Soft light streaming through colored windows suggests the north of England, but this museum is in the thoroughly Japanese neighbourhood of Yufuin.
Everything in the Yufuin Stained Glass Museum, from the bricks to the furniture, was imported from Europe. Japan’s first full-scale stained-glass museum is a celebration both of this distinctly European art form and of European culture more generally, perfect for a town modeled on the continent’s spa towns. Visit for the art and the pleasing cultural dissonance.
With a collection largely consisting of 19th-century examples, Yufuin Stained Glass Museum demonstrates both the enduring cultural power that Europe holds on the Japanese imagination and the way that beauty can be translated in different cultures.
The museum’s collection is roughly divided between secular and religious art and resides in two buildings. Start in “Neil’s House,” modeled on an English country house, whose stolid redbrick exterior is an almost startling departure from the light colors of the rest of Yufuin. Wander through the rooms, organized roughly by geographic area. Pass between the two stories, appreciating how the stained glass casts colored shadows on the furniture and paintings that might not otherwise appear to go together.
Continue on to “St. Robert’s Church,” not a real church, but serving as a way to display the more religious examples of the collection and celebrate the Christian community said to have lived in Yufuin 400 years ago. Sit in the pews and watch light dancing through the colored panes.
Get inspired to try making stained glass yourself in one of the museum’s classes, a way to become involved in the making of this cross-cultural encounter.
Yufuin Stained Glass Museum is near the south bank of the Oita River, a bit separated from the hubbub of Yufuin’s main street. Walk here in 15 minutes from the JR Yufuin Station or drive in about 6 minutes. Kinrin Lake is a 3-minute drive or 13-minute walk away. Rickshaws and bicycles are available for rent from the town’s train station. Use the fairly sizable free visitor parking lot.
The museum is open daily from morning to early evening. There is an admission fee. Classes for making stained glass require advance reservation and an additional cost, depending on the stained glass being produced.
