A long two-storey barn with its own gate
Mori Clinic Barn (森医院納屋, Mori Iin Naya) is a two-storey timber barn on the Mori medical family's estate in Manoshinmachi, Sado City, Niigata Prefecture, built in the mid-Meiji period and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 18 October 2006.
It stands south of the main house. The barn measures 12 metres by 4.5 metres, a building area of 53 square metres, under a gabled pantile roof, with a pent roof along the north wall. That north side faces the main house, so the pent roof reaches toward it.
In the structure field, the Agency for Cultural Affairs database adds the words "with gate". A side gate is built into the south end of the west wall, making building and gateway one piece.
Size and age: the case for registration
The criterion is contribution to the historic landscape, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs gives two reasons in the case of Mori Clinic Barn. First, it is unusually large for a barn. Second, it predates the main house and the hospital building and, with the miso storehouse, keeps the look of the older household layout.
Only two buildings at Mori Clinic are older than the 1909 main house: the miso storehouse and this barn. At 53 square metres against the storehouse's 12 square metres, the barn is the one that gives that earlier estate real physical presence.
A long wall and a side gate
The plan is long and shallow, 12 metres against 4.5, a plain box under a gabled roof. With two storeys, the long wall is tall as well as wide, and the pent roof on the north side draws a single horizontal line across it.
The feature to look for on Mori Clinic Barn is the side gate at the south end of the west wall. Building a gateway into the barn itself created a second way in, separate from the stone front gate. Where it led is not stated in the description.
Seeing Mori Clinic Barn
Mori Clinic Barn is privately owned and the interior is closed.
Its place is south of the main house at the back of the plot, and nothing in the primary sources confirms a view of it from the street. The side gate is an entrance to private property too, so do not pass through it or peer in. Access information is gathered on the Mori Clinic page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Niigata
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Mori Clinic Barn
- [ Sado Island & Echigo-Yuzawa Ski Resort Tours ]
Q&A
- When was Mori Clinic Barn built?
- In the mid-Meiji period. According to the national database it is older than both the 1909 main house and the 1932 hospital building. It was registered on 18 October 2006.
- How big is Mori Clinic Barn?
- It is 12 metres by 4.5 metres, with a building area of 53 square metres over 2 storeys. Its size for a barn was one reason for its registration.
- What is the side gate on Mori Clinic Barn?
- A gateway built into the south end of the west wall. The national database describes the barn as having a gate attached, and it offered an entrance separate from the front gate.
- Why was Mori Clinic Barn registered?
- Because it is a large barn and because, with the miso storehouse, it preserves the household layout from before the present main house was built.
- Can visitors see Mori Clinic Barn?
- The interior is not open, and because the barn stands towards the back of the plot, the sources do not confirm that it can be seen from the street.
Basic Information
| Name | Mori Clinic Barn |
|---|---|
| Location | 502-A, Manoshinmachi, Sado City, Niigata Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 18 October 2006 (Heisei 18) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, 2 storeys, tile roof, building area 53 square metres, with gate |
| Owner | Private (no owner named in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (exterior viewing from the street only) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Mori Clinic Barn
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005809
- Cultural Heritage Online: Mori Clinic Barn
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/182026
- Sado City: Registered Tangible Cultural Property, Mori Clinic (Japanese)
- https://www.city.sado.niigata.jp/site/bunkazai/4962.html
Last verified: 2026.09.21
