith while worshipping at local shrines; from here many migrated to the Goto Islands.
- 黒島の集落Kuroshima no Shūraku
Island off Sasebo settled by hidden Christians on the land of a former domain cattle ranch, now dominated by its brick church of 1902.
- 野崎島・頭ヶ島・久賀島・奈留島の集落Nozaki-jima, Kashiragashima, Hisaka-jima, Naru-shima no Shūraku
Four components on remote islands where migrants from Sotome settled: the abandoned villages of Nozaki Island, Kashiragashima with its stone church, Hisaka Island and Egami on Naru Island.
- 大浦天主堂Ōura Tenshudō
Church completed in 1864 in the foreign settlement of Nagasaki and a National Treasure; here hidden Christians from Urakami made themselves known to the priest Bernard Petitjean in 1865.
History
1549
Francis Xavier lands in Kagoshima and begins Christian missions in Japan.
1614
The Tokugawa shogunate bans Christianity throughout Japan.
1637–1638
The Shimabara-Amakusa uprising ends at Hara Castle; the ban is enforced more strictly.
1644
The last Catholic priest in Japan is martyred; communities continue without clergy.
Late 18th c.
Hidden Christians from Sotome migrate to the Goto Islands.
1865
At Oura Cathedral, hidden Christians reveal their faith to a French missionary.
1873
The public notice boards banning Christianity are removed.
2018
Inscription on the World Heritage List.
Visiting
- Oura Cathedral is in central Nagasaki near the Glover Garden; the Sotome villages lie about an hour north-west by road, with a museum dedicated to the missionary Marc Marie de Rotz at Shitsu.
- The island components are reached by ferry from Nagasaki, Sasebo or the Goto port towns; some, like Nozaki Island, have very limited services.
- Visits to churches in the components should be arranged in advance through the Nagasaki hidden Christian information centre, as the churches are active places of worship.
- Mass and prayers take priority over sightseeing; photography inside churches and noise are restricted.
Frequently asked questions
Who were the hidden Christians?
Japanese Catholics and their descendants who secretly practised their faith without priests from the 17th to the 19th century, while outwardly conforming to Buddhism and Shinto.
What is the difference between hidden Christians and Kakure Kirishitan?
Senpuku Kirishitan, hidden Christians, describes the believers during the ban. Kakure Kirishitan refers to those who, after 1873, kept the practices of their ancestors rather than rejoining the Catholic Church.
Why are the churches not the main focus of the listing?
Most churches were built after the ban was lifted. The World Heritage value lies in the villages and landscapes where the faith was hidden; the churches mark the end of that period.
What was the Discovery of the Hidden Christians?
On 17 March 1865 villagers from Urakami came to the newly built Oura Cathedral and told the French priest Bernard Petitjean that they shared his faith, revealing that Christianity had survived for over two centuries.
Can the Goto Islands be visited from Nagasaki?
Yes. Ferries and jetfoils run from Nagasaki port to Fukue and other Goto ports, from where local boats and roads reach the villages.
Related
Sources
- 1.Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region (opens in a new tab) — UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- 2.日本の世界遺産一覧 (opens in a new tab) — 文化庁
- 3.長崎県 (opens in a new tab) — 長崎県