Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region

Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Ōura Cathedral
Location	Nagasaki and Kumamoto, Japan
Criteria	Cultural: iii
Reference	1495
Inscription	2018 (42nd Session)
Area	5,566.55 ha
Buffer zone	12,252.52 ha
Coordinates	32°44′03″N 129°52′13″E / 32.734106°N 129.870236°E / 32.734106; 129.870236
Location of Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region in Japan

Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region (Japanese: 長崎と天草地方の潜伏キリシタン関連遺産) is a group of twelve sites in Nagasaki Prefecture and Kumamoto Prefecture relating to the history of Christianity in Japan. The Nagasaki churches are unique in the sense that each tells a story about the revival of Christianity after a long period of official suppression.^[1]

Proposed jointly in 2007 for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List under criteria ii, iii, iv, v, and vi, the submission named at the time Churches and Christian Sites in Nagasaki on the Tentative List, was recognized on January 30, 2018, as a World Heritage Site.

The initial nomination included 26 sites; however, after reconsideration the Nagasaki Prefecture reduced the monuments to 13 sites.^[2] Twelve sites were recognized. Concerns over the Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region have been widely discussed in the academic literature.^[3]