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| 1984 Churches and Christian Sites in Nagasaki - Ōura Church |
Christianity was introduced in Japan by Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier in 1549 and spread rapidly in the western part of the nation. The Jesuits established their mission base in Nagasaki, where a port of foreign trade with Portugal was developed. The city of Nagasaki played an important role as a key base for the missionary work in Japan. Churches and Christian culture flourished here, and the Young Delegates of Tenshō set off from Nagasaki in 1582 for Europe, where they had an audience with the Pope.
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| 1985 Churches and Christian Sites in Nagasaki - Monument of the 26 Martyrs |
With the Tokugawa shogunate's anti-Christian policy which banned the religion, Christianity was severely suppressed, resulting in the revolt against the regime in 1637. During the prohibition on Christianity, adherents moved to remote islets and islands where they passed down from generation to generation the traditions of baptism and orasho (the prayers and hymns originally taught by the Jesuit missionaries and passed down orally) and continued in their faith until the ban was lifted in the Meiji period (1868-1912).
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