Uploaded January 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
The Hidden Christian Sites of Nagasaki are a fascinating and unusual UNESCO World Heritage Site. Christianity arrived in Japan with Portuguese explorers in the 16th century and spread quickly, but was eventually banned as Japan's shogun rulers were suspicious of the new foreign religion. Japanese Christians were persecuted, forced to renounce their faith, and occasionally martyred en masse over the next several hundred years. But many Christians kept practicing in secret, particularly in the Nagasaki area, and when a new wave of missionaries arrived in the 19th century, the sudden emergence of hidden Christians was considered a genuine miracle! Although it's quite difficult to visit many aspects of this site, the most spectacular is magnificent Oura Cathedral in the centre of Nagasaki. Let's have a look!
For more Japanese World Heritage sites:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT9964WmoqNi67oWNK0QXXr6vJIj7-k3C
For more Christian World Heritage sites:
Paleochristian Monuments of Thessaloniki: youtu.be/IQyycTgzxmY
Church Town of Gammelstad: youtu.be/5L1S7vZSWE0
Christiansfeld, a Moravian Church Settlement: youtu.be/-z5_55IJYOM
Don't forget to Like and Subscribe to see more of our UNESCO World Heritage Journey!
You can also follow World Heritage Journey on:
Twitter @whjourney
Instagram @joelontheroad
Facebook facebook.com/worldheritagejourney
Web worldheritagejourney.com
Music: Bensound.com - Happiness
Map Images (C) OpenStreetMap.org contributors, openstreetmap.org
Virgin Mary Image By PHGCOM - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5681781
The Hidden Christian Sites of Nagasaki are a fascinating and unusual UNESCO World Heritage Site. Christianity arrived in Japan with Portuguese explorers in the 16th century and spread quickly, but was eventually banned as Japan's shogun rulers were suspicious of the new foreign religion. Japanese Christians were persecuted, forced to renounce their faith, and occasionally martyred en masse over the next several hundred years. But many Christians kept practicing in secret, particularly in the Nagasaki area, and when a new wave of missionaries arrived in the 19th century, the sudden emergence of hidden Christians was considered a genuine miracle! Although it's quite difficult to visit many aspects of this site, the most spectacular is magnificent Oura Cathedral in the centre of Nagasaki. Let's have a look!
For more Japanese World Heritage sites:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT9964WmoqNi67oWNK0QXXr6vJIj7-k3C
For more Christian World Heritage sites:
Paleochristian Monuments of Thessaloniki: youtu.be/IQyycTgzxmY
Church Town of Gammelstad: youtu.be/5L1S7vZSWE0
Christiansfeld, a Moravian Church Settlement: youtu.be/-z5_55IJYOM
Don't forget to Like and Subscribe to see more of our UNESCO World Heritage Journey!
You can also follow World Heritage Journey on:
Twitter @whjourney
Instagram @joelontheroad
Facebook facebook.com/worldheritagejourney
Web worldheritagejourney.com
Music: Bensound.com - Happiness
Map Images (C) OpenStreetMap.org contributors, openstreetmap.org
Virgin Mary Image By PHGCOM - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5681781
