One surviving shed from a state glassworks
Meiji Village Ministry of Industry Shinagawa Glass Factory is a brick industrial building of the early Meiji period standing in the Museum Meiji-Mura in Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, and it was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2004. It is one part of a government glassworks that once stood at Kita-Shinagawa in Tokyo, on the right bank of the Meguro River.
The works began as Kogyosha, a Western-style glass factory set up in 1873 within the precinct of Tokai-ji temple. Shinagawa City records credit its founding to Sanjo Sanetomi, then Grand Minister of State, acting on advice from his retainer Murai Sanshinosuke and others. In 1876 the Ministry of Industry, known in Japanese as the Kobusho, bought the factory and ran it as the state-owned Shinagawa Glass Factory.
Under government ownership the site and its equipment were enlarged, British engineers were hired, and the works turned out red glass for magic lanterns along with tableware. Domestic production of sheet glass and bottles was pushed hard. In 1885 the operation was sold to Nishimura Katsuzo and others, returning to private hands, but it never prospered and was wound up in 1892. The site later became a pharmaceutical works, acquired in 1908 by the Sankyo partnership, in which the chemist Takamine Jokichi held a stake.
This one surviving structure appears to date from about 1877, during the expansion carried out under state ownership. It is single-storey brick with a tiled roof and a floor area of 123 square meters. It was dismantled in 1968 and re-erected in 1969 at plot 45 on Block 4 of the museum grounds.
Why it was listed
Meiji Village Ministry of Industry Shinagawa Glass Factory was registered under the criterion covering buildings that set a standard of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs classes it as a surviving remnant of an early Meiji government factory.
Japan built a great many brick factories during the early Meiji drive to promote industry. Almost none of them are left. The Great Kanto Earthquake, wartime bombing and postwar redevelopment removed them in turn. On the Shinagawa site, this single shed was the piece that was taken apart and carried elsewhere rather than demolished.
The building is small. What gives it weight is that nothing has been abbreviated: the roof frame, the window heads, the wall bond and the cornice all follow Western factory practice as it was taught at the time. A country that had only just imported the technology was copying it in full, under foreign supervision, and the evidence stands here at full scale.
How to read the walls and the roof
The outer walls are laid in English bond, alternating a course of stretchers with a course of headers. A brick cornice runs horizontally beneath the eaves and draws a line across the red wall.
There are two kinds of opening. Most are semicircular arches with a fanlight in the head. Along roughly one third of the building, on the right, the windows are square-headed instead, spanned by stone lintels, and the run of arches stops. This is not a whim of the designer. A mezzanine floor sits behind that stretch of wall. Count the window shapes from outside and you have already read the interior. The pale stone against the red brick supplies the only ornament the building carries.
Inside there are no partitions at all, just one room, with the mezzanine carried over about a third of the floor on beams socketed into the thick brickwork. The roof frame is a timber king post truss, the central post hanging the tie beam while the struts carry the load out to the walls. On the ridge of the gabled roof sits a monitor, a raised section with side openings, put there to draw off heat and fumes. That monitor is one of the few things on the exterior that still says glassworks.
Stand back far enough to take in the whole elevation of Meiji Village Ministry of Industry Shinagawa Glass Factory at once. Where the arches stop is where the building tells you what is going on behind the wall.
Visiting
Meiji Village Ministry of Industry Shinagawa Glass Factory stands at plot 45 on Block 4 of the Museum Meiji-Mura. There is no separate charge for the building; museum admission covers it. Admission is 2,500 yen for adults, 1,500 yen for high school students and 700 yen for junior high and elementary school pupils, with preschool children admitted free.
Opening hours change with the season. March, April through July, September and October run from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. August runs from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. November runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. December through February run from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing. Closed days come in blocks of several weekdays each month, so check the official calendar before travelling.
Photography is allowed. Tripods may not be used inside the buildings, and leaving the paths for the wooded areas to take pictures is prohibited. Do not aim a flash at vehicle drivers in the grounds. Buildings or sections of them are occasionally closed off for safety or repair.
Take the Gifu Bus Meiji-Mura line from the east exit of Meitetsu Inuyama Station, about 20 minutes. By car the museum lies about 3 kilometers from the Komaki-higashi interchange on the Chuo Expressway, with parking at 1,000 yen for an ordinary vehicle. The grounds follow the natural terrain and include steep slopes and steps; a restored Kyoto tram runs between stops on Blocks 2, 3 and 4 if you would rather not walk the whole way.
Back in Tokyo, the original site at 4-11-5 Kita-Shinagawa is designated a historic site by Shinagawa City and carries a commemorative marker. The building itself is in Inuyama, so there is nothing standing to see at the Tokyo end.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Aichi
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Meiji Village Ministry of Industry Shinagawa Glass Factory
- [ Nagoya Castle & Atsuta Shrine History Tours ]
Q&A
- Where is Meiji Village Ministry of Industry Shinagawa Glass Factory and how do I reach it?
- It stands at plot 45 on Block 4 of the Museum Meiji-Mura, at 1 Uchiyama, Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture. Take the Gifu Bus Meiji-Mura line from the east exit of Meitetsu Inuyama Station, about 20 minutes. By car it is about 3 kilometers from the Komaki-higashi interchange on the Chuo Expressway, with parking at 1,000 yen.
- Where did Meiji Village Ministry of Industry Shinagawa Glass Factory originally stand?
- At Kita-Shinagawa in Tokyo, as part of a state glassworks. The Ministry of Industry bought the private Kogyosha factory there in 1876 and ran it as a government works. This shed was dismantled in 1968 and re-erected at the museum in 1969. The former site, 4-11-5 Kita-Shinagawa, is a Shinagawa City historic site.
- What should I look for in the architecture of Meiji Village Ministry of Industry Shinagawa Glass Factory?
- English bond brickwork with a brick cornice, two types of opening (semicircular arches with fanlights, and square heads on stone lintels), a timber king post truss, and the ventilation monitor on the ridge. The change in window shape marks the stretch of wall where a mezzanine floor sits inside.
- How much does it cost to see Meiji Village Ministry of Industry Shinagawa Glass Factory?
- There is no charge for the individual building. Museum admission covers it: 2,500 yen for adults, 1,500 yen for high school students, 700 yen for junior high and elementary pupils, free for preschool children. Prices are revised occasionally, so confirm on the official site.
- Is photography permitted at Meiji Village Ministry of Industry Shinagawa Glass Factory?
- Yes. Tripods are not allowed inside the buildings, and photography that involves entering the wooded areas is prohibited. Flash aimed at vehicle drivers in the grounds is also forbidden.
Basic Information
| Name | Meiji Village Ministry of Industry Shinagawa Glass Factory |
|---|---|
| Location | Museum Meiji-Mura, 1 Uchiyama, Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered in 2004 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Floor area 123 square meters |
| Owner | Meiji Mura Public Interest Foundation |
| Public Access | Open during museum hours; admission fee required |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00003866
- Cultural Heritage Online
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/180086
- Shinagawa City, Site of the Government Shinagawa Glass Factory
- https://www.city.shinagawa.tokyo.jp/PC/sangyo/sangyo-bunkazai/sangyo-bunkazai-shitebunkazai/shina/20240108183136.html
- Museum Meiji-Mura, Ministry of Industry Shinagawa Glass Factory
- https://www.meijimura.com/sight/%e5%b7%a5%e9%83%a8%e7%9c%81%e5%93%81%e5%b7%9d%e7%a1%9d%e5%ad%90%e8%a3%bd%e9%80%a0%e6%89%80/
- Museum Meiji-Mura, Admission Prices
- https://www.meijimura.com/guide/price/
- Museum Meiji-Mura, Opening Schedule
- https://www.meijimura.com/guide/open/
- Museum Meiji-Mura, Access
- https://www.meijimura.com/guide/access/
Last verified: 2026.09.03