Japan Traffic Culture Association and Echizen Railway Co. (Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture; President: MAEDA Yoichi) have planned and produced a large stained glass work next to the ticket gate of Fukui Station of Echizen Railway, which were opened to the public from March 12, 2023.

The title of the large stained glass work that will become a new symbol of the station is “Jurassic Echizen.” The original drawings and supervision were done by KINUTANI Koji, a master painter of alfresco painting, the oldest mural painting technique known to mankind, and a recipient of the Order of Culture. The original paintings were drawn over a period of about two months.

It depict Dinosaurs such as Fukuititan and Fukuivenator excavated in Fukui Prefecture, The nature of the mountains and the wide blue sky, Echizen Railway vehicles and their attendants, Eiheiji Temple, Maruoka-jo Castle, Ichijodani Asakura Clan Ruins, Tojinbo, Fukui Prefecture’s mascot character HAPPY-Ryu, Sabae Glasses with world-class technology, The land, sea, and air scenery that symbolize Fukui Prefecture are freely, dynamically, and vividly expressed.

The stained glass work based on the original was created by seven stained glass artisans at the CREARE Atami Yugawara Studio in Atami City, Shizuoka Prefecture, over a six-month period.
It measuring 2.8 meters in length and 7.1 meters in width, are composed of 1,327 pieces of hand-blown antique glass in a total of 171 colors.
The trains of the Echizen Railway and the background of the mountains are expressed in rich colors by combining colored plate glass with patterns.
Dinosaurs with rich facial expressions and body patterns can only be expressed by painting, so special paints are applied to patternless colored plate glass and sandblasting techniques are used to create a realistic finish.
The production process is posted on the Public Art Showcase page, so please take a look at that as well.

This work is the 555th public art installed by the association since 1972.

This work was planned by the Japan Traffic Culture Association, and was developed with the support of the Japan Lottery Association’s social contribution public relations project, and was donated by the Japan Traffic Culture Association to Echizen Railway Co., Ltd..