Sento

The building in which the sento is housed resembles a Japanese temple; at the entrance, a curtain of noren ( 暖 簾 簾 ) of blue color is hung, on which, besides the name, the character 湯 (yu, hot water) is also depicted.

Typically in sento there are male and female parts (departments), their structure is identical. Modern sentos most often consist of the following premises: a dressing room in which visitors leave their belongings, a separate room in which visitors thoroughly wash themselves, and rooms with a large and common pool with hot water. Water temperature is about 55 ° C.

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Although there may be many varieties of architectural design, the most traditional is shown in the figure on the right. After the entrance there is a compartment where shoes are removed, which continues in the form of two separated curtains (or doors) on the right and left. They lead to datsuiba - a place where they undress, separately for men and women. The female and male parts are very similar and differ only in details.

Datsuiba

Inside the locker room, between the entrances, there is a bandai (番 台) - an elevation of 1.5-1.8 meters high, where the minister is sitting. Under it may be a service door from compartment to compartment, which is used only by staff. A big watch is usually hung over a bandai . The dressing room has dimensions of approximately 10 × 10 meters, the floor is covered with tatami , there are lockers for clothes. Sometimes it also has lockers for bathing property of regular customers. The ceilings are high, 3-4 meters. The wall separating the female and male halves is two meters high. Changing rooms also often have access to a small Japanese-style garden and toilet. Often there are ice cream and drink vending machines. There may also be scales for weighing, and sometimes a height meter. In some very old sentos, the scale of scales can be graduated in the old measures “momme” 匁 = 3.75 g and “kan” equal to 1000 momme = 3.75 kg. Accordingly, the growth meter in old sentos can go only up to 180 cm. All kinds of advertising can also be posted here. In the female part there may be cribs or changing tables, as well as mirrors. Jewelry and advertising for different halves are different.

Bath Zone

The bath area is separated from the locker room by a sliding door so as not to lose heat. As an exception, in Okinawa, where the climate is very hot, there is no door. The bath room is usually tiled. Near the entrance there is a small area where you can take bath benches and basins. The hall has a sufficient number of places for washing, on the sides and also in the center. Each place has two taps ( カ ラ ン karan ) - for hot and cold water and a hose with a shower head. At the end of the hall are bathtubs for bathing, usually with several compartments with different water temperatures. In Osaka and Kansai, bathtubs are usually located in the middle of the room, while in Tokyo, usually at the end. The wall separating the male and female branches also has a height of about 2 meters, ceilings 4 meters high with large windows on the ceilings. In some sentos, the dividing wall (rarely) has a small hole that was used long ago so that members of the same family could pass soap to each other. On the wall at the far end of the hall there is usually a decoration - a picture depicting Fuji or a traditional Japanese landscape, there may be a landscape and European, river or sea views. In more rare cases, there may be a group of warriors or naked girls on the male side, and playing children or a beautiful beauty on the female.

Boiler room

Behind the bathing area is the boiler room (kamaba) 釜 場, where the water is heated. It can run on liquid fuel or electricity, or on wood chips. After the war, Tokyo experienced frequent blackouts because all bathhouse owners turned on electric water heating at the same time.

Sauna

Many modern sentos also have a cold pool sauna. In some sentos, the use of the sauna can be paid extra, in this case the client is given a simple bracelet on his hand as a sign that the sauna has been paid.

The history of sento in Japan stems from Buddhist culture, Indian temples, from where these traditions spread to China and further to Japan during the Nara period.

Religious Ablutions - Periods from Nara to Kamakur

Initially, baths in Japan were built at temples. They were called yuya, 湯 屋, "hot water shops." In fact, it was often steam baths, the musiburo 蒸 し 風 呂. Despite the fact that they were originally built for priests, and common people were usually not allowed in them, but by the time of Kamakur 1185–1333 ordinary people were finally allowed in the baths. By that time, wealthy people and aristocrats already began to have their own baths on estates.

Commercial Use, Kamakura Period

The first mention of the commercial use of sento dates back to 1266 in the Nichiren state camp . These baths were mixed, that is, female-male, and were not very similar to modern ones. After entering the bathhouse there was a dressing room, where, in addition to undressing, the visitor received his portion of hot water in the basin. There was no soul. The entrance to the steam bath was very, very low, 80 cm high so as not to lose steam. Due to the small entrance, lack of windows and steam, the bathhouse was quite dark.

Edo Baths

At the beginning of the Edo period, (1603-1867) there were two diametrically different types of baths. In Tokyo (then called Edo), these were ordinary baths with a swimming pool (湯 屋, yuya) while Osaka were the steam baths of the Mushiburo 蒸 し мус 呂 with a very shallow pool.

At the end of the Edo period, public morality demanded the separation of male and female baths, however, many bath owners solved the problem in the simplest way, simply by placing a partition between the halves of the bath. However, the law prohibiting mixed baths was never passed. The great popularity of bathhouses at that time is explained by the fact that young girls-banschiki Yun (湯 女), who often worked as prostitutes after closing, worked in them.

A similar tradition has been preserved even to our days - some “entertainment” establishments in Japan are called the “soap country” (ソ ー プ ラ ン ド, co: purando), in a private bath the girls wash clients before providing services.

Under Tokugawa, the number of young girls was legally limited to three for every sento. This rule was ignored and in the end in 1841 it was generally forbidden to keep the young man; A law banning mixed baths was also passed. Until 1870, there were also young bathhouse attendants, sansuke (三 助), but they did not engage in prostitution. The ban on mixed baths did not last long, during his visit to Japan, Matthew Perry described the decline in morale in mixed baths, and they were again banned.

