Repository of Memories: The Former Yoshiike Clinic
The former Yoshiike Clinic is a striking western-style building that stands out along Route 112 in the center of Yamagata city. It was designed by Chujo Seiichiro, a pioneer of modern architecture in Japan (born in Yonezawa city), and completed in 1912. It still stands in the same location today, even after the clinic closed, looking almost exactly the same as when it was first built. This signifies that the city has escaped the ravages of war and disaster, remaining undisturbed for over a century since the Great Fire of the Meiji era. A concrete project for the preservation and use of the former Yoshiike Clinic, an irreplaceable repository of memory, is expected to be launched, as if to coincide with YIDFF 2025. During the festival, it will be open as a space for interaction among festival participants, featuring screenings and exhibitions on the preservation of historic buildings and visual materials discovered in local communities. In addition, a memorial exhibition will be held to reflect on the achievements of the late Yano Kazuyuki, a key figure in the growth of YIDFF.
Yamagata! A Special Program of Architecture Documentaries
For those interested in the history of modern architecture in Japan, Yamagata is a place that cannot be ignored. Many famous buildings from the Meiji to Showa periods remain, and the region produced renowned architects who shaped the era. Documentaries introducing the deeply-rooted architectural culture of Yamagata will be screened.
Hikari no Seiso: A Visual Collection from the Former Yoshiike Clinic with Original Theme Music
(Hikari no seiso: Original theme kyoku de tsuduru kyu Yoshiike Iin eizo shu)
JAPAN / 2025 / Color / Digital File / 5 min
Photography, Editing: Sato Naoki
Music: Koseki Yoshihiro
Planning: Yamagata Museum of Modern Architecture Committee
A guitarist fascinated by the former Yoshiike Clinic composed the theme music and a photographer whose life’s work is documenting Yamagata’s landscape took the photos of this famous building that was used as a clinic for more than a century. The visuals and music show the various charms of the building, which was designed by Chujo Seiichiro and exquisitely decorated.
Modernization Heritage of Yamagata
(Yamagata kindaika isan)
JAPAN / 2007 / Japanese / Color / Blu-ray / 46 min
Director: Shoji Tsutomu
Photography: Okazaki Eiji, Watanabe Masayuki
Narration: Sendo Takashi
Appearance: Shimura Naoyoshi
Production Company: Yamagata Television System
Yamagata Prefecture, where quasi-Westernstyle buildings and stone bridges from the early Meiji period still exist, is said to be a treasure house of architectural and civil engineering heritage. This work visits such modernization heritage sites, focusing on the thoughts of the master carpenters and engineers as well as the historical context. It will also feature rare interior footage of one of the YIDFF 2025 venues, Q1 (the former Yamagata Daiichi Elementary School building), before its renovation.
Song of the Craftsmen: Documenting the Restoration of the Former Yamagata Prefectural Office, an Important Cultural Property
(Shokunin no uta: Juyobunkazai Yamagata ken kyu kenchosha shufuku koji kiroku)
JAPAN / 1996 / Japanese / Color / DVD (Original: 16mm) / 52 min
Director, Script: Suzuki Hiroshi
Photography: Shibata Fumio
Narration: Aikawa Hiroshi
Planning, Production: Chitose Kensetsu
The former Yamagata Prefectural Office Building (completed in 1916) incorporates many of the ideas and techniques of the former Yoshiike Clinic. These two works by Chujo Seiichiro can be considered like siblings of one another. This film, a meticulous documentation of the ten-year restoration of the former prefectural government building, is a valuable record of the earnest efforts of the craftsmen who worked on the plaster and copper plate decoration.
The Man Who Saw Yokai: The World of Ito Chuta, a Giant of Modern Architecture
(Yokai wo mita otoko: Kindai kenchiku kai no kyojin Ito Chuta no sekai)
JAPAN / 2005 / Japanese / Color / Blu-ray / 46 min
Director: Shoji Tsutomu
Photography: Onodera Masaki
Editing: Matsuura Kenji
Appearances: Suzuki Hiroyuki, Fujimori Terunobu, Kurakata Shunsuke
Production Company: Yamagata Television System
Spectral decorations writhe through Ito Chuta’s masterpieces: the Kanematsu Auditorium at Hitotsubashi University and the Okura Museum of Art. Using yokai (supernatural monsters or spirits) as a key theme, the film delves into the core of Chuta’s enigmatic architectural philosophy. The screening of this film at YIDFF’s “Friday Screening” in 2021 prompted the establishment of a research group for Chuta in Yonezawa, his hometown. The group has been unearthing forgotten Chuta-related materials one after another.
Post-screening talk with Okada Soichi, Architect, Miyano Etsuo, former director of the Yamagata Museum of Science and Industry, and Shoji Tsutomu, Vice Chair of the Ito Chuta Association.
Cityscapes Brought Back through Glass Dry Plate Photographs
Dozens of glass dry plates were found in the closed Yoshiike Clinic. The images on them depict the scenery of central Yamagata city and everyday life in the prewar period. The digitized photographs will be shown to the public for the first time, and a discussion will be held on the preservation and utilization of visual materials that lie dormant in the region.
- Date: October 11 (Sat) 13:30–15:30
Venue: Former Yoshiike Clinic Examination Room Hall
Language: Japanese (no English interpretation available)
Panelist: Kumasaka Toshihide (Yamagata Museum of Modern Architecture Committee Director)