― A big change created by a small Urbanist-in-Residence in Kyoto ―

The “Inspired by Kyoto” project explores the meaning of Kyoto for the future. Each time we are exposed to the thoughts of practitioners in various fields who are creating Kyoto’s future without being bound by precedent, and we transmit them to the world in the form of narratives.

For this interview, we spoke with Mariko Sugita, who runs “Bridge To,” which is based in a townhouse — machiya — in the Jodoji area of Kyoto City, and creates discrete projects that blend into the city of Kyoto by urbanists from around the world.

Mariko Sugita, the owner of “Bridge To”

The “Philosopher’s Path” is named after the early 20th century philosopher Kitaro Nishida, who walked this path every morning to meditate on his thoughts. It is such a mysterious place that if you take a deep breath as you walk, you may unexpectedly hear the voice of your own mind. Bridge To is tucked away in a quiet residential area a little to the west of the path. The “Urbanist in Residence” concept is an unfamiliar concept to many people. We decided to explore the meaning of preserving Kyoto for the future through this unfamiliar initiative.

Philosopher’s Path along the Sosui Canal, which draws water from Lake Biwa, the largest freshwater lake in Japan

Mariko Sugita moved to Kyoto with her US-born husband in 2019. She usually works in the fields of planning, directing, and editing in the areas of urban, architectural, and city planning. Although she had no connection to Kyoto, she decided to live in Kyoto after comparing cities around the world from various perspectives. When she first moved to Kyoto, she lived in a share house, and while looking at various places in Kyoto, she came across her current townhouse in the Jodo-ji area.

Bridge To has a private bridge right in front of the entrance — one of the charming points of the residence. In the building beyond the bridge, Mariko has been conducting DIY renovations since the winter of 2019 with the owner’s permission.

Private bridge in front of Bridge To, built by the former owner

“Someone who not only lives in a given space, but actively works to repaint it”

Bridge To is the home and office of Mr. and Mrs. Sugita, as well as a residence and event space that welcomes urbanists, mostly from overseas.

What kind of people are urbanists? When I asked Mariko frankly, her answer was this:

“I use the term “urbanist” to describe someone who enjoys and actively uses the city in which he or she lives. I think that artist-in-residence programs are becoming more and more popular throughout Japan, but I would like to see people who are not just artists who create something at a particular location and then leave, but people who have a little bit more of an affinity with the town in the process of their activities, and who want to do something while interacting with the local government, town developers, and citizens. I started calling it an “urbanist”-in-residence because I wanted people to make full use of Kyoto as a field for their activities.”

On the day of the interview, a performance event was being held at Bridge To, and the interview team joined the event. ©︎Daisuke Murakami

Mariko, who has experienced city planning all over the world, has arrived in Kyoto

“In graduate school, I studied Urban Studies, a field that falls somewhere between urban design and urban sociology. During my time as a student in Europe, I was thinking about how to bring people from various fields together in one place and work together,” says Mariko.

While studying at universities in Denmark, Austria, and Belgium, Mariko was involved in projects that brought together architects, city planners, and international students to engage in after-school activities and intervene in the city, thereby developing the core of Mariko’s activities.

After graduating from graduate school, she returned to Japan. She worked in Shibuya, Tokyo, in the field of placemaking, but decided to start her own business with the desire to create her own projects with hands-on involvement.

She said of working in Shibuya, “At that time, people from various fields gathered in one place and worked together while being involved with each other. It was very interesting, and it was also exciting from an urban development perspective because the timing was right as the city was gearing up for the Tokyo Olympics. However, I felt that if I was only involved in a large scale project as a member of a team, it would not be mine the moment it left my hands. I began to wonder if I could create a place that was unique to me, even if it was on a small scale. That’s when I decided to look around overseas again.”

As she toured the U.S., Central and South America, and the Netherlands, various encounters stimulated Mariko, and that time has led to her current activities connecting Kyoto with the rest of the world.

“I think Kyoto is a popular destination, with its temples and shrines. But for me, Kyoto is more than a tourist spot; it is a place where one can learn about Japanese craftsmanship and philosophy on an everyday level. I have met and talked with many foreigners who are attracted to Kyoto, and I feel that while Kyoto has a concentrated sense of “Japaneseness,” it is not just that.”

The airy atmosphere in Kyoto

“I think some Japanese people have the impression that Kyoto is exclusive, but in reality, I feel that Kyoto is very open. There are many foreigners living here, so we are not bound by strange stereotypes. There are also a lot of students here, so it’s refreshing to see so many new young people coming in every year.”

