A Surgery and a Home Under One Roof
The Former Joki Clinic Main House (旧常喜医院主屋, Kyū Jōki Iin Shuoku) is the main residence of a family of country doctors in Dotani, Maibara City, Shiga Prefecture, built in 1904 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on December 5, 2019. It stands in the middle of the Joki family estate, facing south.
It is a wooden building of 2 storeys with a tiled Kirizuma-zukuri roof and a building area of 231 square metres. Family documents point to 1904 as the construction date, and the house was extended and remodelled around 1925 and again around 1930.
The layout is the whole point. The medical practice was gathered into the entrance block that projects from the south side of the ground floor, while the rooms to the north and the entire upper floor were the family's living quarters. Patients and household shared one roof, but they did not share much else.
Why the Main House Was Singled Out
Five buildings at the Former Joki Clinic were registered on the same day, but only the Former Joki Clinic Main House was registered as a building that "serves as a model of form." The other four were listed for their contribution to the historic landscape. What earned the main house its place was its plan: a clear example of how a rural doctor fitted a working practice into the family home.
The paper trail matters too. Drawings from several rounds of alteration survive, so the changes to the house can be dated rather than guessed. The Shiga prefectural report on the registration notes that the building lets you trace how a local practice evolved between the Meiji and Showa periods.
What to Look For
Start with the projecting block on the south front. This was the public face of the practice, and the prefectural report includes a photograph of the consulting room inside the main house.
Behind it the character of the building changes. The northern rooms and the upper floor belonged to the family, so the plan divides patients from household along a simple south-to-north line. It is an arrangement you would recognise in doctors' houses across rural Japan, seen here in unusually legible form.
The dates are worth a second look as well. The work carried out around 1930 coincides with the construction of the shoin reception wing next door, which suggests the whole estate was being brought up to date at the same moment.
Visiting
As of September 2026 the interior of the Former Joki Clinic Main House is not regularly open to the public. To arrange a visit, contact the owner in advance through the Maibara City Board of Education, Lifelong Learning Division (cultural property conservation section), telephone 0749-53-5154.
If you do get inside, compare the entrance area on the south side with the living rooms beyond it; the boundary between clinic and home is easy to read on the ground. Ask about photography at the time of your visit.
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Q&A
- When was the Former Joki Clinic Main House built?
- Family records date it to 1904. It was extended and remodelled around 1925 and again around 1930.
- Which part of the Former Joki Clinic Main House was used as the clinic?
- The medical practice occupied the entrance block projecting from the south side of the ground floor. The northern rooms and the upper floor were the family's home.
- Why is the Former Joki Clinic Main House a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on December 5, 2019 as a building that serves as a model of form, because its plan shows clearly how a rural doctor combined a practice and a family home. Surviving alteration drawings also let its history be traced.
- Where does the Former Joki Clinic Main House stand on the estate?
- It stands at the centre of the plot, facing south. The shoin is joined to it on the west by a corridor, with the west storehouse to the north and the east storehouse to the northeast.
- Can visitors go inside the Former Joki Clinic Main House?
- As of September 2026 it is not regularly open. Contact the Maibara City Board of Education, Lifelong Learning Division, on 0749-53-5154 in advance to ask about visiting.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Joki Clinic Main House |
|---|---|
| Location | 212 Kitakoji, Dotani, Maibara City, Shiga Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2019/12/5 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, 2 storeys, tiled roof; building area 231 square metres |
| Owner | Maibara City |
| Public Access | Not regularly open to the public; enquire with the Maibara City Board of Education (checked 2026/9) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Former Joki Clinic Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013128
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Joki Clinic Main House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/380174
- Shiga Prefectural Board of Education, report on buildings recommended for registration (August 5, 2019, Japanese)
- https://www.pref.shiga.lg.jp/file/attachment/5148198.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.26
