The Japanese term Kirishitan , from Portuguese cristão, meaning "Christian", referred to Catholic Christians in Japanese and is used in Japanese texts as a historiographic term for Catholics in Japan in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Japanese Christians in Portuguese costume, 16th–17th century.
A Jesuit with a samurai, circa 1600.
Kirishitan book in Japanese, 16th century.
Netsuke depicting Christ, 17th century, Japan.
The Catholic Church in Japan is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome. As of 2021, there were approximately 431,100 Catholics in Japan, 6,200 of whom are clerics, religious and seminarians. Japan has 15 dioceses, including three metropolitan archdioceses, with 34 bishops, 1,235 priests, and 40 deacons spread out across 957 churches.
The Tabira Catholic Church, Hirado, Nagasaki
Japanese mosaic of Madonna and Child, in the Church of the Annunciation, Nazareth (a gift from Japanese Catholics to the church)
Gravestone (second from the left), in Malacca's St. Paul's Church, of Peter Martinez consecrated as the second bishop of Japan in Goa, 1595 and arrived in Nagasaki, 1596. He left in 1597 following the deaths of the 26 Martyrs of Japan. Died en route to Goa in February 1598.
St. Mary's Cathedral in Tokyo, which serves as the see of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Tokyo
