Urakami Cathedral, Catholic cathedral in Urakami district, Nagasaki, Japan
Urakami Cathedral is a red-brick Romanesque Revival church on a low hill in the Urakami district of Nagasaki. Its symmetrical facade has two square towers of unequal height, each capped by a green dome and a cross, with tall white louvered arch windows. A round rose window sits above the arched main portal, and a statue stands beside the entrance. The interior is a single nave with a rib-vault-like ceiling.
Construction of the brick Neo-Romanesque cathedral began in 1895 under Father Francine and was completed in 1914 under Father Regani, on land bought in 1880 from the former Urakami village headman where fumi-e interrogations had taken place. The atomic bomb of 9 August 1945 destroyed it; the rebuilt cathedral was finished in 1959 and became the Nagasaki archdiocese's seat in 1962.
The Urakami name recalls the district where Christians gathered and prayed in secret for centuries when their religion was banned. Today people come here to visit a site that bears witness to this long tradition and continues to host regular services.
The cathedral stands on a small hill in Urakami, facing roughly west. The surviving bell tower fragment, thrown about 30 m north by the blast, is kept on the grounds, and the second-floor hall of the parish building holds a small museum of melted and recovered objects that can be viewed freely. The rebuilt twin domes sit about 5 m lower than the originals.
Some statues that survived the explosion still bear visible traces of the heat and shockwave today. The Virgin Mary figure from the original building was placed inside after reconstruction and draws many visitors.
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