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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
It is said that 400,000 bricks were used to construct Kuroshima church. Some of these were made on Kuroshima itself by the Christians who were living there.
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
Father Marmand decorated Kuroshima church’s pulpit with ornamentations which he himself carved by hand. There are only a small number of pulpits in Japan.
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
Kuroshima church is built in a beautiful Romanesque style. Many of the items within the church are of French origin, having been sent away for by Father Marmand.
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
When the first mass was celebrated on Kuroshima, Christianity was still officially banned within Japan. The priest who went there to say Mass crossed the ocean in disguise so as to avoid detection.
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
Kuroshima Church took two years to complete. Among the carpenters who took part in the church’s construction was a young shipwright from the Goto islands…
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
Local materials were used in Kuroshima church’s construction
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
On Kuroshima, there is a special adjective meaning “pious” or “devout”. All of the islands Christians possess a picture of the Virgin Mary, a crucifix, a rosary and such like.
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
Father Marmand gave his all to construct Kuroshima church. However, spiralling financial costs meant that construction had to be halted for a while.
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
One striking feature of Kuroshima church is its magnificent rib vault ceiling. Interestingly, its wood grain was painted on by hand.
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
Following the ban on Christianity in Japan, Mt. Yasumandake came to acquire deep significance for Hidden Christians in the surrounding area; one can see its form from far out on the ocean.
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
Kasuga village remains in much the same state as it was in the sixteenth century. Its natural environment has hardly changed since the Sengoku period, and the livelihoods of the village’s inhabitants also remain the same as they have been for centuries
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
“Maruoyama” is a hill where an early Japanese Christian graveyard was excavated. It sits amid terraced rice fields.
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
Nakae no shima is a tiny, uninhabited island where Christians were once martyred. It came to acquire profound significance for local Hidden Christians, who crossed raging waves in order to collect the water which seeps out from its rocks.
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Nagasaki
After arriving in Sotome, Father de Rotz came up with a new way of building walls. These walls have become known as “doro kabe” (“de Rotz walls”) and were made using stones from the local area. They have the air of southern Europe.
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Nagasaki
After arriving in Sotome, Father de Rotz worked particularly hard to help women lead self-sufficient lives
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Nagasaki
When Oura Cathedral was constructed, it sent the Hidden Christians a secret message…
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Nagasaki
Father Petitjean made great efforts to raise the funds needed for the church’s construction. You can sense the troubles he experienced from his letters.
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Nagasaki
At the time of its foundation, Oura Cathedral was a small church with three aisles. It was later expanded.
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Nagasaki
Although foreigners were delighted that Oura Cathedral had been constructed, because the ban on Christianity was still in place few Japanese dared to go near there
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Nagasaki
Even though Japan had been opened, Christianity still hadn't been officially recognised. The construction of Oura took place in the midst of this.
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Nagasaki
The man who spent his life working to bring about the resurrection of the Christian faith in Japan is buried at Oura
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Nagasaki
Oura Cathedral was called a "Furansu dera" (a “French temple”). Inside are a great number of gifts with some connection to France.
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Nagasaki
In contrast to the nearby Shitsu church, Ono church was built in a quiet and secluded location
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Nagasaki
Ono church is a peripatetic church of Shitsu church. Both churches were built by Father de Rotz. Nowadays there is only one mass a year at Ono church, which is held in commemoration
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Nagasaki
Ono church’s structure resembles that of an ordinary house. Other notable architectural features include its "de Rotz walls" and its brick window frames, as well as the windbreak in front of the entrance.
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
A red-coloured adhesive, made with shells from the surrounding area, was used in the church’s construction
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
Next to the church is a graveyard, where earlier generations of Tabira’s Christians are buried
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
An award awaits those who make the climb
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
On either side of the church, stained glass windows open out onto a colonial veranda
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
The Christians who lived in Houki during the Meiji era were very devout, and they played their part in the church’s construction.
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Goto Islands
Former Gorin church was originally located in a different part of Hisaka island
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Goto Islands
In 1985, a new church was constructed in Gorin, and Former Gorin church became disused.
