Bath (furo) . . . mirror (kagami)

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO TOP . ]
[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Bath (furo)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Various, see below
***** Category: Humanity

*****************************
Explanation

Japanese people are fond to take a hot bath (furo 風呂),
even to sit outside in the many hot springs of Japan.

Hot Spring, Hot Springs (onsen) 温泉


A rich person had his own private bathhouse (yudono 湯殿) and many bathing facilities in hotels are now called like this.

.......................................................................


In the town of Edo, sento public bath houses were common (sentoo 銭湯) and some are still used to our day. Some had great tile paintings with mount Fuji on the side, so the bathers could relax in the
"outside atmosphere".
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !
Sentō and Sento Etiquette


source :　江戸の湯屋

yuya 湯屋 public bath house in Edo
The second floor was an open space to cool down, enjoy a drink and play games or just chat.

江戸拾遺書くなら湯屋の二階番
Edo shui kaku nara yuya no nikai ban

writing about
famous things in Edo, best is the second floor guardian
of a public bath

. senryuu, senryū 川柳　Senryu in Edo .

.......................................................................

You wash outside the tub and then sit in it leisurely to heat the body. The bathtub is used by all family members. The water is let in cold and heated up by a special system, to keep it warm at all times.

There are some seasons that call for a special bath to celebrate!
These kigo are listed below.





:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

kigo for the New Year

hatsuyu, hatsu-yu 初湯 (はつゆ) first bath
(of the new year)
..... wakayu 若湯（わかゆ） "young bath"
..... hatsuburo (hatsu furo) 初風呂（はつぶろ）
hatsu yudono 初湯殿（はつゆどの）first (use of the) bathhouse
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

do not mix with the ichibanburo, see below.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

kigo for mid-spring



ganburo 雁風呂 がんぶろ "bath for the wild geese"
..... kari kuyoo 雁供養（かりくよう） memorial service for wild geese

A special bath prepared in the Tsugaru area of Aomori prefecture.
The wild geese which come to Tsugaru in Autumn bring a branch of wood in their mouth or carry one with their legs, as legend knows. They do this to rest on the branch when flowing over the ocean. When they reach the shores of the Nihonkai Sea in Tsugaru, they let the branch fall on the beach, and pick it up next spring, when they take off again to fly over the open sea.

When all wild geese have taken off, the people from Tsugaru collect the left-over branches from geese that did not make it during the winter and use them to heat a bath and offer it to travelers as a memorial service for the geese which have perished.

. . . . .

乾びたる藻を焚き付けに雁供養　
karabitaru mo o takitsuke ni kari kuyoo

adding dried seaweed
for kindling the fire -
remembering the wild geese　　

Tanayama Haro (Haroo) 棚山波朗


. WKD : Goose, geese (kari, gan) .


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

kigo for mid-summer


shoobuyu, shoobu-yu 菖蒲湯 (しょうぶゆ) "iris bath"
..... shoobuburo 菖蒲風呂（しょうぶぶろ）
rantoo 蘭湯（らんとう） bath with orchid leaves
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

The long leaves of the iris reminded the samurai of their swords. The word SHOOBU　勝負 also means a fight, usually to the death.
To wish for a boy to grow up strong, they put some iris leaves in the bathwater and hung them up around the eaves of the home on the day before the Boy's festival on May 5.


. WKD : Iris (shoobu, ayame, kakitsubata, airisu) 　

. WKD : Boy's Festival 端午の節句 Tango no sekku 　


. WASHOKU
Shoobuzake 菖蒲酒 (しょうぶざけ) Iris rice wine
for the Boy's Festival


shoobu Daruma 菖蒲だるま Daruma with Iris Decoration


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

kigo for all winter

hoshinayu, hoshina-yu 干菜湯 (ほしなゆ)
bath with dried leafy vegetables
..... hoshinaburo 干菜風呂（ほしなぶろ）
..... hibayu, hiba-yu 干葉湯（ひばゆ）
The leaves are said to have medical properties to keep the body healthy. In former times, the cut-off leaves of daikon radish or turnips were dried and put into the bathwater. It is said to help when the body feels cool (hieshoo) and for old people.
Things to keep you warm in winter ... KIGO


. WASHOKU
Hoshinajiru 干菜汁 (ほしなじる)
miso soup with dried leafy vegetables



kigo for mid-winter



yuzuyu, yuzu-yu 柚子湯 (ゆずゆ) yuzu-citron bath
..... yuzuburo 仲冬 柚子風呂（ゆずぶろ）
toojiyu 冬至湯（とうじゆ）bath on the winter solstice day
..... toojiburo 冬至風呂（とうじぶろ）
It is the custom to swim a few yuzu fruit in your hot bathwater to make use of its medical properties, mostly to heat the body and keep it warm for a long time in the cold winter night.