It was as if the dots had been connected. Kyoto is open to the world and seems to accept everything without rejecting it.

“I really like the Jodoji area where Bridge To is located. There are many creative spaces in the neighborhood, including galleries, bookstores, and printing shops. If we wanted to complete the project in one place, we could renovate the building and decide the role of each room, but there are inns and galleries nearby, and the town is compact, so we can collaborate with these places. Because we don’t have to complete the project in one place, we can create a free, flexible, and “loose” space in a good sense.”

A place where everyone can share the fun freely

What does “airy Kyoto” mean? Let’s take a closer look at the invisible atmosphere in three dimensions. Mariko says that a part of Kyoto’s atmosphere can be found in the “ordinary, everyday things” that we overlook when we are exposed to them on a daily basis.

“The Kamo River is amazing. I have seen many cities around the world from the perspective of urban design, and it is rare in the world to find a public space where people are allowed to do whatever they want over such a wide area. There are people drinking, napping half-naked in the middle of the day, and swimming. Some people are having tea parties, some are practicing music, some are performing, some are setting up tents. It is a place where people can freely share their enjoyment with others. This unique public space is one of the reasons I moved to Kyoto.”

On the Kamogawa River, you can always see people enjoying themselves freely.

Low hurdles to creative activity

She says that Kyoto’s appeal lies not only in its atmosphere of free self-expression, but also in its environment conducive to actual creative activities.

“I feel that Kyoto has a lot of culture, arts, and traditional crafts that are deeply rooted in the city, so there are many kinds of lessons available. Artists from overseas often tell me that the appeal of Kyoto is that they can actually experience the arts and crafts. I think Kyoto has an environment that encourages artists’ creative activities and is very proactive about collaboration to create something together.”

The Jodoji area is dotted with many small workshops and ateliers. Local practitioners have gathered together and are beginning new activities for community development as an organization. ©︎Shotaro Ichihashi

Fermenting cities around the world with Kyoto fungi

“The value of Kyoto for people from overseas is that they can experience the openness, freedom, and low barriers to creative activities by actually coming to Kyoto. But it is not just that. I think it is also about spreading the “Kyoto bacteria” to the rest of the world, so that even if attractive people who are active in Kyoto leave for other parts of the world, they will be able to be active there again. If Kyoto bacteria ferments around the world, I think the world will become a more interesting place.”

Event held at Bridge To by Zack from the U.S., who is researching Japanese monsters -yokai- in Kyoto.

Inspired by Kyoto

Sugita Mariko’s practice in Kyoto, where she works to realize touchable urban design, is to lightly and refreshingly bring urbanists from around the world to this city and encourage activities that interactively influence the city and its people. Even the values that have long been rooted in the land are interpreted in the process, and something new is born. The emotion there is simply “excitement”. It is the kind of feeling that makes one’s curiosity stir and one’s heart dance when one comes into contact with a world that is unknown to him or her.

Bridge To will be used not only as a residence project, but also as a library where visitors can enjoy books and magazines in the fields of urbanism, architecture, and city planning, and as a pop-up gallery space.

Kyoto Bacteria to the World. It is a new interpretation of the inspiration Kyoto can give to the world.

Text by Yasuhito Sasaki

Bridge to Kyoto

Urbanists and creators from around the world come to Japan looking to engage with the local scene. Sadly, though, it’s easy to miss the depth and scope of urbanism in Japan without a hub to connect to it. Bridge to Kyoto is a vibrant and inviting space for visiting urbanists to stay, exchange ideas, and explore Kyoto. It’s a home base for anyone interested in urbanism, architecture and sustainable living.

https://www.brdg.to/

Mariko Sugita

Mariko is an independent editor, journalist, and researcher on architecture and urbanism. She graduated from 4CITIES’ Euromaster in Urban Studies, which brought her to 4 cities in various countries across Europe (Brussels, Vienna, Copenhagen, and Madrid). After graduation, she has cultivated a trajectory completing connections between journalism and the fields of architecture and urban design. After a few years of working as an Urban Project Director in Loftwork.inc in Tokyo, she struck out as an independent agent. She owns the website Traveling Circus of Urbanism, and manages the cultural space Bridge To in Kyoto where she hosts an “urbanist in residence” program, and co-founded “for Cities”, a new urban experience design studio based in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Amsterdam in 2021. She also organizes various workshops and educational programs. She is passionate about exploring and documenting stories of cities and the people who make them, in all parts of the world.

Kyoto City is calling for donations in order to hand down Kyoto’s heritage to the future.

Donate to Kyoto

Kyoto City Website

Facebook