Petitjean discovered that these people were from the nearby village of Urakami and were Kakure Kirishitans, descendants of early Japanese Christians who went into hiding after the Shimabara Rebellion in the 1630s.
Petitjean found that these individuals were from a nearby village called Urakami and belonged to the Kakure Kirishitan group, descendants of early Japanese Christians who hid after the Shimabara Rebellion in the 1630s.