おらしょ こころ旅

Registered asset

Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture

Mt. Yasumandake

  • A sacred mountain located on the west coast of Hirado, 536 metres above sea level.
  • At the west side of the mountain’s summit there is a steep cliff, which affords an unbroken view of Ikitsuki island.
  • Mt. Yasumandake consists of Hokusanhime shrine and sandō (an approach to a shrine), a small stone shrine at the summit, and the remains of Saizenji temple.
  • Beginning in medieval times, the mountain served as a place of pilgrimage for the yamabushi (mendicants of the Shugendō sect). This group held strong power. Old correspondences which remain suggest that in the sixteenth century, there was hostility between the yamabushi and Jesuit missionaries.
  • Once Christianity had been banned in Japan, Hidden Christians along Hirado’s west coast began to revere Mt. Yasumandake, believing it to be sacred. They made a special sandō leading up to it from Kasuga village.
  • To this day, Kakure Kirishitan in the area still continue to go and pay homage at this mountain.

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.

Martyrdom

［Martyrdom］ Martyrdom is the act of choosing death and giving one's life to God rather than abandoning Christian faith and morals.

Senpuku Kirishitan

［Senpuku Kirishitan］ Senpuku Kirishitan (hidden Christians) lived ostensibly as Buddhists during the ban on Christianity but secretly carried on their faith.

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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Articles related to this asset

  • Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture

    Mountain of faith

    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.

  • Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture

    An early Japanese Christian graveyard

    “Maruoyama” is a hill where an early Japanese Christian graveyard was excavated. It sits amid terraced rice fields.

  • Nothern Nagasaki Prefecture

    Preserving Kakure Kirishitan history for posterity

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

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