Hidden Christian World Heritage in the Gotō「五島の潜伏キリシタン世界遺産」

Abstract

<p>The five interview excerpts showcased in this project represent a small part of a larger, ongoing research project that will be developed into a number of academic publications. The interview excerpts are complemented by short essays with background information in this "Introduction" section of the project. The transcripts are available in both the original Japanese and as English translations.</p><p>In 2018 UNESCO registered twelve locations as "Hidden Christian sites" across the regions of Nagasaki and Amakusa, including ten villages, the remains of a castle, and one cathedral. Of these sites, four are found on the Gotō Islands, two being the remains of ruined villages and two being villages that are still occupied today. Researcher Gwyn McClelland began this oral history project by investigating these four sites.</p><p>The four locations of Hidden Christian heritage, namely, 1. Hisaka Island; 2. Egami Village, Naru Island; 3. Kashiragashima Island, and 4. Nozaki Island; constitute sites with an important legacy in the twenty-first century that draw our attention to shared understandings of Buddhist, Shinto, Hidden Christian (Sempuku and Kakure), and Catholic traditions and the cultural hybridity of religious traditions therein.</p>