Since Shiroiya Hotel opened in December 2020, Maebashi has drawn growing attention from artists, architects and design enthusiasts. Designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, the hotel has become a creative landmark in the capital of Gunma Prefecture. Fujimoto’s best-known projects include the Grand Ring at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, the steel latticework of London’s 2013 Serpentine Pavilion and a series of experimental homes exploring the relationship between people, architecture and nature.Fujimoto’s renovation continued a history stretching back more than 300 years, when Shiroiya operated as a traditional ryokan. The inn moved into a concrete building in the 1970s, but eventually struggled as Maebashi’s city centre declined and younger residents left for larger cities. Shiroiya closed in 2008, and the site was earmarked for redevelopment before Maebashi native Hitoshi Tanaka intervened.A 300-YEAR-OLD RYOKAN BECOMES AN ART HOTEL
Shiroiya Hotel retains its 1970s concrete structure, while skylights, contemporary art and greenery reshape the central atrium. (Photo: Luo Jingmei)
Tanaka is the founder and group CEO of Japanese eyewear company JINS, which operates more than 800 stores worldwide. The Maebashi native has since channelled his entrepreneurial experience into philanthropic and urban renewal projects in his hometown. In 2014, he bought the former hotel and commissioned Fujimoto to transform it into an art-focused destination.The architect kept the original Brutalist structure while introducing contemporary art throughout the building. American artist Lawrence Weiner’s bright yellow typographical artwork announces Shiroiya Hotel’s presence along Honmachi Road. Inside, sections of the floors and walls were removed to form a four-storey atrium, exposing a grid of concrete beams and columns through which Argentine conceptual artist Leandro Erlich’s Lighting Pipes installation twists. Daylight enters through skylights and reaches the ground-floor lounge, where abundant greenery softens the raw concrete.
