Western Hot Spring Situation

Authored and edited by Osamu Ikeuchi, this book explores Western spa towns from the perspectives of cultural history, architecture, tourism, and health resorts. It was published in 1989 by Kajima Publishing.

It introduces spa towns mainly in Europe, but also in Turkey, Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and Iceland, including Bath, Baden-Baden, Vichy, Budapest, Istanbul, and Karlovy Vary. It focuses not only on famous resorts but also on small, local spa towns.

Each chapter includes travel essays by Osamu Ikeuchi, along with essays by researchers in fields such as architecture, urban history, and art history. From facilities and spaces unique to spa towns, such as bathhouses, drinking fountains, theaters, parks, promenades, and commemorative statues, the book traces the culture of health, leisure, socializing, and tourism in the West.

Photographs and old prints are not merely illustrations but are included as valuable resources conveying the structure and daily life of spa towns. The end of the book contains a map of European spas and a guide to spa resorts. Treating the act of opening the book as another spa journey, it is a cultural history and travel book that depicts not only the places but also the people who travel there.

[Title] Western Spa Affairs
[Publisher] Kajima Publishing
[Publication Date] December 20, 1989
[Page Count] 261 pages
[Size] approx. 157 x 217 x 20 mm / 438g
[Format] Hardcover
[Language] Japanese
[Title Reading] SEIYO ONSEN JIJO
[Author/Editor] Osamu Ikeuchi/Editor & Author, Yuichi Tabuchi/Book Design & Binding
[Printing] Tosho Printing/Printing, Toppan Seihon/Binding
[ISBN] 9784306093119
[Condition] Used 【4】Fair to Fair- (Sun-faded on all three sides, age spots on top)
[Accessories] -
[Featured In] -
[Related Exhibitions] -

Osamu Ikeuchi (1940–2019)

Born in Hyogo Prefecture. German literary scholar, translator, and essayist.

While researching, translating, and writing essays on German literature and European culture, he also traveled widely, publishing numerous travel essays that explored the history of places and the lives of their people.

In this book, he views spa towns not merely as tourist destinations but as cultural spaces where architecture, urban planning, health, leisure, and social interaction converge.

< Related Figures >

Akio Kawashima, Masaki Aoyagi, Yukino Sato, Tetsuo Ito, Shinichi Mochizuki, Mie Goto Roto, Takashi Uzawa