Meiji Period

In the Meiji era (1867-1912), the modern design of the baths was finally established. The narrow low entrance to the bath area finally became full-sized, the bathtubs were deepened into the floor for ease of use, the ceiling height was doubled. Since the baths were mostly not steam, but water, windows appeared and the sento became much lighter. The only differences from modern baths were the use of wood instead of tiles in the bathhouse and the lack of showers with taps. Again, a law was passed prohibiting mixed baths, an exception was made only for children under 8 years old accompanied by a parent.

Redevelopment of Baths after the Great Kanto Earthquake

At the beginning of the Taisho era (1912-1926), floors and walls began to be laid out with tiles. After the September 1, 1923 Great Kanto earthquake, which destroyed almost all baths in Tokyo, the process of replacing wood with tiles was greatly accelerated. By the end of the era, 1926, water taps had already become quite common, usually there were 2 of them (like in Russian baths) - for hot and cold water, visitors themselves mixed the water in a basin according to their own taste.

Restoring Baths After World War II

Since during the war Japanese cities were subjected to fierce bombing, many bathhouses were destroyed. After the war, there was a great lack of baths, they were built from improvised materials and often even without a roof. Houses were built cheaply, usually without a shower or bath, so the number of public baths increased dramatically. By 1965, many sentos got shower hoses for taps.

Present and Future sento

The largest number of sento in Japan was observed at the end of the 80s of the last century, since then their number has been gradually decreasing. ^[2] This is mainly due to the fact that more and more Japanese houses are equipped with their own separate bathrooms. Some of the population began to abandon sento, while others continue to believe that without a public visit to the baths, children cannot be properly raised and will not be able to enter society. With the number of visitors declining, sentos are looking for new ways to survive. Some follow the path of specialization in historical reconstruction, are built on beautiful places with beautiful views of nature and without a roof. In such traditional sentos, a mixed bath area is possible, which is perceived by visitors as a reconstruction of ancient times. Others try to drill a well and get hot water, transform themselves into a more prestigious onsen . Still others are trying to increase the number of services provided by expanding them with a sauna, restoring steam baths, installing hot tubs ( jacuzzis ) and even water slides. Some are trying to expand their business with spa services , medical baths, massages, fitness centers and the like, such as Spa LaQua in Tokyo, where on the territory of one complex there are sento, restaurants, karaoke , and a ladies' room for makeup, and a pool for water aerobics, etc. In the Oedo Onsen Monogatari bathing room ( Japanese: 大江 戸 温泉 物語 ) on the artificial island of Odaiba, the main hall, where cafes, shops and some entertainment are located, is decorated in the form of a city street of the Edo era; Yukata robes that are given to visitors are decorated with themes taken from ukiyo-e prints. Some of these centers require a swimsuit and are more like traditional water parks than sentos, or have a separate area for swimming in a swimsuit.

This section describes the rules of behavior in sento. Despite the fact that the Japanese are usually polite to the cultural mistakes of foreigners, public baths are a place where a lack of understanding of customs can seriously hurt the pride of ordinary visitors.

Inventory

To visit sento you need at least a small towel and soap (shampoo). Ministers usually sell both. Often visitors take two towels, a large soft one for wiping and a small nylon one for washing as a washcloth. (A small wash should be required). Other hygiene products may include pumice , toothpaste and brush, shaving products, shower cap, lipstick, makeup products, creams and so on. Some visitors also bring their own basin.

Entrance and undressing

In Japan, it is customary to take off shoes in front of the house. In the same way, it is customary to take off shoes before entering the bath area, it is stored in lockers, usually they are free. After that, you go through one of the two doors to the male or female half. The male usually has a blue color and the character "otoko" 男 (male), the female - red and the character "onna" 女 (female). As well as in Russian baths, in sento before washing, visitors undress naked. Payment for visiting the bath is approximately the same and amounts to 430 yen in Tokyo. The attendant also accepts additional charges for towels, soap, shampoo, razors and so on. Here you can pay for ice cream and drinks.

Bath Zone

Only in onsen after a shower, visitors are not wiped so that the mineral water continues to have an effect on the skin. In ordinary sento, the skin is wiped with a towel after washing and showering, before dipping into the bath.

Peeping

Most sentos have an elevation - bandai - with a minister who has a good view on both halves. Most of these workers are girls, since the male part of visitors very rarely objects to this, while female visitors will not feel very comfortable with a male minister. Real cases of peeping are quite rare. Children are admitted to the ward of the opposite sex, for example, a little boy with his mother in the female half. In Tokyo, the age limit for this is set at 10 years.

Social Relations

In some sento, foreigners were banned for some time (see photo). Most sentos are prohibited from entering tattooed people, since in Japan a tattoo means belonging to the Yakuza (Mafia). A case was noted when a Japanese company refused to build an aquacenter in St. Petersburg because it was impossible to ban people with a tattoo from visiting it. In those sentos where foreigners are not prohibited from entering, you can read the rules, usually in English, Chinese, Portuguese and Thai. In Hokkaido, entry to many onsen is prohibited for Russians ^{[ specify ]} sailors , since in the past the owners had numerous problems with the drunk .

Sento water is chlorinated.

• Onsen
• Ofuro
• Ukiyo-buro

• Sento Public Baths on Nihon.ru
• Sento. The development of a public bath in Japan in the initial period of the Edo era.