Former Kitamura Clinic (Riken Residence)

What Is the Former Kitamura Clinic (Riken Residence)?

The Former Kitamura Clinic (Riken Residence) (旧北村医院（李軒邸）, Kyū Kitamura Iin Riken-tei) is a physician family's compound in Tobakamicho, Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture, whose main house dates from 1827 and whose ten structures, built between the late Edo period and the early Showa period, were entered on the register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on October 14, 2021. It sits in a farming village east of central Nagahama, about 6 kilometers in a straight line from JR Nagahama Station.

The ten structures were recommended for registration by Japan's Council for Cultural Affairs on July 16, 2021, in a round that covered 220 buildings nationwide. The council's summary describes the Kitamura as a family of doctors active from the late Edo period into the Meiji era, and it singles out the fact that the consultation building and the related wards survive together as a set.

All ten were registered under the same criterion: that they contribute to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs does not explain where the name Riken-tei comes from.

From Family Home to Country Clinic

The structures at the Former Kitamura Clinic span roughly 170 years. The oldest is the storehouse, dated only to the late Edo period (1751 to 1830). The main house followed in 1827. A front gate went up in 1865, and in 1868 the family added a detached parlor as a retirement cottage. The west ward, the earliest of the inpatient buildings, dates from the early Meiji era (1868 to 1882).

The biggest change came in the late Taisho era (1919 to 1926). A consultation building was put up south of the main house, the retirement cottage was refitted as a waiting room for patients, and a well house and a garage were built. The east ward and its detached lavatory were added in the early Showa period (1926 to 1945), completing the compound as it stands today.

In 1827 the doctor saw patients in the front rooms of his own house. Over the following century, examination, waiting, and overnight care each moved into buildings of their own. Because every stage survives on one plot, the Former Kitamura Clinic (Riken Residence) lets you follow that shift in sequence, which is why the agency's notes keep returning to the idea of a clinic changing over time.

How the Compound Is Laid Out

The plot runs long from north to south. According to the council's summary, the main house stands just north of center and faces south. Behind it, along the north side, are, from east to west, the east ward, the east ward lavatory, the west ward, and the storehouse, which occupies the northwest corner on the street. South of the main house are the well house, the front gate, and the detached parlor (waiting room building), with the garage at the southern end.

The way the buildings join up traces a patient's route. The waiting room building abuts the front gate on its west side; a corridor leads from it north to the consultation building, and the consultation building in turn connects to a treatment room that projects from the center of the main house. A visitor would have moved from gate to waiting room to examination room to treatment room, heading steadily north, while the wards were kept to the back of the plot.

• Main House (1827; registration no. 25-0479)
• Consultation Building (late Taisho; 25-0480)
• Detached Parlor, Waiting Room Building (1868, altered late Taisho; 25-0481)
• West Ward (early Meiji; 25-0482)
• East Ward (early Showa; 25-0483)
• East Ward Lavatory (early Showa; 25-0484)
• Storehouse (late Edo; 25-0485)
• Well House (late Taisho; 25-0486)
• Front Gate (1865; 25-0487)
• Garage (late Taisho; 25-0488)

The agency's database gives two forms of address for the site: 761-1 Tsujishita for the front gate, the well house, and the lavatory, and 761 Tobakamicho for the other seven. They are all on the same property.

Visiting the Former Kitamura Clinic

As of September 27, 2026, no public opening or visitor program for the Former Kitamura Clinic (Riken Residence) could be found in information published by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Shiga Prefecture, or Nagahama City, and the owner's name is not published. Please assume the compound is not open and do not enter the grounds or buildings.

The site lies in the village of Tobakamicho in eastern Nagahama, about 6 kilometers east of Nagahama Station on the JR Hokuriku Line. Village lanes are narrow, so if you drive past, take care not to block residents. Notes on what can be seen of each structure are on the individual building pages.