Whether people use them or not varies, but Community Centers can be found all over Japan.
Because they are often used for classes for local residents and community exchange, it is not unusual for them to be located in residential areas.
Kurashiki Community Center, on Honmachi Street in the heart of the Bikan Historical Area, serves the same role as other Community Centers, but is unusual in that it stands right in the middle of a tourist district.
This article introduces Kurashiki Community Center as a social education facility used by local residents.
The information presented was current when this article was published in July 2022. Please note that it may differ from current information.
What is Kurashiki Community Center?
Kurashiki Culture Center, the predecessor of Kurashiki Community Center, was newly built on October 3, 1969, after Ohara Soichiro donated 10 million yen to Kurashiki City in 1953 to build the Music Library.
Later, in 1983, the adjacent municipal library moved to its current location (2-chome, Chuo, Kurashiki City) as the Central Library. The facility was renamed Kurashiki Community Center, and has remained so ever since.
A major feature of its exterior is its broad, gently sloping “large roof.”
It is said to have been inspired by the Ono family’s three-story storehouse, which once stood on the site of Kurashiki Community Center.
Although it came about in a way that differs from that of an “ordinary Community Center,” more than 50 years have passed since its completion, and together with “Shin-Kojimakan (formerly the Kurashiki Honmachi Branch of Chugoku Bank)” across the street, it has become a building that blends in with the Bikan Historical Area.
Community Centers are “social education facilities” for lifelong learning
Community Centers are designated as “social education facilities” for citizens’ lifelong learning, and are defined as follows:
As facilities for lifelong learning closest to the community, they support residents’ learning throughout their lives by offering classes suited to local characteristics, providing learning information, and making facilities available for training and meetings. In doing so, they promote the development of vibrant people and livable communities.
Source: “Operating Policy” on the Kurashiki Community Center website
Because Kurashiki Community Center is located in the tourist destination of the Bikan Historical Area and rents out rooms, some people may think it is like a civic hall that hosts events and other functions.
However, its functions are no different from those of a Community Center in the usual sense.
For this reason, there are certain restrictions, such as a ban on use for commercial purposes.
Kurashiki Community Center is one of Kurashiki City’s four “core Community Centers”
Kurashiki City has four “core Community Centers,” which oversee district Community Centers in their areas, and 24 “district Community Centers,” which serve the areas within junior high school districts. These are managed and operated by the local government in accordance with the Social Education Act.
In addition, there are Community Centers established and run by residents themselves, known as “autonomous Community Centers.”
These are known by various names, such as neighborhood Community Centers and meeting halls. Since they are not managed or operated by the local government, they can be used more freely—for example, to sell goods or hold campaign speeches during elections.
Kurashiki Community Center is one of the core Community Centers, and as of July 2022, it had 12 staff members.
- Kurashiki Community Center
- Mizushima Community Center
- Kojima Community Center
- Tamashima Community Center
Community Center services
Kurashiki Community Center’s activities can be broadly divided into three categories.
- Planning and running classes
Classes cover a wide range of subjects. They include classroom-based seminars as well as singing, sign language, English conversation, exercise, and many other types of classes, planned by Community Center staff (instructors). - Developing and guiding “Community Center groups”
“Community Center groups” are gatherings of people with shared interests who pursue independent lifelong learning activities based at a Community Center. Groups cover a variety of fields, including daily life, humanities, arts, and health, and provide opportunities for lifelong learning and making friends. - Carrying out human rights education and learning initiatives
In conjunction with human rights education lectures and other events hosted by the Community Center, it works with human rights learning promotion committees organized in each junior high school district to carry out various initiatives. These awareness-raising activities aim to foster greater awareness of human rights and build a culture that respects human rights.
In addition, the facilities are rented out for residents’ meetings and other public uses.
Some people may think that renting out rooms such as meeting rooms is its main business.
However, the Community Center’s main work is running its own classes and developing and guiding Community Center groups, and these activities are given priority in the use of its facilities.
Features of Community Center programs (classes)
The Community Center’s main activity is planning and running classes, but these differ somewhat from the hobby and enrichment classes offered by private facilities.
