Animated Movie Shines Light On Early Christianity In Japan

Oct. 20, 2011 - PRLog -- “26 Martyrs” tells the true story of 26 Christians who were martyred in Japan, in 1597 in an attempt to discourage the practice of Christianity.

The 26 martyrs who consisted of six European Franciscan missionaries, three Japanese Jesuits and seventeen Japanese laymen, including three young boys, met their deaths with such bravery however, that their executions had the opposite effect of that which was intended, and encouraged a devout underground Christian movement that survived over two hundred years of persecution.

Today the martyrs are commemorated every February 6th.

The animated short is actually part of a larger project as the independent film production company is also currently working on a feature film with the intention of both movies being companion pieces.

“All That Remains”, tells the life story of Dr. Takashi Nagai, a Japanese Christian convert and survivor of the Nagasaki atomic bombing in 1945, who went on to become a leading peace activist.

Both movies are helmed by the same directors, Ian and Dominic Higgins, who also generated all the artwork for the animation. “26 Martyrs is really a kind of prequel to All That Remains”, explains Ian. “It tells a very important story from the Catholic history of Nagasaki and it was a great influence on Dr. Nagai”.

“We also wanted to honor the memory of these early Christians, whose story is really not that known outside of Japan, their bravery deserves to be better known throughout the world,” added Dominic, “We hope that in some way this film will do just that”.

You can view the trailer for “26 Martyrs” here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHNXqh0Aj5o



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Major Oak Entertainment Ltd is an independent film production company that specialises making in faith-based entertainment.