. WKD . Yuzu citron, Citrus medica



::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

observance kigo for mid-winter

toshi no yu 年の湯 としのゆ last bath of the year
..... toshiyu 年湯（としゆ）
joya no yu 除夜の湯（じょやのゆ）bath on the last night


. Oomisoka, the last day of the year 　




BATHING BEAUTIES - Utagawa Toyokuni

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


The following words are NOT kigo


bara no ofuro バラのお風呂 bath with roses
Quite popular to relax in the evening, with the faint smell of roses.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



ichibanburo 一番風呂 "first (use of the) bathtub"
Since families wash outside the tub and then share the hot water in the tub, it is hottest and most enjoyable when the first person sits in the tub. This was traditionally the right of the father of the home, next the boys, then the daughters and last the mother.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



iwaburo 岩風呂 "stone bath"
usually at a hot spring, when the "bathtub" is made of local stones. This is said to heat the body even better, making use of the infared emission of the stones.
We have a stone bathtub in our garden, which is filled with fresh water from our mountain and can be heated with a wood stove.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



kazokuburo 家族風呂 "bath for the whole family"
In Hotels the bath facilities are usually divided for male and female guests. Some offer special small rooms where the whole family can bath together. Most need a reservation to use them.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

..........................................................................


sentoo　銭湯　Sento, public bath

- quote -
Sentō (銭湯) is a type of Japanese communal bath house where customers pay for entrance.
At the beginning of the Edo period (1603–1867), there were two types of baths common to the eastern and western regions of Japan respectively. In Edo (present day Tokyo), bath houses contained sizable pools, and were called yuya (湯屋, lit. hot water shop). In Osaka, however, bathing establishments were primarily steam baths called mushiburo (蒸し風呂, lit. steam bath) that had only shallow pools.

At the end of the Edo period,
the Tokugawa shogunate (1603–1868) at different times required baths to segregate by sex in order to ensure public moral standards. However, many bath house owners merely partitioned their baths with a small board, allowing some voyeurism to persist. Other baths avoided this problem by having men and women bathe at different times of day, or by catering to one gender exclusively. In spite of this, laws regarding mixed-sex bathing were soon relaxed again.

Contributing to the popularity of public baths in the Edo period were female bathing attendants known as yuna (湯女, lit. hot water women). These attendants helped cleanse customers by scrubbing their backs. After official closing hours, however, a number of these women would perform additional services by selling sex to male customers. Similarly, some brothels in contemporary Japan have women who specialize in bathing with and cleansing male clientele. Such establishments are often called sōpu rando (ソープランド, soapland).

As a preventive measure against prostitution, the Tokugawa shogunate stipulated that no more than three yuna serve at any given bath house. However, this rule was widely ignored, causing the shogunate to ban female attendants from bath houses altogether and once again prohibit the practice of mixed-sex bathing. Large numbers of unemployed yuna thereafter moved to official red-light districts, where they could continue their services. Up until 1870, there were also male washing assistants called sansuke (三助, lit. three helps) who would wash and massage customers of both genders.
Unlike the yuna, these male attendants were not known to engage in prostitution.


CLICK for more ukiyo-e of Sansuke !

Mixed-sex bathing was prohibited once again after Commodore Perry visited Japan in 1853 and 1854—drawing question to the morality of the practice. ...
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


銭湯に魚屋入しよ冬の月
sentoo ni uoya irishi yo fuyu no tsuki

to the bathhouse
a fish peddler enters -
winter moon

quote
A fish peddler, who peddled around all day in the cold wind, so tired from his day’s work and the coldness, entered a bath-house under the winter moon to warm himself. Common workers outside used to take a bath after their daily work. The scene is not so rare, nor uncommon. The fish peddler may take a bath in the same bath-house in other seasons.
It is possible enough that the Poet happened to see some peddler with a carrying pole on his shoulder go into a bath-house on the street under the winter cold moon. The pole on the shoulder made the Poet directly suppose the person a fish peddler and I would rather think if he had not carried a pole, the Haiku would not have been produced. And any substitute of the other two real factors would not have made a haiku either.
A fish peddler, a bath-house and winter moon: ━ the real three together make a harmony of poetic sentiments. Here I feel the necessity of the Haiku being written. The three play respective characteristic role in the Haiku. It all depends on us what roles of the three we read in the Haiku.
source : www.hokuoto77.com

. WKD : Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .



CLICK for more ukiyo-e about the Sento in Edo!

On the far left you can see one woman coming out from under a low partition. The actual bath was in a special small room, just big enough for about 3 persons, and made to keep the water as warm as possible.

..........................................................................



だるまバスボール Daruma Bath Ball
Inside is a ball to throw into the bath water, with the flavor of Yuzu.

..........................................................................

