The Gentle Art of Japanese Bathing
Comments: 12
Steam rising off the rotenburo (open-air bath) at Dõgensõ, Gunma Prefecture.
In a comment on the pictures I posted recently of the rock carvings around Jinata onsen, Dave said:
One of the things that sounded particularly intriguing was how the Japanese bathe - in an onsen.
Do you have any pictures of onsens? What are the customs like regarding bathing?
I think I can answer this, having been to more onsen than I can remember (I lost count some years ago but I’m not slowing down). While I’ve got many, many photographs of onsen — more exactly, the accommodations and surroundings — I have far fewer of the baths themselves. It’s not the done thing to photograph them while they’re in use, and you don’t always get them to yourself. Nonetheless, I’ve managed to rustle up some shots which I hope you like.
Bathing in Japan really is something of an art, or has at least been elevated to the status of it. Blessed with thousands of hot springs (the aptly named Anne Hotta says in her book “A Guide to Japanese Hot Springs” that “A rough calculation shows that if you visited one hot spring a week, it would take forty years to sample them all”), the locals have had a long time to figure out the best way to make use of them, and onsen have come to mean much more than a tub full of hot water. There are steam baths, mud baths, ‘baths’ where you’re buried in hot sand, and waterfall baths (a bath and a massage in one) to name some variations.
Japanese bathing is fundamentally different to the Western concept of a bath in one crucial respect. In the West, bathers generally wash themselves in the tub. This is absolutely anathema to the Japanese, who quite rightly consider stewing in your own juices this way disgusting.
Rotenburo at Kappa Tengoku, Hakone Yumoto.
This brings us to the first and most important rule of bathing in Japan: no suds in the tub — ever. Japanese baths are for soaking only, and all washing and shampooing is done outside the tub, usually at faucet and shower arrangements set up along a wall of the bathroom. This is true of all baths whether onsen, sentõ (public baths, not necessarily onsen), or private baths at home. (The next rule of bathing would have to be no splashing. Take care when washing or showering not to get anyone else wet with your water.)
If you’ve been digging weeds out of the garden all day or doing other grubby, sweaty work, you should wash thoroughly before getting into the tub. The idea is that the bath water stays as clean as possible. (In our conservation-minded household we use the previous evening’s bath water for the first cycle in the washing machine.) You can get into tub before washing if you’re not obviously grotty, but not without at least splashing some water over yourself first. At onsen, a general pattern seems to be to have a bit of a soak first to relax and get your body warm, then wash (and shave and shampoo as necessary) at the taps (rinsing well so as not to take any residual suds back to the tub), then back into the bath for round two.
Takaragawa Onsen in Gunma Prefecture is considered to have the best outdoor baths in Japan. Note towel on the head of gentleman in lower right.
The one essential piece of equipment for bathing in Japan is a small bath towel. These towels (the standard size seems to be about 80 × 30 cm) are useful for both washing and drying yourself, as well as preserving one’s modesty, if that’s a concern, on trips from one tub to another (onsen almost always have more than one bath: they may vary in temperature, or one may be outside for example). The more upscale onsen will usually supply you with a towel, while at cheaper places you may need to buy them. Soap, and often shampoo and conditioner, is always provided.
Towels should be kept out of the bath water, and when bathing they’re often folded and worn on the head (see the fellow in the photograph above).
Private bath (with obscured companion) at Takeo, Saga Prefecture. Built in the late 19th century with marble imported from Italy.
Traditionally men and women bathed together, and segregation occurred among classes (no self-respecting samurai would want to bathe with a merchant). That began to change upon arrival of blue-nosed foreigners in the 1850s (god damn them), and in 1870 a law was passed prohibiting mixed bathing. Today most baths are still sexually segregated, but there are some that allow a return to the old ways. Couples or families staying in smaller inns are often allotted a time when they may bathe together, and some onsen have private baths which can be rented.
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Posted to The Good • 2003.09.13 (Sat) • 16:10
Comments
Posted by Pascale Soleil 2003.09.14, 14:34
Lovely photos, especially that first one. Yowza!
Posted by Case 2003.09.14, 22:14
Looking forward to your book ;-)
Love your work.
Posted by graham 2003.09.15, 12:22
Great photos! Ah yes, a day of snowboarding ending in a light meal and relaxing in the rotenburo before the beer and karaoke starts. Or really, you can do them in any order you like. Truly one of the pleasures of Japan. Maybe as a contrast you could post some pictures of the ‘unit bathrooms’ in many small apartments, which maybe explain why many in Japan now truly savour their time in these amazing locations. I especially like the naturally heated ones near the volcanoes (some good ones near Hakone if you don’t want to stray too far from Tokyo), for that unique smell! :)
Posted by Mr. X 2003.09.17, 13:31
that 1st pix is really cool. I wish you’d post your stuff just a little bigger… at least 400 pix wide, 450 would even be better :P
Posted by judy chapman 2004.02.01, 14:25
good morning i wish to communicate with someone with regards to inserting some of these beautiful b/w images into a book i am writing on asian spa and wellness. would you be so kind as to provide a contact for me wtih warm regards Judy Chapman
Posted by Tae 2004.02.12, 02:05
suge~ onsen ikiteee lololol
Posted by lynda read 2004.04.24, 01:13
Are prints of your images avaialbe for sale? I would like to frame them for my home. Specifically, I am interested in the steam filled rotenburo in Dogenso and the Takaragawa Onsen in winter.
Thank you.
Posted by Dinah Sanders 2004.05.31, 05:14
I came to this entry from Joi Ito’s blog (http://joi.typepad.com).
Lovely pictures and a nice introduction to Japanese bathing.
For those in the San Francisco bay area seeking an experience like this, I highly recommend Watercourse Way in Palo Alto. (http://www.watercourseway.com) The bathing rooms are beautifully crafted and an hour and a half in one of them can leave you as relaxed as a weekend getaway.
Posted by Rene' McClain 2005.01.17, 21:11
Looking for some like this in San Francisco , Ca. Where I can get a bath and massage all in one place
Posted by Doug Alder 2005.01.19, 11:33
When i lived in Kyoto in the mid 70’s the sento I frequented was interesting in that there were sliding panels in the wall that separated the men’s side from the woman’s so a husband sitting in a bath could open the sliding panel and speak to his wife etc. The hilarious part (to this gaijin’s eye at least) was the changing rooms for both sides were fully visible to each other as you entered the sento and paid the “obasan” at the door, which of course makes a mockery of the reasons for the separate baths in the first place :)
Posted by charles faris 2005.02.28, 03:09
The hilarious part (to this gaijin’s eye at least) was the changing rooms for both sides were fully visible to each other as you entered the sento and paid the “obasan” at the door, which of course makes a mockery of the reasons for the separate baths in the first place :)
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