The History of Baths

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Japanese Public Bathing

Japanese style bathing is a relaxation and it uses hot water heated to at least 110° F or 43.3° C. The hot water is used to relax the muscles and not a cleaning ritual, as the bather has already washed before entering the tub. In bathrooms in private Japanese homes and public bathhouses, the bathing facilities are always separate from the washing and toilet facilities. The furo has social aspects the older members of the family bathe first, but as the water is often heated especially for the purpose all family members will bathe in close sequence.

A sento is the public version of the furo, it is found in hotels, dormitories, inns and even youth hostels. The bather pays for admittance and then they enter the public dressing room for their gender. Clothing is placed within an individual locker or a basket on a shelf. The bather then showers and once cleansed, the bather enters a separate attractive room. In a sento the bather, normally stand in chest deep hot water with at least ten other people. Today wooden Japanese style bathtubs are exported to the rest of the world.

Harai also spelled Harae, Barai, or Barae, are Shinto purification ceremonies, the exercises cleanse the individual so that he may approach a deity or sacred power (kami). Salt, water, and fire are all principal purifiers. Many of the rites, such as bathing in cold water, are traditionally explained in myths such as Izanagi the mythical male creator of Japan, in the land of the dead (Izanami) he sees the decaying body of his wife and sister, and rids himself of the stench by water.

The rites are followed before entering a temple, or taking part in worship, beginning a religious festival. Simple rites include the washing the hands, the rinsing of the mouth or being shaken with a harai-gushi, or wooden wand to which are attached folds of paper. The Shinto priests are required to undergo extensive purification periods in which they must regulate the body by bathing, diet, abstention from stimulants, heart, environment, and soul. Great purification ceremonies or “o-harai” are held biannually on June 30 and December 31, and at times of national disasters, their purpose is to purge Japanese nationals from sins and impurities.

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