Meiji-mura museum 4: Meiji era, Churches came to Japan with western culture (St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral / ザビエル天主堂, St. John's Church / 聖ヨハネ教会堂)

As feudal government in Edo era closed the country from abroad for few hundred years, Christianity were also stopped in Japan.

When the Meiji-era started, the Christianity also restarted.

In Meiji-mura, some Churches also had removed from several places in Japan.
As earthquakes often occurs in Japan, most of old the buildings in Japan were made with flexible woods. If the buildings are built with stones and rocks, they may can't let the power of quakes, and will broke down. Flexible woods preferred and used for buildings in past Japan.
(Technology had advanced and now we can use concretes and cements for buildings.)

The churches in Meiji-era seemed that built using both woods and concretes.

St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral (ザビエル天主堂), was built in 1890, in Kyoto.
Outer wall was built with bricks, and inner roofs and pillars were woods.

I sometimes saw the churches built with stones and woods in Europe, so I felt that it is not special building. If I have a chance to meet people from Europe countries, I would like to ask about it.

The frames of stained glasses were also made with woods.
Thinking of intensity, I think the churches in Europe may uses steels here.

Appearance of this church is like this.
It reminded me Sacré-Cœur chapel in Montmartre, Paris. (Only the color resemble, though...)

There were writings in Latin? or French? in the entrance, and could't read them.

The next church, St. John's Church (聖ヨハネ教会堂), may be unique building.

In the explanation, it is said that first floor was built with bricks, second and third floor were built with woods.

Earthquake is really annoying and scary thing....

My first impression was that this building is little looks like Tokyo station.

Getting inside, stairs and window frames were made with woods.

Going upstairs, shapes of roofs and door frames were exiting to me, feeling going to roof spaces.

The hall was larger than I thought, and there were some organs were displayed.
They might be kept since Meiji-era, too.

It takes lot's of times and moneys to go Europe from Japan, so it maybe good to go this place if you want to feel the European atmosphere.

Thank you for reading!
Have a nice weekend!

明治村, 教会, オルガン