A museum to open in Nagasaki to remember persecuted Christians

May 14, 2014: A museum to remember the Christians who remained faithful to Christ and the Church in spite of fierce persecution in the past centuries, will be opened next January in Nagasaki, Japan. Chiyoko Iwanami, aged 66, is behind the initiative.
A resident of Tokyo, she wanted to pay tribute to the memory of those Christians who were persecuted under the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Edo period (1603-1867).
The museum will be located in the city's Heiwamachi district, not far from the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum and the Urakami Cathedral. "Many citizens died in the 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki, causing a lot of memories to be lost," said Iwanami.and she wanted people to know how difficult it was to defend their faith until freedom of religion was established."
The museum will cover 140 square metres on the first floor of a housing complex owned by Iwanami, who ran a publishing company whose titles include books on anti-Christian persecution and the history of Nagasaki.
The Archdiocese of Nagasaki will be in charge of the collection, housing and display at the museum. Organisers plan to exhibit confiscated religious medals and icons housed at the Tokyo National Museum.
Source: AsiaNews