According to Shinto beliefs, the monastery’s location on the southern side of the mountain was said to be contrary to nature. However, Father Kolbe’s persistence proved prophetic. After the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, the monastery survived almost unscathed, in contrast to the cathedral and many other buildings, of which only ashes remained.

Maximilian Kolbe in Japan

The first decades of the 20th century in Christian churches were marked by missionary work. Alongside providing aid to those in need, this activity also dominated the life of Maksymilian Maria Kolbe, born in 1894.

Father Kolbe set off on his journey to the East on 7 March 1930 . He set sail from the port of Marseille for China, but his teachings did not find fertile ground there. In a letter to the Franciscan magazine *Voce del Padre*, he wrote the following about those days:

“We are beginning to understand why the Immaculate Virgin did not allow her house of the ‘Immaculates’ to be opened in Shanghai, China. She knew that a time of wartime destruction was to come, with the demolition of numerous buildings and countless casualties.”

Maximilian Kolbe left two confreres in the Middle Kingdom and, with the rest, made his way to Nagasaki . On 24 April 1930, weary from the sea voyage and full of doubts and fears, he wondered how he would be received by the subjects of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito). However, when the taxi stopped in front of Ōura, the church considered to be the oldest in Japan, he saw a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He then felt – as he recalled – that he was in the right place and must act in accordance with the rule he had established for the Militi Immaculatae, or the Knights of the Immaculate:

“To win over the whole of Japan, all souls and each one individually, both those who are here now and those who will be, to the Immaculate Virgin, and through Her to the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus, and to do so… as soon as possible”.

The surviving Franciscan monastery in Nagasaki

For visitors from all over the world, Nagasaki is not only a place scarred by the explosion of the American atomic bomb, but also a city that serves as a relic of Maximilian Maria Kolbe. In search of traces of this saint of the Catholic Church, travellers will find their way to the church, friary and garden he founded . It should be borne in mind, however, that what they will see consists largely of reconstructions . Many visitors will assume that this lack of originals is a consequence of the tragic events of 9 August 1945.

The church , which no longer exists today, was built on the initiative of Father Kolbe in the Western architectural style. It was made entirely of wood, which meant it could be erected in just a few months ( consecrated on 15 August 1934) . It subsequently survived the atomic bomb blast almost unscathed. It was situated exactly where Maximilian Kolbe had indicated, on the ‘inappropriate’ – as the Japanese argued – slope of Mount Hikosan, where the shockwave failed to reach it.

Undoubtedly, the sight of the surviving church amidst a sea of buildings razed to the ground must have made a stunning impression. Unfortunately , even in peacetime, the church and monastery were burnt down. All that remained of the ruins was a stove, about which the Franciscans wrote:

“We have a stove / like a triumphal arch…”.

No records have survived to describe whether the remnant from Nagasaki was originally plastered or tiled, in accordance with the practice of European stove-fitters. It is known, however, that after the war the custodians of the site did not attach due importance to this unusual monument, and it fell into ruin . It was not until 1982 that the monastery was visited by the writer and lover of Polish culture, Shūsaku Endō, visited the monastery, and it was he who appealed to the Japanese authorities to have the stove preserved. It took, however, more than a dozen years before a pavilion was built around the brick furnace pillar—crumbled at the top — in which a museum was established, modestly named the Maximilian Maria Kolbe Memorial Room . It is significant that it is precisely this historic source of heat that has been entered in the official register of historic monuments in Nagasaki.

Franciscan missions in Japan

The museum is situated at the rear of a large complex comprising a monastery, a school, a nursery and a publishing house, on a steep mountainside, and is described as ‘Saint Kolbe’s First House in Nagasaki’. One might overlook the entrance were it not for the statue of Our Lady in a display case and the red rug laid out on the steps. Following the guidance of the Immaculate Virgin, one passes through a small shop filled with devotional items and enters the white, high-ceilinged interiors, lit by small stained-glass skylights.

