Sacred Places, Pilgrimage, and Tourism - Geography of Religion in Japan: Religious Space, Landscape, and Behavior - page 161

Fig. 4.20 Distribution of the World Heritage sites in Japan, 2009 (UNESCO)
Christians have held symposiums and promoted awareness to help people under-
stand cultural heritage through the promotion of international exchanges.
According to a publication issued by the World Heritage Association, the pur-
pose and concept of the Association are as follows (The Association for Declaring
the Nagasaki Church Group a World Heritage 2007 ):
This Association was established by volunteers from various fi elds, including specialists
and people associated with the churches, to complete activities to register the Nagasaki
Church Group as a World Heritage site.
Introducing the existence of the splendid and valuable Nagasaki Church Group, which
was created by many people in the long history of the faith, to people both in Nagasaki and
abroad is very important, and we aim to register the Church Group as a World Heritage site
as a useful means of doing so.
Some people may consider these churches neither as old or as large-scale as churches in
Europe. However, these ecclesiastical buildings were created by the combined efforts of
local people and refl ect the culture and faith of rustic people in a beautifully natural place
and a culture peculiar to Nagasaki, like nowhere else in the world; they are very suitable for
designation as a World Heritage site. (Some text omitted here) We note that registration on
the (World Heritage) list is not the only goal, and we should also commence full-scale con-
servation of buildings.
The church group is regarded as an expression of the local history, and the
attempt to promote the group's registration as a World Heritage site is a means to