Uninhabited until 1869: the former hidden Christians carved a stone church there.
Kashiragashima Island was uninhabited until, around 1869, a group of hidden Christians discovered at Taino moved there to escape persecution: they built a first chapel in 1887 and, between 1910 and 1919, the present church in local stone, rare in the whole of western Japan.
A component of the UNESCO site on the places of the hidden Christians of Nagasaki and Amakusa since 2018, and an Important Cultural Property since 2001. Designed by the builder Tetsukawa Yosuke, it is dedicated to Saint Joseph.
ℹ️ Access was provided by three bus services a day from Arikawa Port; the service ends in March 2026, and in peak season visitors heading to Shirahama Village have to change to a shuttle at Kamigoto Airport. Check the latest connections before you set out.
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