Visiting the site of Kosuge Ship Repair Dock, Nagasaki

We went to the site of Kosuge Ship Repair Dock (小菅修船場跡) on 13 January. It is located in Kosugemachi, on the south of the city of Nagasaki. The most part of this area facing the inlet sea, called Nagasaki Bay is occupied by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. 

Completed in 1868, this is the first Western-style dock in Japan. It has been planned to built by Thomas Blake Glover, a Scottish merchant and two Satsuma clan warriors, Kiyokado Komatsu and Godai Tomoatsu. It is a consist of three parts, a gridiron deck, a brick machine room, and a hoist which is made by the UK. It is has been popular in the name of abacus dock from the appearance of the ruins.

In 1969, it has been designated as a national historic site by the government. In addition, the monuments were submitted jointly for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List on the tentative list of the Modern Industrial Heritage Sites in Kyushu and Yamaguchi in 2009.