What Is the Former Kitamura Clinic (Riken Residence) East Ward?
The Former Kitamura Clinic (Riken Residence) East Ward (旧北村医院（李軒邸）東病棟, Kyū Kitamura Iin Riken-tei Higashi Byōtō) is an inpatient ward built in the early Showa period, between 1926 and 1945, in Tobakamicho, Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture, and entered on the register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on October 14, 2021. It is a two-storey timber building with a gabled, pantiled roof and a building area of 45 square meters, standing in the northeast of the compound with its ridge running north to south.
It belongs to the latest building phase at the Former Kitamura Clinic, together with the East Ward Lavatory just to its west.
Why It Was Registered
The East Ward was registered under the criterion of contributing to the country's historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs values it as a record of local medical care, and the Council for Cultural Affairs groups it with the West Ward and the Consultation Building as evidence of that history.
Some fifty years after the West Ward, the Kitamura family built a second ward. The Kitamura east ward shows that this country practice was still admitting patients well into the Showa era.
What to Look For
Woodwork stained with bengara
The posts and boards of the East Ward are coated with bengara, a red iron-oxide pigment used on Japanese timber for centuries to color it and help protect it from decay. The result is a warm reddish brown. The exterior walls leave the posts exposed (Shinkabe) with vertical boarding between them, and eaves wrap around the west and north sides.
One ten-mat room per floor
Each floor holds a single room of ten tatami mats, with built-in cupboards along the north wall. Where the West Ward divided each floor into two six-mat rooms, the East Ward gives each floor one generous space. A toilet in the southwest corner upstairs spared patients on the upper floor a trip down the stairs.
An earth-floored passage inside
The entrance is at the south end of the west side, and inside, a strip of earthen floor about 1.8 meters wide runs along the building. Visitors could come and go in their shoes while the raised, matted sickrooms stayed separate.
Viewing the East Ward
The Former Kitamura Clinic (Riken Residence) East Ward stands at the back of the compound in the northeast, and no public opening had been announced as of September 27, 2026. The bengara woodwork and the ten-mat room can be seen in the agency's database photographs, one of the west side and one of the upstairs room from the southeast. Please do not enter the property.
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Q&A
- When was the Former Kitamura Clinic (Riken Residence) East Ward built?
- In the early Showa period, between 1926 and 1945. It was the family’s second ward, following the early Meiji West Ward.
- What are the rooms like in the Former Kitamura Clinic (Riken Residence) East Ward?
- Each floor has one ten-mat room with cupboards along the north wall. There is a toilet in the southwest corner of the upper floor.
- Why is the woodwork of the Former Kitamura Clinic (Riken Residence) East Ward red?
- It is coated with bengara, a red iron-oxide pigment traditionally used to color and protect timber.
- Why is the Former Kitamura Clinic (Riken Residence) East Ward a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on October 14, 2021, for contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs values it as a record of local medical care.
- Can visitors see the Former Kitamura Clinic (Riken Residence) East Ward?
- No public opening had been announced as of September 27, 2026. It stands in the northeast of a private property, so please do not enter.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Kitamura Clinic (Riken Residence) East Ward |
|---|---|
| Location | 761 Tobakamicho, Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2021 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 45 square meters |
| Owner | Not published |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (no opening announced; checked September 27, 2026) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Kitamura Clinic (Riken Residence) East Ward
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014033
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: Council for Cultural Affairs recommendation on registered buildings (July 16, 2021, Japanese)
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/yukei_kenzobutsu/pdf/93246101_01.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.26
