{"id":73398,"date":"2020-11-09T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-09T02:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=73398"},"modified":"2021-07-21T15:42:28","modified_gmt":"2021-07-21T06:42:28","slug":"goto-nagasaki-hidden-islands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/goto-nagasaki-hidden-islands\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding Goto: Uncovering the Mysteries of Nagasaki’s “Hidden” Island"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For those of us who grew up outside of Japan, the Goto Islands are a place shrouded in an air of mystery<\/strong>. In fact, several of my Japanese friends admit to having little knowledge about the islands, and perhaps this was by design. Many of Goto’s historical inhabitants had good reason not to draw unnecessary attention to their home, preferring to keep it hidden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Goto
Approaching Goto city by overnight ferry, prepare for some amazing sunrise scenes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I learned of the existence of the Goto Islands in 2018. I finally watched Martin Scorcese’s film, “Silence<\/a>,” based on a novel by Shusaku Endo about the persecution of Christians during the Edo Period of Japanese history. Under the guise of farmers, many Christians took advantage of a migration policy to flee Kyushu’s main island for the remote islands of Goto, where they established communities to practice their faith in secret. Thus, they became known as Japan’s “Hidden Christians,” still faithful to their spiritual beliefs but caring for one another by keeping them hidden, a practice that continued for nearly three centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I relayed this story to my host from the Goto City Tourism bureau. Because of the film, I told him, I was inspired to visit the Goto Islands. A slight grin crossed his face as he explained that indeed, “Silence” was set in Goto and other parts of Nagasaki Prefecture<\/strong>, but it was filmed entirely in Taiwan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n