Guzoni is a local cuisine in Shimabara. It is said to create during the Shimabara Rebellion of 1637.         When Christians were fought under the leader ship of Amakusa Shiro, they brought various ingredients such as rice cake, fishes and vegetables, and made a stew.   This is the origin of Guzoni.

Guzoni, 具雑煮…の続きを読む

  Sara-udon is a local cuisine in Nagasaki and The literal meaning is udon (udon noodle) on a plate (sara).     It is a dish with stir-fried ingredients such as pork, seafood, and plenty of vegetables, placed on top of thin noodles fried in oil.

Sara-udon, 皿うどん…の続きを読む

  Todos os Santos Church, the first church in Nagasaki, was built in 1569. Federal lord Omura and the Jesuits made an agreement to make Nagasaki a port for trade with Nanban. (Portugal and Spain) in 1570. Nagasaki Port was opened and the first Portuguese ship arrived in 1571. And development of the town of cape was started as Christian town in 1571 and the small Church of San Paulo was constructed at the tip of cape.     After that following Churches were constructed. Misericordia Headquarters Church in 1583 Santa Maria Church in 1600 Santa Clara Church in 1603 Santiago Church in 1604 San Juan Petista Church in 1605 San Antonio Church in 1606 San Pedro Church in 1607 San Francisco Church in 1611 San Agustin Church in 1612 For 45 years after the first church was built, Nagasaki developed as a Christian town, and by 1614, most of the 25,000 people were Christians.   It was as if Nagasaki was a small Rome.   However, due to the Tokugawa Shogunate’s Ban on Christianity in 1614, most of the church buildings were destroyed within 15 days from November 3rd.  

Nagasaki was a small Rome…の続きを読む

  Dago-jiru, Takana-meshi and Basashi   Dago-jiru Soup cuisine used dumpling (dago) made by rolling flour, and also a lot of ingredients are included such as vegetables and meat. Takana-meshi (rice) Made by frying Takana (Cruciferous leafy vegetables) chopped in oil and mixing it thoroughly with freshly cooked rice Basashi Kumamoto’s local dish of thinly sliced horse meat

Variety of local cuisines in Aso and Kum…の続きを読む

  Michino-eki means Road Station in Japan and provides places for travellers to rest, they are intended to promote local tourism and trade.        There are local shops such as agricultural products (fruits, vegetables, flowers etc. ) , seafood, snacks, souvenirs and other goods. And also, some Michino-eki has reataurants.

Michino-eki, 道の駅…の続きを読む

  The eel cuisine created in Yanagawa. The grilled eel is placed on the rice sprinkled with special sauce and steamed in a bamboo steamer.     Each restaurant has own special sauce.  

Eel cuisne, Unagino seiro-mushi, 鰻のせいろ蒸し…の続きを読む

  26 Christians arrested in Kyoto who were consisted of 20 Japanese, 4 Spaniards, 1 Mexican, and 1 Portuguese. They were forced to walk barefoot to Nagasaki for about a month. On February 5, 1597, all 26 Christians arrived at Nishizaka and were tied to Crosses.     Paul Miki said from the Cross All of you who are here, please listen to me. I did not com from the Philippines, I am a Japanese by birth, and a brother of the Society of Jesus. I have committed no crime, and the only reason why I am put to death is that I have been teaching the doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am very happy to die for such cause, and see my death as great blessing from the Lord. At this critical time, when you can rest assured that I will not try to deceive you, I want to stress and make it unmistakably clear that man can find no way to salvation other than the Christian way. The Christian law commands that we forgive our enemies and who have wronged us. I must therefore say here that I forgive Taikosama (Hideyoshi).   I would rather have all the Japanese become Christians. (From Luis Frois’s Martyrs Records, 1597)   Jan. 4, 2024  

26 Saints are the first martyrs in Japan…の続きを読む

  Is there any special meaning in the Torii Shinto Shrine gate? Torii is a gate-like structure placed at key point in the path leading to  the Shinto shrine. 　       It consists of two standing pillars, with two horizontal beams, one a little  above the other. It symbolically separates the holy world inside from the  secular world outside. The torii is derived from its homophone “tori” which means bird flying in the sky. It is said to have originated as a perch for sacred birds within the shrine precine

Torii Shinto Shrine gate, 鳥居…の続きを読む