A Japanese artist has announced plans to present the history of Japan’s “hidden Christians” to younger generations through popular manga cartoons. Source: UCA News.
Kan Takahama made the announcement at a conference during a recent tour in Italy, the Vatican’s Fides news website reported.
The Japanese Embassy to the Holy See and the Lucca Archdiocese organised Ms Takahama’s tour to mark the 440th anniversary of an official delegation of Japanese Christians arriving in Rome and meeting with Pope Gregory XIII in 1585.
Ms Takahama lectured on March 17 and 18 in Rome at the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Pontifical Salesian University. On March 20, she visited the Archbishop’s house in Lucca.
Manga comics, which are very popular among the Japanese, have an ever-growing audience worldwide, including among older people, reports show.
The cartoons follow a distinctive drawing format and could be used to tell the stories of the “hidden Christians”, the persecuted Christians of 17th century Japan when Christianity was banned and all missionaries were expelled, Ms Takahama believes.
The artist has an interest in the history of the Church in Japan. She is a native of Amakusa, where the Society of Jesus founded a college for training Japanese priests in 1591.
The Amakusa region and Nagasaki are also where Christians found refuge from persecution for 250 years. These two places have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Ms Takahama accidentally discovered old documents about Christian persecution in local archives. She has collected oral traditions and other documents to better understand the history of the local “hidden Christians”.
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Manga to reveal Japan’s ‘hidden Christians’ to the world (UCA News)
