Glover House known as ''Ipponmatsu'' (Single Pine Tree) from a drawing of 1863. The tree was chopped down in the early 20th century.
![Glover Garden Nagasaki Japan34s3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Glover_Garden_Nagasaki_Japan34s3.jpg)
is a park in
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, built for
Thomas Blake Glover
Thomas Blake Glover (6 June 1838 – 16 December 1911) was a Scottish merchant in the Bakumatsu and Meiji period in Japan.
Early life (1838–1858)
Thomas Blake Glover was born at 15 Commerce Street, Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire in northeast Sco ...
, 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
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Types
Places of natural b ...
.
It is located on the
Minamiyamate hillside overlooking Nagasaki harbor. It was built by Hidenoshin Koyama of
Amakusa
, which means "Heaven's Grass," is a series of islands off the west coast of Kyushu, the southernmost of the four main islands of Japan.
Geography
The largest island of the Amakusa group is Shimoshima, which is 26.5 miles long and 13.5 mi ...
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
''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.
It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lut ...
House." Statues of
Puccini
Giacomo Puccini ( Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long ...
and diva
Miura Tamaki
, was a Japanese opera singer who performed as Cio-Cio-San in Puccini's '' Madama Butterfly''.
Early life
Miura was born the first daughter of Shibata Mōho and Shibata Towa () on February 22, 1884 in Tokyo, Japan. Shibata, a music lover had h ...
, 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 Satsuma may refer to:
* Satsuma (fruit), a citrus fruit
* ''Satsuma'' (gastropod), a genus of land snails
Places Japan
* Satsuma, Kagoshima, a Japanese town
* Satsuma District, Kagoshima, a district in Kagoshima Prefecture
* Satsuma Domain, a sou ...
domains.
Glover Residence
The Glover Residence is noted for its blend of Western and Japanese elements and is an example of
treaty port
Treaty ports (; ja, 条約港) were the port cities in China and Japan that were opened to foreign trade mainly by the unequal treaties forced upon them by Western powers, as well as cities in Korea opened up similarly by the Japanese Empire.
...
building. This type of architecture closely resembles one-story bungalows used by foreigners in Hong Kong or Shanghai and imported to Japan by British traders. Rather than following contemporary Victorian styles, this type of building more closely reflects the Georgian aesthetic popular in Britain during the previous generation.
The stone-floored verandas, latticed arches, and French windows are several of the distinctive foreign elements included in the residence, while Japanese influence can be seen in the tile roof with its demon-headed tiles intended to ward off evil. The roof was modified by adding unmistakably British chimneys.
The house was built by a Japanese carpenter,
Koyama Hidenoshin. The plan for the house, which is still preserved, is unsigned. The plan uses feet instead of Japanese measurements. The basic construction of the house is Japanese, despite its foreign elements. It consists of traditional Japanese roof supports and post-and-beam frames set down on boulders.
Other buildings
The park also includes Ringer House (built 1865 for
Frederick Ringer
Frederick Ringer (1838–1907) was a British merchant who took over Thomas Glover's role as leader in the Nagasaki foreign settlement. Ringer House (built 1865) is situated in Glover Garden. During the decades from the late 19th to early 20th ...
) and Alt House (built for William Alt). The correct treatment of the Tuscan pillars and
pediment
Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape.
Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds.
A pedimen ...
at the Alt House suggest that this building was designed by a Western architect. The pediment is often conspicuously incorporated into Masonic temples, and might have been employed here in the same manner as a
Masonic
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to Fraternity, fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of Stonemasonry, stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their inte ...
symbol.
Furthermore, the stone gate of the Nagasaki Masonic Lodge is preserved in Glover Garden:
The Nagasaki Masonic Lodge was inaugurated at No. 50 Oura on October 5, 1885. The founding members were all British, but during the following years, men of various nationalities and religions became members and participated in regular meetings and social events. The lodge moved to a new building at No. 47 Oura in June 1887. The Freemasons contributed to the Nagasaki community until disbanding in the early Showa Period due to a lack of members. Today, the graves of several former Freemasons can be found in Nagasaki' s international cemeteries, and the stone gate of the former lodge is preserved in Glover Garden.
Tourism
The park is open to the public and attracts nearly two million visitors a year.
References
*Finn, Dallas. (1995). ''Meiji Revisited: The Sites of Victorian Japan'' Weatherhill.
{{Coord, 32, 44, 4, N, 129, 52, 8, E, region:JP_type:landmark, display=title
Monuments and memorials in Japan
Parks and gardens in Nagasaki
Museums in Nagasaki
Historic house museums in Japan
Gardens in Nagasaki Prefecture