Shitsu Norakusha
Our journey takes us to Kurosaki Church
After passing over a small hill from Shitsu, we can see an orange brick church. Completed in 1920, Kurosaki Church marks the return of Christianity to areas where it had remained hidden. The church continues to minister to people’s emotional needs.
Kurosaki Church can be seen along the way
One of only three shrines in Japan
for the worship of a Christian priest
San Juan Karematsu Shrine and Prayer Rock
Visiting this shrine dedicated to the Christian missionary San Juan and the nearby Prayer Rock,
we will reflect on this faith that was maintained in hiding.
KnowledgeDedicated to San Juan, the teacher of Bastian
San Juan was a foreign missionary about whom very little is known. He taught Christianity to his disciple, Bastian, who in turn became an evangelist for the faith. Christianity was thus kept alive in Nagasaki among its hidden followers through ecclesiastical calendars and other means over the 250 years when it was outlawed. When Christianity was officially recognized in the Meiji era (the late 19th century), this shrine was built next to the withered pine tree (karematsu) where San Juan had collapsed in sickness.
On the mountain path that leads to Karematsu Shrine is a large rock around ten meters in size. This is called the Prayer Rock. On the night of sadness before Easter in the ecclesiastical calendar passed down by Bastian, followers would wait for the darkest hour in the cold season of February to April, carrying on the tradition of making prayers called oratio in the shadow of this rock while keeping a lookout.
Part of the guide fees go toward the Karematsu Shrine Preservation Society so that this holy site kept alive by local believers can be maintained for the future.
Believers chanted the oratio while forming their thumbs into the shape of the cross
Guide for Karematsu ShrineTakaharu Matsukawa
On learning that his grandfather was a descendant of the hidden Christians, he returned to Sotome, his hometown. He is active in safeguarding Karematsu Shrine to pass down the practices of this place to future generations.
Though a shrine, it features Christian symbols
Knowledge / ExperienceStones formed into a cross only at times of prayer
In front of Karematsu Shrine lie some graves shaped in a Christian style with a stone slab. Stones lie on top of it. To conceal their prayers, the believers would form the stones into the shape of a cross, then scatter them once again when they were finished. This is how the hidden Christians kept their faith secret.
The cemetery a little toward the rear of the shrine has gravestones with baptismal names on one side and those with posthumous Buddhist names on the other. Believers of both Christian and Buddhist faiths lying in rest peacefully next to one another is a sight truly evocative of Nagasaki.
The depths of the mountains were the only places they were able to run the risk of continuing their religion
The priest San Juan was said to have lived in the cave at the rear of the shrine
San Juan Karematsu Shrine and Prayer Rock
Address: Karematsu-kashira, Shimokurosaki-machi,
Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture
Parking is available nearby
