Sacred Places, Pilgrimage, and Tourism - Geography of Religion in Japan: Religious Space, Landscape, and Behavior - page 186

the churches on Kami-Goto can provide an important experience leading to a recon-
struction of personal historical view, the visit may also nurture the islanders' and
returnees' appreciation for their ancestors' survival and protection of faith. For many
residents and persons with island relatives, these feelings reinforce the island iden-
tity. Even non-Christian tourists may experience a religious feeling when visiting the
churches. For example, a sense of relaxation, peace of mind, tranquility, and healing
of pain are common to non-Christian and Christian tourists. Some people who had
worked in a fi shery on the island prayed while thinking about the sea where they fi sh.
Non-Christians also value with the Christians the beauty of the church buildings
and the magnifi cence of the location. This was revealed in their notes that men-
tioned “great brick architecture of the church,” “simple but beautiful stained glass,”
and “church stands on a great location,” or that they were “impressed by the beauti-
ful sea and the church.” Even non-Christians provided feedback, and many people
who toured the Fukue and Nakado Islands were attracted by the beauty of the
churches. The aesthetic value of the churches should be preserved forever. It is note-
worthy all visitors recognized the churches as having cultural property value when
the beautiful buildings, the history of the island where the churches were built, and
the life of the people who protected and maintained them were viewed in entirety.

4.3.6 Summary: Expectations and Concerns About

Registration as a World Heritage Site

The movements to promote tours around the churches as a pilgrimage to sacred places
also occurred in the Catholic Church. In 2005, the Nagasaki/Amakusa no Kyokai to
Junnreichi Kannzen Gaido (Perfect Guide to Churches in Nagasaki and Amakusa and
Pilgrimage Sites) was issued under the supervision of the Catholic Archdiocese of
Nagasaki. This is a guidebook on the Catholic churches in Nagasaki and Amakusa
(Kumamoto), and introduces the ecclesiastical architecture and history of the
churches, martyrdom sites, graveyards, and tombstones, and the ruins of the Seminary
as a part of a sacred pilgrimage. In this way, the Catholic Church has also responded
to tourism by providing a pilgrimage route that also appeals to non-Christians, but
does not affect the religious aspects of Christian worship and ceremony.
The use of Christian pilgrimage to sacred places has a religious, historical, and
cultural intent that also promotes tourism in Nagasaki. This was grown even more
when the Nagasaki Church Group and Christian-Related Cultural Assets were in the
Japanese tentative list of World Cultural Heritage sites in January 2007. The
Nagasaki Prefectural Tourist Federation immediately planned to use these sites as a
tourism resources in a plan titled “ Atarashii Bunka no Sozo Nagasaki Junrei no
Sosetsu ni mukete” (Establishment of a Nagasaki Pilgrimage, Creation of a New
Cultural Entity). The objectives of the plan were to review tangible and intangible
Christianity-related assets that exist in each region of Nagasaki and create an offi -
cial “ Nagasaki Junrei no Michi ” (Pilgrimage Route in Nagasaki) after consulting
the Catholic Archdiocese of Nagasaki. The creation of a new pilgrimage route was