Twenty-Six Martyrs Monument

The Twenty-Six Martyrs Monument and adjacent museum in Nagasaki are dedicated to the twenty-six Christians who were executed on this hillside on February 5, 1597. The group included both foreign Franciscan missionaries and Japanese laymen — six of them European, three Japanese Jesuits, and seventeen Japanese lay Christians, among them three boys aged twelve and thirteen. Missionary activities were prohibited at the time, and Japan’s ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi staged the public execution as a warning to the growing Christian community.

The martyrs had been arrested in Kyoto and Osaka, then force-marched roughly 800 kilometers to Nagasaki in winter, with their ears and noses mutilated along the way. Nagasaki was chosen specifically because it had the largest Christian population in Japan — the execution was intended as a spectacle of deterrence. The twenty-six were crucified on crosses and pierced with lances on Nishizaka Hill, in full view of the city. They were canonized as saints by Pope Pius IX in 1862.

The monument consists of a bronze relief by sculptor Funakoshi Yasutake depicting all twenty-six figures on their crosses. It stands in a small park on the hillside, with views down over the city — a deliberate orientation, as a straight red line runs from the monument across the park’s plaza in the direction of the Oura Church on the opposite side of the city. The Oura Church (a National Treasure and the oldest surviving church in Japan) was built in 1864 explicitly facing this execution site, dedicated to the memory of the martyrs.

The museum behind the monument is devoted to the memory of the martyrs and to the history of Christianity in Japan more broadly. Its interior is reminiscent of a church, with stained-glass windows creating atmospheric lighting for the exhibits. On display are artifacts related to Christianity in Japan, including old documents, religious statues, fumi-e (images of Christ and Mary that suspected Christians were forced to trample), devotional jewelry, and materials related to the “hidden Christians” (Kakure Kirishitan) who practiced their faith in secret during the 250-year prohibition. Explanations of many pieces are available in English.

The story of Japanese Christianity did not end with the twenty-six martyrs. The subsequent persecution intensified, leading to the Shimabara Rebellion of 1637-38 and the near-complete elimination of visible Christianity in Japan. The discovery of surviving hidden Christians in Nagasaki in 1865 — who had maintained their faith through oral tradition for seven generations — was one of the most remarkable religious stories of the 19th century.

Museum Hours: 9:00-17:00. Closed December 31-January 2. Admission: 500 yen (museum). Monument and park are free. Access: 10-minute uphill walk from Nagasaki Station.