The First Building New Arrivals Entered
Just back from the wharf on the northern shore of Nagashima stands a low reinforced-concrete building with its entrance at the centre of the north face and tall, narrow windows set at even intervals. Completed in 1930 and covering about 190 square metres on a single floor, this was the reception building of Nagashima Aiseien, the first national sanatorium in Japan for people with Hansen's disease. It was the first structure that newly admitted people entered after stepping off the boat.
For most of the twentieth century, Japanese law required people diagnosed with Hansen's disease to be confined for life. New arrivals were brought across the strait to the reception wharf and into this building, where they were examined, where their few belongings were disinfected, and where they were bathed in a disinfecting bath before being held for about a week while their admission was processed. That bath still remains. Understanding the building means recognising it as the threshold of a separation from ordinary life.
What the Plan Records
The reception building was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in March 2019, listed under the criterion for design that sets a standard for its kind. Inside, a corridor runs along the north while the sickrooms face south, and along the eastern half of the corridor are a treatment room and a bathroom. Details such as the raised plank floor show how reinforced concrete was being used in the first years of the Showa period.
The regular rhythm of the tall windows and the plain concrete walls give the building an institutional clarity. That plainness is part of its meaning. Where the administration building carried decorative ambition, the reception building was a place of inspection and processing, and its architecture reflects that function directly.
Visiting With Awareness
This building is usually included in guided walks that begin at the Nagashima Aiseien History Museum, housed in the former administration building. Standing in front of it, with the wharf close by, gives a clear sense of the route that new arrivals followed and of how short the crossing was, only about thirty metres of water, yet how complete the separation that followed.
The reception building was repaired in 2017 and is normally viewed from outside. Nagashima is still home to people who were once confined here, so visits are made by reservation and with respect. Treating the site with quiet attention is part of why it has been preserved and opened to those who come to learn.
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Questions and Answers
- What happened in the reception building?
- New arrivals were examined here, their belongings were disinfected, and they were placed in a disinfecting bath before being held for about a week while admission was completed. It was the first building people entered after crossing to the island.
- Is the disinfecting bath still there?
- Yes. The disinfecting bath survives inside the building and is one of the features that makes the reception process so vivid for visitors who learn about it on guided walks.
- Why was this building given cultural property status?
- It is a well-preserved example of early Showa reinforced-concrete construction, and it documents the moment of admission to a sanatorium. As physical evidence of the isolation policy, it holds value as a historical record as well as a building.
- Can I go inside?
- It is generally viewed from outside as part of the registered building group. Access is arranged through the History Museum, by reservation, with consideration for the residents who still live on the island.
- How do I get there?
- Nagashima is reached by the Oku-Nagashima Bridge, opened in 1988 and called the Bridge of Human Restoration. By car it is about ten minutes from the Mushiake interchange on the Okayama Blue Line; buses also run from Oku Station on the JR Ako Line. Book a visit through the History Museum first.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Reception Building, Nagashima Aiseien (Nagashima Aiseien Kyu-Shuyojo) |
|---|---|
| Location | 6539 Mushiake, Oku-cho, Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Buildings) |
| Registration date | 29 March 2019 |
| Registration number | 33-313 |
| Structure | Reinforced concrete, single storey; building area about 190 square metres |
| Year | 1930, repaired in 2017 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Owner | National Sanatorium Nagashima Aiseien |
| Access and viewing | Exterior viewing, by reservation through the Nagashima Aiseien History Museum; via the Oku-Nagashima Bridge |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Nagashima Aiseien Former Reception Building
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00012812
- Nagashima Aiseien History Museum
- https://www.aisei-rekishikan.jp/
- National Sanatorium Nagashima Aiseien (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)
- https://www.mhlw.go.jp/seisakunitsuite/bunya/kenkou_iryou/iryou/hansen/aiseien/
- Nagashima Aiseien, Leprosy.jp (Sasakawa Health Foundation)
- https://leprosy.jp/japan/sanatoriums/sanatorium07/
Last verified: 2026.06.25