What Is the Former Nakashima Hospital Main Building?
The Former Nakashima Hospital Main Building is a 2-storey timber hospital building in Tamachi, Tsuyama City, Okayama Prefecture, completed in 1917 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on September 10, 2010.
In Japanese it is 旧中島病院本館 (Kyū Nakashima Byōin Honkan). Today the building is open to the public under the name Josai Romankan (城西浪漫館, roughly "Josai Romance Hall"), and Tsuyama City, which owns it, also writes the name as Nakashima Byōin Kyū Honkan. It stands in Tamachi, part of the Josai district west of the Tsuyama Castle ruins.
The hospital itself is older than the building. A profile of the hospital in the Journal of Okayama Medical Association traces it to 1878, when Nakashima Daijirō opened a clinic called Naigai Ijutsuin in another part of Tsuyama. In 1917 his successor, Nakashima Takushi, moved the practice to Tamachi as the private Nakashima Hospital, and this main building was finished that year. The hospital still treats patients in a newer building next door, and according to the city the old main building sits on land leased from it.
Tsuyama City credits the design and construction to Ikeda Toyotarō, a local master carpenter who built many of the town's landmarks in the Taishō and early Shōwa years, and calls it the oldest surviving hospital building in the city. The local Josai community council says it was used for consultations until about 1975. After restoration in 2009 it became a municipal facility, and since April 2020 the council has run it as a community hub called Machi no Eki Josai Romankan.
Why the Former Nakashima Hospital Main Building Is Registered
The Former Nakashima Hospital Main Building is entry 33-0234 in the national register, added in the 68th round of registrations in 2010 under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a 2-storey timber building with a sheet-metal roof partly covered in slate and a building area of 127 square meters. The city gives the total floor area as 243.56 square meters, with 4 rooms on the ground floor and 5 upstairs.
The agency's description focuses on how the building brought a Western face to a castle town. A porch projects from the east front, and its roof rises into a small dome. The walls are finished in a reddish-brown scraped mortar, and the Corinthian columns and window surrounds are cast in artificial stone. The agency sees it as a Western-style building that adds color to the townscape west of Tsuyama Castle.
Artificial stone here means a cement render mixed with sand and fine gravel, shaped and tooled to pass for natural stone; the Okayama prefectural guide to modern architecture picks this out as a defining feature. Underneath, the frame is entirely wood. The Josai council describes the result as a timber building made to look like masonry.
What to Look For at the Former Nakashima Hospital
The domed porch
Start on the east side. The rounded roof over the entrance porch is what people remember about the Former Nakashima Hospital Main Building. According to the agency, the roof was originally slate, and the dome is now the only place where that first covering survives; the rest has been replaced with sheet metal. Looking for the change in material is a quick way to read the building's repair history.
Reddish walls and stone-like columns
Up close, the scraped mortar has a rough, sandy surface, a finish made by scraping away the top layer before it fully hardens. Against that warm color, the pale Corinthian capitals with their carved leaves stand out, and matching artificial-stone trim frames the windows above and below. That pairing is what makes a wooden hospital read as a stone villa.
A different fireplace in each room
Inside the Former Nakashima Hospital Main Building, each room, including former patient rooms, has a fireplace faced in a different kind of marble. The Josai council lists these as one of the building's highlights. It is worth walking room to room to compare the stones.
Exhibits and galleries upstairs
The upper floor holds a permanent display on the history of Nakashima Hospital, while the other rooms are used for changing exhibitions and rented out as small galleries. The building also appeared as a filming location for the NHK morning drama Aguri. A café on the ground floor lets you sit under the high plastered ceilings of the original interior.
Visiting the Former Nakashima Hospital Main Building
The Former Nakashima Hospital Main Building (Josai Romankan) is open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and admission is free. The ground-floor café runs 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with food and drink charged separately. The building closes on Mondays (or the next day when Monday is a public holiday), and the city's facility outline also lists a year-end closure from December 29 to January 3. Inquiries go to Josai Romankan at 0868-22-8688.
The Okayama prefectural tourism site says photography is allowed inside. Exhibitions in the rented upstairs galleries may have their own rules, so check the signs in each room.
From JR Tsuyama Station the walk takes about 20 minutes. By car, allow about 10 minutes from the Innoshō interchange on the Chugoku Expressway or about 15 minutes from the Tsuyama interchange. The city's outline places the visitor parking at 93-1 Tamachi, with room for only 8 cars. For the best view of the facade, step back from the east front so you can take in the dome and the upper-floor window trim together.
Q&A
- When was the Former Nakashima Hospital Main Building built and registered?
- It was completed in 1917 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on September 10, 2010, as entry 33-0234.
- What are the opening hours and admission fee for the Former Nakashima Hospital Main Building (Josai Romankan)?
- It is open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with free admission, and closed on Mondays (or the following day after a holiday). The ground-floor café is open 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- Can I take photos inside the Former Nakashima Hospital Main Building?
- Yes. The Okayama prefectural tourism site says photography is allowed inside. Exhibitions in the rented upstairs galleries may set their own conditions.
- How do I get to the Former Nakashima Hospital Main Building from Tsuyama Station?
- It is about a 20-minute walk from JR Tsuyama Station. Drivers can reach it in about 10 minutes from the Innoshō interchange, and visitor parking for 8 cars is at 93-1 Tamachi.
- What is special about the exterior of the Former Nakashima Hospital Main Building?
- Look for the domed roof over the east porch, which keeps a trace of the original slate, and the artificial-stone Corinthian columns set against reddish-brown scraped mortar walls on a timber frame.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Nakashima Hospital Main Building (旧中島病院本館; Josai Romankan) |
|---|---|
| Location | 122 Tamachi, Tsuyama City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered September 10, 2010 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey timber building, sheet-metal roof partly slate, building area 127 square meters |
| Owner | Tsuyama City |
| Public Access | Open as Josai Romankan (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., closed Mondays, free admission) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Former Nakashima Hospital Main Building
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00008367
- Cultural Heritage Online (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Former Nakashima Hospital Main Building
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/224019
- Tsuyama City: Outline of the Former Main Building of Nakashima Hospital (Josai Romankan)
- https://www.city.tsuyama.lg.jp/common/photo/free/files/11453/201812190819460977621.pdf
- Okayama Prefecture: Guidebook to Modern Architecture in Okayama (Josai Romankan)
- https://www.pref.okayama.jp/uploaded/life/504532_3774578_misc.pdf
- Josai Community Council: Machi no Eki (Josai Romankan)
- https://josai-machidukuri.com/machinoeki/
- Okayama Kanko Web (Okayama Tourism Federation): Josai Romankan
- https://www.okayama-kanko.jp/spot/detail_10508.html
- Journal of Okayama Medical Association: History and Present State of Nakashima Hospital
- https://ousar.lib.okayama-u.ac.jp/files/public/6/62044/20210603140254401316/133_76.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.02