Budo architecture: an alternative model of the panopticon

This article proposes budo architecture as an alternative model of the panopticon. By “alternative,” it refers to Japanese martial arts environments where panoptic order, hierarchy, repetition, and continuous visibility do not merely produce docile bodies for institutional utility, but support self-discipline and ethical self-cultivation grounded in budo philosophy. While Michel Foucault frames modern institutions as spatial apparatuses that normalize bodies through surveillance and routine, budo operates as a “do” (way) that integrates mind, technique, and body (shin–gi–tai) and orients practice toward responsibility and mutual welfare. Using a qualitative, theory-driven case study design, the study surveys 11 historical and contemporary budo facilities and conducts a comparative deep analysis of Kyoto Budo Center, Kodokan, and Nippon Budokan. Architectural plans are redrawn to a consistent scale and analyzed through taxis (overall ordering), spatial hierarchy, sightlines and gaze, thresholds and circulation, and interior atmosphere. The findings show shared panoptic features across all three halls, legible open practice fields, rank inscribed in position, and continuous visibility. However, Kyoto Budo Center and Kodokan also mobilize controlled shadow, ma (interval), engawa, and kamiza-oriented symbolism to invite introspection. The article theorizes this as a budo-oriented panopticon, redirecting discipline toward self-forming practitioners rather than passive subjects.