Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
water, or to change into special ones for wearing in the bath. Later in the period it became
more usual to have separate facilities for each sex.
(85)Men'sbath.Theyshowbytheirexpressionshowrelaxedandpleasantaplacethiswas.
One has the key to his locker (or maybe his strong-box) in his hair.
Soap was an expensive import item, and bags of rice-bran were used instead in the pre-
liminary wash. No large towel was used for drying; the
tenugui,
a piece of cotton cloth
about nine inches by two feet, was used for this, the procedure being to use it wet, rubbing
the body with it and then wringing out the water. One did not finish up quite dry after this,
but dry enough for the remaining moisture to be taken up by the clothes. The coolness that
came from this evaporation was very pleasant in summer, and the Japanese do not seem to
have heard of the possible ill-effects of standing about in draughts after a hot bath, about
which people in the West are often so concerned. On the other hand, it was considered a
goodidea togotobedassoonaspossible after ahotbathinwinter toconserve thewarmth
acquired from it.
A complete account of Japanese etiquette would be tedious, but some examples of po-
lite behavior as it affected the ordinary household must be given. Indoors the correct atti-
tude was that of sitting back on one's heels on the floor. Everyone was trained from child-
hood to sit in this way, and the joints of the feet and legs had adapted themselves to allow
the heels in this position to lie almost flat, sideways on the floor, so that the buttocks fitted
