Imamura Catholic Church was built in 1913, although there have been hidden Christians in the area since the 16th century.
The name "Hidden" for the secretly held religious system of belief probably comes from the title that Christians once held in feudal Japan, "Kakure Kirishitan," literally "Hidden Christians." First Catholics and soon Protestants as well were persecuted by the Tokugawa family after the battle of Sekigahara in 1600.