One Former Bathhouse, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property since 2025
Old University Bath (旧大學湯, Kyu Daigakuyu) stands at 3296 Hakozaki, Higashi ward, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, a Showa-period building entered on the register of tangible cultural properties on 13 March 2025. It is a registered property rather than a designated one.
The quantity is one building. The owner is an incorporated association.
The structure is timber, single-storeyed, roofed in sheet iron, with a floor area of 155 square metres. The date field reads early Showa and the year field 1932.
Registered in 2025, the Most Recent Met Here
This went on the register later than any property covered here.
The registration date is 13 March 2025.
The 2 buildings of the Kubiki Railway were registered in 2023, the 4 of the Hara residence in 2019, and the 3 stations of the Kinosaki ropeway in 2017.
Rokuzankan was registered in 2010 and the 4 buildings of the Furukawa residence in 2007.
This is later than all of them. A public bathhouse has come to be treated as cultural property only in recent years.
The Agency closes that it carries down the history of the old student quarter. What it was in its working days is what carries the assessment.
Western Outside, a Bathhouse Within
What it looks like and how it was used belong to different traditions.
The Agency records a bathhouse Western in outward appearance, its walls in weatherboard, a manner of cladding that came from the West.
Inside, the record gives a changing room on the south and the bath on the north: the plan of a Japanese public bath.
At Rokuzankan, a museum was said to reflect the image of a Christian church. There the outward form calls to mind a building of another kind.
Here the walls follow a Western manner while the plan within is that of a bathhouse. Outside and inside part ways.
The record notes the bathhouse sign hung across the front. That the name shows outside is set down as well.
A Raised Roof Above the Open Well
The bath is open to the roof, and a small roof sits at its peak.
The Agency records a raised roof at the centre of the open well above.
Such a roof rides on the main one, with openings in its sides to let steam and smoke escape.
At the Kubiki Railway locomotive shed, long windows and clerestory above bring in light. Those are for light.
Here the roof is for letting steam out. A bath uses hot water, and the vapour that gathers within must find its way out.
The roof is gabled and entered on the long side, in sheet iron, with a half-gabled porch at the front. The building faces south onto a forecourt.
Visiting
The building stands at 3296 Hakozaki, Higashi ward, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, owned by an incorporated association.
The Agency records it as a former bathhouse west of a university's old campus.
It covers 155 square metres, timber and single-storeyed.
Its name carries the word former. Its days as a working bath are over.
An association owns the building, so opening and terms follow the owner's arrangements. Check before travelling.
Q&A
- When was it registered?
- On 13 March 2025, as a registered tangible cultural property. It is registered rather than designated, and the quantity is one building.
- What kind of building is it?
- A bathhouse Western in outward appearance, with walls in weatherboard. Inside are a changing room on the south and the bath on the north.
- What is the raised roof for?
- It rides on the main roof at the centre of the open well, with openings in its sides to let steam escape.
- What is valued in it?
- That with its sign hung across the front, it carries down the history of the old student quarter.
- Where does it stand?
- West of a university's old campus, in Hakozaki, Fukuoka City.
Basic Information
| Name | Old University Bath (旧大學湯, Kyu Daigakuyu); the word former in its name marks that its days as a working bath are over |
|---|---|
| Location | 3296 Hakozaki, Higashi ward, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered tangible cultural property (structure); registered rather than designated |
| Year Designated | 2025 (13 March), registered |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single-storeyed, roofed in sheet iron, with a floor area of 155 square metres. It faces south onto a forecourt, gabled and entered on the long side in sheet iron, with a half-gabled porch at the front. A changing room lies on the south and the bath on the north, with a raised roof at the centre of the open well above. The walls are in weatherboard. The date field reads early Showa and the year field 1932 |
| Owner | An incorporated association |
| Public Access | Owned by an association; opening and terms follow the owner's arrangements |
References
- Cultural Heritage Online: Old University Bath
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/616260
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/
- Fukuoka City
- https://www.city.fukuoka.lg.jp/
- Fukuoka Prefecture: cultural properties
- https://www.pref.fukuoka.lg.jp/
Last verified: 2026.09.16