Another Glover Mansion in Nagasaki?

A Scotch trader Thomas Glover is a historical personage often quoted in history books. His house in Nagasaki overlooking the bay is called Glover Mansion and one of the favorite sightseeing spots in Nagasaki.

Nagasaki is an exotic town full of cultural heritage. It was the stage of many an event that led to the reawakening of Japan and the inlet of western cultures in late Edo Period.

Now, the Glover Mansion was the residence of this Scotch who was no mere trader but a miner responsible for developing a modern coal mine in Nagasaki. His involvement in coal mining early in Meiji Era required him to build a villa in the vicinity of the mine - a structure locally known as Glover Villa on an island called Takashima Offshore Nagasaki.

The structure was demolished after the end of World War II and a signboard stands today where the villa used to be. Adjacent to Takashima is another island called Gunkanjima or Battleship Island, so named after its shape of a battleship - the island recently registered world heritage as sites of Japan's Meiji industrial revolution ( iron and steel, Shipbuilding and coal mining.

One of the sites is Hokkeisei pit in Takashima.

Glover's villa was situated near the pit and local communities are planning to promote the villa as a sightseeing spot. Megumi Yamazaki, 90, a local history researcher, recalls the villa was lived in for several years by the Glovers and later made a reception house for visiting guests.

The villa itself, however, is long lost and a few photographs remain of the villa depicting it only partially.

A study group was instituted this spring within the Nagasaki Training Center to conduct a full research on the Glover Villa toward drafting a CG of its appearance within 2 years. Director Kenji Asao of the study group comments:

"A single photo showing the entire villa would do to expedite our work."