The Amakusa-Shimabara rebellion of 1637 signalled the end of Christianity on the Shimabara peninsula. However, following this event many people from various other places came and settled here.

The top representative from the tour guide association connected with the site of Hara castle, Mr. Uchiyama Tetsutoshi, has enthusiastically studied the rebellion and the history of this area.

It is said that after the rebellion, the mother of Amakusa Shiro (the young boy who lead the rebellion) erected a stone monument within the remains of the castle’s keep in memory of her slaughtered child. As Mr. Uchiyama explains, “Whether it’s really a monument which his mother herself erected is unclear, but someone grieving that a boy of only 15 had died here must have erected it, even if they were of a different religion. I think that’s a very valuable thing. Is it not the first step towards peace?”