Oura Church
大浦天主堂
Japan's oldest surviving church, a National Treasure building and the site of the “Discovery of the Believers,” linked to the heritage of the Hidden Christians.
The formal name of Oura Church is the Church of the Twenty-Six Martyrs of Japan. Completed in 1864 under French missionaries, it is Japan's oldest surviving church and the only Western-style building designated a National Treasure. In 1865, Hidden Christians from the Urakami area, who had kept their faith in secret for more than two hundred years, came here to declare their identity to a priest. This event, known as the “Discovery of the Believers,” shook the European Catholic world. In 2018 the church was inscribed as a component of the World Heritage site “Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki and Amakusa Region.” The church blends Gothic and Baroque styles, and its interior has exquisite stained glass. The former Roman seminary next door has been converted into a museum of Christian history, which tells the story of the ban on Christianity and of the martyrs. Admission for adults is about JPY 1,000, including the museum, and it is generally open 08:30–18:00. Photography is not permitted inside the church, and visitors should stay quiet during Mass. Getting there: it is about a 5-minute walk from the Oura Church stop on the streetcar. It is next to the Glover Garden entrance, so the two can be visited together.
Opening hours
08:30–18:00 (last entry 17:30)
Nearby sights
- Glover Garden
- Nagasaki Confucius Shrine
- Dutch Slope & Higashi-Yamate Western Houses
- Mount Nabekanmuri Park
- Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum & Mizubenomori Park
- Tojin Yashiki Site
- Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown
- Dejima