This study examines how the traditional and characteristic spaces of the Osaka modern Nagaya (row-houses) have been adapted to support the lifestyles of contemporary resident settlers through an investigation of 18 Nagaya occupants. The relationships between Nagaya space characteristics and occupant living styles were found to be particularly notable when considering (1) how Nagaya spaces with earthen-floors were utilized, (2) the residents' relationship with the Nagaya garden, (3) living styles that embrace room continuity, and (4) floor material selection and seating style.
The results obtained can be summarized as follows:
(1) Nagaya are utilized as venues for combined business and/or communal activities as well as residences. Within them, residents tend to engage in a wide variety of work and community activities.
(2) The modern Osaka Nagaya can be classified based on four floor plans by paying attention to the earthen floor locations. The relationship of these four floor plans with workplace activities can be discerned. For example, floor plans with wide earthen floors in the front are often utilized as stores or community activity hubs, whereas back rooms or second floor rooms having floor plans with entrance earthen floors are often utilized as medical and welfare/care service locations.
(3) Room continuity styles particular to Nagaya were seen in every case. Based on the way first floor rooms were used, Nagaya spaces can be classified into three types and analyzed. In the first (continuous type) style, the opening and closing of various fittings are used to adjust space segments for each use, in particular, when switching functions between living space and work space that host shops or offices. However, there were also numerous one-room types in which all the fittings were removed and the entire room (second style) or some rooms (third style) were used as an open space. The living characteristics of the one-room type depended on their intended use, and could be more easily subdivided by hanging walls or wing walls.
(4) Nagaya gardens were commonly retained after renovations, and were carefully tended. By arranging the living areas preferentially in locations where the garden can be seen, the new residents could create more comfortable indoor environments.
(5) In Nagaya occupied by new residents, the number of tatami rooms have declined in favor of wooden flooring, especially on the first floor. Furthermore, dining rooms were commonly remodeled into “table and chair” seating styles, while in the living rooms a “closer to the floor” seating style is now preferred. In the bedrooms, the proportion of floor seating style layouts is higher, but in most cases tended to reflect family compositions.
Based on the above, it can be seen that the unique characteristics of the Osaka modern Nagaya have been positively retained and are currently being utilized as dwellings by families who want to enjoy residential styles that are not limited by the range imposed by nLDK housing. In most of the Nagaya examined, various renovations were added at the time of occupancy, or were added incrementally during the living process. Nevertheless, the traditional and characteristic spatial arrangements—such as the garden, the earthen floor areas, and the continuity of rooms—were retained, and lifestyles that actively utilize these advantages are evolving. In our current era, in which modernization accompanied by westernization has almost completed changed the urban housing paradigm, Osaka modern Nagaya, which reflect Japanese traditional living arrangements, are being used effectively by modern residents, and have not lost their value as housing stock.
