In Search of Japan's Hidden Christians
A Story of Suppression, Secrecy and Survival
In 1549 the first Christian missionaries arrived in Japan, and over 60 years, they converted over 300,000 Japanese to their belief. In 1614, a nationwide ban was issued, followed by a vicious campaign of persecution that forced the remaining faithful to go underground. Author John Dougill set out on a voyage over 2,000 miles and through 450 years of history. Seeking out the historical sites and vestiges as well as the faithful themselves, he reconstructs the Hidden Christians' story.
"A nonfiction work about devotion, the book is also a lively travelogue. And Dougill is a tireless journeyman and sleuth, going to wherever there is a story or lead. He tracks down descendants of hidden Christians on the island clusters of Amakusa, Goto and Ikitsuki, meets with curators, historians in Shimabara and Nagasaki, engages fisher folk in conversations about history." —Stephen Mansfield, columnist, Japan Times
John Dougill has lived in Japan for over twenty years and is professor at a Buddhist university in the heart of Kyoto. He is an associate editor for Japanese Religions and co-author of a guide to Shinto Shrines. Educated at Leeds and Oxford Universities, he taught for three years in the Middle East before spending ten months traveling around the world. As well as following the path of early Christians around Kyushu, he has journeyed from Lake Baikal to Lake Biwa in search of Japan's shamanistic roots and traversed the country researching Japan's World Heritage Sites. Amongst his hobbies are chess, the GreenShinto blog, and bird-spotting on the Kamogawa River.
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