Nagasaki's Unique Christian History |
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| World Heritage from Nagasaki | ||||
Introduction and prosperity |
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| In Japan, Christianity was introduced by Francisco Xavier and extended rapidly throughout the country, especially in the western region of Japan. The first Christian Daimyo (Lord), Sumitada Omura donated Nagasaki to the Jesuits and the city became the center for Christian missionary work in Japan. Many churches and Christian related facilities were constructed, and Nagasaki prospered as a center of trade with Western countries and gradually developed a Christian culture. Documents from that period describe prosperous Nagasaki as “a small Rome in Japan.” In the southern part of Shimabara Peninsula which was owned by Harunobu Arima, another Christian Daimyo, a seminary was constructed in Hinoe Castle Town. The Daimyo’s sons studied Western culture. The four boys were sent overseas as members of the Tensho Boys Mission. They met the Roman Pontiff and through this, introduced Japan to European countries. |
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Persecution and going underground |
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| In his ambition to unite Japan, Hideyoshi Toyotomi ordered the exile of foreign missionaries and Nagasaki was then ruled directly by Hideyoshi who executed 26 Christians and missionaries (The incident of the martyrdom of 26 saints of Japan) in 1597. The subsequent government, the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1614 also announced anti-Christian edicts and thus began a serious persecution of Christians. All of the churches in Nagasaki were destroyed following these edicts. The Shimabara Uprising in 1637 led to the complete isolation of the country. During this time, the Holy See believed that Japan’s Christianity had died out completely, but despite the harsh crackdown, without churches and without priests, the faithful organized an underground church and by hiding they persevered with their Christian faith. Some of these went overseas to the Goto Archipelago to practice their faith. |
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Resurrection |
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| Following the arrival of Commodore Perry and the opening of the country to outside trade, the priests of the Society of the Foreign Missions of Paris came to Japan. In Nagasaki, Oura Cathedral was constructed by foreign priests on ground allocated for the foreign settlement and it was inaugurated in 1865. Several days later, about a dozen of the faithful from Urakami came to the church and confessed their faith to Father Petitjean. This is the “Discovery of Faithful,” which is called a miracle in the world history of religion. The announcement of the discovery of the faithful spread through the world and electrified and moved the hearts of Christians. For 250 years after the banning of Christianity, the faithful had handed down the sacrament of baptism and orasho (prayers). Later many Christians who were in hiding came to be instructed by priests from other islands off Nagasaki: Sotome, Goto island, Hirado and Amakusa. However, the Meiji Government continued with the policy of banning Christianity and a harsh persecution continued and many Christians were martyred in the Number Four Urakami Crackdown and the Goto Crackdown. It was only in 1873 that freedom of religion was recognized and the signboards proscribing Christianity were removed. |
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Testimony of faith |
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| In 1873, after the removal of the signboards proscribing Christianity, many churches were built, showing evidence of their incredible history in various parts of Nagasaki Prefecture. There are numerous churches in the northwest of Kyushu and within Nagasaki Prefecture as a whole there exist more than 130 churches. In the areas where hidden Christians kept their faith from one generation to the next, many of these churches were constructed under the direction of foreign priests with active cooperation of Japanese carpenters and the faithful who offered their labor and what little money they had for these churches. These churches attest to the strong faith of Japanese Christians who kept their faith throughout those years. They are indeed a “testimony of faith.” |
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