Kitano Glass Kan

Introduction

Among the Meiji-era villas of Kitano, this is the building most often misread. Kitano Glass Kan is a plain-faced concrete structure with sharp geometric cuts, no fish-scale slate tiles and no weathercock, yet the contrast makes it stand out all the more. It is not an ijinkan and charges no admission: it is a retail gallery displaying and selling glass craft, with a few steps at the door that leave the street noise behind. Inside, the pieces are small in scale, round glass animals, rabbit-shaped chopstick rests, bead accessories and cut-glass dishes, all catching the spotlights in fine splinters of colour. Most sit around a thousand yen, far below the famous crystal houses, which makes them easy souvenirs. Because the stock is fragile, photography inside is not permitted, so save the camera for the facade. It is often confused with two neighbours: the Kobe Kitano Museum is the 1898 US consular residence with a ticketed collection of Art Nouveau glass and paintings, while Uroko no Ie displays Meissen and Royal Copenhagen porcelain alongside glass. This concrete box claims no collection and needs only twenty minutes, but it is free, quiet and the one piece of modern breathing space in a street of Western-style houses.

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