The features of Community Center programs (classes) can be summarized as follows:
- Learning together
- Giving back to the community
- Enriching the lives of local residents
Learning together
General classes often involve studying alone, as with correspondence courses, or listening to an instructor speak one-way.
At Community Centers, people encourage one another, challenge each other to improve, and value communication with the instructor.
A distinctive feature is that participants, not just the instructor, help run the classes and build the learning experience together.
Giving back to the community
What people learn at a Community Center should not be kept to themselves; they are expected to give back to the community and its residents by sharing the knowledge they have gained.
The learning does not end when the class is over.
Enriching the lives of local residents
Communities face a variety of challenges, and these differ from one area to another.
Learning is one way to address them.
Community Center staff keep an eye on local needs, work through problems with residents, provide necessary assistance, and connect them with more specialized organizations, supporting residents in their learning.
Renting facilities at Kurashiki Community Center
When there are no classes or Community Center group activities scheduled, the facilities can also be rented to general organizations.
The facilities available for rent at Kurashiki Community Center are as follows:
| Room | Details |
|---|---|
| Large Hall | For concerts, lectures, etc.; capacity: 387 |
| Exhibition Room | For art and craft exhibitions; 93.02 square meters |
| Cooking Practice Room | For cooking practice and training; capacity: 36 |
| Japanese-style Room | Capacity: 30; large room: 21 tatami mats; tea room: 4.5 tatami mats |
| Meeting Room 1 | Capacity: 30 |
| Meeting Room 2 | Capacity: 70 |
| Meeting Room 3 | Capacity: 25 |
| Meeting Room 4 | Capacity: 50 |
Applications can be made at the Kurashiki Community Center counter starting two months before the date of use for meeting rooms, six months before for the Large Hall, and on the first day of the month six months before the month of use for the Exhibition Room.
Under the Social Education Act and other regulations, the Community Center cannot be used in the following cases:
- When the purpose is commercial.
- When supporting or opposing a particular political party.
- When supporting a particular religion.
- Use may also be prohibited if it would otherwise interfere with facility management.
The Music Library, with around 4,000 SP records and a gramophone for listening
Kurashiki Community Center has a special facility not found at other community centers: a “Music Library.”
It was made possible by a donation of 10 million yen to Kurashiki City in 1953 by Ohara Soichiro, who devoted himself to the postwar development of Kurashiki City, and by the citizens’ passionate desire to see it built.
At the same time, around 2,000 SP records were donated and are now used as the “Ohara Collection.”
Later, his eldest son Kenichiro donated two gramophones that Soichiro had cherished, and they continue to delight the ears of visitors to this day.
A Community Center in the Heart of a Tourist Area
Because it is located right in the heart of the Bikan Historical Area, many people seem to think it is different from other community centers, but its role as a community center remains unchanged.
Its basic role is as a social education and educational and cultural facility that supports lifelong learning for residents, but it seems that it also has to deal with many issues unique to being in a tourist destination.
The writer feels that not only the streetscape of the Bikan Historical Area, but also life there, has become a tourist attraction.
For this reason, having a social education facility for residents in the Bikan Historical Area, which has now become a tourist destination, feels unique to Kurashiki. But what kind of work does Kurashiki Community Center do?
In the second half of the article, we spoke with the center’s director, Kusudo Tomoko.
Kurashiki City Kurashiki Community Center details
| Name | Kurashiki City Kurashiki Community Center |
|---|---|
| Address | 2-21 Honmachi, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 086-423-2135 |
| Parking | Available |
| Opening hours | 9:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. 9:00 a.m.–5:15 p.m. |
| Closed | Monday ・Open if Monday is a public holiday ・The next weekday if Monday is a public holiday ・Year-end and New Year holidays (December 28–January 4) |
| Admission (tax included) | Facility rental fees vary by room See the Kurashiki Community Center website for details |
| Payment methods |
|
| Reservations | Available ※Reservations required by the day before ・Meeting rooms: from two months before the date of use ・Main hall: from six months before the date of use ・Exhibition room: from the first day of the month, six months before the month of use Applications can be made at the Kurashiki Community Center reception desk |
| Smoking | Completely smoke-free |
| Restrooms | Western-style toilets |
| Accessibility | Accessible restroom |
| Website | Kurashiki City Kurashiki Community Center |
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