Shaw Memorial Church is not only one of the oldest churches in Karuizawa, but also one of its most historically significant landmarks. The story of this modest wooden church is inseparable from the very beginning of Karuizawa’s transformation into Japan’s first Western-style mountain resort.
The church is named after Alexander Croft Shaw, an Anglican missionary from Canada who arrived in Japan in the late nineteenth century. In 1886, while traveling through Nagano, Shaw passed through the Karuizawa highlands and immediately recognized their potential. The cool summers, high elevation, and pine forests reminded him of European and North American mountain retreats. At a time when Tokyo summers were oppressive, humid, and often unhealthy, Shaw began promoting Karuizawa among foreign residents as an ideal place for rest, study, and spiritual reflection. His vision resonated strongly, attracting missionaries, diplomats, educators, and their families, and laying the foundation for Karuizawa’s distinctly international character.
Although Shaw passed away in 1902, his influence continued to shape the town. An Anglican congregation had already formed in Karuizawa in 1895, while Shaw was still alive, serving the growing foreign community that gathered there each summer. After his death, the church was formally dedicated as Shaw Memorial Church in his honor. It became the spiritual center for foreign residents and one of the earliest permanent Western institutions in Karuizawa, anchoring the town’s emerging identity as a refined and intellectually oriented resort.
Architecturally, Shaw Memorial Church reflects the values of its founders. The building is intentionally simple and functional, constructed mainly of wood to suit the mountain climate, with a steep gabled roof designed to withstand heavy snowfall. Decoration is minimal, in keeping with Anglican traditions that emphasize humility and purpose over ornament. This restrained design distinguishes it from later churches in Karuizawa and mirrors the practical, disciplined lives of the early missionaries. Inside, the atmosphere remains calm and intimate, with wooden pews, soft natural light, and a tangible sense of continuity with the past. Careful preservation has ensured that the church remains in active use more than a century after its founding.
From its earliest days, Shaw Memorial Church played a role far beyond religious services. It served as a meeting point for foreign residents, a place of cultural exchange between Japanese and Western visitors, and a focal point for the intellectual and spiritual life that helped define Karuizawa’s reputation. Japanese intellectuals, educators, and Christian leaders also visited the church, making it one of the earliest spaces where ideas and values moved freely between Japan and the West.
Today, Shaw Memorial Church continues to function as a living place of worship rather than a museum. Services and events are still held, and visitors are welcome to view the exterior and experience the peaceful grounds, which remain remarkably unchanged from their early twentieth-century appearance. The church’s quiet presence stands in gentle contrast to the livelier atmosphere of nearby Old Karuizawa Ginza Street, offering a moment of reflection just steps away from cafés and shops.
The church is appealing in every season. Spring brings fresh greenery and a sense of renewal, summer offers cool shade and historical calm, autumn frames the wooden structure with rich foliage, and winter snowfall lends the scene a solemn, almost European alpine character. Early mornings are especially serene and ideal for photography.
Shaw Memorial Church represents the moment when Karuizawa’s modern story truly began. Without Alexander Croft Shaw and this small wooden church, the town might never have developed into the elegant international resort it is today. For travelers interested in history, architecture, and the roots of Japan’s cultural exchange with the West, Shaw Memorial Church is an essential and quietly moving stop.
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