The first Baptist church in Kansai (1882): an arson attack destroyed 70% of it in 1958.
The façade on the slope up towards Shin-Kobe dates from 1992, the latest in a series of rebuildings. The congregation was founded in 1882 by the missionary Henry Rhees as the first Baptist church in Kansai; the 1945 bombing razed the building, and for years the faithful met in two huts, until in 1948 three sister churches merged into this one. In 1958 an arson attack destroyed 70% of it.
A church at Ikuta-chō 1-1-27, with its origins in the Kobe Baptist church of 1882. It is 270 m from Shin-Kobe Station, on the map: you reach it by walking up the street towards the mountain.
ℹ️ An active place of worship. Hard to photograph from the ground: in the film, in fact, it is seen only in passing, from the car.
🚉 Shin-Kobe · 2 min walk
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The church glimpsed for an instant through the car window as Rumi takes Suzume to Shin-Kobe Station to say goodbye.
Sources: animepilgrimage.com · note.com · ja.wikipedia.org · kobeseiai.org
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