Once upon a time in Japan,
men and women shared the same public bath
(konyoku 混浴).


山東京伝 Santoo Kyooden (1761 - 1816)


..........................................................................

yubune, yokusoo 湯船 "bath boat"
small boats with a bath for rent in Edo
With its many canals, it was easy to bring the bathouse to the clients.
This is the origin of the word, now used for the modern bath tub.



. chin shoobai　珍商売 strange business in Edo .


浴槽に熱き波立つ夕桜
yokusoo ni atsuki nami tatsu yuuzakura

in the bathtub
there are hot waves -
cherry blossoms at night

Kushihara Kiiko 櫛原希伊子


..........................................................................



yunitto basu ユニットバス unit bath, unit bathroom
A plastic module room, usually containing bath tub, wash basin and toilet. Not only used in hotels, but also in private homes, where the toilet is often separate, to make sure the "morning rush" is spread in two locations.
Some unit baths even feature bubbles or jet streams.
The whole module is made of one material, thus preventing leakages into the hotel or home.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


. WASHOKU
Udon noodles eaten in the bathtub ! 　
a custom in Western Sanuki, Shikoku


*****************************
Worldwide use


Hamam, turkish bath



Turkish variant of a steam bath, sauna or Russian Bath, distinguished by a focus on water, as opposed to ambient steam.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


*****************************
Things found on the way


My visit to Yudono San



. Yudono, the Holy Mountain of the Mountain Ascetics 　
Dewa sanzan, Haguro, Gassan, Yudono-san


My Photo Album of this trip


*****************************
HAIKU and SENRYU


New Year's Bath -
a new cake of soap and
a fresh towel

Gabi Greve, New Year 2007


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


tsutsuganaku yuzu-yu ni tsukaru hyakuju ware

in good health
lying in the hot citron bath
me one hundred years

in guter Gesundheit
im heissen Zitronenbad
mit meinen Hundert

Haiku by Ueda san, 99

Haiku with Hundred
Tr. by Gabi Greve


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


原子心母ユニットバスで血を流す
genshi shinbo yunitto basu de chi o nagasu

atom heart mother -
in the unit bathroom
she is bleeding

or, to stay in line with English grammar

atom heart mother -
she is bleeding
in the unit bath

or

atom heart mother -
I am bleeding
in the unit bathroom

Tanaka Ami 田中亜美
Tr. Gabi Greve

. Reference

. Reference : Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother


chi o nagasu ... quite a normal way to express "bleeding" in ordinary Japanese language, in fact, the whole structure is quite plain ordinary language, put in 5 7 5 segments.


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Torii Kiyonaga 鳥居清長 (1752 - 1815)



初湯出て青年母の鏡台に
hatsuyu ide seinen haha no kyoodai ni

leaving the first bath
the young mother goes
to her dressing table

Takajo 鷹女
source : HAIKUreikuDB



kyoodai, kagamidai, 鏡台 lit. mirror stand, often a box for the utensils and a mirror. See below.


.................................................................................





春昼や無限を映す三面鏡　
shunchuu ya mugen o utsusu sanmenkyoo

spring afternoon—
a three-mirrored dresser
reflecting infinity

Chichihara Takashi 乳原孝
Tr. Fay Aoyagi


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


UKIAH -
the mirror reflects the word
opposite

~ Beryl Ellecy


MORE
. MIRROR - haiku collection from Kenya


.................................................................................




Ukiah, California, USA
source : ukiaHaiku festival 2011


*****************************
Related words


kigo for the New Year

kagamidai iwai 鏡台祝（きょうだいいわい）
celebrating the mirror stand
..... kyoodai iwai 鏡台祝（きょうだいいわい）
..... kagami no iwai 鏡の祝（かがみのいわい）

hatsukao iwai 初顔祝（はつかおいわい）celebrating the "first face"

In Samurai Families, on the 20 of January, the mirrors were opened for the first time, some kagami mochi offered and then ritually eaten by the womanfolk.


. hatsu kagami 初鏡 (はつかがみ) "first mirror" 　
..... hatsugeshoo 初化粧（はつげしょう）first make-up


.................................................................................



Haiku in Hindi

Sanvaarti vah kesh-
aainaa bhi kuchh
khoyaa khayaal men

she combs her hair -
the mirror is somewhat
lost in thought

Sunil Uniyal
India Saijiki April 2010


::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


sekiten rite --
I see father’s face
in the mirror

Chen-ou Liu
August 2010


. Confucius (Sekiten) and
the mirror in Chinese symbolism 　



::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



***** . First Things done at the New Year


. NEW YEAR
KIGO for HUMANITY

Hot Spring, Hot Springs (onsen) Japan. Bathhouse



furofuki 風呂吹 (ふろふき) boiled radish in broth
lit. "radish in the bathtub"
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
furofuku daikon 風呂吹大根（ふろふきだいこん）




. "mirror rice" (kagami meshi 鏡飯) . 　


