Category:Lhq (Christian emblem)

English: After Francis Xavier landed in Kagoshima, Japan, in 1549, his missionary work grew and became widely distributed throughout Japan under the patronage of the daimyō. However, during the Edo period (1603–1867), Christians were persecuted and forced to hide. Because they were forbidden to openly worship the images of Christ or Mary, it is believed that they transferred their worship to other carved images and marked them with secret symbols understood only by the initiates. Certain Japanese lanterns, notably the Kirishitan dōrō (キリシタン灯籠, 'Christian lanterns'), did bear the "Lhq" monogram, which, a quarter turned, was engraved on the shaft, which was buried directly into the soil without basal platform. The 'Lhq' monogram corresponds to the distorted letters 'IHS'.