Nagasaki: Potato Harvesting Event Connects Villagers to 19th-Century French Priest

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:53 JST, December 13, 2025

NAGASAKI — Sweet potatoes that were first cultivated over 100 years ago by a French missionary have been harvested in terraced fields in a village northwest of Nagasaki City.

The Odaira farm where the stone-walled terraces are located was developed in 1879 by Marc Marie de Rotz (1840-1914) and others. Father De Rotz was assigned as head priest to Shitsu village in the Sotome district. He contributed his own money to improving the lives of impoverished people in the area, and was beloved by the local people.

De Rotz taught villagers various skills, including food production and construction. He also built the Shitsu Aid Center, a vocational facility for local women, which also has a macaroni factory attached to it. He vigorously promoted agriculture, starting by creating six terraced fields on mountain slopes for cultivating sweet potatoes and other crops in 1884.

Shitsu Village in Sotome — comprising this center and Shitsu Church, which he built — is one of the component assets of Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region, a World Cultural Heritage site.

In November, a local group organized a sweet potato digging event, attracting about 50 people. “We hope this experience allows people to look back on the Father’s background and feel his warmth,” the event’s organizer said.