Christian Gravestones of Yoshikawa

Four early 17th-century Christian gravestones sit in a Buddhist cemetery in Minamiarimacho, looking out across the Ariake Sea toward Amakusa. Two are sheltered in a small protective structure; two remain exposed. The stonework is notable for using ignimbrite, a volcanic rock unusual for this peninsula, and both sheltered pieces were carved from single stones with their bases attached. The cemetery happens to be in the birthplace of Adam Arakawa, a Christian samurai martyr executed in Amakusa in 1614, who was among the 188 Japanese martyrs beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008. Of the 146 Christian gravestones in Nagasaki Prefecture, few remain in their original locations.