Former UCCJ Numata Church Memorial Hall

In detail

This simple clapboard building with sash windows was built in Numata in 1914 for the Protestant Church of Christ in Japan. Its construction was financed and encouraged by the Hoshino family, particularly the brothers Hoshino Takeshi (1878–1913) and Mitsuta (1860–1932), and their sister Ai (1884–1972). Their father had moved from Numata, a center of silk farming at the time, to become a silk trader in the port city of Yokohama, then one of the most cosmopolitan places in the country. He had converted to Christianity, and his children received a Christian education as well as instruction in English.

Mitsuta became a pastor while Ai went to the United States to study, earning a master’s degree in education from Columbia University. She dedicated herself to advancing women’s education, serving for 30 years as president of what is now Tsuda University, one of the oldest and most prominent women’s colleges in Japan.

The building was used as a church until 1988, when it was converted into an art museum. It was renovated and moved to its present location in 2020.