Kobe Museum of Literature

Kobe Literary Museum is a literature museum in Nada Ward, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, that collects and exhibits works and materials related to novelists, poets, and literary figures connected to Kobe who were active in the modern era. The building was designed by the British architect M. Wignall and was constructed in 1904 as the first chapel of Kwansei Gakuin University. The structure was heavily damaged in the Kobe air raids during World War II, but after the war it was repaired (without its distinctive spire and other features). In 1993, the long-lost spire and decorative capitals were restored, reviving the building’s appearance from 110 years earlier. As the oldest surviving brick church building in Kobe, it is designated as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan. Access is about a 5-minute walk from Hankyu Railway Oji-koen Station, about an 8-minute walk from JR Kobe Line Nada Station, and about an 11-minute walk from Hanshin Railway Iwaya Station. Inside, exhibits introduce manuscripts, documents, and personal items of literary figures connected to Kobe—such as Lafcadio Hearn, Junichiro Tanizaki, Seishi Yokomizo, Shusaku Endo, and Fumiko Hayashi—organized by era (Meiji, Taisho, Showa, and Heisei) and presented alongside period photographs.