. iwakagami, iwa kagami 岩鏡 Schizocodom plant .
lit. "rock mirror"
Schizocodom soldanelloides



. WASHOKU SAIJIKI - kigo for all winter food


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


- quote -
Japanese bronze mirrors
Bronze mirrors were introduced into Japan from China and Korea during the Yayoi period (about 300 BC - AD 300). At first they had a religious function and were regarded as symbols of authority. . . .
. . . Mirrors gradually became more robust. Bronze was copper mixed with tin and lead. They mostly have a central boss, often in the shape of a tortoise, which was pierced and a cord passed through for holding. More new designs and the first handled mirrors appeared in the Muromachi period (1333-1568).

During the Edo period (1600-1868), mirrors decorated with lucky symbols or Chinese characters were given at weddings. Mirrors became larger as hairstyles became more ornate; some mirrors in Kabuki theatre dressing-rooms were up to fifty centimeters across and were placed on stands.
The faces of mirrors were highly polished or burnished, with itinerant tinners and polishers specializing in this work.
. . .
Bronze mirrors were replaced by glass mirrors after the Meiji Restoration (1868).
- source : www.britishmuseum.org



ekagami, e-kagami 柄鏡　mirror with a handle

. . . A mirror with one's family crest may signify the self assertion of the family or individual who used such a mirror. A mirror with a scenic motif, such as Mount Fuji and the pine grove of Miho or the eight views of Omi, may express one's desire to see these famous sights or to travel.



By the Edo period handles, often bound in rattan, were added to Japanese brass or bronze mirrors. The mirror discs also became larger to accommodate the increased size of ladies' hair arrangements. These types of mirror were known as e-kagami.
Perhaps it can be said that the motifs on handled mirrors truly reflected the heart of the Edoite!
- source : www.kyohaku.go.jp


Mirror with auspicious symbols of winter
shoochikubai 松 竹 梅 pine, bamboo and plum blossom - and Mount Fuji


source :　edo-ekagami.seesaa.net


- quote -
wakyou (wakyoo)　和鏡
- Japanese style mirrors.
Wakyou were developed as part of toilet sets in the Heian period.
Previously large and heavy Chinese-style mirrors were used as ritual objects at temples and shrines and as burial accessories. Wakyou, although based in technique and shape on continental models, are distinguished from Chinese mirrors by such Japanese-style patterns and motifs as pines, cherry blossoms, wistaria, maples, pampas grass, chrysanthemums, cranes, geese and sparrows.
The matsukuizuru mon kyou 松喰鶴文鏡 (mirror with a pattern of pine eating pine) is a typical Japanese style mirror of this period.
In the Kamakura period, wakyou became thicker and often featured patterns of peonies, butterflies and birds, or Houraisan 蓬莱山 in high relief. Sung period handled mirrors, ekagami 柄鏡, with decoration around the reflective surface were introduced by the Muromachi period.
At first they had a long handle and knob (chu 鈕) in the center of the rear side. Later ekagami became larger and the handle shorter and thicker, with the knob disappearing.
In the Momoyama and Edo periods, mirrors were decorated freely with patterns of landscape and birds-and-flowers, often including the signature of mirror maker or the words 'tenka-ichi 天下一' (best in the world).
- source : JAANUS -


- History of mirrors in Japan -
- reference -



. Matsuyama kagami 松山鏡 The Mirror from Matsuyama .
- a legend with many version -

.......................................................................


. Doing Business in Edo - Introduction .

. kagamishi, kagami shi 鏡師 mirror maker .
and Ukiyo-E with mirrors

.......................................................................



kagami migaki 鏡磨き /　kagami togi 鏡研ぎ　
mirror polisher in Edo

The bronze mirrors of the ladies of Edo had to be polished at least once a year. A good business time for the wayside craftsmen was in winter, toward the New Year.
They sat by the roadside, putting the mirror in front of them whilst polishing it. So they could see their own face all the time.

They were often the subject of senryu.

わが面で試みをする鏡とぎ
waga men de kokoromi o suru kagamitogi

using my own face
as a trial object
to polish this mirror


磨ぎたての鏡びっくり下女気絶
togitate no kagami bikkuri gejo kizetsu

looking into
the newly polished mirror
the servant faints

Maybe now she realized the great difference in her own "beauty" and that of here lovely lady.


.......................................................................



Torii Kiyonaga 鳥居清長の美人画



化粧の女 - Woman applying powder
Hashiguchi Goyō 橋口五葉 Hashiguchi Goyo (1880-1921)


. - - - Welcome to Edo　江戸 ! .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. shinkyoo 神鏡 Shinkyo - "mirror of the kami", divine mirror .
- Introduction -

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::