Christianity around the world

Christianity in Japan

Christianity came to Japan in 1549 with the Jesuit Francis Xavier, and for a few decades it grew, especially around Nagasaki. Then it was fiercely suppressed, and for over two centuries Christianity was banned. Astonishingly, communities of hidden Christians (Kakure Kirishitan) kept the faith in secret across those long years, and emerged when Japan reopened in the nineteenth century. Today Christians are a small minority, yet their history is one of the most moving stories of faith held under pressure.

How Christianity came to Japan

In 1549 the Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier landed at Kagoshima, and the Christian faith took root, especially in the region around Nagasaki. Within a few decades there were hundreds of thousands of Japanese Christians, some feudal lords among them. But the rulers came to see the foreign faith as a threat. Persecution began, and in 1597 twenty-six Christians were crucified at Nagasaki. Under the Tokugawa shogunate Christianity was outlawed, and after the Shimabara rebellion (1637-38) the country was largely closed to the outside world.

What happened next is remarkable. Deprived of priests, churches, and Bibles, ordinary believers passed the faith down in secret from parent to child for more than two hundred years, disguising prayers and images. These were the Kakure Kirishitan, the hidden Christians. When Japan reopened and a church was built at Nagasaki in 1865, hidden believers quietly revealed themselves to the astonished priest, a faith kept alive underground across seven generations.

The church here today

Christianity remains a small minority in Japan, roughly one percent of the population, divided among Catholics and various Protestant churches. Yet its influence is felt beyond its numbers, in schools, hospitals, and social work, and Christian weddings are widely popular. Nagasaki, the old heart of Japanese Christianity and later the site of the 1945 atomic bomb near its cathedral, remains a place of deep Christian memory.

If you are seeking here

If you are living in Japan and quietly wondering about Jesus, you are not alone, and you are welcome. Faith is not a nationality or a family tradition you are locked into or out of; it begins wherever one person turns to Christ and asks. You can start today by reading a Gospel, by praying honestly in your own words, and by finding a community that follows Jesus near you.

Frequently asked questions

Who brought Christianity to Japan?

The Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier, who landed at Kagoshima in 1549. The faith grew for a few decades, especially around Nagasaki, before it was banned and severely persecuted.

Who were the hidden Christians of Japan?

The Kakure Kirishitan were Japanese Christians who, during more than two centuries when the faith was outlawed, kept it alive in secret, passing it from parent to child without priests, churches, or Bibles.

How many Christians are in Japan today?

Christians are a small minority, roughly one percent of the population, divided among Catholics and Protestants, though Christian schools, hospitals, and weddings have an influence beyond those numbers.