01 — CONCEPT
Concept / Cultural Folk Exchange
Culture is born not only from roots, but from routes. Beginning with the century-old Orga House, artists and practitioners from Japan and abroad come together to create, record sound, hold conversations, and conduct place-based experiments grounded in Tsuyazaki’s natural environment, architecture, history, and daily rhythms.
An AIR program inviting artists and researchers to Tsuyazaki, engaging in site-specific creation, sound recording, dialogue, and community experiments rooted in local heritage and daily life.
Program & Objectives
01
Creative Dialogue
Engaging with the landscape, sounds, and people of Tsuyazaki to explore forms of expression that can arise only from this place.
02
Decentralized Hub & Living Lab
Starting from Orga House, the former Tamanoi Ryokan and Tanaka Pharmacy become a town-wide campus for making and exchange.
03
Cultural Co-Creation
In collaboration with Tsuyazaki Geiko Port and the Japan Heritage program, we cultivate sustainable cultural and economic exchange.
EVENT ARCHIVE
Mahoraga Sessions
A record of music, painting, and sound experiments made during each residency.
2026 Summer
Mahoraga Session Summer 2026
A summer gathering with a singer from Tokunoshima and a guitarist from Nagano, layering voices and strings into the space of the old house.
2026 Spring
Mahoraga Session Spring 2026
A spring residency where painting and sound experiments came together.
2025
Mahoraga Session 2025
An evening of ambient sound, gourd lamps, and a shared meal.
2024 November
Qoa
An event held while construction was still underway. Ambient music by Qoa, visiting from Argentina, resonated through the house — the beginning of Orga House’s story.
02 — STAY & MAKE
Facilities & Conditions
Accommodation
Two tatami rooms on the first floor (8 and 6 mats), shared with the host family. Two toilets, shared bath, kitchen, and washroom; guest mini refrigerator and Wi-Fi. No air conditioning; fans and natural ventilation. Laundry is available at a nearby coin laundry.
Rates
Private room (one person): ¥10,000 per night in the regular season; ¥15,000 per night in April, May, October, and November. Shared room: ¥4,000 per night in the regular season; ¥7,000 per night in April, May, October, and November. Invitations and open-call programs may include a complimentary stay.
Studio & Gear
Tannoy and JBL speakers; two Technics SL-1200 turntables; Tascam 122MKIII; Otari MX-5050 open-reel recorder; Roland R-44E field recorder; Yamaha AG-03.
Presentation
Live events at Orga House, talks and exhibitions at the former Tamanoi Ryokan and Tanaka Pharmacy, and presentation support through partner galleries in Fukuoka and Kitakyushu. Fifty percent of net event revenue is returned to artists.
INSIDE ORGA HOUSE
Spaces for Living & Making
Places in the old house where living, making, and conversation gently overlap.
Guest Room 1 — A quiet tatami room
Shared Bathroom — Soft window light
Guest Room 2 — Old beams and shoji screens
Kitchen & Dining — A shared room opening onto the garden
DJ Booth & Lighting — A place for making sound
Entrance Speakers — An open space for sound
Garden-side Hearth — A place for wind and light
03 — PLACE
Location & Environment
Tsuyazaki-Sengen prospered through maritime trade and salt production in the Edo period. Its quiet coast, narrow lanes, and old houses remain, alongside a community of people choosing to make a life here.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: From Fukuma Station on the JR Kagoshima Main Line, take a Nishitetsu bus for about 15 minutes. Get off at Tsuyazaki or Tsuyazaki-Sengen, then walk three minutes. BY CAR: About 25 minutes from the Koga or Wakamiya interchange on the Kyushu Expressway.
RESIDENCY MOMENT
Making begins by listening to a place.
Making begins by listening to a place.
04 — CONTACT
Inquire / Contact
For residency applications, visits, and collaborations, please write to us in English or Japanese.
koki.shibata@now-here.co.jp
0940-51-1195 / 080-2016-7995
ORGA HOUSE
NOWHERE Inc. / Shibaken Records. Host & Coordinator: Hiroki Shibata. Owner: Sonoo Shibata. 4-20-7 Tsuyazaki, Fukutsu, Fukuoka 811-3304, Japan. Instagram: @orga.house | now-here.co.jp