Imamura Tenshudo (The Temple of the Goddess of Mercy)

The Nagasaki and Amakusa area is registered as a World Cultural Heritage site related to the Christianity of Nagasaki and Amakusa area.
Everyone associates "Christian" and "church" with Nagasaki.
However, there are actually other places in Kyushu with a long Christian history.

The Untold Story of Christianity
Tenshudo built with local materials

Located in the Chikugo region of southern Fukuoka Prefecture, the town of Otoarai was once home to the Otoarai Army Airfield and the Otoarai Army Flying School, which spanned the adjacent town of Chikuzen. Nowadays, the town has a tranquil impression of the rural Chikugo Plain. It may come as a surprise to learn that such a town has a history of Christianity in hiding.
However, by the 1560s, there were some 7,000 believers in the Chikugo region. This is said to be due to the fact that Otomo Sorin, a Christian feudal lord, had the Chikugo area under his control, and Mori Hidenobu, the Kurume lord of Chikugo at the time, was also a devoted believer. Although the number of believers decreased due to subsequent suppression, only the "Ima" (Imamura) believers have maintained their faith from generation to generation.
Like the believers in Urakami, Gotō, and other areas of Nagasaki, they held funerals at temples and offered Catholic prayers in secret at cemeteries afterwards. It is said that just before the abolition of Christianity, they kept in touch with believers in Urakami, Nagasaki. In an era when people were tortured and executed if they were known to be Christian, it is a "miracle" that the faith was preserved in a farming village on the plains rather than on a remote island or in some other remote area.

Then, in the Meiji era (1868-1912), almost all believers who had gained freedom of faith returned to the Catholic Church. It was in 1913 that the longed-for church was built. The Imamura Tenshudo was a Romanesque-style red brick church designed and built by Yosuke Tetsukawa, who was responsible for the construction of many churches in Nagasaki. Father Tamotsu Honda collected a large amount of money from abroad, especially from Germany, and the church was completed with the labor of the congregation. Under the altar is said to be the tomb of Joan Mataemon, a martyr and leader of the church under the prohibited religion.
The church building seen in front of us now has two towers with domed roofs, giving it an imposing appearance. The church is designated as a national important cultural property because of its precious value as a brick church remaining in Japan. Two women at the reception desk in front of the church said, "In the morning, the morning sun shines on the stained glass windows, making it very beautiful. The roof tiles are made almost entirely from local materials, including those from the town of Jojima," they said proudly. Both men are, of course, believers. There are currently about 1,000 believers. They laugh, saying that many of their names are "Aoki" and "Hirata. A town of hidden Christians, a town of miracles. Let's take a tour of another church, not only a World Heritage site.

Unfortunately, the Imamura Tenshudo is currently closed for tours due to seismic strengthening and repair work.
The construction period is scheduled to last 8 to 10 years from June 1, 2022. The information center is also closed. For inquiries about the Imamura Tenshudo building, please contact the Cultural Properties Office of the Otoarai Town Office.
TEL: 0942-77-2671
https://catholic-imamura.jimdofree.com/

Imamura Tenshudo (The Temple of the Goddess of Mercy)