Be sure to check out Brendan Eagan (and Co.?)’s photo-documentary on Japan’s Kakure Kirishitan (Hidden Christian) culture. From the website:
The purpose of this site is to provide a visual record of our studies of Kakure Kirishitan (Hidden Christians) in Japan. The site will display the photographs of artifacts, places, and people that put Kakure Kirishitans into a historical context of Christianity in Japan. The bulk of the photographs will be from historical sites in Nagasaki, Shimabara, the Goto Islands, Ikitsuki Island and other places within Kyushu. The rest will be from Yamaguchi, Tsuwano, and Tenri University.
The photos give a visual record of our studies and help supplement the research of the other student fellows. In hopes of sparking more interest in our project, the photographs will provide brief information on the subject’s significance, date, location, and explanation of the unique aspects.
The photos begin here.
(HT to The Western Confucian)
16 Comments
Christian history in Japan. You’re funny mr Robert K.
Japan was 10% Christian by some estimates in the 16th century.
Those were some beautiful photos. Nice find there, Joshua.
Beautiful photos except the ones with the comment “On the west coast(of Ikitsuki) there is a sacred space for kakure kirishitan(hidden christian) that unfortunately has been littered with garbage all along the beach.”
It was not littered by the islanders. Mostly Koreans are to blame. Approximately
80% of washed-up litter on the coast line facing Sea of Japan comes Korea. The rest comes from China. Since Japan is located downstream of strong tide, wash-up and driftage are flown by the tides and piled up on the sea shore.
In the last few months alone, thousands of plastic bottles containing acid chemicals have been washed ashore. The bottles had labels with hangul printed on them. Many local governments have given warnings not to touch the bottle.
For those who have the time and inclination, the transcripts on the linked site are fascinating.
The first interview with Professor Miyazaki touches on a number of issues. There are estimated to have been 450,000 baptized adherents at the peak of evangelization during the Edo period, but only a small fraction of that number were genuine converts; the rest were nominal adherents with syncretistic beliefs. Today, there are only 430,000 Christians in a population ten times the size (but a much higher ratio are probably genuine converts today).
In some of the “Kakure” communities, the older generations carry on the Christian traditions of their ancestors, but that’s the problem—they’re merely traditions, done for traditions’ sake, and devoid of all meaning. The younger generations are functional Buddhists and Shintoists.
…Of course, the Kakure Christians were isolated from all outside contact for a few centuries, so like remote Jewish communities in eastern Africa, they developed their own way. Even among the older generations, evidently their beliefs and practises are highly syncretized (intermingled with especially Shintoism). And presumably, that 430,000 number for today includes a large proportion of Catholics and Protestants who do not come from Kakure Christian families.
#4: Ah, the small mindedness of you guys (and I don’t mean that in a racial/national way) is amusing! Be glad that it washed up on shore so that the culprits can be heavily fined for dumping garbage into the sea. When Japanese companies do it (don’t think that they haven’t! As well as many other nations), it just collects in that floating garbage island in the sea, which no one will probably care about till we start getting mutant whales or something. And hey, at the very least, the first report on this was actually done in a Korean paper I recall, so at least they’re getting the info out to the public.
#4, #7, are there pictures of the acid-filled bottles that had Hangul writing? I’d like to know what they were.
This is almost as good as the the claim that Japanese are really jewish.
Stacked: This isn’t like that. It is well documented that Jesuit missionaries started visiting Japan in the 1500s (led by Francis Xavier himself). In the mid 1600s, the Japanese government cut off virtually all contact with foreigners, but the Catholic influence remained, and became increasingly indigenized (merged with local traditions) the longer Japanese Catholics were isolated from the outside world.
#8
The chemicals are used to disinfect cultivation nets after harvesting Nori sea weed(for sushi). Some Koreans feel guilty about the garbage on the Japanese seashore like some students at Busan University who visit every summer to Tsushima to clean up the shore with the islander.
#9
“This is almost as good as the claim that Japanese are really Jewish.”
Why do you think so ? Most of the Japanese except uneducated ones do not believe in god with supernatural powers. Shintoism and Buddism are practiced only as rituals. In that sense, the Japanese are atheist.
It’s almost impressive that pictures of Japanese Catholic churches could become an opportunity to bash Korea.
I agree, Robert. Something that I’ve really noticed here - everyone likes being negative.
In addition to the locales listed and illustrated in the website on Kakure Christians, there are a number of interesting and several beautiful churches in fishing communities stretching along the Kyushu coast from Hirado down to Sasebo and the 99 Islands (Kujukushima), and another batch down in the Amakusa Islands south of the Shimabara Peninsula. Amakusa in particular was quite isolated until modern times, some communities were only really accessible by sea until as late as the 1960s. So Kakure Christians were able to hold out much longer down there. The fishing village of Kawanoura in southern Amakusa is hidden away in a spectacular fjord-like inlet and a small but lovely church dominates the settlement. Some day I’ll post some photos and captions with a link, but I am already playing way too much hooky from work just writing this!
Hello to #8 user-81,
http://www.pref.shimane.lg.jp/.....ku-pt.html
Here is a photo of some of the early arrived toxic waste that beached on one of Shimane coast this February, 2008.
The chemical remaining in the plastic tanks was concentrated HNO or H2O2. You can see the hangul letters stamped or printed on the containers.
The total number of these tanks amounts to 15,000 throughout the coast of the Sea of Japan so far this winter.
The dangerous garbage aside, volunteer help with clean-up from Korea will be welcome this summer as in the past years.
Japan was never 10% Christian. I’d love to see your proof.