Sacred Places, Pilgrimage, and Tourism - Geography of Religion in Japan: Religious Space, Landscape, and Behavior - page 177

Fig. 4.22 Aosagaura Church

4.3.2 Attraction of Churches

Twenty-nine churches, approximately two-thirds of the 50 extant churches on
the Goto Islands, are located on Kami-Goto. Many were established in villages
on the coast or in mountainous areas that are diffi cult to reach. The churches
were established by Christians escaping repression of the anti-Christian period.
When Christianity was fi nally allowed, villages built the churches as a proof of
their faith.
Many churches in Nagasaki have signifi cance to the history of modern architec-
ture of Japan. Ohuratenshudo is the oldest existing church in Japan and is a well-
known national treasure. Aosagaura Church (Fig. 4.22 ), the Kashiragashima Church
(Fig. 4.23 ) (both in Shinkami-Goto), former Gorin Church (Fig. 4.24 ), and the
Egami Church (both in Goto) have all been registered as nationally important cul-
tural properties. Few Japanese churches have been specifi ed as nationally important
cultural properties; the notable churches are Kuroshima, Tabira (both in Nagasaki),
the Orthodox Church of Hakodate in Hokkaido, Tsuruoka Catholic Cathedral in
Yamagata, and Nicholai-do the Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Tokyo. These data
indicate the signifi cance of the Goto churches.
Many churches in the Kyushu area and Goto islands were constructed by Yosuke
Tetsukawa. Tetsukawa was born into the family of a master carpenter in Kami-Goto