CATHOLIC CHURCH OF ŌURA

Built in 1864 in a gothic style by Bernard Petitjean, the church is dedicated to the twenty-six martyrs of Nagasaki. It was helped by the Japanese Christians who had until then hidden their beliefs. The building was classified as a National Treasure of Japan in 1933, and again on March 31, 1953, under the 1951 law for the protection of cultural property. The Basilica of the Twenty-Six Martyrs of Japan was for many years the only Western-style building and the oldest church in Japan.