Monument to the Christian Martyrs

The Christian Martyrs Monument was built in the small mountain Nishizaka in 1962. The monument commemorates the centenary of the canonization of the 26 Christian martyrs. These martyrs were executed in Japan in 1597 for spreading Christianity in a time when Toyotomi Hideyoshi was leader and wanted to definitively establish Buddhism. Twenty of the martyrs were Japanese, four were Spanish missionaries, one was Mexican, and one was Indian.Next to the monument there is a small museum which tells the story of the expansion, persecution and secret maintenance of Christian communities in Japan.