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Granite and bronze. The stone--a yellowish gray speckled with red--comes from the Okayama quarries, the birthplace of St, James Kisai. The bronzes are the work of Angelico Y. Funakoshi. The steps are inlaid with marbles portraying instruments of martyrdom: spears, ropes and fire. And, rising from the platform on top of the steps. a solid granite wall, seventeen meters by six, framing a huge bronze cross with the 26 Martyrs in high relief.
It took four years to complete, Each bronze is a work of art in itself, has its own personality, so to speak, but the sculptor has grouped them together into a singing choir, mid-flight from their crosses into heaven.
The monument faces south and the sun turns around the statues, beaming at them from ail possible angles.
It was a drizzly day in June. For the first time Professor Funakoshi could quietly contemplate his work in the rain. Minute drops of water kept sliding down the cheeks of the three child martyrs. This made his heart ache. He loved the boys as if they were his own children. And yet, even on a rainy day one can savor greatness here. It is the ecstatic singing of these 26 men alone in the rain, a song echoing through the ages, bursting into life when the drizzle smothers every little noise around.
"You have to be a believer to produce something like this", was the usual comment on inauguration day. True; to do this you need faith and love. The artist himself indicated the same, when, referring to his work, he said: "I will be happy if people look with understanding at this work of mine, and see in it the honest effort of a man of weak faith, who has tried to portray, at least to a certain extent, the external appearance and heart of a group of martyrs 365 years ago."
The reverse of the monument presents an entirely different picture. Architect Kenji Imai had it inlaid with stones symbolizing the martyrs' route, an exhausting pilgrimage of one month, which brought the 26 saints from Kyoto to Nagasaki. Here too a powerful motif has been forcefully expressed. The martyrs are a bunch of grapes. Squeezed in the winepress of the cross, they have turned into precious must, ready for use at the sacrifice. "Sursum corda" (" lift up your hearts"), "Deus in itinere" ("May God accompany your journey "). The two mottoes span the whole length of stones, a silent reminder of the martyrs' prayer spreading through the fields of Japan in their long way of the cross.
Halfway between the monument and the museum, and supporting a mosaic that speaks of heaven and looks up to heaven, a stout pillar, patterned after an old camphor tree, symbolizes the undaunted fortitude of the martyrs.
A three-storied building in ferro-concrete, the museum walls offer a splendid display of mosaics. The whole is the work of architect Imai of Waseda University.
HOPE is the name for the mosaic facing East. The morning star shines supreme against a background of subdued color, symbolizing Nagasaki at dawn. A beam from the star spotlights a young tree--a symbol of Christ--just at the middle of the lower section of the wall, and reflects upwards in a vigorous curve to flood with light the symbols of martyrdom: palm leaves and the martyrs' blood. FAITH is the mosaic facing West. A big cross, that of Christ, emerges from a crater of blazing flames, surrounded by 26 small crosses, those of the martyrs. The, same motifs of the morning star, beams of light, palms and blood are obvious here.
CHARITY is the general theme for the whole ensemble of mosaics on the main façade, featuring the mysteries of the rosary. They are half-concealed by a latticework of concrete: the martyrs' voices filtering through the prison bars.
The columns on the front of the building are shaped like Japanese lances, those that tore through the hearts of the martyrs.
The museum itself not only tells the story of the 26 martyrs, but of the whole Japanese Church, her days of glory and holocaust, her changes through history, her cultural impact on the Japanese nation as a whole.
Under a splendid carving in wood of St. Paul Miki on the cross, a work of Masahiro Sawada, the visitor is treated to one of the best displays of historic and religious material connected with Christianity in Japan: authentic documents of great value, such as a letter of Francis Xavier to John III King of Portugal, pieces of silk with traces of the Martyrs' blood, carvings, paintings. The interior of the building is an invitation to prayer- It recreates at places the close atmosphere of the catacombs, while rising and expanding every- where else, the way a hymn ascends into heaven.
The memorial church is dedicated to St. Philip of Jesus. Of beautiful, modern lines, it stands on top of the hill, its two towers reaching out to heaven like arms stretched in prayer. Finding inspiration in the work of the Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi, Professor Imai sees in one of the towers going up to heaven, in the other, God's gifts answering man's prayers.
The all-embracing theme of martyrdom unites all architectural elements on the hill. Pilgrims from all over the world converge here, all with the same heart, and the Sacrifice of the Cross, the cross of the martyrs, the cross of Christ, continues to fulfill its mission of bringing man closer to God.