Twenty-Six Martyrs Museum and Monument, Religious museum in Nagasaki, Japan
The Twenty-Six Martyrs Museum and Monument is a memorial and museum on Nishizaka Hill in Nagasaki, Japan. A long bronze relief shows the 26 figures at the size of life, with a small chapel and an exhibition building standing behind it.
In 1597, a Japanese ruler ordered the execution of 26 Christians, among them three children, on Nishizaka Hill as part of a broad ban on the faith. The museum and monument were opened in 1962, more than three centuries after the execution.
The site draws visitors from around the world, particularly from the Philippines and Portugal, because several of those executed came from those countries. Inside the museum, personal objects, letters, and portraits give faces and names to people who might otherwise be forgotten.
The site is within walking distance of Nagasaki's main train station, so it fits easily into a visit to the city center. Allow at least an hour to see the outdoor monument and the indoor exhibition at a comfortable pace.
Among the 26 was a 12-year-old boy named Antonio, born in Japan, making him one of the youngest Christian martyrs in the country's history. As the group was marched from Osaka to Nagasaki, their left ears were cut off so that people along the route would know of their punishment.
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