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Japanese
Bathhouses
In
the novel The Sound of Waves, public bathhouses play an important
role, serving as
areas of gossip and news exchange.
When Teru, a wealthy old ship-owner, enters a
bathhouse, he overhears two young fishermen discussing his daughter
Hatsue’s relationship with Shinji, a local fisherman.
Almost everyone in Teru's village has already been aware of
these rumors, yet it is only in the public bathhouse that Teru hears
the news through gossip.
Background
on Bathhouses
Public
bathhouses have served in Japan as community meeting places since the
nineteenth century when there were six hundred bathhouses in Edo (later
named Tokyo) alone. Bathhouses
became prominent during the Tokugawa Period (1603-1867) when Edo Bakufu,
a Japanese leader, banned bathing at home as a fire prevention
measure. Because Japanese
houses were composed of paper and wood, and susceptible to fire,
Japanese used public bathhouses or sento
(literally meaning “coin bath”) in town. Even the rich, such as Teru, used these public bathhouses.
Bathhouse
Etiquette
When
bathhouses became popular, men and women tended to bathe together,
though precautions were taken to avoid embarrassment.
The bathhouse proper, where preliminary washing and communal
soaking took place, was almost completely dark.
Even when in the water, it was customary for men to wear a
loincloth and women to wear an underskirt.
Late in the nineteenth century, it became more customary to have
single-sex bathes, like the one Teru uses in The
Sound of Waves.
Before
one enters the bath, he/she must shower first in order not to dirty the
bath water. A person must
be thoroughly washed head to toe and rinsed at least once before
entering the tub. Most bathhouses have no showerheads, just a pair of hot and
cold taps, which are used to fill a bucket with water and to douse and
scrub oneself until clean. After
cleansing, one may enter the tub, but he or she must not disturb the
water, touch others, or let soap dirty the bath water.
The tub is used primarily for relaxing.
Ironically,
in The Sound of Waves, Teru does not rinse himself before entering the bath water, nor does he try
not to splash. Although his
actions violate Japanese bathhouse etiquette, perhaps he
feels that he is older, richer, and wiser than others at the bath and
therefore bathhouse rules do not apply to him.
After
bathing, there is no set etiquette on a final rinse down.
Many Japanese claim that whether or not to rinse depends upon the
composition of water. However,
if one leaves the bath and enters a sauna (found in modern bathhouses),
it is necessary to rinse before re-entering the bath.
Bathhouse
Materials
Only
in the twentieth century have Japanese begun to use soap.
In the nineteenth century, soap was not often used for bathing
because of its high price as an import.
Instead, bags of rice-bran were used for the preliminary wash.
Also, tenugui, a piece of
cotton cloth about two feet by nine inches, was used instead of a large
towel. In order to use the tenugui, one would wet it, rub the body with it, and then wring it
out. Clothes would take off the remaining
moisture. In the summer,
the coolness that came from this evaporation was considered pleasant.
In the winter, it was considered a good idea to go to bed quickly
after a hot bath in order to conserve the warmth acquired from it.
Today,
towels are used at the bath. One
uses a towel both for washing and protecting modesty while
entering the tub. However,
the towel is not to get in the water.
A separate towel is to be used for drying off after the bath.
Although most twenty-first century baths have shampoo, soap, and
towels, it is best for one to take his or her own.
Bathhouses
Today
Today, public bathhouses are far less common than they were fifty
years ago. From 1968 to
present day, the current number of bathhouses has fallen by roughly
half: from 2,687 bathhouses in Tokyo to less than 1300 bathhouses today.
About thirty to fifty bathhouses close their doors each year due
to the installation of bathing facilities in the home.
Japanese bathhouses are still often segregated, although there
are a few mixed-sex bathhouses in hot spring spas and small villages.
Also, children of either sex may enter either the male or
female bathhouse until the age of ten.
In
modern bathhouses there are often two doors: one for men and one for
women. Just past the doors is a clerk, who sits in a small booth
between the men’s and women’s sides of the bathhouse, collecting
money. Beyond the clerk is
a locker room where one dresses and undresses, leaving clothes in a
locker.
Fancier
bathhouses may have different types of baths, such as Jacuzzis or
outdoor tubs. Some even
have saunas and/or lounge areas. A
new breed of bath, known as sauna, kenkou
land, kua house, or
bathland, resembles Western-style spas and offers services such as massage,
steam room, and jet bath. Due
to fancier bathhouses, such as those mentioned, and increased interest
in health, many in Japan predict that, despite the decline in bathhouses
over the past few years, the bathhouse will survive into the next
century.
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