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Goto Islands
It seems that St. Joseph’s earnest and sincere life resonated with local Christians
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Goto Islands
A cemetery which tells of the Christian belief in the resurrection of the body
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Goto Islands
Camellia flowers have, in the past, been used by Japanese Christians to represent the Virgin Mary. They grow wild on Goto, which has a long history of producing camellia oil
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Goto Islands
Former Gorin church’s architectural style is, in certain ways, very distinctly Japanese
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Goto Islands
Although Naru island is gradually becoming depopulated, Christians who live there are still managing to keep the flame of faith alive
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Goto Islands
Egami church has some interesting design features. In 2018, it will celebrate its 100th year anniversary
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Goto Islands
You can see the influence of Tetsukawa Yosuke everywhere in Egami church, including in the way he designed the altar
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Goto Islands
In 2001, Egami church was painted a distinctive white and pastel-coloured light blue. Local Christians themselves got involved with the repair work which was needed.
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Goto Islands
Dozaki church is beautifully situated on a cape, and in former times a conch shell was blown to announce that Mass was starting.
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Shimabara/Amakusa
An early Japanese Christian tombstone which looks like a semi-cylindrical column that has been laid down. An epitaph has been engraved using the Roman alphabet, with the Christian era date and the name of the Japanese era written alongside one another.
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Shimabara/Amakusa
Christian burial methods sometimes help to manifest beliefs which lie at the very heart of the Christian faith
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
A church which sits on high ground on a deserted island. It was the first brick church to be made by the carpenter Tetsukawa Yosuke, and it contains some beautiful donated ornaments which have very fine detail.
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
Searching for the roots of Nokubi and Funamori
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
In 1971, following a period of depopulation, the last people left living on Nozaki island migrated together as a group. Nokubi church, built at such cost to the Christian families who had willingly embraced hardship in order to pay for it, was closed.
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
The remains of Nokubi and Funamori villages are linked by a rugged trail, which the island’s Christians walked for over 100 years.
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
The cultural landscape of the Ojika island group has been designated as an Important Cultural Landscape by the Japanese national government. Much of the landscape remains as it has done for centuries, and so does the warmth and the kindness of the people who live there.
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Goto Islands
Nagasaki is an area with a strong culture of quarrying as a means of livelihood. The high-quality Goto stone that was used to build Kashiragashima church is used elsewhere for paving slabs and walls.
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Goto Islands
A lengthy process of quarrying and construction, carried out not only by masons but by local Christians themselves, too.
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Goto Islands
Kashiragashima church has a surprising “gap” between its exterior and interior; a place of prayer full of flowers.
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Goto Islands
Aosagaura church was built using Goto stones from nearby Kashiragashima, and with bricks and wood supplies brought from across the sea.
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Nagasaki
Carved into the rock face of the mountainside and secured on its other side with a landfill, this beautiful brick structure stands on a site overlooking the harbour.
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Goto Islands
Even today this church’s bell tells the time and signals prayer sessions.
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Goto Islands
Tetsukawa Yosuke, a key figure in many instances of religious architecture, took on the challenges of building new kinds of churches while overcoming various obstacles involved in the process.
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Goto Islands
Oso church welcomes the centennial from its consecration in the summer of 2014. This occasion lends a special air to relooking at its history.
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Shimabara/Amakusa
Father Halbout had a special vision for Sakitsu church, the construction of which he himself oversaw
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Shimabara/Amakusa
Sakitsu village is an unusual mix of East and West
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Shimabara/Amakusa
A place where people tilled the land so that children could live, and where people prayed
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Shimabara/Amakusa
Sakitsu church is the pride and joy of the village’s Christians
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Nagasaki
トードス・オス・サントス教会は、長崎で初めて建った教会である。
当時使われた井戸には、今も水が湧き出ている。
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Nagasaki
墓石の取調べは厳しく、疑わしいものはすべて破壊された。
以降、自然石を置いただけの文字も模様もない墓に葬った。
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Nagasaki
出島に収容されたオランダ人が催した年に一度の大宴会「阿蘭陀冬至」は、実はクリスマスのお祝だった。
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Nagasaki
キリシタンたちはバスチャンが残した4つの予言を信じて、250年もの間、親から子へと信仰を継承していった。
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Nagasaki
椿が長崎や五島のキリシタンゆかりの木として大切にされる所以は、バスチャンの伝説にあった。
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Nagasaki
キリシタンを祀る神社は日本でも珍しい。
枯松神社では年に一度、キリスト教と仏教、かくれキリシタンが、共に祈りを捧げる。
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Nagasaki
教会や救助院をつくったド・ロ神父は、農業にも力を注ぎ、女性たちに土づくりから指導した。
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Nagasaki
伊王島にある馬込教会の中央祭壇上には、三大天使の一人、聖ミカエルの像が掲げられている。
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Nagasaki
小学校の建替え工事で発見された教会の地下遺構。
ライトアップされた遺構の中に地下室や排水溝、石畳など教会の跡が確認できる。
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Nagasaki
旧天主堂に飾られていた高さ2mのマリア像は原爆により破壊され、焼け跡から頭の部分だけが見つかった。
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Nagasaki
浦上のキリシタンたちは、絵踏みを行った罪を償うために、あえて庄屋屋敷跡に教会を建てた。
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Nagasaki
受難に耐えた浦上信徒の歴史を物語る場所に再建された新聖堂は、ローマ教皇の来日を前に今の姿になった。
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Nagasaki
終戦から4ヶ月後のクリスマス、戦後初めての鐘が浦上一帯に鳴り響き、信徒たちを勇気づけた。
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Nagasaki
山林に囲まれた大きな岩。それは、年に一度だけ、見張りを立てて、オラショを声に出して唱えた場所だった。
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Nagasaki
外海赴任から35年、外海のためにすべてを捧げたド・ロ神父は、自らが造成した野道共同墓地に眠っている。
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Goto Islands
煉瓦造りのりっぱな青砂ヶ浦天主堂
その建設に伴った信徒たちの苦労とは!?
