![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/weekly\/assets\/uploads\/2020\/03\/section_2-610x345.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Q. Your study of architecture at university appears to have played an important role in your sento <\/em>illustrations. How did you first become interested in architecture? <\/strong><\/p>\n Enya I attended open campuses for a number of universities. While other universities had prepared proper models and nice posters, Waseda just had a shabbily placed graphite architectural drawing. The \u201cheat\u201d emanating from that raw presentation inspired me to enter Waseda.<\/p>\n Q.\u3000So you were drawn to Waseda by that \u201cheat.\u201d [laughs] How did you spend your days as a student? <\/strong><\/p>\n Enya Q. It sounds like a very engrossing period. <\/strong><\/p>\n Enya Caption: A water painting of the cityscape of Kashima, Saga Prefecture, drawn by Enya for her graduation thesis.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n When I showed them to locals, they replied, \u201cWow! I had no idea our city was such a great place!\u201d<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t think my drawings were anything special, but when I received that reaction for the first time, I felt the inherent value of drawings. That\u2019s when I decided to apply myself to drawing, which is something I\u2019ve enjoyed since I was little.<\/p>\n But I wasn\u2019t interested in becoming a painter; I wanted to create drawings related to my study of architecture. So, as a graduate student, I studied with the goal of fusing drawing and architecture.<\/p>\n Q. It seems that goal of combining drawing and architecture was a big part of what led to your sento illustrations<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Enya When I presented my work, my teachers said, \u201cThe sketches are nice, but the designs are all wrong.\u201d I entered the two-year graduate program because I wanted to apply myself to design, so it was very disheartening to receive that reaction. I felt I needed to redeem myself, and that the only way to do that was to study under an architect and learn how to fuse drawing and design. That\u2019s why I jumped head first into a job at a design office. Looking back, part of the reason I stuck with design was probably to rid myself of that feeling of defeat.<\/p>\n Q. But then you had a physical breakdown and encountered sento<\/em>. <\/strong><\/p>\n Enya Q. It must have been an excruciating decision to quit your job at the design office, considering your intimate connection to architecture since entering university. <\/strong><\/p>\n Enya Q. Your friends had observed you for a long time, so they were able to see things that you couldn\u2019t. <\/strong><\/p>\n Enya Whether it be what I did at university, the poor reaction I received from teachers in response to my master\u2019s design, or my lackluster grades, these were all things that pushed me hard. But at some point, this idea of \u201cneeding to become an architect\u201d turned into a curse. The notion that I was not good enough and that\u2019s why I needed to push harder was a form of self-denial.<\/p>\n For these reasons, I immediately felt relieved when I decided to quit architecture.<\/p>\n
\nMy mom works as an interior coordinator, and when I was in junior high she taught me how to draw a room\u2019s interior using perspective methods. That\u2019s how I first became interested in architecture. In high school, when considering what field I wanted to pursue after graduating, I decided on architecture because it incorporated math, physics, philosophy, and art \u2014 all things I liked at the time.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/weekly\/assets\/uploads\/2020\/03\/xxx4960-610x407.jpg\")
Caption: The architectural design studio in the basement of Building 57 on Nishiwaseda Campus. Enya recalls she \u201cpractically living there\u201d as a student. We saw many students working on projects there when we visited for this interview.<\/p>\n
\nFrom morning to night, my days were soaked in architecture. There were days I didn\u2019t go home, when I spent the night at the architectural design studio to work on projects. On other days, even when I didn\u2019t have any projects to work on, I talked about design with friends into the early hours of the morning. Working all night was fun. My part-time job was creating architectural models, and I was in Perspective Kenkyu-kai, a club that focused on visiting architectural works. It was six years of thinking about nothing but architecture.<\/p>\n
\nIt was fun. I was completely immersed. I wrote my thesis on \u201ccities\u2019 colors,\u201d focusing on the city of Kashima in Saga Prefecture. Each city has its own colors that form its identity. I spent half a month in Kashima, during which time I drew 20 pages of sketches and two three-meter picture scrolls.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/weekly\/assets\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kashima-610x300.jpg\"){kind=spacer}
<\/p>\n
\nYes. But back then I wasn\u2019t able to accomplish that goal. The theme of my research compilation for my master\u2019s design was the design of the Ginza metro station. I conducted field work from Ueno to Asakusa and incorporated designs into my sketches.<\/p>\n
\nI\u2019ve always hated losing, and because I had wanted to become an architect since junior high school, I got completely absorbed by my job, to the point that it destroyed my health. I took a leave of absence from work, but after I encountered sento <\/em>and recovered, I decided to return to work and give it another try. But I couldn\u2019t move my body like before, which created all sorts of obstacles. That\u2019s when Yusuke Hiramatsu, the young owner of Kosugiyu sento<\/em>, asked me if I wanted to try working there.<\/p>\n
\nI was very conflicted. Continuing to work at the design office would have been tough, but, on the other hand, choosing Kosugiyu sento <\/em>would have meant wasting everything I had gruelingly worked for, and killing my dream to become an architect, a dream I had since junior high school. I felt that quitting architecture was tantamount to rejecting who I was.
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/weekly\/assets\/uploads\/2020\/03\/xxx4998-610x407.jpg\")
\nI had a very hard time coming to a decision, and so I consulted with my friends. They suggested changing jobs, saying, \u201cAfter all, it\u2019s drawing that\u2019s been important to you,\u201d and, \u201cYou can do architecture whenever, so take the path that\u2019s open in front of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nI think so. Looking back, I realize I had kept saying to myself, \u201cI need to become an architect, I need to do architecture,\u201d but had no vision of what kind of architecture I wanted to create, or what kind of architect I wanted to be.<\/p>\n