Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Ōura Cathedral
LocationNagasaki and Kumamoto, Japan
CriteriaCultural: iii
Reference1495
Inscription2018 (42nd Session)
Area5,566.55 ha
Buffer zone12,252.52 ha
Coordinates32°44′03″N 129°52′13″E / 32.734106°N 129.870236°E / 32.734106; 129.870236
Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region is located in Japan
Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region
Location of Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region in Japan

Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region (Japanese: 長崎と天草地方の潜伏キリシタン関連遺産) 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.[1]

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.[2] Twelve sites were recognized. Concerns over the Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region have been widely discussed in the academic literature.[3]

Christianity in Japan

Main articles: History of Roman Catholicism in Japan, Kirishitan, and Kakure Kirishitan

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.[4]

On 30 June 2018, thanking 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."[5]

Monuments

Name Location Image Notes
Remains of Hara Castle (原城跡)[6] Minamishimabara[7] Historic Site
Kasuga Village and Sacred Places in Hirado (Kasuga Village and Mt. Yasumandake) (平戸島の聖地と集落＝安満岳)[6] Hirado[7] Important Cultural Landscape
Kasuga Village and Sacred Places in Hirado (Nakaenoshima Island) (平戸島の聖地と集落＝中江ノ島)[6] Hirado[7] No Entry[8]
Sakitsu Village in Amakusa (天草の﨑津集落)[6] Amakusa, Kumamoto[7] Important Cultural Landscape
Shitsu Village in Sotome (出津集落)[6] Nagasaki[7]
Ono Village in Sotome (大野集落)[6] Nagasaki[7] Important Cultural Property
Villages on Kuroshima Island (黒島の集落)[6] Sasebo[7] Important Cultural Property
Remains of Villages on Nozaki Island (野崎島の集落跡)[6] Ojika[7]
Villages on Kashiragashima Island (頭ヶ島の集落)[6] Shin-Kamigotō[7] Important Cultural Property
Villages on Hisaka Island (久賀島の集落)[6] Gotō[7] Important Cultural Property
Egami Village on Naru Island (Egami Church and its Surroundings) (奈留島の江上集落)[6] Gotō[7] Important Cultural Property
Oura Cathedral (大浦天主堂)[6] Nagasaki[7] National Treasure

Previous Nominated Monuments

The list consists of sites previously nominated, but currently not in the list.

Name Completion Date Location Construction type Comments Image
Former Catholic Seminary (旧羅典神学校)[9] 1875 Nagasaki Timber-framed Brick Important Cultural Property
Aosagaura Church (青砂ヶ浦天主堂)[10] 1910 Shinkamigotō Brick Important Cultural Property
Mementos of Father Marc Marie de Rotz (ド・ロ神父遺跡) Nagasaki
Former Shitsu Aid Center (旧出津救助院)[11][12][13] Nagasaki Shelter, macaroni factory, and sardine processing area are all Important Cultural Properties
Dōzaki Church (堂崎教会) 1907 Gotō Brick
Hōki Church (宝亀教会) 1899 Hirado Wood/Brick
Christian tombstone (吉利支丹墓碑)[14] Minamishimabara Historic Site
Site of the Martyrdom of the 26 Saints of Japan (日本二十六聖人殉教地) 1864 Nagasaki
Site of Saint Dominic Church (サント・ドミンゴ教会跡) 1609 Nagasaki
Urakami Cathedral (浦上天主堂) 1959 Nagasaki Reinforced concrete
Former Residence of Archbishop (旧大司教館) 1914 Nagasaki
Kaminoshima Church (神ノ島教会) 1897 Nagasaki Brick
Kurosaki Church (黒崎教会) 1920 Nagasaki Brick
Himosashi Church (紐差教会) 1929 Hirado Reinforced concrete
Ōso Church (大曾教会) 1916 Shinkamigotō Brick

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Churches and Christian Sites in Nagasaki". UNESCO. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  2. ^ "Churches and Christian Sites in Nagasaki". UNESCO.; "Outline of Churches and Christian Sites". Nagasaki Prefecture. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  3. ^ Delakorda Kawashima, Tinka (2017). "Landscape in Hirado revealing the secrets of Hidden Christians' life-world: National and global policies in cultural heritage protection" (PDF). Anthropological Notebooks. 23 (3). Slovene Anthropological Society: 87–107. ISSN 1408-032X.
  4. ^ Finn, Dallas (1995). Meiji Revisited: The Sites of Victorian Japan. Weatherhill. pp. 12f. ISBN 0-8348-0288-0.
  5. ^ "Message by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the Inscription of "Hidden Christian Sites in Nagasaki and the Amakusa Region" on UNESCO's World Heritage List". June 30, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Comprehensive Preservation and Management Plan - Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region" (pdf). Unesco World Heritage Centre. 2017. p. 282. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  8. ^ "Comprehensive Preservation and Management Plan - Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region" (pdf). Unesco World Heritage Centre. 2017. p. 113. Retrieved 2022-06-22. At present, visitors cannot land on Nakaenoshima Island due to geographical restrictions, and they can only view the island from the opposite shore.
  9. ^ "旧羅典神学校 (Former Catholic Seminary) ID 3523". Database of National Cultural Properties. Retrieved 21 Sep 2011.
  10. ^ "青砂ヶ浦天主堂 (Aosagaura Church) ID 3417". Database of National Cultural Properties. Retrieved 21 Sep 2011.
  11. ^ "旧出津救助院 (Former Shitsu Aid Center) ID 3841". Database of National Cultural Properties. Retrieved 21 Sep 2011.
  12. ^ "旧出津救助院 (Former Shitsu Aid Center) ID 3842". Database of National Cultural Properties. Retrieved 21 Sep 2011.
  13. ^ "旧出津救助院 (Former Shitsu Aid Center) ID 3843". Database of National Cultural Properties. Retrieved 21 Sep 2011.
  14. ^ "吉利支丹墓碑 (Christian tombstone) ID 2763". Database of National Cultural Properties. Retrieved 21 Sep 2011.

References

External links

World Heritage Sites in Japan
Categories