Unzen Jigoku (Unzen Hells)

History

Volcanic hot springs where Shimabara lord Matsukura Shigemasa, and later Nagasaki magistrates, tortured and killed Christians with boiling water. The first recorded group died on 28 February 1627; memorials honour 33 martyrs who died here between 1627 and 1631 (a 1939 monument, a 1961 cross naming six martyrs beatified in 1867, and a 2011 tablet for the 188 beatified in 2008).

Getting there

Bus from Isahaya or Shimabara.

Sources

• https://www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db/en/R2-00447.html
• https://www.japan.travel/en/spot/720/
• https://kirishtan.com/28-february-1627-the-first-martyrdom-at-unzen-hell/

From the library

• Saint Magdalena of Nagasaki — full text read; mentioned on PDF pp. 16, 18, 54

Coordinates 32.74028, 130.26222