Amakusa Christian Museum

About

The Amakusa Christian Museum, in Amakusa City, Kumamoto Prefecture, opened on August 1, 1966, as the Hondo City Amakusa Christian Museum (Amakusa Kirishitan-kan). Following the 2006 municipal merger that created Amakusa City, it was renamed accordingly, and after a rebuilding project it reopened on July 1, 2010 under its current katakana name. The exhibits trace a chronological narrative covering the introduction of Christianity to Japan, Nanban culture, persecution, the Shimabara-Amakusa Rebellion, the underground Kirishitan faith that followed, and the local administration that governed the region after the rebellion. Among the museum's holdings is the nationally designated Important Cultural Property known as the "Amakusa Shiro Battle Flag," designated in 1964. The flag was donated to the former city of Hondo by a private collector in 1995.