Hirado Castle

Hirado Castle (Hirado-jo) was built in 1707 by the daimyo Matsuura Takashi. The donjon was built on top of a small, rounded mountain. The castle supposedly had a structure heavily influenced by the Yamaga-ryu, whose school of war strategy was highly regarded. It fell into disrepair after government by the samurai class ended in the latter half of the 19th century. The present donjon was reconstructed in 1962. The beautiful three-tiered, five-storied donjon was built as if overlooking the ocean, and a large amount of information relating to the castle is exhibited inside.

Shimabara Castle

Shimabara Castle (Shimabara-jo) was built by Matsukura Shigemasa, the daimyo of this region, in around 1618. The five-tiered donjon soared above the grounds, with dimensions of 380 m east to west and 1,320 m north to south. Shigematsu Matsukura was known for harshly repressing the Christians within his territory. That repression lead to the biggest civil uprising by Christians - the Shimabara Rebellion - which occurred between 1637 to 1638. About 37,000 Christians took part in this war and many people died. The present castle structures were rebuilt in 1963 and the white walled, five-tiered donjon rises beautifully above the stone walls.

Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum

At 11:02 a.m. on August 9, 1945, the B-29 bomber dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, just three days after the first attack on Hiroshima. The fierce blast wind, heat rays that reached several thousand degrees, and deadly radiation generated by the explosion devastated the city, killing 74,000 people and wounding another 75,000. The survivors also suffered, and still suffer, extensively from the mental and physical damage of the atomic bomb. The museum exhibits extensive materials, both print and reproductions, on the actual bombing and latest nuclear weapons, aiming to contribute to the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realization of lasting world peace.

Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture

Nagasaki Kenritsu Bijutsu Hakubutsukan (Art Museum)

What distinguishes Nagasaki Kenritsu Bijutsu Hakubutsukan from other art museums is its collection of Spanish art with a strong Christian influence. The Suma Collection was built up during World War II by the late Yakichiro Suma, who was an ambassador to Spain. It includes the print John the Baptist, which is said to date from around 1500. With works by such 20th-century artists as Picasso, Miro and Dali, this art museum is believed to have the largest collection of Spanish art in all of Japan. Also housed here is Taisei Okozu, by an unknown artist, which has been designated an Important Cultural Property by the national government.

Oura Tenshu-do

Incorporated in the treaty of commerce between Japan and France, completed in 1858, was a provision for the construction of a chapel for French nationals. Oura Tenshu-do was built in 1864 to satisfy to this provision. The name is a Sino-Japanese rendering of a Catholic church. The official name is Nihon Niju-roku Seijin Junkyosha Tenshu-do (Chapel of the Heavenly Father for the Twenty-six Martyred Japanese Saints) relates to the 26 Japanese Christian martyrs of 1597.Due to a lack of funding, the construction of the Tenshu-do was held up, and the roof had to be made with wooden tiles. The red brick building was finally completed in 1914. It was destroyed by the atomic bomb in 1945, but rebuilt with steel-frame ferro-concrete in 1959. The Tenshu-do is designated as a National Treasure.

Sofuku-ji Temple

The Chinese people who lived in Nagasaki between the 17th and 19th centuries had temples representing each of their places of origin. In 1629, those people who had come from the province of Fuzhou in China invited the priest Chozen from Fuzhou, upon which occasion Sofuku-ji was built to be their temple. Ingen, who would later establish in Japan Obaku-shu, a branch of the Zen sect of Buddhism, came from China in 1654 to live at this temple.The Ogama ("Great Rice Cooker") which remains at this temple was produced in 1681 -- during a time of great famine -- by a priest who sold his books for this purpose. The priest used this rice cooker to make rice gruel, with which he fed tens of thousands of starving people. The main hall and the arched Chinese-style gate are designated by the national government as Important Cultural Properties.

St. Mary's Cathedral (Urakami Cathedral)

St. Mary's Cathedral, often known as Urakami Cathedral, was constructed after a long-standing ban on Christianity was lifted in 1873. In 1925, the main Cathedral and the belfry dome were completed after 30 years of work by Urakami Christians. The brick Romanesque building was the largest Catholic church in East Asia until the atomic bomb that fell on Nagasaki in 1945 completely destroyed it, along with 8,500 Christians. A replacement was built in 1959 in the same Romanesque style. Along the approach to the Cathedral, there are atomic bomb-exposed angel statues. The Cathedral's stained-glass windows, which feature the image of Christ, are lit up at night.