Christian Gravestones of Shirahama
At just 55 centimeters long, this horizontal, semicircular pillar-shaped gravestone is about half the usual length, leading to speculation that it could be the gravestone of a child. It is made of andesite, a volcanic stone that is normally gray; in this case, however, it has turned a reddish hue from exposure to fire. The front face has a raised border and is inscribed with a well-preserved cross fleury, an ornate cross with three petals representing the Holy Trinity at the end of each arm. Since bones and other flat gravestones have been found nearby, it is likely that there was a graveyard at this location. (As an aside, if you are lucky, you may catch sight of a sea turtle on the beach below!)
About Christian Gravestones in Japan
Of the 192 confirmed Christian gravestones from the early days of Christianity in Japan, 146 are found in Nagasaki Prefecture, all dating from the early seventeenth century. (The oldest Christian gravestone in the country, dating from 1581, is in Shijonawate, near Osaka.) Most of the Christian gravestones in the Nagasaki region are horizontal—either flat or gabled slabs, or semicircular or rectangular pillar shapes—reflecting European gravestone designs of the time. While Buddhist gravestones are inscribed with a posthumous name (kaimyo) of the deceased consisting of multiple kanji characters, Christian gravestones often feature a Western baptismal name. They may be decorated with a floral cross (cross fleury), a double-barred cross (patriarchal cross), or the trigram IHS, an abbreviation of the name of Jesus. Since stone grave markers were an expensive luxury, it is safe to assume that they belonged to the wealthy and powerful. After Christianity was prohibited, some of the horizontal gravestones were upended and converted into Buddhist monuments, hollowed out to make stone vessels for handwashing (chozubachi), incorporated into dry stone walls, or simply swallowed up by the ground. Few of the Christian gravestones in Nagasaki remain in their original locations, though they are often found nearby.