Site of the Battle of Okitanawate

A stone pillar at this site in Shimabara marks where one of the late Sengoku era's most decisive battles was fought in 1584. The daimyo Ryuzoji Takanobu invaded with 25,000 men against the combined Arima-Shimazu force, but the defenders knew the terrain and were equipped with Portuguese firearms that Arima Harunobu had acquired from Jesuit missionaries after converting to Christianity in 1579. Ryuzoji was killed in the battle and his army routed. In gratitude, Arima ceded the Urakami region to the Jesuits, establishing the Christian community that persisted there for centuries and remains visible in Nagasaki's northern neighborhoods today.