おらしょ こころ旅

Registered asset

Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture

Hirado Kirishitan Museum

・The museum exhibits large numbers of documents and materials concerning Underground Christians secretly kept in the Neshiko area, situated in the west of Hirado Island.
・In addition to the history of Christianity in Hirado, exhibits include various objects of worship called “nando-gami” (gods in the closet), including valuable medals and wall scrolls borrowed from former believers living in Neshiko.
・Adjacent to the museum is Ushiwaki Forest, where an executed Christian family was buried. Still today, the forest is regarded as a sacred place, which many local residents visit to pray.

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

Kakure Kirishitan

［Kakure Kirishitan］ Kakure Kirishitan (underground Christian) refers to those who did not return to Catholicism even after the lifting of the edicts banning Christianity in the 19th century but continued to follow the unique beliefs developed during the forbidden period.

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.

Médaille

［Médaille］ A médaille is a medal-like holy object that believers hold so as to be protected by the Virgin Mary and the saints.

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