Tsuwano Catholic Church

 

I have photographed quite a few churches in Japan, simply because they are rare and therefore exotic.

Of course, none of the churches in Japan are very old as Christianity was outlawed until the late 19th century.

It is thought that in 1601 the daimyo of Tsuwano flirted with Christianity. Missionary records claim him as a convert, but he seemed to have renounced the religion soon after. There are said to be a couple of Christian gravestones at Yomeiji Temple.

In 1870, 153 "Hidden Christians" from Nagasaki were imprisoned in Tsuwano and tortured to recant their faith. 37 died. A lovely chapel has been built on the hillside above Tsuwano... see this post for details.

The Catholic church in Tsuwano  was built in 1934 by a German priest. Built of wood, the Japanese carpenters came from Nagasaki. In 1892 a mission was established in Tsuwano, and so the church dates its foundation to then.

In early November every year a procession goes from the church up to the chapel.

There are said to be about 70 parishioners at the church. There are several other churches now in the Tsuwano area, although official statistics say only 2 per cent of the popukation of Japan are Christian, however, there has been quite a lot of Christian Prime Ministers....

The church is usually open to visitors from 9 to 5, unless services are taking place.

The previous post in this series on Tsuwano was on the childhood homes of Nishi Amane and Mori Ogai.

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