Glover Garden (Gurabāen) is a park in Nagasaki, Japan, built for Thomas
Blake Glover, a Scottish merchant who contributed to the modernization of
Japan in shipbuilding, coal mining, and other fields. In it stands the Glover
Residence, the oldest Western-style house surviving in Japan and Nagasaki's
foremost tourist attraction.
It is located on the Minamiyamate hillside overlooking Nagasaki harbor. It was
built by Hidenoshin Koyama of Amakusa island and completed in 1863. It has
been designated as an Important Cultural Asset. As the house and its
surroundings are reminiscent of Puccini's opera, it is also known as the
"Madame Butterfly House." Statues of Puccini and diva Miura Tamaki, famed for
her role as Cio-Cio-san, stand in the park near the house. This house was also
the venue of Glover's meetings with rebel samurai, particularly from the
Chōshū and Satsuma domains.
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Oura Church.
The Basilica of the Twenty-Six Holy Martyrs of Japan also Oura Church
(Ōura Tenshudō) is a Catholic minor basilica and co-cathedral in
Nagasaki, Japan, built soon after the end of the Japanese government's
Seclusion Policy in 1853.
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For many years it was the only Western-style building declared a
national treasure, and is said to be the oldest Christian church in
Japan.
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Glover Garden Route Map.
In 1970 (Showa 45), in an effort to preserve Nagasaki’s
gradually-disappearing Western buildings, maintenance was carried out on
the Glover residence and other buildings on Minami-Yamate hill.
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Many Western houses in the city were moved to Minami-Yamate, and
Glover Garden was born.
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Climbing the hill towards Glover Garden.
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Former Mitsubishi Shipyard No. 2 Dock House.
This two-story building was a dormitory for sailors whose ships were
under repair at the Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard. It was built in 1896
next to the No. 2 Drydock.
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The Nagasaki Iron Foundry, predecessor to the Mitsubishi Nagasaki
Shipyard, was established in 1857 with the help of Dutch engineers.
The Meiji government took over its operation in 1868, and in 1884, the
shipyard was leased by the Mitsubishi Company, which quickly expanded
its shipbuilding operations. In 1887, Mitsubishi purchased the
shipyard outright with the help of Thomas Glover (1838–1911), the
successful Scottish businessman for whom Glover Garden is named.
Glover was a lifelong friend of Iwasaki Yanosuke (1851–1908), who took
over the Mitsubishi Company after the death of its founder, his older
brother Iwasaki Yatarō (1835–1885).
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Some of the industrial buildings that can be seen on the other side of
the bay were built when Mitsubishi first acquired the lease. The Giant
Cantilever Crane and the No. 3 Drydock, among other facilities owned
by Mitsubishi, were designated World Heritage Sites in 2015 as part of
the Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel,
Shipbuilding and Coal Mining.
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The No. 2 Dock House is typical of the Western-style buildings made in
Japan at the end of the nineteenth century. It has spacious,
high-ceilinged rooms, a second-floor veranda, coal-burning fireplaces,
and large windows. It was moved to its present site at Glover Garden
in 1972.
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Former Nagasaki Higher Commercial School Gatekeeper’s Station.
This small building once stood near the entrance of the Nagasaki Higher
Commercial School.
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The Japanese government established the school in 1905―it was the
fourth commercial school in the country after Kobe, Tokyo, and
Yamaguchi.
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Students were enrolled in a three-year program including courses on
international business. Students entered the gate, crossed the
Komaneki Bridge, and walked past this gatehouse at the end of the
bridge.
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As is typical of Japanese architecture in the early 1900s, the
building incorporates both Western and Japanese elements. Although the
building’s exterior is Western in design, its floor is made of tatami
mats.
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In 1949, the school was incorporated into the Nagasaki University
Faculty of Economics and ceased to exist as a separate institution.
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In 1976, the gatehouse was donated to Glover Garden and moved to its
present site.
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Former Walker House.
Robert Walker Jr. (1881–1958) bought this house in 1915 and lived in it
with his family until his death in 1958.
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Robert was the son of a Japanese woman named Fukuda Sato (1859–1894)
and an English ship captain and businessman named Robert N. Walker Sr.
(1851–1941), who first came to Japan in 1874.
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In 1898, Robert Sr. founded R. N. Walker and Co., and in 1904, he
started the Banzai Aerated Water Factory, which produced some of
Japan’s first carbonated beverages. In 1908, Robert Sr. moved to
Canada, and Robert Jr. took over his father’s businesses.
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Robert Jr. became a Japanese citizen in 1928, and he was able to avoid
internment or deportation during World War II.
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The Former Walker House was originally built at No. 28 Minamiyamate,
but it was donated to Glover Garden and relocated here in 1974.
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This building is a typical example of the wooden houses built in the
Nagasaki Foreign Settlement during the last decades of the nineteenth
century—it has a large veranda, bay windows, a fireplace, and a
Japanese-style tiled roof. The interior furnishings were donated by
the Walker family.
