Uncovering Japanese Bathroom Culture: What is Japanese Bathroom like?

Bathing is an important part of Japanese culture, and the history of bathrooms can be traced back centuries. Bathing in natural hot springs or public bathhouses is considered as a purification process, a way to purify body dirt and promote health, and an important ceremony in daily life. Although the myth about feudal Japan may imply that many people, especially ordinary people, were always dirty in the past, people from all social classes took a bath every day.

Qiantang, a public bathhouse, is a place where local people or foreign tourists can take a bath or steam bath in the public bathhouse. Because there are few bathtubs at home, there are many people in the bathhouse. Japanese people regard hot springs as a more relaxing outdoor bathing experience. However, many hot springs are man-made buildings and can be built anywhere, so they are more convenient for many people. Public bathhouses not only provide local bathing facilities, but also provide places for local people to meet and establish contact with other members of the community. In the 1960s, there were more than 2,000 "public bathhouses" in Japan, but with more and more people building bathrooms at home, the popularity of public bathhouses declined.

Today, there are still public bathhouses in Japan. Although they can provide a more modern experience, Japanese bathing culture would not exist without the predecessor of the Edo era.

Because men and women are allowed to share a facility for bathing, they need less operating space, and many bosses also allow mixed bathing to save money. However, not all public toilets do this, and some public toilets are designated for men only. Unfortunately, women who want to take a bath don't have so many choices, because there are few women-only toilets. However, although many bathrooms are mixed, many bosses have built independent dressing rooms and used partitions to prevent bathers from seeing the opposite sex.

However, most foreign tourists from the west began to use public bathrooms in Japan and share their indecent views on mixed bathing, which directly led to the Japanese government's total ban on mixed bathing. But despite this rule, many people in Edo still choose to turn a blind eye.

In order to make the bath go smoothly, public bathhouses will hire people to get firewood and water. Many customers also ask workers to rub their backs. At first, women called Tang Nv were in charge of this work, but when the government banned mixed bathing, they also banned Tang Nv's work. Subsequently, men began to take over the daily work of the bathroom.

Although mixed bathing is forbidden, many public bathhouses still provide various services for male and female customers. For example, it is responsible for controlling the water temperature that customers like, helping customers clean their bodies with a sponge, and then gently pouring water on customers to remove soap bubbles. After taking a bath, we will also provide shoulder massage service for customers.

When public bathrooms became popular, bathhouses hired women called "soup girls" to help the service run smoothly. They will be responsible for daily work, such as carrying water and taking care of customers. At first, Ms. Tang served customers in a platonic way, but their interaction eventually included washing their hair and back. After the government banned mixed bathing, men took the place of Tang Nv to take care of customers' cleaning needs, but Tang Nv continued to do other jobs.

These special duties include playing the soup girl in strange clothes. But also as an escort in the bathhouse, taking customers to the second floor to enjoy special treatment. The government tried to intervene and finally banned these services in 1657, but it also led to many such services moving to the red light district of Jiyuan.

Although they started out as a place to clean their bodies, public bathhouses quickly developed into a social place. Many public bathhouses have also become an important part of local communities, where people gather to chat, chat or make new friends. Customers will also become very relaxed and get together to drink, sing and eat after taking a shower.

This kind of socialization not only helps the community to become stronger and let people know their neighbors better, but also helps people to break their social bubble and meet people they may not interact with. For many people, socializing is the most important part of the bathroom experience-even more important than the bathroom itself.

Bathrooms are trying to make their bathrooms affordable for all social classes and economic classes. Although parties of different groups sometimes cause conflicts, it is obvious that taking off clothes makes everyone look the same. Because Japan distinguishes the social status of its citizens, the ability of bathhouses to eliminate these distinctions is very important.

