Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
Balkans road trip
Bosnia and Herzegovina • 9 days, 8 nights
Balkans Road Trip: Serbia, Croatia & Bosnia and Herzegovina
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The Sea Water Distilling Plant.
Sea Water Distilling Plant
Contemplative paths.
Ayo Rock Formations
Parking Lot Shoeprints
Dewey Square Pylon & Bent 38
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Beneath downtown Minneapolis, Schieks Cave has surprisingly warm groundwater, evidence of a subterranean heat island.
Schieks Cave Below Minneapolis Contains a Lake of Warm Sewage
about 15 hours ago
Athenaeus described various kinds of Greek drinking vessels, like the deep, rounded skyphos and wide, flat kylix.
The Ancient Greek Guide to Succeeding at Dinner Parties
1 day ago
No thanks.
AO Mailbag: Which Places Just Aren’t Worth Visiting?
3 days ago
Benshi would introduce and provide commentary for films like A Page of Madness.
Remembering the Heyday of Japan’s Silent Film Narrators
3 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Japan Nagasaki Confucius Shrine in Nagasaki
AO Edited

Confucius Shrine in Nagasaki

This ornate example of 19th-century Chinese architecture is one of only a handful of Confucius shrines in Japan.

Nagasaki, Japan

Added By
Evan Hollis
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
The Confucius Shrine’s main hall and courtyard.   evybby13 / Atlas Obscura User
The Confucius Shrine’s main hall and courtyard.   evybby13 / Atlas Obscura User
The statue of Confucius sitting.   evybby13 / Atlas Obscura User
The Confucius Shrine’s main hall and courtyard.   evybby13 / Atlas Obscura User
The Confucius Shrine’s main hall and courtyard.   evybby13 / Atlas Obscura User
The Confucius Shrine’s front gate.   evybby13 / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

For a period of several centuries, Nagasaki was the only gateway to the outside world within feudal Japan. While European missionaries and traders only arrived in 1543, Chinese people from various backgrounds had been visiting Japan for a far longer period, and had established settlements throughout Kyushu island. After Sakoku isolationist policies enforced by the Shogunate restricted contact with the outside world to only Chinese, Portuguese, and Dutch traders in Nagasaki, specialized areas were built to separately house each of these groups.

At first, the Chinese settlers were restricted to an island in the harbor for business and another area slightly inland to live in. In close proximity to traditional Japanese residential neighborhoods, the Chinese settlers began building rich and vividly colored temples that remain today designated as National Treasures or important historic properties, such as Sofuku-ji nd Kofuku-ji. While these temples are unique themselves, with Chinese architecture, vivid red painted halls, and shrines to Mazu, the Chinese folk goddess of the sea, there was still no place for Chinese settlers belonging to other common religions of the time to pray.

After the events of the mid-19th century brought about the end of Sakoku policies as well as rapid modernization and industrialization, Nagasaki yet again had a big part to play. Rich and well-known due to centuries of foreign trade, Western powers had already been establishing a permanent presence in the Oura district of Nagasaki. Churches, synagogues, hotels, residences, and consulates were built in unmistakably western styles of brick and wood with Japanese design features in their tiled roofs, a fairly standard Meiji period architecture style that fused East and West. In 1893, Chinese settlers, who were by this time also living close to this area, built this Nagasaki "Kōshi-byō" Confucius shrine.

The ornate and rich design of the buildings within are at odds with the more simply decorated Japanese temples and shrines in the area, and the bright red and orange adds to an already exotic and cosmopolitan atmosphere in Nagasaki. Despite the building's exterior being damaged in the nuclear bombing of the city in 1945, the area was thankfully far enough away to protect from fires and total destruction.

Today, the shrine is host to several lively events throughout the year that still bear a strong Chinese influence, including dragon dances and other festivities during the Chinese New Year celebrations (which coincides with the Nagasaki city-wide lantern festival).

Another unique point is that the shrine and its land are still property of the Chinese Embassy to Japan, and by extension belong to the Chinese government. A museum was built in 1983 that houses a large collection of ancient Chinese treasures and illustrates the historical relationship between Nagasaki and China throughout the ages.

Related Tags

Statues Shrines

Know Before You Go

To get to the shrine, take the green line tram from either Nagasaki Station or Shinchi Chinatown heading for Ishibashi and get off at either Oura Tenshudo (Oura Cathedral) or Ishibashi.

After exiting the tram, head to your right (away from Oura Cathedral). There is an entrance fee of ¥660 that also includes entry to the museum of Chinese treasures.

Atlas Obscura Adventures

Hidden Japan: Sado Island, Nara & Kyoto

Explore a different side of Japan.

Book Now

Community Contributors

Added By

evybby13

Published

March 3, 2025

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Confucius Shrine in Nagasaki
Ouramachi
Nagasaki, 850-0918
Japan
32.735652, 129.872402
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Fukusai-ji Temple

Nagasaki, Japan

miles away

Atomic Bomb Medical Museum

Nagasaki, Japan

miles away

Museum of Tropical Medicine

Nagasaki, Japan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Nagasaki

Nagasaki

Japan

Places 5
Stories 1

Nearby Places

Fukusai-ji Temple

Nagasaki, Japan

miles away

Atomic Bomb Medical Museum

Nagasaki, Japan

miles away

Museum of Tropical Medicine

Nagasaki, Japan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Nagasaki

Nagasaki

Japan

Places 5
Stories 1

Related Places

  • A strange little shrine in Osaka.

    Osaka, Japan

    Billiken-san

    Up on the iconic Tsutenkaku Tower sits an American mascot that became Osaka’s own lucky god.

  • These formidable lion heads are said to help keep the sea at bay.

    Tokyo, Japan

    The Lions of Namiyoke Inari Shrine

    This shrine, built to protect against destructive waves, is home to two monumental lion heads.

  • The shrine of Mary at the Stone Gate

    Zagreb, Croatia

    Kamenita Vrata (Our Lady of the Stone Gate)

    A well-worshipped shrine to the Virgin Mary nestled inside the last of Zagreb’s historic gates.

  • Roll Cage Mary

    McMurdo Station, Antarctica

    Our Lady of the Snows

    On a desolate hill overlooking McMurdo Station, a statue of the Virgin Mary stands inside a curved iron frame.

  • The cloisters

    Meritxell, Andorra

    Basílica Santuari de Nostra Senyora de Meritxell

    A beautiful modern church dedicated to the teleporting patron saint of Andorra.

  • Drink from the fountain of ideas!

    Yonezawa, Japan

    The Fountain of Ideas

    Ward off bad luck and fill your bottle with "the most watery water" at this little roadside shrine in Yonezawa.

  • Irugi Shrine

    Tokyo, Japan

    Irugi Shrine

    A 17th-century Shinto shrine that is home to statues of Mickey Mouse and Pikachu.

  • The shrine.

    Munich, Germany

    Orlando di Lasso Statue

    This tribute to the 16th-century composer is now an unusual shrine to Michael Jackson.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.