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1. Center: Sketch of a Japanese Bath House [http://www.flickr.com/photos/ lentexx/3234225812/]
Japanese baths There are two types of Japanese Baths: the Sento and the Onsen. The Sento is an urban bath house who’s water is heated by burning wood, gas, or electricity. The Onsen is more of a rural bath who’s water is supplied by hot springs. These two types create very different bathing environments, but are both very much part of the Japanese Culture.
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Sento A communcal bath house where customers pay for entrance. Sentos are most often visited in the late afternoon after work.A distinctive quality of the bath house is the chimney. This vertical elements aids in locating baths around the city. 1. Left: Sento. [http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/File:KodakaraYuEntrance.jpg] 2. Bottom: Sento.[www.flickr.com/ photos/mloge/3710033006/]
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1. Basic Sento Layout. [http://www.answers. com/topic/sent-4] Drawn by S Mitcham
This is a basic layout of a sento. There is a dividing wall between the men’s and women’s area to seperate the sexes. There is often a door in the wall to allow children to move back and forth between the two rooms. The two sides have very much the same design with the exception of the baby bed in the women’s changing room.
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1. This is a sketch that shows a closer look at the layout of the dressing room.
changing room (Datsuiba). The most basic changing room simply has baskets for placing ones clothes. Other items my be present though such as a small Japanese garden with a pond and Japanese -tyle toilet, tables, chairs, scale, mirrors, baby beds, coin-opperated massage chairs, refreshment cooler, etc. The changing room retains a Japanese style even in modern sentos. Wood is often used for the floor and the shelving.
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the bathing area This is the area where you prebath and then soak. There are faucets and small stools or prebathing. A typical sento has 2-3 bathtubs with different water temperatures. There may also be a denki buro which sends electric currents throught the water. This causes the muscles to tighten and an icrease in blood flow hopefully working on cronic pain. A 6.5’ wall seperates the men from the women. Japanese landscape murals often adorn the walls. Unlike the changing room, the style of the bathing area has been updated to materials such as tile which are easier to maintain. This is thought of as a Western style. 1. Sento. [http://www.flickr.com/photos/michenv/194004597]
1. Modern Designed Sentov. [http://www.flickr.com/photos/ dlisbona/155792818/vvvvv]
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1. Left: Men bathing. [The Atlantic Magazine] 2.Right: Men bathing. [Wikipedia]
Bathing Naturally Onsen is a Japanese bath named for the hot springs that supply the hot water. Japan has the highest concentration of hot springs in the world. Here you will find a greater variety of bathing: salt-water, mud, waterfalls, and electric. There also several types of mushi-buro (steam baths): kama-buro (kiln bath), ishi-buro (rock bath), kara-buro (empty bath), todan-buro (shelf bath), and Zakuroguchi (the Pomegranate Entrance bath).
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Symbols The word “yu” is often written on a banner hanging on the bathhouse to let one know the establishment is open. Yu means hot water or bath unless you are in a restaurant where it means soup. In the context of bath, “yu” has strong connatations: steam, relaxation, soaking, and all the symbolism of hot springs. “Furo” is also another name for bath and is often the name used for a private bath.
1. Symbol for hot water. [http://www.flickr.com/ photos/camswitzer/384539392]
2. Symbol. [http://www.flickr.com/photos/ camswitzer/384539350]
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1. Japanese Health Center graphics. [www.flickr. com/photos/53989046@N04/5331749373]
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2. Charcoal Sauna. [www.flickr.com/photos/ anijdam/3585793972]
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3. Entrance to a Soapland. [http://www.flickr. com/photos/moaksey/131573955/]
Health centers, saunas, and soaplands Health Centers aka Healthlands include the traditional sento program plus faciliteis for exercising, playing sports, restaurants, massages, aerobics, karaoke, relaxation rooms, gardens and more. But with all of these other features, the bath is still the most important aspect and takes up the greatest amount of floor area. Emphasis is on socializing and relaxing very little serious exercise is done. Health centers may also have communal whirlpools or saunas where the two sexes could meet (wearing swimsuits) in a relaxing atmosphere. The Sauna is a new comer to the Japanese Bath and was inspired by the Finnish sauna during the 1956 Olympics. Saunas are often accompanied by a cold bath to help you cool off. Soaplands aka the Turkish Bath (torukoburo) cater to male customers and have female bathing attendants (yuka). A basic fee is charged for a scrub and little else; an additional fee is charge for special services that range from erotic massages to actual sex.
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1. Left: Bathing Instructions [www. onsenjapan.net/onsenbasics.]
The Rules The Rules of the bath house are often posted on the wall before entering as it is greatly frowned upon to not use proper etiquette.
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1. Rinsing with bucket. [http://www.flickr. com/photos/camswitzer/384539568]
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2. Dirtiest Parts require extra attention. [http:// www.flickr.com/photos/camswitzer/384539545]
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3. Sitting on a wooden stool. [http://www.flickr. com/photos/camswitzer/384539508]
prebathing At both sentos and onsens, you are expected to thouroughly wash and rinse yourself before entering the bath. All washing and rinsing is done outside the tub, and a drain in the floor carries the water away. Bathing stations are equipped with stools, faucets, wood buckets to sit on, and toiletries. While washing you must pay close attention to your feet and genitals. Commonly a quick rinse is done before soaking and the scubbing and soaping come after the bath.
