Begin at Nagasaki
Twenty-Six Martyrs Monument & Museum (Nishizaka Hill)
NagasakiMartyrdom (1597–1873)verifiedSite where 26 Christians (Japanese, Spanish, Mexican and Portuguese-linked missionaries and laymen) were crucified on 5 February 1597 on Hideyoshi's orders. Canonized in …
Ōura Cathedral (Basilica of the Twenty-Six Holy Martyrs of Japan)
NagasakiRediscovery (1865–1873)UNESCOMinor basilicaverifiedFirst church completed 1864 by French MEP priests Louis Furet and Bernard Petitjean and dedicated to the 26 Martyrs (canonized 1862). On 17 March 1865 Hidden Christians f…
Urakami Cathedral
NagasakiRediscovery (1865–1873)verifiedBuilt by the Urakami Catholic community after the 'fourth Urakami persecution' (Yonban Kuzure, 1867–73) exiles returned; completed 1925. Destroyed by the atomic bomb on 9…
221 sites, four centuries
Kyushu, the Gotō and Amakusa islands, Kyoto, Edo, Tohoku and Rome. Each entry gives a short history, access notes and sources. Twelve Nagasaki and Amakusa components form the UNESCO Hidden Christian Sites (2018).