Former Gorin Church | A Wooden Church Carried Across the Sea on Hisaka Island

On the eastern coast of Hisaka Island, beside the narrow waters of the Naru Strait, lies the small settlement of Gorin.

From the visitor parking area, a mountain path winds through the trees before following the shoreline. After about 10 to 15 minutes on foot, a modest wooden church appears between the forest and the sea.

This is Former Gorin Church.

Without the cross and pointed-arch entrance, it could almost be mistaken for an old schoolhouse or village meeting hall. Yet beyond its simple doorway lies an authentic church interior, complete with three aisles and a wooden rib-vaulted ceiling.

Former Gorin Church is not a grand or lavish building. There is no monumental tower or elaborate stone façade.

Even so, visitors cross the sea, travel deep into the island, and walk the final path to see it.

The church preserves the story of people who protected their faith, moved an entire place of worship from one village to another, and saved it from demolition for future generations.

A Place of Prayer at the End of the Road

Former Gorin Church stands beside a small inlet on the eastern side of Hisaka Island.

Dense forest rises immediately behind the settlement, while the waters of the Naru Strait stretch out in front of it. The church occupies a narrow strip of land between the hillside and the sea.

Cars cannot travel all the way to the building.

Visitors leave their vehicle at the designated parking area and walk approximately 500 meters along a mountain and coastal path. The journey usually takes around 10 to 15 minutes.

This slight inconvenience is part of the experience.

As you walk beneath the trees and catch glimpses of the sea, the remoteness of Gorin becomes increasingly clear. The landscape helps explain why Hidden Christians once established communities in isolated places such as this, away from the island’s older settlements.

When the trees finally open and the church’s small cross comes into view, reaching it feels like more than simply arriving at another sightseeing spot.

From Hamawaki to Gorin: A Church That Crossed the Sea

Former Gorin Church was not originally built in its present location.

It was constructed in 1881 as Hamawaki Church, the first Catholic church on Hisaka Island.

For the descendants of Hidden Christians who had endured the long prohibition of Christianity—and the severe persecution experienced on Hisaka Island in the late 1860s—the ability to build a public place of worship represented the beginning of a new era.

Around 50 years later, Hamawaki Church was scheduled to be replaced with a new building.

The original wooden church might have been demolished, but the Catholic community of Gorin had long hoped for a church of its own. The building was therefore given to the believers of Gorin.

In 1931, it was carefully dismantled.

Because Gorin lies beneath steep hills and was difficult to reach by land, the building materials were transported by sea and reassembled at the present site.

The church itself had crossed the water and begun a second life.

For approximately half a century, it served the Catholics of Gorin and nearby Warabikojima as their spiritual home.

In 1985, a new Gorin Church was built nearby to replace the aging wooden building. Former Gorin Church ceased to function as an active church and once again faced the possibility of demolition.

A preservation campaign supported by local residents saved it.

The building was transferred to the former Fukue City, now Goto City, and underwent extensive restoration. In 1999, it was designated a Nationally Important Cultural Property.

Former Gorin Church has therefore been rescued twice: first when it was moved from Hamawaki, and again when local people chose to preserve it rather than let it disappear.

Japanese on the Outside, Gothic on the Inside

The first impression of Former Gorin Church is one of striking simplicity.

It is a small, single-story wooden building with a traditional tiled roof. Its weathered timber boards and plastered walls resemble an old Japanese house or school.

Only the pointed arches of the entrance and windows clearly reveal that it is a Christian church.

Step through the doorway, however, and the atmosphere changes.

The interior is divided into a central nave and two side aisles. Wooden rib vaults—sometimes known in Japan as “bat-wing ceilings”—extend above both the nave and aisles.

The ribs in the side aisles begin at a lower point than those in the central nave. This carefully considered arrangement makes the nave appear higher and gives the small building a greater sense of space and dignity.

Natural timber surfaces and white plaster walls create a calm, intimate sanctuary. Rather than relying on expensive stone or imported decoration, the builders used familiar materials and local carpentry techniques to create a Western-style place of worship.

The contrast between the Japanese exterior and the Gothic-inspired interior is the church’s most distinctive architectural feature.

It also makes Former Gorin Church an important surviving example of the earliest phase of wooden Catholic church architecture in Nagasaki.

A Handmade Substitute for Stained Glass

Above the entrance is a colorful cross-shaped design that initially appears to be stained glass.

Look more closely, however, and you will discover something more personal.

It was made by placing colored cellophane between two sheets of transparent glass.

