[Open Lecture] September Lecture: "The Charm of Cafe Culture and the Power of Space (From the Perspective of Healing and Connection)"

The main theme of the open lectures in the second semester of 2025 will be "Culture, Literature, and History of the Hanshin Region."
The first session was held on September 7th and was led by Koji Sakai, Part-time Lecturer Otemae College, with the theme "The appeal of cafe culture and the power of space (from the perspective of healing and connection)."

Even on this lingering summer day, over 100 people gathered, and the lecture continued on to cover topics such as the origins of coffee, the relationship between religion and coffee, how religious spaces known as "kaffehane" can be said to be the origins of "cafés," British cafés that developed as a place for the exchange of information (information space) in business and other areas, French cafés that became the prototypes of today's cafés, the development of Japanese coffee culture after the Meiji Restoration, and Hanshin Modernism. Professor Sakai also displayed a life-size model of an early café, similar to a food stall, in one corner of the venue, which may have helped attendees better imagine what the café space was like at the time.

The next lecture will be given by Inoue Katsuhiro, curator of the Tanizaki Junichiro Memorial Museum in Ashiya City, on Saturday, October 11th.
Applications are currently being accepted! For more details, please visit the website below.

(Source: Regional and Social Cooperation Office)