The Hidden Christian Sites of Nagasaki are a fascinating and unusual UNESCO World Heritage Site. Christianity arrived in Japan with Portuguese explorers in the 16th century and spread quickly, but was eventually banned as Japan’s shogun rulers were suspicious of the new foreign religion. Japanese Christians were persecuted, forced to renounce their faith, and occasionally martyred en masse over the next several hundred years. But many Christians kept practicing in secret, particularly in the Nagasaki area, and when a new wave of missionaries arrived in the 19th century, the sudden emergence of hidden Christians was considered a genuine miracle! Although it’s quite difficult to visit many aspects of this site, the most spectacular is magnificent Oura Cathedral in the centre of Nagasaki. Let’s have a look!
For more Japanese World Heritage sites:
For more Christian World Heritage sites:
Paleochristian Monuments of Thessaloniki:
Church Town of Gammelstad:
Christiansfeld, a Moravian Church Settlement:
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