US EditionHidden Christian Faith in Rural Japan Nears Disappearance
- A dwindling group of Hidden Christians, or Kakure Kirishitan, continues to practice a secretive faith on Ikitsuki Island, Japan, in 2025.
- This faith emerged when Christianity was prohibited in 1614, leading to the expulsion of missionaries and forcing followers to conceal all outward expressions of their beliefs.
- Hidden Christians preserve ancestral Latin chants known as Orasho, worship disguised icons like the Closet God, and continue practicing ceremonies that have remained largely consistent since their origins in the 16th century.
- Masatsugu Tanimoto, aged 68, says, "At this point, I'm afraid we are going to be the last ones," noting no baptisms occurred since 1994.
- Researchers and believers acknowledge Hidden Christianity is fading due to an aging population, youth migration, and a lack of clergy, suggesting this unique tradition may soon end.
58 Articles
58 Articles
'A huge loss.' In remote Nagasaki islands, a rare version of Christianity heads toward extinction (copy)
On the rural islands of Nagasaki a handful of believers practice a version of Christianity that has direct links to a time of samurai, shoguns and martyred missionaries and believers. After emerging from hiding in 1865, following centuries of violent…
Associated Press News
'A huge loss.' In remote Nagasaki islands, a rare version of Christianity heads toward extinction
On the rural islands of Nagasaki a handful of believers practice a version of Christianity that has direct links to a time of samurai, shoguns and martyred missionaries and believers.
The religion of the Christians hidden from Japan once disappeared with the elderly. In the new groups, two families were left on the island of Ikittsuki. The young people left the city and left behind a 400-year-old faith. The secret Christians combined icons with Buddhist symbols. The faith was preserved in the 16th century without priests or churches. They built the strangers for hundreds of years, disappeared in a generation. The children of …
In Japan, kimono is not just a traditional garment: it also communicates. Single women often wear kimonos with long sleeves, which symbolize youth and availability for marriage. Instead, married women wear shorter sleeves, as a way of showing that they have already formed a home. This detail, which can go unnoticed, tells a lot about Japanese culture, where visual language and symbolism remain part of everyday life. With information from Majo Ti…
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