A Quick Overview of Japanese Bathtubs

In the western world, bathing has become more of a necessity than a ritual.  In other areas of the world, like Japan, bathing has a rich cultural history.  In the western world, bathtubs are simply the mechanism that a person uses to deliver that water that he or she will use to get clean.  In Japan, the Japanese bathtub is rarely used for the actual act of bathing.  In Japan, the Japanese bathtub is meant more for soaking and restoration than the simple act of getting rid of dirt.Japanese bathtubs are taller and smaller than the traditional western bathtub.  Instead of being low to the ground and long the Japanese bathtub is snug and tall.  This is because, instead of stretching out and almost lying down in the bathtub, the Japanese bathtub is meant for sitting.  While the Japanese obviously have private bathrooms in their homes, the Japanese bath houses are still very popular.  Traditionally, the act of actual bathing is done quickly and outside of the Japanese bathtub.  Usually the person will sit on a low stool in front of a variety of shower heads and taps that are installed in the wall.  The bather will quickly rinse himself with water and then scrub his skin and shampoo his hair.  He will use a plastic bowl and a hand held shower head to rinse the soap off of his body.  He will then rinse all of the soap out of his hair and off of his body.  Once his body is clean he will enter the Japanese bathtub.  The water in a Japanese bathtub is meant to come up to the top of the bather's shoulders.  While the Japanese bathtubs in the bathhouses are usually wide and set into the floor, personal Japanese bathtubs are usually taller and the bather usually enters through a door in the side of the bathtub.  Once the bather is in the Japanese bathtub he will sit on the bench and enjoy the hot water.  The water in Japanese bathtubs is usually hotter than it is in a western bathtub.  This is because the Japanese bathtub is meant as a means for purification and relaxation, not just bathing.Once the bather has finished his soak in the Japanese bathtub he will step out and then either rinse off the hot water or, if he is visiting a public bathhouse he might spend some time in the sauna.  In the western world bathing has taken on a strictly utilitarian feel.  While there are many who enjoy a good soak in a bathtub filled with hot water, most would maintain that that soak is not usually done at the same time as regular bathing.  Western bathing has taken on a "get in, get clean, get out" feel.  Japanese bathing and Japanese bathtubs, on the other hand are mean to be relaxing.  It is not uncommon a soak in a Japanese bathtub to take quite a while.  This is because the actual washing is done and the bath is meant simply to relax the muscles, purify the skin and restore the person's sense of well being.