Tag Archive for 'Jesuits'

Japan has no shortage of winding roads cut into cliffs overlooking the sea. They are as quintessentially Japan as quiet mountain villages and rice terraces. The roads of Amakusa in Kyushu run around and near 120 or so islands, where the beautiful sea teems with colorful fish and dolphins. The inland roads, meanwhile, lead to springs and sites with the bones of Christian martyrs.
Accessibility, however, is the reason the Amakusa islands merit little more than a scant paragraph in most guide books. Inaccessible by train or bus, Amakusa is about a three-hour drive from Kumamoto.
One route from Kumamoto to Hondo, Amakusa’s main city, traverses the north coast of Amakusa’s main island along an unspectacular and heavily-trafficked road. The longer and lesser traveled southern route, however, has some limestone caves and a statue of Ebisu, the portly god of the fortunes of business.
The main attractions are after Hondo. Tsuji Island is a well-known dolphin-watching spot, a short drive north. The many restaurants along route 389, famed for their fresh crab and other seafood, also provide information about glass-bottomed boat tours. The dolphins are known to playfully jump alongside boats and may even be spotted from the shore. There are reports that some dolphins have moved on to cleaner waters due, perhaps, to diminishing feeding grounds, environmental pollution, or even the tour boats themselves. A little further along is the road to Tomioka, a small port with calm waters, a castle and the former residence of the novelist Hayashi Fumiko.
The coastline south of Tomioka has dramatic sea views, with good snorkeling and diving. Traffic is sparse and there are plenty of places to take a dip. Just after emerging from a tunnel, Shimoda has picturesque views from the parking lot of a souvenir shop. The beach is nothing special, but the underwater view is great. This is the place to make for the sea. Synchronized-swimming shoals of small fish dart in the water and other colorful underwater exotica swim around the shallow, rocky waters. An eye should be kept out for jellyfish, even after the danerous month of September. A short way down the road is a diving school which offers lessons for beginners. A little further down the road is a sea salt factory. The guide explains that the local soil has a low mineral content which makes unseasoned meat and vegetables in Japan particularly tasteless. To compensate, Japanese have long relied on salty condiments. This may explain the high death rate from stomach cancer in Japan.
The main Christian-related information site is at the Amakusa Shiro Memorial Hall. Portuguese and Spanish missionaries, most notably Francis Xavier in 1549, first set up shop in southern Kyushu. Missionaries were shipwrecked on Tanagashima (also the Japanese name for the harquebus, a kind of matchlock). Portuguese Jesuits were allowed to proselytise and gain converts until, the story goes, imperial regent Toyotomi Hideyoshi (nicknamed “Monkey” for his ugliness) sent some men to find local women. When the women resisted, some Jesuits intervened. Hideyoshi had been tolerant to that point, but that sort of chivalry crossed the line. In 1587, Hideyoshi issued an edict denouncing Christianity and martyred those who wouldn’t renounce their faith by fumi-e, trampling Christian icons.
Mogushi, at the southern tip, is arguably Amakusa’s best beach. It has great views, above and below water, and a great deal of privacy (lack of accessibility has its upside).
In the warm southern waters, the swimming season continues through September into October, and that month, on the weekend of October 26-27, Hondo hosts the Junkyo Festival. In part a commemoration of the peasant rebellion of 1634, as well as a call for peace by Japan’s main religions, the festival features a procession around the city, with stops at the river to comfort the souls of those who died in the rebellion.
Amakusa Tourist Bereau tel. is 0969-22-2243