Prospectus for establishing
"Yakushima Sidotti Memorial Museum"
Purpose
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Construction of a sympathetic space that connects the history of Yakushima with nature and people
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To make many people in Japan and abroad know about Father Sidotti's life and his achievements.
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To revitalize the island of Yakushima by commending the history of the area
Background
Yakushima, a registered World Natural Heritage Site of UNESCO, is one of the best tourist destinations surrounded by abundant nature, but on the other hand, digging up and inheriting the history and culture of the village is also an important element to talk about the island. The history of interaction between the Italian priest who landed on Yakushima in the middle of the Edo period and the islanders is no exception.
On October 11, 1708, the missionary Giovanni Battista Sidotti (1667-1714), five years after leaving Rome in Italy, was alone in an attempt to open the door to isolated Japan and landed on the coast of Koidomari Village (currently Koshima Village, Yakushima Town). After passing through Nagasaki, he was imprisoned in the Christian Mansion after being cross-examined by Arai Hakuseki in Edo and was martyred on the charge of giving forbidden baptism to an elderly couple.
Father Sidotti's time in Japan was as short as six years, but he left an unforgettable footprint in Japanese history, such as the interaction with the villagers of Yakushima immediately after landing, the time with the old couple at Christian Mansion and the “Seiyo Kibun” that Arai Hakuseki wrote based of the information from Father Sidotti.
Then, in the summer of 2014, just 300 years after his death, the three remains found at the site of Christian Mansion (Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo) were found to belong to Father Sidotti and an elderly couple as a result of DNA analysis. It is new to our memory that it became a big topic that surprised the world.
Under these circumstances, expectations for Father Sidotti's beatification increased, and many pilgrims as well as general tourists from Japan and abroad came to visit the area around Catholic Yakushima Church in search of his footsteps. For nearly 40 years in Yakushima, the church, Yakushima Town, and Koshima Village have co-sponsored the "Father Sidotti Landing Memorial Day" every November 23. But the unfortunate situation is that there are few occasions for people to gather and interact with each other in the absence of a full-time priest to tell the story of Father Sidotti.
Contents
Construction of "Yakushima Sidotti Memorial Museum" (budget 50-60 million yen, scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2024)
Financing
・Mainly utilize crowdfunding using SNS (multilingual transmission such as Japanese, English, Italian, French, Korean) to solicit donations in several batches both domestically and internationally.
・A separate fund-raising window will be set up for cooperation and collaboration by Catholic churches, local residents, support groups, and supporting members.
Promotion group
A non-profit organization led by Yakushima residents will be the main body of promotion, and it will be widely disseminated through the website and lectures with the cooperation of like-minded individuals and groups in Japan and overseas.
NPO Yakushima Future Works "Yakushima Sidotti Memorial Museum Establishment Executive Committee"