Renaissance Period: Hot tub and Spa Culture in Asia

Public baths were not the only place to relax in hot tubs and get clean. Baths were available at teahouses. Some bathhouses with female bathing attendants converted to “teahouses” after the ban on yuna, but baths were available at legitimate teahouses also. Edo restaurants almost invariably had a bath. Diners took a bath before entering, sometimes changing into clothes provided by the restaurant for the purpose. Of course, baths were a popular feature on the roadside. Travelers set out early on journeys, usually as early as four o’clock, walked all day, and looked forward to relaxing in a hot bath and then dinner before retiring.

Another bath that became popular was the tsujiyu or “street-corner bath,” first recorded in Kyoto in 1680. During this period, various vendors and performers used street corners, paths leading to temples and shrines, and other convenient places along the streets to market their wares and skills. Among these vendors were people who provided a bath, tub and hot water for a fee. These hot tubs were usually portable. Another movable hot tub was the yubune or “boat bath”. Small boats carrying bathtubs cruised and down the rivers of Edo, providing baths to those who lived close to them. These boats were also to be found in the harbors of Tokyo and Osaka where sailors would bathe after voyages or fishing trips. Moreover, portable bathtubs were occasionally brought out to be used at traditional activities. Excursions to view blossoms (hanami), snow (yukimi), or other natural phenomena have a long history in Japan. Visitors would often use one of the available outdoor hot tubs to enhance the peace and tranquility, and bask in nature’s resplendent glory.

Early in the seventeenth century, means of heating water directly in the wooden hot tub were devised. One of the most prevalent types was the teppoburo or “gun bath”. At one end of the bath a steel pipe was placed vertically into the tub; fuel was then put in the top and ignited, heating the water The shape of the pipe, its loading, and the smoke issuing from the end all suggest the barrel of a gun—hence the name. Similar in concept to the teppoburo is the besoburo or “navel bath”. A metal box was inserted into the side of the bath at the lower edge. Fuel was placed in the box and burned, heating the bath. A slightly different and foreshadowing later development in small bathtubs was the komochiburo or “bath with child”. This bath had a large tub connected to a smaller vessel by a pipe. The water was heated by fire in the smaller vessel and then flowed into the tub. Perhaps the most widely known type of small bath was the goemonburo. This bath, usually round in shape but occasionally oval, was heated directly from beneath the tub by a fire. Some of the goetnonburo had steel bottoms with wooden sides—originally these were called choshuburo— while others were made entirely of metal in the shape of a large cauldron. Geta (wooden clogs) were worn when entering the bath to prevent burning the feet on the hot steel bottom. More commonly, a wooden mat was placed in the water and pushed down with the feet upon entering. A certain amount of dexterity was requited to push down the mat without it flipping over and shooting up into the groin followed by very hot feet. These goeruonburo may still be seen in some areas of the country. The name itself derives from a story of the execution of a thief.

These baths were the common types. Many variations exist and may be seen in museums throughout the country. Some of these baths persisted a long into the modern era. With the developments in Japan and elsewhere that brought on the country’s modernization, however, certain of the bathing practices were to change significantly.