All things bright and beautiful: (2023) 6-days in Kyushu, Japan. Day 4 --- Nagasaki

One reason why we chose to visit Nagasaki in our Kyushu trip was to trace the history of the early Christian missionaries in Japan. We became aware of the role of Nagasaki in the Catholic Christian heritage of Japan thanks to the book Silence 沈黙 written by Shusaku Endo 遠藤周作 and its 2016 film adaptation. Nagasaki is a central location featured in the book and the film, which recount the persecution and hardship of both missionaries and early Japanese converts to Christianity.

Close-up of the Twenty-six Martyrs Museum monument

One of the places related to history of Christianity in Nagasaki is the The Twenty-Six Martyrs Museum and Monument. It was at the site of this museum and monument that 26 Christians, including Japanese converts and foreign priests, were executed in 1597. As its location was within walking distance of our hotel adjacent to Nagasaki Station, we chose this to be our first place of visit as we embarked on our trail of exploration.

Front of Nagasaki train station in the morning

Nagasaki street scene

The Twenty-Six Martyrs Museum and Monument is one of the few places in Japan that have been visited by two Popes --- Pope John Paul II in 1981 and Pope Francis in 2019.

Commemoration of the visits of two popes to the Twenty-six Martyrs Museum, with St Phillip Church in the background

Twenty-Six Martyrs Museum and Monument

Underneath the images of the 26 martyrs is an inscription of the scripture taken from the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 8 verse 34 in the Bible, which was what Jesus said to his followers: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." Undeniably, the 26 martyrs had lived out this teaching of Jesus to the full.

"Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." (Mark 8:34)

God is Love

Cherry blossoms

Ume (plum) blossoms

Portrait of an Gracia Hosokawa, an early Christian convert

Exhibits of the 26 Martyrs Museum and Monument

Adjacent to the 26 Martyrs Museum and Monument is the St Philip Church, named after St Philip Nishizaka, one of the 26 martyrs.

Altar of St Phillip Church, Nagasaki

Next on our list of places to visit on the Christian heritage trail was the magnificent Oura Church 大浦天主堂, or officially the Basilica of the Twenty-Six Holy Martyrs of Japan. Built in the mid-19th century, it is said to be the oldest Christian church in Japan.

A flight of stairs leads up the the front of the Church, where a statue of the Virgin Mary stands.

Oura Church 大浦天主堂

Monument in the courtyard of Oura Church 大浦天主堂

The final place on the Nagasaki Christian heritage trail that we wanted to visit was the Urakami Cathedral 浦上天主堂. However, in order to fit in a more efficient tour route for the day, we opted to see some other places of interest first. One such place is the Glover Garden which is very near the Oura Church. This is a fairly large park that consists of a number of houses and gardens, built in the 19th century.

Glover Garden

Hydrangea at Glover Garden

Period costumes at Glover Garden

Glover Garden

Interior of a Western residence in the mid-19th century

Statue of Thomas Glover

After walking through the grounds of Glover Garden, which actually took quite a while because of its size, we walked down towards the harbour.

On the way, we passed by a building of the Oura Church.

Domus Orationis, House of Prayers

We continued to the Nagasaki Prefecture Art Museum.

Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum

After a quick look in the Nagasaki Prefecture Art Museum, we found a place for lunch a the nearby Nagasaki Dejima Wharf.

Nagasaki Dejima Wharf

After lunch, we took a street car to the famous Nagasaki Peace Park, which commemorates the atomic bombing of the city on 9th August, 1945.

Nagasaki street car

Peace Park, Nagasaki

Paper cranes strung together, a symbol of peace and hope

Peace Park, Nagasaki

The final site on our Nagasaki Christian heritage trail, Urakami Cathedral 浦上天主堂, is a short walk from the Peace Park. The original mid-19th century cathedral was destroyed by the atomic bomb explosion. The current cathedral was rebuilt in 1959.