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
大きくて堅い豆腐や素朴なまんじゅうは、
カトリック集落に伝わる昔ながらの味
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Goto Islands
椛島の潜伏キリシタンは誰一人カトリックに復帰せず、
禁教時代の信仰を守り続けた
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
シスターが鳴らす黒島天主堂の鐘
透き通ったその音色の秘密とは・・・
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Goto Islands
昭和初期の堂崎天主堂の公式初聖体式が
報道写真家によって写真におさめられていた
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Goto Islands
現在の煉瓦造りの大曾教会堂は二代目
初代の教会堂も生き続けている
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Nagasaki
匿名の信者から贈られた大浦天主堂の鐘は
約1m四方のフランス製
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Goto Islands
旧五輪教会堂の正面脇につながる九州自然歩道は
かつて信徒たちが利用していた里道
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
樹齢250年以上といわれる巨大サザンカは
西彼半島からの移住者が持ち込んだもの
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Nagasaki
一時は耕作放棄地となっていた「ド・ロさま畑」。今は息を吹き返し、賑やかな交流の場となっている
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
仏教の教えにならう三界萬霊塔が、潜伏キリシタンゆかりの集落にも多く立てられているのは何故?
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Nagasaki
大浦天主堂の建設に関わった伊王島の大工・大渡伊勢吉は、伊王島のキリシタンのために2つの教会を造った
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Nagasaki
信徒発見や放虎原殉教記念碑など、数々の大作を残す中田秀和氏は五島生まれのカトリック
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Shimabara/Amakusa
禁教期、3つの組に分かれて信仰を守り通した﨑津集落。その時代の資料は﨑津資料館「みなと屋」で見ることができる
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Nagasaki
多くの人が見学に訪れる日本二十六聖人殉教記念碑。実は碑の裏側にもこんな作品が!
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Goto Islands
黒島天主堂の祭壇に敷かれている美しい有田焼のタイル
なんと、五島列島のとある場所でも使用されていた!?
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
2018年、創建から100周年を迎えた田平天主堂。それを機に、創建当時のステンドグラスを案内所に展示。
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
田平天主堂の敷地内にある貝殻の焼き場跡
しかし、よく見ると貝を焼いた跡が無いことに気づく
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
教会堂の多くが、自動機械によって鐘の音を鳴らす中、田平天主堂は今も信徒による人力で鳴らしている
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
田平にできるだけ大きな教会堂を建てたかった中田神父と鉄川与助は、切り出した木材の長さに納得しなかった
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Center of Nagasaki Prefecture/Western Nagasaki Prefecture
今から400年以上も前に横瀬浦で歌われていたラテン語聖歌が、西海市の小学生の歌声で甦った
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Shimabara/Amakusa
1600年頃に天草の教会で使われていたのは、竹筒を使ったパイプオルガン
とても心地よい音色だったという
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Shimabara/Amakusa
﨑津集落の風景や文化を語るとき、必ず登場する「カケ」と「トウヤ」って、何のこと?
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Shimabara/Amakusa
﨑津集落や今富集落を歩いていて気づくのが、玄関に飾られているしめ縄。一年中外さないのはなぜ?
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Shimabara/Amakusa
グーテンベルク印刷機を使って印刷された「天草本(ルビ:あまくさぼん)」。ローマ字書きの「伊曽保物語(イソップ物語)」なども出版された
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Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture
2018年4月にオープンした春日集落の案内拠点施設では、歴史を受け継ぐ「語り部」たちと交流できる