I lived in Nagasaki at the age of 7.
Nagasaki is a prefecture in the south of Japan, it is close to my hometown in the Fukuoka prefecture.
My father was an employee of a Japanese railway company and he was often transferred, so I changed elementary school four times.
I lived in Nagasaki for a year, and my parents took me to the Glover garden every weekend, because at that time, it was free for local citizens.
I had the opportunity to go here again to attend my cousin’s wedding because he lived in Nagasaki.
Then, I had to pay 600 yen for the entrance fee because I was no longer a citizen of Nagasaki.
When I was a kid, it was a playground with a house, flowers and a large garden.
But as a grown-up, I wondered who had lived in this building and why.
The old colonial house named Glover House was built in 1863 and is the oldest surviving wooden western-style building in Japan. It is surrounded by beautiful gardens and belonged to Thomas Blake Glover, who was a British merchant from Scotland in the 19th century. It is a good size for children to play.
At that time all the Japanese wore kimono and they didn’t know much about foreign countries because Japan had been under the policy of national isolation for a long time.
But in 1859, the three ports of Nagasaki, Yokohama and Hakodate opened their doors to the world. At the same time, foreign traders set up their homes around the Oura settlement and began trading. Thomas Blake Glover from Scotland was one of these traders.
But in 1859, the three ports of Nagasaki, Yokohama and Hakodate opened their doors to the world. Foreign traders set up their homes around the Oura settlement, an area where westerners were allowed to live, and began trading. Thomas Blake Glover from Scotland was one of these traders.
He contributed to the modernization of Japan through trade such as shipbuilding, coal mining and tea making. He is also known for starting the production of beer in Japan.
There are other houses for traders named Frederick Ringer and William J. Alt. Both of them returned to their country after they stayed a few years in Japan, but Thomas Glover stayed in Japan until he died.
Hydrangea blooms beautifully there in June.
I would love to visit again if I have an opportunity.
But it is not bad if they need to maintain the beautiful place 