Aosagaura Church, Catholic church in Shin-Kamigotō, Japan
Aosagaura Church is a brick Catholic church on a hill above Nama Bay in Shin-Kamigoto, Japan, and is listed as an Important Cultural Property of Japan. The building has a layered roof and a balanced facade, combining Western church design with local construction techniques.
The first church on this site was built in 1878 by descendants of Hidden Christians who had migrated from the Sotome region and returned to Catholicism. The Aosagaura parish was established in 1900, and the current red-brick church, the third on the site, was completed on 17 October 1910. A major renovation followed in 1984, and the building was designated an Important Cultural Property in 2001.
The church is dedicated to the Archangel Michael, its patron saint. The parish of Aosagaura was established in 1900, and the community traces its roots to Hidden Christians who migrated from the Sotome area during the Edo period and returned to Catholicism. The side-aisle windows hold stained glass.
The church stands in Nama district, reachable in about 15 minutes by car from Aokata Port or 20 minutes from Arikawa Port on Nakadōri Island; the Nishi-Hi bus stops at Aosagaura Church, and the Aosaura Betsudō stop is a 15-minute walk away. The address is 1241 Nama, Shin-Kamigotō, Nagasaki.
Aosagaura Church was the third church built by Yosuke Tetsukawa, who designed and constructed many churches around Nagasaki, and his second in brick. It was once on Japan's UNESCO tentative list for the Churches and Christian Sites of Nagasaki, but was removed when the nomination was revised; it is now treated as an asset preserved alongside the World Heritage components.
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