Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region

This site consists of ten villages, Hara Castle and a cathedral, built between the 17th and 19th centuries. However,  the initial nomination included 26 sites.

Oura Church

This postcard was sent by Akiko

The Basilica of the Twenty-Six Holy Martyrs of Japan, also Ōura Church, is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and Co-cathedral in Nagasaki, Japan, built soon after the end of the Japanese government's Seclusion Policy in 1853. It is also known as the Church of the 26 Japanese Martyrs. It was for many years the only Western-style building declared a national treasure, and is said to be the oldest church in Japan.

In 1863, two French priests from the Société des Missions Étrangères, Fathers Louis Furet and Bernard Petitjean, landed in Nagasaki with the intention of building a church honoring the Twenty-Six Martyrs of Japan, nine European priests and seventeen Japanese Christians who were crucified in 1597 by order of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The church was finished in 1864. Constructed by the master carpenter of the Glover Residence, Koyama Hidenoshin, it was originally a small wooden church with three aisles and three octagonal towers. The present structure is a much larger Gothic basilica that dates from around 1879. This version was built of white stuccoed brick with five aisles, vaulted ceilings, and one octagonal tower. The design most likely came from a Belgian plan used by Catholic missionaries in an earlier church built in Osaka. The stained glass windows were imported from France. - in: wikipedia

The twelve properties part of this site (in red what I have):

• Remains of Hara Castle
• Kasuga Village and Sacred Places in Hirado (Kasuga Village and Mt. Yasumandake)
• Kasuga Village and Sacred Places in Hirado (Nakaenoshima Island)
• Sakitsu Village in Amakusa
• Shitsu Village in Sotome
• Ono Village in Sotome
• Villages on Kuroshima Island
• Remains of Villages on Nozaki Island
• Villages on Kashiragashima Island
• Villages on Hisaka Island
• Egami Village on Naru Island (Egami Church and its Surroundings)
• Oura Cathedral