'A huge loss.' In remote Nagasaki islands, a rare version of Christianity heads toward extinction
Associated Press
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Yoshitaka Oishi and others chant "Orasho" prayers during their annual performance at the Ikitsuki Island Museum "Shima no Yakata" in Ikitsuki Island in Hirado, southern Japan, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)Masashi Funabara, a retired city hall employee and a "hidden" Christian speaks during an interview in the Ikitsuki Island Museum "Shima no Yakata" at Ikitsuki Island in Hirado, southern Japan, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)Masatsugu Tanimoto, a farmer and a community leader who is one of only hundreds of so-called "hidden" Christians on the island of Ikitsuki, shows a notebook of handwritten "orasho" prayers passed down orally for generations at his home in Ikitsuki Island in Hirado, southern Japan, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)Masatsugu Tanimoto, a farmer and a community leader who is one of only hundreds of so-called "hidden" Christians on the island of Ikitsuki, speaks at his home in Ikitsuki Island in Hirado, southern Japan, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)A scroll of the Virgin Mary and Jesus once secretly worshipped hangs at a home in Ikitsuki Island in Hirado, southern Japan, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
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Yoshitaka Oishi and others chant "Orasho" prayers during their annual performance at the Ikitsuki Island Museum "Shima no Yakata" in Ikitsuki Island in Hirado, southern Japan, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
