An Old Roadside House Turned Doctor's Surgery
The Former Koshundo Clinic Main House (旧壺春堂醫院主屋) is the main house of a doctor's home and surgery of the late Edo period (1830–1868) in Minano, Minano Town, Chichibu District, Saitama Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on February 4, 2021 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It was the home of the doctor and haiku poet Kaneko Genshun, who opened his practice here in 1926, and the house where his son, the poet Kaneko Tota, grew up.
The Agency records a 2-storey timber building roofed in sheet metal, with a building area of 160 square metres, built in the late Edo period and enlarged in the early Meiji era; registration number 11-0198.
A 2-Storey House Gable-On to the Old Road
The Former Koshundo Clinic Main House runs north to south under a gabled roof, with its south gable end facing the old highway (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Standing on what is now prefectural road 43, you see the gable wall and the wooden storm shutters of the upper floor first.
The frame keeps an older layout. Sills run under both gable walls, and the roof is framed in the orioki manner over a regular four-room plan; a guest room framed in the later kyoro manner was added (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The Minano Tourism Association lists the four rooms as the earth-floored entry that became the consulting room, the nurses' room, a boarded room and a study, along with the old altar room, and notes that a guest room and an altar room were added on the north while the roof space was fitted out for silkworms.
In orioki framing the beams sit on the posts and the wall plates rest on them; in kyoro framing the beams sit on the plates. Having both in one house lets you read its different building phases from the timberwork.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency registered it for its contribution to the historic landscape, and adds that, with Tota's calligraphy hung in the guest room, it has value for literary history as the family home of a celebrated poet.
A late Edo farmhouse became a country surgery in the modern era and is now a haiku memorial house. Home, clinic and meeting place for poets are all layered into the plan of the Former Koshundo Clinic Main House.
What to Look For
From the road the gable wall faces you square on, the classic stance of an old house built gable-end to the highway. Look too for the sills under both gable walls, a feature the Agency singles out.
Inside, the highlight is Tota's calligraphy in the guest room (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Poem cards by Mizuhara Shuoshi, Kato Shuson and others are also kept here, and with the old earth-floored surgery they show the Former Koshundo Clinic Main House as a home where poets gathered (Minano Tourism Association).
Visiting
The exterior can be seen from prefectural road 43. Inside, the house serves as the Koshundo Memorial House, and the Minano Tourism Association asks visitors to get in touch in advance. Whether the guest room with Tota's calligraphy is open may depend on the current display. No official information on photography was found.
Q&A
- When was the Former Koshundo Clinic Main House built?
- In the late Edo period (1830–1868), with enlargement in the early Meiji era (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- How is the Former Koshundo Clinic Main House linked to Kaneko Tota?
- His father Kaneko Genshun opened his clinic here in 1926, and Tota grew up in the house; his calligraphy hangs in the guest room.
- What is distinctive about the building?
- A 2-storey gabled house with its south gable to the old road, an orioki-framed four-room core and a later kyoro-framed guest room.
- Can I go inside the Former Koshundo Clinic Main House?
- It is used as the Koshundo Memorial House, closed on Fridays; visitors are asked to get in touch in advance (Minano Tourism Association).
- When was the Former Koshundo Clinic Main House registered?
- On February 4, 2021 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Former Koshundo Clinic Main House (旧壺春堂醫院主屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1169-1 Hara, Minano-machi, Chichibu-gun, Saitama Prefecture, and other locations |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2021/02/04 (Reiwa 3) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey timber, sheet-metal roof, 160 m² |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency database |
| Public Access | Open as a memorial house (closed Fridays; contact in advance) |
References
- Former Koshundo Clinic Main House (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00013508
- Introducing Koshundo (Minano Tourism Association, Japanese)
- https://www.minano.gr.jp/2023/08/29/12788/
- Ogawa Satoru, on Kaneko Genshun as school doctor of the Toa Dobun Shoin (Dobun Shoin Kinenpo vol. 28, Aichi University, Japanese)
- https://aichiu.repo.nii.ac.jp/record/10358/files/16.%E5%81%89%E5%A4%A7%E3%81%AA%E4%BF%B3%E4%BA%BA%E3%83%BB%E6%96%87%E5%8C%96%E4%BA%BA%E3%81%A7%E3%81%82%E3%82%8B%E9%87%91%E5%AD%90%E5%85%9C%E5%A4%AA%E3%81%AE%E7%88%B6%E3%83%BB%E9%87%91%E5%AD%90%E5%85%83%E6%98%A5%E3%81%AF%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%9E%E5%90%8C%E6%96%87%E6%9B%B8%E9%99%A2%E3%81%AE%E6%A0%A1%E5%8C%BB%E3%81%A7%E3%81%82%E3%81%A3%E3%81%9F.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.20
