Sacred Places, Pilgrimage, and Tourism - Geography of Religion in Japan: Religious Space, Landscape, and Behavior - page 185

4.3.5 People That Tour the Churches

What exactly do the people that visit the island to tour the churches feel about the
churches on Kami-Goto? I now examine the data from notebooks provided at fi ve
of the churches on Kami-Goto (Ohira, Nakanoura, Doinoura, Oso, and Ebukuro) for
clues to understanding their thoughts.
I will fi rst focus on the free description provided by Catholics or those who vis-
ited the churches on a pilgrimage. Some of the Christians actually intended to visit
all the churches. Some good examples of this are provided by notes stating, “I came
here to visit all the 29 churches on Kami-Goto,” or “I am on a pilgrimage of all the
churches on Goto Islands.” Through the pilgrim experiences, many pilgrims indi-
cate that they felt some peace of mind or a sense of tranquility. Notes such as, “I was
blessed with peace of mind, it is a place that calms you but homey,” and “it is a
comforting place” indicate that their experiences arose through the combination of
the history of the Christians, the fudo of Kami-Goto and the remote island location,
instead of the general experience of other churches. This means that the churches on
Kami-Goto may hold special signifi cance for Christians. The note by a Korean
Christian stated, “The sacred places and churches on Goto and their spirit of martyr-
dom are incredible” and another, “God led me to Goto (snip) like the repressed
Christians” also indicate signifi cance. Other pilgrims traveled to the islands to pray
for the cure for a disease. This position of the Christians indicates that they appreci-
ate the life and activities of the people who support the churches as well as the
aesthetic and artistic value of the church buildings, as revealed by a note stating,
“Thank you for showing me the beautiful decoration of the cathedral (by the church
members)”. These responses are evidence that the churches on Kami-Goto are spe-
cial places where Catholic Christians can be spiritually healed. The source of that
sacred power has been created by the fusion of Christian history, the life of the
people, and fudo of Kami-Goto.
In comparison, other tourists and non-Catholic local residents may visit Kami-
Goto churches for other reasons. Some visit the churches by chance after visiting to
swim or fi sh. Others came to Kami-Goto on honeymoon or a retirement trip, and
many people visited because it was their own home or that of relatives. Many visi-
tors to Kami-Goto review the setting of Catholic literature (Shusaku Endo), or as the
culmination of a long cherished dream. There are cases where people (they were not
always Catholic Christians) who were originally from Kami-Goto and had moved
away, were visiting the churches upon returning to the island, to reconfi rm their
Goto identity.
What do tourists sense in the churches? A prominent thread through most notes
was the reference to the island's history. Some felt the weight of history, some stud-
ied the history of the island by visiting the churches, and one note stated, “I hope the
description of the history of Christian repression in textbooks will be made more
accurate”, indicating that the writer's view of history had changed. This type of remi-
niscence also indicates an understanding that the history of the architecture refl ects
the activities of the people who built and maintained the churches. Although visiting