Overview

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

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9784805313565

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Reviews

Readers are immersed in Dougill's travel adventures as he visits historical sites of the Kirishitan. And even those who stumble over the Japanese terminology will understand the importance of a book detailing a dwindling subculture now fading into history. Publishers Weekly

This book is a moving and personal meditation on the history and present situation of Japan's Kakure Kirishitan. The combination of individual testimonies and reflections based on sound research paints a rounded and up-to-date picture of these remarkable communities. --Stephen Turnbull, author of Samurai Swordsman The narrative is engaging, as Dougill's perspective is both instructive and playful. This is one of the best books out there about this subject of east meeting west. --San Francisco Book Review The most original and beneficial contribution of this book is Dougill's narrative of his travels around southern Japan visiting historical sites. His travelogue offers glimpses of how modern Japanese address their country's Christian past, whether memorializing martyrdoms, exploiting a semi-foreign faith for tourism, or simply forgetting it was ever there. --Catholic Library World Readers are immersed in Dougill's travel adventures as he visits historical sites of the Kirishitan. And even those who stumble over the Japanese terminology will understand the importance of a book detailing a dwindling subculture now fading into history. --Publishers Weekly John Dougill's In Search of Japan's Hidden Christians is one of the most compelling and important books on Japan in recent years. The story of Japan's Hidden Christians is one of the least known and most interesting aspects of Japanese history, and Dougill brings the story to life brilliantly. --Chris Rowthorn, author of Lonely Planet Japan and Lonely Planet Kyoto Eloquently written, with surprises around every corner, Hidden Christians is an engaging read. Dougill's personal touch to the narrative makes the book lively and highly readable. --Amy Chavez, columnist, Japan Times 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 In Search of Japan's Hidden Christians: A Story of Suppression, Secrecy and Survival is the best non-fiction work I've read in the past three years. --Bookish.asia

The most original and beneficial contribution of this book is Dougill's narrative of his travels around southern Japan visiting historical sites. His travelogue offers glimpses of how modern Japanese address their country's Christian past, whether memorializing martyrdoms, exploiting a semi-foreign faith for tourism, or simply forgetting it was ever there. As for the Hidden Christians themselves, they are hard to find, having become sparse, elderly, and again hidden to evade bothersome journalists and anthropologists. In all, this is a historically sound, well-related introduction to a significant subject in Asian Christianity. -- Catholic Library World

This book is a moving and personal meditation on the history and present situation of Japan's Kakure Kirishitan. The combination of individual testimonies and reflections based on sound research paints a rounded and up-to-date picture of these remarkable communities. --Stephen Turnbull, author of Samurai Swordsman 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 Readers are immersed in Dougill's travel adventures as he visits historical sites of the Kirishitan. And even those who stumble over the Japanese terminology will understand the importance of a book detailing a dwindling subculture now fading into history. --Publishers Weekly John Dougill's In Search of Japan's Hidden Christians is one of the most compelling and important books on Japan in recent years. The story of Japan's Hidden Christians is one of the least known and most interesting aspects of Japanese history, and Dougill brings the story to life brilliantly. --Chris Rowthorn, author of Lonely Planet Japan and Lonely Planet Kyoto The most original and beneficial contribution of this book is Dougill's narrative of his travels around southern Japan visiting historical sites. His travelogue offers glimpses of how modern Japanese address their country's Christian past, whether memorializing martyrdoms, exploiting a semi-foreign faith for tourism, or simply forgetting it was ever there. --Catholic Library World The narrative is engaging, as Dougill's perspective is both instructive and playful. This is one of the best books out there about this subject of east meeting west. --San Francisco Book Review Eloquently written, with surprises around every corner, Hidden Christians is an engaging read. Dougill's personal touch to the narrative makes the book lively and highly readable. --Amy Chavez, columnist, Japan Times In Search of Japan's Hidden Christians: A Story of Suppression, Secrecy and Survival is the best non-fiction work I've read in the past three years. --Bookish.asia

Author Information

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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