Shikii in defining Japanese “public” space: Case study of Shinonome Canal Court in Tokyo

As a concept imported from the West, ‘public’ did not show up in Japanese society until Meiji. This results in a lack of typical public space typologies in Japan's city center, such as square and plaza. However, researchers argue concepts rooted in premodern ideas and related materialized informal open spaces, such as urban commons in Edo, to be the indigenous ‘public’ space in Japan for public gatherings and interactions. As Western ideas of clear public-private division for the protection of private property enter into legislation, the once popular ‘common’ space between public and private, and according shikii (threshold) concept behind it, are threatened to be disappearing. This paper focuses on one social housing project, Shinonome Canal Court in Tokyo, designed by Riken Yamamoto, who is the laureate of 2024 Pritzker Prize for his dedication to public space and community cultivation through shikii. Through case study, the research explains how the shikii concept is interpreted in Shinonome Canal Court, and how the ‘public’ space and its ‘public’ meaning related to ‘common’ are constructed and explained under shikii. Based on the archive documents provided by UR, related reports and research in literature, observation of activities and events, interviews with the designer Riken Yamamoto, the representative of the project's private management company, Tokyu Housing Lease, and local residents, the paper underscores the lost ‘grey’ character behind shikii in defining Japanese ‘public’ (‘kōkyō’). It concludes that shikii in the project is represented not only in the physical form of different types of open spaces but also in the cooperation and negotiation between different public and private groups in deciding how the open spaces are designed, operated, and managed. ‘Public’ meaning is constructed by ‘common’; ‘Public’ space and ‘common’ space are interchangeable in Shinonome Canal Court, depending on time-based activities and events of users within.