おらしょ こころ旅

Registered asset

Shimabara/Amakusa

Amakusa Rosary Museum

・The Amakusa Rosary Museum is located near Oe Church built in 1933, by French missionary Father Garnier together with Christian followers.
・In Oe village, just like Sakitsu and Imatomi Villages in the Amakusa region, there were many Underground Christians. They came up with various tools for prayer to carry on practicing their faith in secret.
・A jar called “kyo keshi no tsubo” (sutra extinguishing jar) was used at a funeral, in which for the spirits of the deceased, the leader of Underground Christians chanted secret words in time to Buddhist sutra chanting in another room, to erase the effect of the sutras by chanting into the jar.
・The museum features the Maria Kannon (a statue of the Virgin Mary disguised as a Buddhist Kannon) with a cross drawn on the back and a reproduction of a secret room in which Underground Christians chanted Oratio (prayers), introducing the history of Underground Christians in the Amakusa region.

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

Oratio

［Oratio］ Oratio is a collective term for prayer chants of Latin/Portuguese origins introduced to Japan in the 16th century.

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.

Maria Kannon

［Maria Kannon］ Maria Kannon is a Buddhist statue of Kannon (Avalokitesvara or Goddess of Mercy) in the likeness of the Virgin Mary. It was worshiped by Senpuku Kirishitans (hidden Christians) during the period of the ban on Christianity. Most of the statues were made in China.

Rosário

［Rosário］ A rosário (rosary) is a chain-like prayer instrument used in the Catholic Church. It consists of 6 large beads and 53 tiny beads connected by a chain to form a ring with a cross underneath. Also called a contas.

Biography & Glossary >>

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