Tenchisouzou
Study Abroad Senior Research Studio: Tokyo
Team: Vivian Lee
Instructor: Dr. Brian Sinclair
Fall 2019
Tokyo is a city of juxtapositions and things that may seem contradictory, but exist together in harmony.
In the bustling urban centers, there are shrines and castles, moments of leisure within the heavily emphasized working life of the city. Onsens (温泉) and sentos (銭湯) serve as a retreat for the body and mind amidst the high-speed lifestyle of Tokyo.
Some things cannot and do not want to be changed and are just as much a part of the present everyday life as anything else. This by extension creates thresholds and areas that exists in a space that can be seen as the “in-between”. It is a uniqueness lived and breathed by Tokyo.
There are creatures that exist between these lines, known as yokai (妖怪) and yūrei (幽霊).
https://hyakumonogatari.com/2013/02/05/a-brief-history-of-yokai/
The In-between (Tenchisouzou) aims to consolidate these two vastly differing energies through assigning the sento to earth, and the yokai museum to heaven, and the sky garden joining the two.
Circulation allowing free movement through public areas while restricting access to paid train services
Main entrance to train station
Cross-section of train station
The Sky Garden connects the Sento to the Train Station to the Yokai Museum and Entertainment Center. The visitor can walk through a variety of landscapes without ever leaving the station.
Through this unusual pairing we hope to reveal the underlying morals within the subject matter of traditional irezumi and modern tattoo, and how it runs parallel with the morals propagated by modern Japanese society. By drawing in the visitor through a phenomenological experience; sound, visual mystery as well as touch through a connection to the earth and its vibrations, we aim to create a fully immersive experience.
Tenchisouzou plays on the phenomenological and sensory aspects of intrigue, mystery, explicitness, and occupying thresholds. It provides opportunity for those to view everyday activity in a new and experiential manner, evoking a change in the mental routine of the user. Through using shadows to make sense of the light, to find the beauty in what cannot be seen, and to discover the “in-between” can bring about a new understanding of the built environment.