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Former Jiyūtei Restaurant.
Built in 1879, Jiyūtei was one of the first restaurants in Japan that
served only Western-style cuisine.
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It was opened by Kusano Jōkichi (1840–1886), who learned how to cook
European food while working for the Dutch on Dejima.
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Jōkichi grew up in Nagasaki, and in 1863 he opened his first
restaurant, Ryōrintei, in his own home. He ran the restaurant for
several years, during which time he changed its name to “Jiyūtei.” In
1868, Jōkichi left Nagasaki to open restaurants in Osaka and Kyoto.
After a decade, he returned and re-opened the original restaurant in
the Uma-machi neighborhood near Suwa Shrine.
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Jiyūtei was one of the three major Western-style restaurants in
Nagasaki at the time, and it was favored for its luxurious interior by
Nagasaki officials, who used it to hold formal events.
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When Jōkichi died in 1886, Jiyūtei closed the next year, and the
building was bought by the Nagasaki District Court. It was used by the
chief public prosecutor as a reception hall.
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In 1973, it was transferred to Nagasaki Prefecture and, in 1974, it
was moved to its current location in Glover Garden.
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The second-floor dining room has been converted into a coffee shop.
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Tamaki Miura Statue.
After World War II, Japan was occupied by the Allied Forces, and the
Former Glover House was requisitioned for officer housing. The last
resident was US Army Captain Joseph C. Goldsby, who lived there with his
wife, Barbara. Inspired by the scenery and the unique design of the
house, the couple nicknamed it “Madam Butterfly House” after Puccini’s
famous opera, Madama Butterfly.
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The opera tells the story of a young Japanese bride living in Nagasaki
as she waits in vain for the return of her husband, a US Navy officer.
Despite lacking any genuine connection to the opera, the house kept
the nickname even after the couple left in 1949.
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After the occupation, the Former Glover House was returned to
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and donated by the company to Nagasaki
City in 1957. It was opened to the public the following year and
Nagasaki City promoted the house as the “Place Connected with Madam
Butterfly.”
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In 1963, the city installed a bronze statue of prima donna Miura
Tamaki (1884–1946), who was famous for performing the role of Madam
Butterfly more than 2,000 times. The nearby statue of Giacomo Puccini
(1858–1924) was donated in 1996 by the province of Lucca, Italy as a
symbol of friendship.
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Nagasaki Masonic Lodge Gate.
This gate once marked the front of the Nagasaki Masonic Lodge where
local Freemasons held their meetings.
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The Freemasons are a fraternal society that is believed to trace back
to the associations of professional stonemasons that were active in
Europe during the Middle Ages.
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A symbol of the Masons, the Square and Compasses, has been carved into
one of the pillars of this gate.
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The Nagasaki Masonic Lodge was founded in 1885, and Scotsman John
Calder (1847–1892) served as its first Master. Meetings were later
held on the second floor of Arthur Norman’s (1854–1897) newspaper
office in Sagarimatsu. Most of the founding members of the lodge were
British men employed at the Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard. Despite much
speculation, there is no evidence that either Thomas Glover
(1838–1911) or Frederick Ringer (1838–1907) was ever a Freemason.
However, masonic symbols can be seen on some of the graves in
Nagasaki’s international cemetery.
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The Nagasaki Lodge disbanded in 1919, and the building was torn down
sometime in the late fifties or early sixties, but the front gate was
saved and moved to the lawn between the Former Glover House and the
Former Ringer House. It was later moved again, this time next to the
Former Ringer House.
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Like many other stone structures in the foreign settlement, the gate
is made from Amakusa sandstone.
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Former Ringer House.
This house was built around 1868 for Thomas B. Glover’s (1838–1911)
younger brother. It was purchased in 1874 by successful British merchant
Frederick Ringer (1838–1907), who moved in nine years later with his
bride, Carolina (1857–1924).
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Excluding a period surrounding World War II, Ringer’s family kept the
house until 1965, when his second son, Sydney (1891–1967), sold the
house to Nagasaki City. A year later, it was designated an Important
Cultural Property by the Japanese government. The house was restored
to its original appearance in 1973.
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The one-story house has a wooden frame, but its exterior walls are
made of stone. The roof is covered with traditional Japanese tiles,
and the veranda is paved with granite from Vladivostok, Russia.
Coal-burning fireplaces kept the house warm in winter and high
ceilings and large windows kept it cool in summer.
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A separate building behind the house contains the kitchen and what
were once servants’ quarters.
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Hanako Japanese doll with five wigs and box.
This doll is on display inside the Former Ringer House.
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Japanese dolls (ningyō, lit. 'human form') are one of the
traditional Japanese crafts.
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There are various types of traditional dolls, some representing
children and babies, some the imperial court, warriors and heroes,
fairy-tale characters, gods and (rarely) demons, and also people of
the daily life of Japanese cities.
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Many have a long tradition and are still made today for household
shrines, formal gift-giving, or for festival celebrations such as
Hinamatsuri, the doll festival, or Kodomo no Hi, Children's Day.