In the centre of the room , a replica of Maximilian Kolbe’s study has been recreated. In this small, panelled room, one can therefore see the original wooden desk at which Kolbe wrote, as well as numerous photographs and small everyday objects. An interesting artefact is the Franciscan’s diary, containing photographs from his travels, including those from Nagasaki. The glass display cases also contain liturgical objects that belonged to the saint: a chasuble, a missal, prayer books and a chalice. We can also see his habit, rosary and penitential whip.

A large part of the exhibition is taken up by items commemorating Maximilian Kolbe, brought from Poland, including commemorative coins and medals. Also worthy of note is a crucifix; although it is not connected to the saint, it found its way into the museum. It was discovered after the war during excavation work for renovation, and although its age could not be precisely determined, archaeologists suspect it is between 330 and 400 years old. It would therefore date from the Tokugawa shogunate period, when Christians were persecuted in Japan and – just as in apostolic times – had to go into hiding.

The central figure of the Polish-Japanese Niepokalanów is undoubtedly Maximilian Kolbe, but for local Catholics , Brother Zeno – that is, Zenon (Władysław) Żebrowski – has become no less important. He arrived in Japan with the saint, served as his right-hand man, and, following the saint’s departure, took over the leadership of all missionary activities. He also developed support for orphans and, following the dropping of the atomic bomb, supported its victims with extraordinary dedication. In the Memorial Room, therefore, we can find memorabilia dedicated to him as well. It is worth mentioning here that this monk was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure by the Emperor in 1969, and in 1979 a monument to him was erected at the foot of Mount Fuji .

The Japanese ‘Knight of the Immaculate’

In addition to his priestly ministry in Nagasaki , Maximilian Maria Kolbe taught philosophy and theology at the seminary, which was known as the ‘Latin’ seminary because of the language of instruction. Nor did the priest abandon his passion for publishing; within a mere month of his arrival in the Land of the Rising Sun, the first issue of *The Knight of the Immaculate* was published in Japanese ; the periodical is still in print today. This venture would not have been possible, or at least not at such a pace, without Father Kolbe’s personal commitment. The Franciscan was clearly proud of this and described the success in a letter as follows:

“We currently have a print run of 30,000, but we would need at least 100,000 in the near future, or even 200 or 300 thousand, or perhaps more […]. Of course, we’d need a roof over these machines too, because it’s so cramped at the moment that we’re literally sleeping in the loft and have to be careful not to bump our heads on the roof trusses as we walk through, but – thanks to the Immaculate – the first Japanese-style building in Niepokalanów is already standing.”

The museum displays one of the machines described – a historic printing press and Japanese typefaces – whilst large reproductions of archive photographs depicting Maximilian Kolbe at work hang on the wall. Archival issues of *‘Seibo no Kishi’* – the Japanese-language edition of *‘Knight of the Immaculate’* – have also been collected. The exhibition also features an original telephone from the 1930s, which the Franciscan used in his role as manager.

The Garden of the Immaculate in Nagasaki – Mugenzai no Sono

On his way to the East, Maximilian Maria Kolbe visited the French town of Lourdes. It made a great impression on him, and he decided to instil its ideals in Nagasaki. To this end, a small garden in a distinctive Japanese style was created on the mountainside and named Mugenzai no Sono, or the Garden of the Immaculate Conception. A Marian grotto was also designed amongst the flowers and trees. As with the original, there is also a spring here, associated with the testimony of radiologist Dr Takashi Nagai . The doctor is said to have been healed by water taken from the garden. A sculpture depicting Maximilian Kolbe and a monument commemorating John Paul II’s visit to Nagasaki in 1981 have also been erected in Mugenzai no Sono; during that visit, the Pope met, amongst others, with Brother Zeno.

In addition to the museum, the monastery and the garden, there is also a church, symbolically dedicated to Father Maximilian Maria Kolbe. However, it has no strictly historical value. Its white interiors are characterised by remarkable simplicity, typical of Japanese aesthetics. And it is only in the side aisle of the chapel dedicated to the patron saint that we find a historical artefact – a carved chair. This piece of furniture, like the stove, must bear witness to the saint’s ministry from the distant land of Poland.