Some Japanese writers and poets even noticed this in their works. A writer wrote in the Bathroom of a Floating World: "Everyone, whether smart or stupid, whether righteous or evil, whether rich or poor, whether noble or humble, bathes naked. This is the truth of all things in the world." "... masters and servants wash away the dirt of greed and worldly desires. After washing yourself with clean water, everyone stood there naked-you can't tell who is who! "

Baths need people to visit them frequently, so bosses need to make sure that their facilities are affordable for everyone. Because the bathrooms in the house are still scarce, public bathhouses need to attract customers from all walks of life and have to set prices that ordinary people can afford.

Although group bathing is more economical than providing private bathroom service for individuals, owners of public bathrooms need to consider other things when trying to make a profit. They need fuel to provide heat, which makes the bathroom very hot and the steam room full of steam. However, due to the high cost of fuel, bathroom owners must ensure that their facilities can operate effectively.

Before the invention of the big pile towel used by modern swimmers, customers used Japanese Tenoudji pile towel-a small flat towel, more like a rag than a traditional towel cloth. Bathers use this small towel to cover their private parts when they enter the bathing area from the dressing room, but the small towel is multifunctional. Of course, the function of nature is to clean the body and dry yourself after being completely wrung out.

Although customers in modern public bathhouses have developed the habit of taking a bath before dinner and wearing comfortable robes for the rest of the evening, many customers in the Edo era made these things easier. After taking a shower, some people in those days would choose to walk naked on their way home without clothes.

As people share the knowledge that bathing is good for health, it becomes valuable to keep themselves clean, and more and more people begin to do so. Most people can't afford a private bathroom at home, so local residents often use local public bathrooms.

For civilians, public bathhouses provide great help, because many people may not have access to clean water at that time. In addition, in the past, many people may have to take a bath by the river or the nearest Buddhist temple, so public bathhouses provide a welcome change. It is affordable for ordinary people, so many people come to visit it every day.

In the edo period, people went to public bathhouses just to take a bath, so decoration was not important. And at that time, many people took a bath in the dark, because there were no windows in these bathrooms. But it helps to control the heat of water and make the room a place where heat is concentrated.

Tall customers often feel annoyed when they walk from the dressing area to the bathroom area because the porch of the bathroom is lower than other buildings. Although this may cause trouble to some people, this design also helps to retain the steam in the bathing area.

During the Meiji period, the characteristics and structure of public bathhouses changed, partly because of the influence of the West. After westerners made many Japanese realize that mixed bathing was indecent, the government banned men and women from bathing together, and the rules for men and women to bathe together became stricter. After this regulation, the partition separating men and women from bathing became higher.

With the implementation of these changes, tourists can bathe in more sunshine, and the surrounding steam begins to decrease, because the windows become bigger and the steam is discharged through the openings in the ceiling. Later, many bathers found that after these changes, public bathhouses became more open, because many people combined the bathtub and dressing area in one room. These changes have become the norm of many private bathrooms, and modern bathrooms also adopt the same design.

During the Meiji period, as public bathhouses became more and more spacious and open, bathers also saw an increase in functions to help them relax. Some bosses even build walkthrough outdoor bathrooms or gardens in the yard. Many gardens have koi fish in their ponds. This kind of fish is very popular in Asian countries. Not only do these fish look beautiful, but swimmers also like their existence.

Many people think that koi fish is a symbol of good luck and believe that they can bring good luck. For the same reason, bathhouses without outdoor swimming pools are sometimes decorated with koi fish patterns, which often appear on the tiles used in bathrooms.

With the bathroom becoming more modern, open and bright, and adding details to further enhance the sense of relaxation. Many public bathhouses have large murals called penki-e, which are characterized by comfortable outdoor scenery, comparable to the nature people experience in hot springs. Murals may feature waves, birds or the most popular Mount Fuji.

The first mural with the theme of this famous mountain was painted in 19 12, when the owner of a bathhouse asked an artist to create a scene that children liked. After the artist finishes his work, customers who soak in the bathtub under the mural can relax and watch the mural. And many people claim that it makes their bath look more like a purification ceremony.