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Some are manufactured as a local craft, to be purchased by pilgrims as
a souvenir of a temple visit or some other trip.
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See more at
Japanese dolls - Wikipedia.
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Bonkei Teacher's Certificate.
«This teacher's certificate was granted to Frederick Ringer's
granddaughter Alcidie on May 1940, the year before the outbreack of the
Pacific War, and reveals the Nagazaki native's keen interest in Japanese
culture. Bonkei (Scenery on a Tray) is the Japanese traditional
art of creating miniature scenes using sand, stones moss stones and
other materials.» This certificate is on display inside the Former
Ringer House.
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A bonkei (Japanese for "tray landscape") is a temporary or
permanent three-dimensional depiction of a landscape in miniature,
portrayed using mainly dry materials like rock, papier-mâché or cement
mixtures, and sand in a shallow tray.
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A bonkei contains no living material, in contrast with related
Japanese art forms bonsai and saikei:
bonsai contain living trees, and saikei contain living
trees and other vegetation.
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See more at
Bonkei - Wikipedia.
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Former Steele Academy.
In the 1860s, Christian missionaries came to Japan from around the
world. American Henry Stout (1838–1912) arrived in Nagasaki in 1869,
where he privately taught English and proselytized. When the official
ban on Christianity was lifted in 1873, Stout spearheaded the creation
of Steele Academy, which opened in 1887.
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The academy was named after William H. Steele (1818–1905), president
of the Reformed Church in America’s Board of Foreign Missions, who
donated funds in memory of his deceased son. It was a boys’ school,
and most of the students were Japanese.
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Located at No. 9 Higashiyamate, Steele Academy was one of a number of
Christian missionary schools that were established in the
Higashiyamate district of Nagasaki. By 1897, 13 of the 17 lots in
Higashiyamate were occupied by mission schools and residences for
teachers and missionaries. Accordingly, Higashiyamate was commonly
referred to as “Missionary Hill” by foreign residents and visitors.
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In 1932, Steele Academy became part of Meiji Gakuin, a large group of
schools headquartered in Tokyo, but it closed only a year later. The
building was later used by various Catholic schools in Nagasaki until
its relocation to Glover Garden in 1973.
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Former Glover House.
Thomas Blake Glover (1838–1911) was one of the first Westerners to
arrive in Japan after the country opened to foreign trade in 1859, and
one of the first to find success in the port of Nagasaki. He lived in
this house, which was built for him in 1863 by master carpenter Koyama
Hidenoshin (1828–1898).
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Koyama had also built the British Episcopal Church in Higashiyamate,
and he would later build the Former Alt House located farther up the
hill.
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Glover came to Nagasaki in September 1859 to work for Jardine,
Matheson and Co., but within three years he had started his own
company, Glover and Co. In 1861, he acquired the lots at No. 3 and No.
1 Minamiyamate, where he set about building a mansion overlooking the
harbor.
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His company quickly grew, exporting tea, timber, and other goods to
the West while importing guns, machinery, and steamships into Japan.
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After the emperor was restored to power in 1868, Glover took a more
active role in supporting the industrialization of Japan’s
shipbuilding and mining industries. He helped construct Japan’s first
modern coal mine, in Takashima, as well as its first steam-powered
slip dock, which was imported from Scotland.
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Glover lived in the house with his wife, Awajiya Tsuru (1851–1899),
and his two children, Kuraba Tomisaburō (1871–1945) and Hana Glover
(1876–1938).
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In 1876, Glover moved to Tokyo with his family to work as a consultant
for the Mitsubishi Company, and he remained there until his death in
1911. In 1939, his son sold the house to Mitsubishi, and it was
donated to Nagasaki City in 1957.
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The house was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1961 and
became a World Heritage Site in 2015.
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Nagasaki Traditional Performing Arts Center.
The Nagasaki Traditional Performing Arts Museum was built in 2004 as a
place to display floats and items used during the Nagasaki Kunchi
Festival. The museum also contains an exhibit with videos of the
festival and a small gift shop.
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The Nagasaki Kunchi Festival is held each year from October 7 to
October 9.
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During the festival, representatives from each of several
participating neighborhoods offer presentations at Suwa Shinto Shrine
and then tour the city, stopping at various locations for
performances.
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The festival is said to have been started in 1634 when two local women
made an offering to the shrine in the form of a Noh performance. Since
then, the festival has come to incorporate several cultural traditions
and to feature a variety of presentations including dances and
boat-shaped floats.
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The Dragon Dance originated in the Chinese community of Nagasaki, and
the oranda-manzai, a stylized comic dance, began as a caricature of
the Dutch residents of Dejima.
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Originally, 77 different neighborhoods in Nagasaki participated in the
festival in rotating groups of 11, forming a seven-year cycle. The
number of participating neighborhoods has shrunk since the nineteenth
century, but the seven-year cycle continues to this day.
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See also
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