Introduction to Gunkanjima

You can see the coal storage yard and the housing for engineers and employees above. There is also the remains of the second shaft, which was the main shaft. Currently, the second shaft facility has almost completely collapsed, but there are still many buildings that give a glimpse of what it was like back then, such as the stairs leading to the pier that was built for the second shaft.

The general office, which was the hub of the mine, was a brick building. Inside was a public bath for the miners. Other addition, there were various other office buildings such as company offices and conference rooms, as well as facilities related to the second mine entrance, which suggests that this was a bustling area.

Although it was surrounded by the sea, the waves were always so high that it was impossible to swim nearby, so a full-scale swimming pool was completed in this area in 1958. You can also see the 30th and 31st Buildings, commonly known as Glover House, the oldest seven-story reinforced concrete high-rise apartment building in Japan, built in 1916.

Once miners head to their underground work sites, they don't come out for eight hours. The excavation work on Gunkanjima reaches over 1,000m below sea level, and they work in harsh conditions with temperatures of 30°C and humidity of 95%, constantly at risk of gas explosions. When the miners return to the surface after work, they are all completely black, and head to the miners' baths. Since it was difficult to secure water on Gunkanjima, many of the miners' housing units did not have baths or toilets. The communal baths within the mines were seawater baths, and the bathtubs were always black so that miners could wash away the day's dirt and fatigue.

At its peak, over 5,000 people lived on the island, a population density nine times that of Tokyo 's 23 wards at the time. More than half of the island was taken up by mining sites, and the remaining land was used to build employee dormitories, schools, hospitals, etc., so the buildings were very close together and the islanders lived like family. All of the island's daily necessities, including primary and secondary schools, hospitals, and shops, could be met on the island, and it also had entertainment facilities such as movie theaters and pachinko parlors.

The oldest Western-style wooden building in Japan was home to Thomas Blake Glover, a trader and founder of Glover & Co. Since its opening in 1974, Glover Garden has become one of Nagasaki's leading tourist destinations and has been attracting attention as a symbol of Japan's modernization.

Photo courtesy of Nagasaki Tourism Federation

Shimazu Nariakira, the feudal lord of the Satsuma domain, cut down the bamboo grove on the grounds of Sengan-en and began construction of a reverberatory furnace, and built other facilities around it, including a blast furnace, a glass factory, and a steam engine research laboratory. These factories were named "Shuseikan" and, as Japan's first Western-style factories, made a major contribution to the modernization of the country.

A private school run by Yoshida Shoin during the late Edo period. Shoin accepted students regardless of social status or class, and nurtured many talented individuals who became the driving force behind the Meiji Restoration, including Takasugi Shinsaku and Ito Hirobumi, and played active roles in the new Meiji government.

Photo courtesy of Yamaguchi Tourism Federation

A reverberatory furnace is a furnace used to melt metal and cast cannons. It was built by Egawa Hidetatsu (Tan'an), a magistrate during the late Edo period, and completed by his son Hidetoshi, who succeeded him. This is the only operating reverberatory furnace remaining today.

Shizuoka Prefecture Tourism Association