おらしょ こころ旅

Registered asset

Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture

Kasuga Village

  • A village along the west coast of Hirado, facing out towards Ikitsuki island. Hirado was on the maritime route which linked Europe with India, China and Japan, and it accepted foreign trade along with foreign missionaries.
  • Kasuga village has two main settlements, one which consists of terraced rice fields which spread out around the base of Mt. Yasumandake (which is believed to be a holy mountain), and another which consists of two areas of lowland facing the sea.
  • Kasuga village is comprised of early Japanese Christian cemetery remains that the local residents treat as holy sites, terraced rice fields from of old, houses where nandogami (lit. “gods of the storage closet”) are enshrined, tombstones and small stone shrines built in the Shintō and Buddhist traditions during the era of Christianity’s prohibition, as well as old trails which connect these various things.
  • The landscape in this area remains virtually unchanged from the time when Christianity was first introduced to Hirado in the mid-sixteenth century. It is still being preserved today in much the same way as it was during the time when Christianity was banned.
  • When the ban on Christianity was lifted in 1873, Hidden Christians from this area chose not to rejoin the Catholic Church. There is therefore no Catholic Church in Kasuga village.

Related persons and terms（By hovering your mouse pointer over an item, explanation of the item are displayed.）

Luís de Almeida

［Luís de Almeida ］ Luís de Almeida, a missionary of the Society of Jesus, first came to Japan in 1552 and carried out his missionary activities until his death in Amakusa in 1583. He was well versed in medicine and established a hospital in Funai ofin the Bungo region to introduce Western medicine to the Japanese.

Society of Jesus

［Society of Jesus］ The Society of Jesus is a Catholic order approved by the Pope. It was founded by Francis Xavier and companions in 1534.

Jihi-no-kumi (Misericordia)

［Jihi-no-kumi (Misericordia) ］ The Misericordia, also known as Jihi-no-kumi, was a sodality that served to help the sick and the poor in the spirit of Christianity. Its headquarters was in Nagasaki. In Japanese, it was called the Jihi-no-Kumi (Mercy Group) or Jihi-Ya (Mercy House.) The group was a forerunner of Japan's charitable programs.

Nando-Gami

［Nando-Gami］ Nando-gami (God in a closet) is a sacred object, such as a holy picture, a wooden tag, and holy water, secretly worshiped in a closet. The practice started in Ikitsuki, Hirado area from the time of the ban on Christianity. They were usually kept in a box and decorated several times a year for worship in the closet.

Biography & Glossary >>

Map and access

View map here

Articles related to this asset

  • Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture

    A village unchanged by time

    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

  • Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture

    Preserving Kakure Kirishitan history for posterity

    A rosary hidden within a “kamidana”, an old man’s mysterious way of praying…

  • Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture

    キリシタンを守った!? 三界萬霊塔

    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？

  • Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture

    おふくろ様の札はマリア様

    春日集落のかくれキリシタン講で継承されていた「お札」の行事。当たり札は「おふくろ様」!?

  • Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture

    春日集落の案内拠点施設

    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

  • Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture

    長崎のキリスト教伝来は平戸から

    貿易と布教がセットに。
    それがキリスト教信徒が増えた理由

Top