Japanese Culture:Japanese Modern Bath

When it comes to think about Japanese culture, I came up with idea of bath since Japan is one of the countries where people use bathtub when they have a bathtime. In old days, people used to have a bath called "Goemonburo"(五右衛門風呂). It is made by steel and people boil the water with fire directly so they had a bath with thin wood board under them in oreder to avoid burning themselves. