Kobe Museum of Literature (Former Kwansei Gakuin Branch Memorial Chapel)

A Brick Chapel of 1904 in Oji Park

The Kobe Museum of Literature (Former Kwansei Gakuin Branch Memorial Chapel) (神戸文学館（旧関西学院ブランチ・メモリアル・チャペル）) is a former brick chapel of 1904 in Ojicho, Nada Ward, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on March 7, 2008 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a single-storey brick building with a tiled roof, a building area of 342 square metres and a tower, altered in 1949 and 1992; registration number 28-0303.

A Chapel and Hall for Kwansei Gakuin

The Kobe Museum of Literature stands at the south-west corner of Oji Park (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It was built as the chapel and assembly hall of Kwansei Gakuin, and consists of a north to south chapel, a small meeting room at the north end of its west side, and a tower at the south-west corner.

On the gable end, dressed stone forms a gentle pointed arch enclosing a round window and 3 pointed-arch windows (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Why It Was Registered

The Agency calls it a good example of a Meiji-era church building and registered it for its contribution to the historic landscape.

What to Look For

Look for the gentle pointed arch of the gable, the round window and 3 pointed windows within it, and the corner tower (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Visiting

According to Kobe City, it opens 10:00 to 18:00 on weekdays and 9:00 to 17:00 on weekends and holidays, closing on Wednesdays (or the next day if Wednesday is a holiday) and from December 28 to January 4. Admission is free. It is about 500 metres west of the west exit of Hankyu Oji-koen Station, or about 600 metres north-west of the north exit of JR Nada Station. There is no car park.