Kozen-ji is a temple of the Soto sect erected in the mid-1700s, and in 1803, it became a branch temple of Chosen-ji Temple in Tsuyoshi. Kozen-ji Temple drew devoted worshippers among the local people as the only temple on Kuroshima Island. All the islanders belonged to the temple as parishioners. The temple’s hanging bell bears an inscription containing the year “1814” and the names of Hidden Christians as donors, together with the fact that Kuroshima Island was seeing a growing population. This hanging bell is said to be evidence that “coexistence in the name of non-intervention” enabled Hidden Christians to hide up for a long time during the period when Christianity was forbidden in Japan.
Website of the Churches and Christian Historical and Cultural Heritage of Nagasaki
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