Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region


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.

Christianity in Japan

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.

Monuments

Previous Nominated Monuments

The list consists of sites previously nominated, but currently not in the list.
NameCompletion DateLocationConstruction typeCommentsImage
Former Catholic Seminary1875NagasakiTimber-framed BrickImportant Cultural Property
Aosagaura Church1910ShinkamigotōBrickImportant Cultural Property
Mementos of Father Marc Marie de RotzNagasaki
Former Shitsu Aid CenterNagasakiShelter, macaroni factory, and sardine processing area are all Important Cultural Properties
Dōzaki Church1907GotōBrick
Hōki Church1899HiradoWood/Brick
Christian tombstoneMinamishimabaraHistoric Site
Site of the Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan1864Nagasaki
Site of Saint Dominic Church1609Nagasaki
Urakami Cathedral1959NagasakiReinforced concrete
Former Residence of Archbishop1914Nagasaki
Kaminoshima Church1897NagasakiBrick
Kurosaki Church1920NagasakiBrick
Himosashi Church1929HiradoReinforced concrete
Ōso Church1916ShinkamigotōBrick