Amakusa (天草) is a city and chain of islands off the west coast of Kumamoto in Japan.
Some places are born cursed, while others are cursed by the whims of history. It has been Amakusa’s tragedy to suffer both fates. -Spike Japan
The Amakusa Islands are a small chain of ten islands just off the coast of Kumamoto, south of the Shimabara Peninsula to the north. Swept by strong currents, fishing off the islands is poor and the thin, volcanic soil of the islands can only barely support even barley and sweet potatoes. This is where Portuguese Jesuit missionaries first landed in the 16th century and started converting the local populace to Christianity, with some success until Toyotomi Hideyoshi banned the faith on pain of death in 1614. In response to the brutal persecution that followed, the islands rose up in the Shimabara-Amakusa Rebellion (島原天草の乱) of 1637-1638, eventually leading to the death and execution of over 35,000 rebels.
After the islands were depopulated by these executions, Amakusa was resettled with convicts and other undesirables from the mainland, who were forcibly moved to the islands. By 1868, Amakusa had over 150,000 people, most living in desperate property. After the isolation of Japan ended, over 30,000 women fled to work as karayuki-san prostitutes in the brothels of Asia, as harrowingly depicted in the book and movie Sandakan No. 8.
Today's Amakusa suffers from precisely the opposite problem: it is Japan's most rapidly depopulating region, with Amakusa losing over 10% of its population every decade since the 1960s. Few tourists, domestic or foreign, make it to the islands, but those who do find many traces of its history and some of the finest Christian sites in Japan, including Sakitsu Church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Amakusa Airfield (IATA: AXJ), served exclusively by Amakusa Airlines, has daily service to Fukuoka and Kumamoto. The airline's entire fleet consists of one ATR 42 turboprop, so if the plane has any technical difficulties, all flights will be cancelled.
There is no train service on the islands themselves, but Misumi Station (三角駅), terminus of the eponymous Misumi Line from Kumamoto, is right across the bridge from Oyano Island.
Shimabara Railway operates hourly ferries between Kuchinotsu (口之津) at the southern tip of the Shimabara Peninsula to Oniike (鬼池) on northern Shimoshima. The trip takes about 30 minutes.
Built in 1966, the Five Bridges of Amakusa (天草五橋 Amakusa Gokyō) connect the islands to each other and the mainland at Uto.
Sakitsu Church A small village on Amakusa's eastern side that once became the islands' center of Christianity. During the ban on Christianity many Christians were forced to practice their faith with household objects like seashells rather than standard devotion items. The village's main church was built in a Gothic style and fuses Japanese and European design. The church's interior features tatami mats and high steeples jut from the church's roof. Visits must be reserved beforehand at the church's website.
Kabuto-Ume (兜梅) It's a beautiful ume blossom but doesn't bear fruit. The reason is guessed as a curse of a woman. In the Middle Ages, she was a wife of a samurai and fought bravely against enemies in full armor. However, her helmet (兜 in Japanese) was caught in the ume tree and she was killed because of it. So, she had a grudge against the tree and said, "I never let it bear fruit!"
More information: Hondo Matsuri practice committee: <br>Hondo shoukoukaigisho <br>tel:0969-23-2001 <br>fax:0969-24-3340
Amakusa is famed for type of pottery clay called Amakusa-toseki (天草陶石), used for producing white porcelain like the local Takahamayaki' (高浜焼).
Amakusa is beside the sea, so fresh seafood is easy to find.
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