From 1549, when the first Catholic missionary arrived in Japan, to 1614, when a nationwide ban was decreed, over 300,000 Japanese converted to Christianity. As Kirishitan, or Hidden Christians, they were persecuted yet practiced their faith in secret, handing down Catholic teachings despite having no Bible. Today their descendants practice their own version of Christianity, and refuse to rejoin the Catholic Church. Uncovering the history of this underground movement, John Dougill also examines why Christianity has been considered anathema in Japanese culture.