The side windows once featured similar handmade decorations. Watercolor paintings with geometric designs were placed between sheets of glass to imitate the appearance of stained glass. Some surviving examples are now preserved at the Goto Tourism and Historical Materials Museum.

These were not substitutes created carelessly.

They reflect the ingenuity of island believers who had limited access to expensive materials and specialist craftsmanship but still wanted to make their church beautiful.

Rather than reproducing a European church perfectly, the community used what was available to create a sacred space of its own.

Once you notice these modest handmade details, Former Gorin Church no longer feels like an anonymous historic structure.

It becomes a record of the people who built, decorated, and worshipped within it.

The World Heritage Site Is More Than the Church

Former Gorin Church stands within the UNESCO World Heritage property “Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region,” inscribed in 2018.

The church building is not an independent component of the property.

It lies within the component officially known as “Villages on Hisaka Island.”

From the late 18th century onward, Hidden Christians migrated to Hisaka Island from areas including Sotome. They established new communities on the edges of existing Buddhist villages or in isolated places such as Gorin and Zazare.

They cultivated land, worked alongside Buddhist residents, and maintained their faith in secret while outwardly participating in the surrounding society.

After the ban on Christianity was lifted in 1873, many of these believers rejoined the Catholic Church and began constructing public places of worship.

Former Gorin Church reflects that transition from hidden faith to open Catholic worship.

The World Heritage value of Hisaka Island, however, is not represented by the church alone.

Rice fields cultivated by migrant communities, Hidden Christian graveyards, places associated with persecution, former church sites, Buddhist fishing settlements, and the island’s distinctive terrain together reveal how different communities lived alongside one another.

When visiting Former Gorin Church, take time to look beyond the building.

Notice the steep hillside immediately behind it, the sea only a few steps away, and the limited amount of flat land available for homes and cultivation.

The surrounding landscape explains how the settlement developed and why the sea was essential to everyday life.

Quiet, Modest, and Unforgettable

Former Gorin Church has no grand bell tower, marble altar, or lavishly decorated façade.

What remains is a weathered wooden exterior, a tiled roof, a hand-built vaulted ceiling, and modest decorative details created from the materials available to island residents.

Yet every part of the building holds a human story.

There were the believers who accepted the dismantled church and transported it to Gorin.

There were the generations who prayed here for almost 50 years.

There were the residents—including members of the local Buddhist community—who recognized its value and helped save it from demolition.

The church’s appeal does not come from monumental scale or the name of a famous architect.

It comes from the fact that ordinary people repeatedly chose to protect it.

After crossing the sea and walking the final path, visitors often discover that this small church has a presence far greater than its size.

A Landscape Best Experienced Slowly

Former Gorin Church is more than a building to photograph and leave behind.

Its location is an essential part of the visit.

The sound of waves reaches the church grounds. Forest rises behind the settlement. Stone walls, homes, graves, and the neighboring present-day Gorin Church remain close together within the narrow coastal space.

The journey also encourages visitors to slow down.

There is no large tour-bus parking area directly beside the church and no busy commercial district at the entrance.

The final approach must be made on foot.

That walk creates time to notice the shape of the coast, the closeness of the hills, and the distance separating Gorin from the island’s main port.

By the time you reach the church, the landscape has already begun to tell its story.

Before You Visit

Advance notice is required for both individual and group visits.

Online requests may generally be submitted from six months until two days before the planned visit. When the online deadline has passed, contact the Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region Information Centre by telephone or email.

Church attendants are normally present from Tuesday through Sunday, from 8:30 a.m. to noon and from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

No attendant is present on Mondays or on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. The church is normally left unlocked and may still be visited, but advance notice remains necessary.

Former Gorin Church is no longer used for Mass or other religious services. Catholic services are held at the present Gorin Church nearby.

Although the former church is owned and managed as a cultural property, the neighboring church remains an active place of worship. Visitors should therefore behave quietly and respectfully throughout the settlement.

Unlike most Catholic churches in Nagasaki, personal photography is permitted inside Former Gorin Church.

Photography or filming for interviews, advertising, publications, websites, television productions, or other commercial purposes requires a separate application and permission.

The path from the parking area includes unpaved and occasionally slippery sections. Wear comfortable shoes with good grip, particularly after rain.

There are few visitor facilities in Gorin. Carry drinking water and prepare anything else you need before leaving the port area.

Ferry services and smaller boats may be delayed or canceled because of weather and sea conditions. Plan your boat, rental vehicle or taxi, and church visit together, allowing enough time to return to the port.