Osaka Cathedral (St. Mary's, Tamatsukuri)

Two stone figures wait in the forecourt: Hosokawa Gracia, the Christian wife of the warlord Hosokawa Tadaoki, and Takayama Ukon, the Christian daimyo who chose exile in Manila over giving up his faith. The ground here is linked to the Hosokawa residence, and the Etchu-i well, traditionally tied to Gracia's final days in 1600, is about 230 meters away. A church first stood on the site in 1894. It burned in the wartime air raids, and the present cathedral, a steel-framed concrete building with a copper-clad roof, was finished in 1963. Inside, the Japanese-style painter Domoto Insho painted the large Virgin Mary in Glory behind the altar and panels of Gracia on her last day and of Ukon. Around 100 stained-glass windows fill the walls. Ukon's old domain included Senteiji, whose hidden Christians are the subject of the Ibaraki City Museum of Christian Relics. Entry is free, but Mass comes first: no eating or drinking, and keep your voice down.