Figure 1.--This Catholic school in Osaka has a school furo, the traditional Japanese bath. This phptograph was taken in 1983. |
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The Japanese have a penchent for cleanliness. This was true even in the medieval period when Europeans considered bathing unhealthy. The traditional Japanese bath is a furo or ofuro. A major difference with Western bathing is that the bsther does not contaminate the bath with soap. Soap is used outside the bath before bathing. Thus the Japanese bath municipal or school bath is somewht akin to a small heated swiming pool. This I think was a family more than a school activity. Here we hope our Japanese readers will provide more information on this. Before World War II, most people did not have home baths and went to municipal facilities. After World War II and the huge expansion of the economy which began in the 1950s, people began installing home baths. We are less sure about school baths, but we think that with increasing prpsperity that some schools added baths. We note a school bath at a Catholic school in the 1980s. Some schools may have used municipal facilities. We also note school groups on trips taking baths.
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