Urakami Cathedral

What to know

Urakami Cathedral (浦上天主堂, Urakami Tenshudō) is a Catholic church in Nagasaki with a tragic yet fascinating history. Today, it functions as an active church housed in a large, European-style red brick building, and it contains several relics that survived the atomic bombing.

The atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, and it almost completely destroyed the church, which stood only 500 meters from the hypocenter. A group of charred stone saints remain in place before a decimated wall in front of the cathedral. Inside, you can see other relics, including the surviving head of a statue of Saint Mary recovered after the blast, and one of the church's original bells. The modern version of the cathedral was completed in 1959.

Another intriguing aspect of the cathedral's history goes back to its origins. Construction began on the complex in 1895 on the very ground where picture trampling ceremonies had previously been held in an attempt to root out Christianity when the religion was banned in Japan. In those ceremonies, people were forced to trample on biblical images to expose secret Christians. The church was built here as a symbol of resilience.

Urakami Cathedral is a ten-minute walk from Nagasaki Peace Park and the Peace Park (Heiwa Koen) tram stop on lines 1 and 3 (10 minutes from Nagasaki Station).