Middle Ages: Hot tub and Spa Culture in Asia

Bathhouses were common in all urban areas of Japan during the Edo period, but those at Edo itself that still captivate people today. As is true of many other Japanese traditions, the roots of the traditional bath can be traced to Edo. It is not uncommon today for an Edo bathhouse to figure prominently in TV shows and movies depicting Edo times. History books about Edo nearly always discuss or depict the hot tubs at least briefly. The baths were also recorded often in the literature and art of the day.

Constructed in 1591, the year that Leyasu first entered the city; Edo’s first public bath was probably the todanaburo or ‘cabinet bath’ type with sliding doors. Although these baths were effective in heating the bather, the continual entering and exiting of successive bathers allowed the steam and hot air to escape. When the todanaburo was busy, therefore, a properly hot bath was difficult to obtain. This led to the development of the zakuroguchi in the middle of the Edo period. The term zakuroguchi refers to an entrance that captures the baths’ steam and hot air without moving doors. The entrance had a lintel so low that bathers were obligated to bend over when entering and exiting. Just inside the entryway was a low wall that served as the edge of the tub as well as a bench. It was this combination of wall and lintel that trapped the steam. The hot tub itself was usually only deep enough for immersion to the waist when seated. The bath was a combination of hot water and steam.

The entrance to the zakuroguchi was often constructed in the form of a torii, the gateway to a Shinto shrine, or a Buddhist temple roof. Above this entrance was placed a painting of some type. Such paintings have a modern counterpart in the murals on the interior walls of contemporary hot tubbing and spa areas. As there was no light in the bath—the entrance, which so captured the steam and hot air, also excluded most of the light. The bather could not see who else was in the bath or what might be floating in the water. There are a number of stories of encounters with undesirable objects floating in the water, including dead bodies and worse. Sanitation was probably at an acceptable level most of the time as it was the owner’s responsibility to assure that the bath was clean. However the inability for the bather to see for themselves and the resulting fear of uncleanliness ultimately led to the abandonment of the zakuroguchi bath at the beginning of the Meiji era.

In the early Buddhist temples, low ranking priests who assumed the role of male bathing attendants called yuina (often shortened to yuna) would help bathers with their clothing, wash their hair and back, and attend to such duties as heating and carrying the water and cleaning the bathhouse. As bathhouses spread beyond the temples, the term “yuna’ was applied to anyone assisting in bathing. Finally the term came to refer to the women at hot springs who assisted customers at the bath. These women also provided entertainment by playing musical instruments, singing, dancing and in some places, providing other services—today the term “yuna” has evolved to refer strictly to women providing those “other” services.The need for someone to assist in the bath, however, continued. Japanese hairstyles of the time were such that it was very difficult to do one’s hair without help. After the abolition of yunafuro, a male attendant, for a small fee, would help wash one’s hair and back. These attendants became especially popular with women. Although some of these male attendants no doubt participated in “other” activities with some customers, it was not their primary purpose and they were considered to have been useful, even necessary in the bath. These attendants, known as sansuke, remained popular into the modern era until hairstyles and facilities made it easier to attend to oneself.

With the Tokugawa prohibition of yuna, a new form of bathhouse with a second story where males could sit and socialize became popular almost overnight. There they could play chess, drink tea, and chat. Usually women served the tea, visited with the customers, and otherwise entertained. The government found nothing wrong with this arrangement and allowed these bathhouses to proliferate. These spas, along with barbershops, were among the most important social centers for commoners and low-ranking samurai. Today, the exterior architecture of Kanto bathhouses often mimics this two-story bath by appearing to have a second floor when in fact there is only one.