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1. Hot Water. [http://www.flickr.com/ photos/camswitzer/384539528]
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2. Hot Springs in a snowy environment [www.flickr.com/photos/ peteleongphotography/2116101745]
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3`. Steaming bath. [http://www.flickr.com/ photos/camswitzer/384539599]
Hot water To a foreigner, Japanese baths seem too hot to unwind and relax. Water is normally kept between 106 and 115 degrees Fahrenheit, but people in Japan are used to the high temps. The high temps are used in order to kill potentially harmful bacteria.
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Meditation Water as the purifcation element in the bath cleans, refreshes, relaxes and invigorates not only the body but also the kokoro (the heart or spirit). A bath promotes the physical and psycological health of the Japanese people.
1. Men in bath watching waterfall. [unknown]
1. Man Meditating. [www.flickr.com/photos/ camswitzer/384539309]
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1. Man relaxing in Bath. [www.flickr.com/photos/ camswitzer/384539650]
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1. A rare instances of yakuza in the baths. [The Atlantic]
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2. A rare instances of yakuza in the baths. [The Atlantic]
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3. Girl with a dragon tatoo. [zimbio.com]
The gangster in my tub Tattoos are uncommon in Japan and often (on Japanese people) indicate yakusa or gangster ties. Their is a percieved badge of criminality associated with tatoos even if they are peaceful. Some Japanese Bath houses may refuse entry if you have “sleeves� or large, very visible tattoos. The attempt to ban gangsters from the bath houses gives light to the importance of maintaing a peaceful, relaxing, family oriented atmosphere in the bath house.
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1. Family Bathing. [http://www.flickr. com/photos/camswitzer/384539684/in/
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2. Father bathing child. [www.bookmice.net/ darkchilde/japan/jbath]
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3. Manga cartoon of bathing. [http://hanifnorman.wordpress.com/page/4/]
Bathing to be japanese Bathing in Japan is more than just the act of getting clean. It involves notions of status, purity, cleanliness, and bonding through naked association. “It is said that of all the peoples of the world, Japanese love bathing the most” Bathing with one’s children is also important in Japanese culture. Traditionally one of the first and primary places for training one’s child in public social interactions was at the sento. The bath was were a child learned how to greet others and interact in a proper fashion. Adults scrub the children’s backs and the children recipricate. This act is known as “skinship.” Skinship is a way to increase the bond between two people through skin-to-skin contact. Family’s aren’t the only ones to partake in skinship. Other groups from businessmen to students bath together and if skinship is neglected then members begin to feel that something is lacking in the relationship. ARCH 5001
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1. Left: Men and women bathing together. [unknown]
Mixed Bathing Nudity in Japan does not have erotic connotations that our culture knows so well, so bathing with the opposite sex is done in an atmosphere of sexual nonchalance. While this used to be common practice in Japan, the desire to percieved as a modern society to the rest of the world led to the seperation of sexes. The exception to rule is for preadolescent children who may move freely between the men and women’s areas.
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1. Modern Wooden Bath. [http://blog. custommade.com/page/7/]
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2. Modern Bath. [http://modernfurnitureset.com]
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3. Modern Japanese Bath. [www.greatinteriordesign.com]
Modernization While Japan struggles to hold on to the culture of public bath houses, they have no problem with modernizing the design of their baths. Hard to clean wooden floors have been replaced with tile or concrete. Mirrors are hunger on the walls and hair dryers are provided in the changing room. Westernized faucets have been added. Wooden baths are sometimes used in modern bath rooms for nostalgia and is heated by gas not wood.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Aaland, Mikkel. Sweat: the Illustrated History and Description of the Finnish Sauna, Russian Bania, Islamic Hammam, Japanese Mushi-buro, Mexican Temescal, and American Indian & Eskimo Sweat Lodge. Santa Barbara, CA: Capra, 1978. 2. Clark, Scott. Japan, a View from the Bath. Honolulu: University of Hawaii, 1994. Print. 3. Clark, Scott. “The Japanese Bath: Extraordinarily Ordinary.” Re-made in Japan: Everyday Life and Consumer Taste in a Changing Society. New Haven: Yale UP, 1992. 89-104. Print. 4.
Furchgott, Roy. “Japan: Bed, Onsen & Beyond.” The Washington Post 26 June 2005. Print.
5. Hotta, Anne, and Yoko Ishiguro. A Guide to Japanese Hot Springs. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1986. Print. 6. Mann, Charles C. “The Gangster In My Tub - Magazine - The Atlantic.” The Atlantic — News and Analysis on Politics, Business, Culture, Technology, National, International, and Food – TheAtlantic.com. Web. 26 Jan. 2011. <http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/11/thegangster-in-my-tub/7045/>. 7. Paine, Emily. “Bath House – Project Travel - ProjecTravel.com - Travel Advice, Stories, Best Practices, City Blogs, Luxury.” Project Travel ProjecTravel.com - Travel Advice, Stories, Best Practices, City Blogs, Luxury. 23 July 2009. Web. 26 Jan. 2011. <http://projectravel.com/blog/tag/bathhouse/>. 8.
“Taking a Bath in Japan.” Bookmice.net Index. Web. 26 Jan. 2011. <http://www.bookmice.net/darkchilde/japan/jbath.html>.
9.
Tokyo Correspondent. “Japan; The Bath That Does Not Cleanse.” The Economist (1984): 39. Print.
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