Transforming public bath house into art community space

Sento (public bath house) is one of the traditional Japanese cultures. It is a place where people take a warm bath and have a chat in a relaxed atmosphere. You see the delicate works of Japanese artisans in the paintings, walls and floors too. Due to the lifestyle transition of the Japanese people, however, the number of sento has decreased to about 4,000 in 2015 according to Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

From Takatsu yu (Takatsu sento) to Ofuroso (Image: Nagisa Mizuno)

Takatsu yu (Takatsu sento) in Kawasaki city, Kanagawa closed its business in 2015. After missing the public’s affection for four years, it reopened as Ofuroso, a multi-functional place for a shared workspace and gallery for artists, a community library and event space, for one year only.

A local architectural consulting company Nengo planned the renovation. Miho Nakamura from Nengo, in charge of this Takatsu sento project, talked to us about the history of the place, the process of renovation and some hints of town development.

Nakamura (Image: Nagisa Mizuno)

2 key topics in Takatsu: ‘Art’ and ‘Child’

Why did the old sento change to a trendy shared workspace, especially for artists? Let’s look at the history of the place. Takatsu sento is located in Takatsu ward, Kawasaki city. It is a 30-minute train ride from Shinjuku station.

Takatsu is known for the birthplace of some great Japanese artists. For example, an avant-garde painter and sculptor Taro Okamoto, and the first human national treasure Shoji Hamada were born in Takatsu. So Takatsu has fostered a spirit of “art.”

(Image: Nengo)

Half of the building is a community library and event space where people can freely come and join. This idea reflects the present situation in Kawasaki city. Kawasaki has a larger working-age population including many families with small children, than the national average. So “child rearing” is another key topic in Takatsu. Nakamura said, “We hope that Ofuroso will become a place where children can meet artists, accumulate knowledge by reading books and see the process of making art.”

Even though Takatsu yu finished its role as a bathhouse, the spirit of sento still remains in people’s mind, attracting old and young, males and females. The former sento was thus reborn to include modern concepts of “art” and “child rearing.

Community hub in Takatsu

After passing through a Noren (curtain hanging at the entrance of the bathhouse), there are two doors leading to what used to be men’s and women’s sections. The left half of the bathhouse, once the women’s section, is now used as a shared workplace for six artists including a painter, a musician and a flower artist.

An artist is making his artwork. (Image: Nagisa Mizuno)

A community library and event space are on the right side where the men’s section used to be.

Gallery (Image: Nagisa Mizuno)

This space used to be a changing room, and is now a community library. There are books in lockers. (Image: Nagisa Mizuno)

Neighbors, passersby, sento lovers and others enjoy the atmosphere Ofuroso provides. During the interview, I was impressed by the fact that nursery teachers with kids and an elderly couple curiously looked into Ofuroso.

Interesting events are occasionally organised. A lot of people joined Bozu night (talk session with monks), Tenugui (Japanese hand towel) painting workshop and Ofuro festival with music and food.

Bozu night (Image: Nengo)

Tenugui painting workshop (Image: Nengo)

Design a town in 100 years

Ofuroso has become a hub for everyone to get together in Takatsu. So, what is important to make such a popular place for locals? Nakamura answered, “When Nengo plan renovation projects, we always interpret climate, history and culture of the location, think of what are unique points and then design a town in 100 years. To conceptualize Ofuroso, we researched the history, walked around and talked to users of the sento. Even after completing the renovation itself, we have kept engaged with its actual operation to liven it up together with Takatsu citizens.”

What Nengo does is not to break or replicate the old building, but to spread the town’s charm in a new way. To do so, it is important to respect a town and locals, and create a future vision.

(This interview was originally published on Zenbird Media.)

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