A Taisho-Era Clinic in Yasuda
The Former Ichikawa Clinic (旧市川医院) is a single-storey Western-style timber clinic built around 1913 in the shopping street of Yasuda, Yasuda Town, Aki District, Kochi Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on February 23, 2012. Joined by an earth-floored passage to the neighbouring Former Kashiwabara Residence, it is open to the public as the Yasuda Townscape Exchange Hall Nagomi (Yasuda Town).
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as a single-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 97 square metres, renovated in 2010; owned by Yasuda Town.
From Clinic to Exchange Hall
According to the hall, the date of about 1913 comes from family accounts and Kochi Prefecture's survey of modern Japanese-style architecture. The neighbouring Kashiwabara house is an early-Showa Japanese-style residence, and the pairing of a Japanese house and a Western-style clinic of nearly the same age is said to be without parallel.
The two buildings, long empty and deteriorating, were donated to Yasuda Town by the Ichikawa and Kashiwabara families in 2008 and restored in 2009 and 2010 after survey. The hall opened in 2010, and the clinic was registered together with three parts of the Kashiwabara house: the main house and annex, the front gate and the earthen walls (the hall, Yasuda Town).
Why It Was Registered
The Former Ichikawa Clinic was registered as a building that contributes to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that this elegant clinic and the Kashiwabara house stand side by side to form a distinctive townscape, and the hall calls it a valuable example of an early-Taisho country clinic.
What to Look For
The Former Ichikawa Clinic is 18.7 metres long and 5 metres deep, with a hipped pantiled roof and clapboard walls. Only the entrance front carries a Western-style gable crowned with a finial (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Inside, the X-ray room, consulting room and other rooms are lined up in a single row, showing how the clinic worked (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The hall has a permanent display on late-Edo and Meiji figures from or linked to Yasuda, plus special exhibitions (Yasuda Town).
Visiting the Exchange Hall
According to the Kochi Visitors and Convention Association, the hall that includes the Former Ichikawa Clinic opens from 9:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30) and closes on Tuesdays (the next day if a holiday) and from December 28 to January 2. Special exhibitions charge a fee.
The address is 1674-1 Yasuda, Yasuda Town, about 15 minutes' walk from Yasuda Station on the Tosa Kuroshio Railway Gomen-Nahari Line, or 3 minutes from the Yasuda Yakuba-dori bus stop. Free parking is available.
Q&A
- When was the Former Ichikawa Clinic built?
- Around 1913, according to family accounts and a prefectural survey (Yasuda Townscape Exchange Hall Nagomi).
- What does the Former Ichikawa Clinic look like?
- Clapboard walls with a Western-style gable and finial over the entrance (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- How is the inside of the Former Ichikawa Clinic laid out?
- The X-ray room, consulting room and other rooms are arranged in a single row (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Can I visit the Former Ichikawa Clinic?
- Yes, as part of the exchange hall, open 9:00 to 17:00 and closed on Tuesdays (Kochi Visitors and Convention Association).
- When was the Former Ichikawa Clinic registered?
- On February 23, 2012.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Ichikawa Clinic (旧市川医院) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1672-1 Higashi-shinmachi, Yasuda, Yasuda Town, Aki District, Kochi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2012/2/23 (Heisei 24) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single storey, tiled roof, building area 97 square metres |
| Owner | Yasuda Town |
| Public Access | Open as the Yasuda Townscape Exchange Hall Nagomi (closed Tuesdays) |
References
- Former Ichikawa Clinic (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00009227
- Yasuda Townscape Exchange Hall Nagomi (Yasuda Town)
- https://www.town.yasuda.kochi.jp/life/dtl.php?hdnKey=1262
- About Nagomi (Yasuda Townscape Exchange Hall Nagomi)
- https://yasuda-nagomi.com/about.html
- Yasuda Townscape Exchange Hall Nagomi (Kochi Visitors and Convention Association)
- https://kochi-tabi.jp/search_spot_infocenter.html?id=7727
Last verified: 2026.10.10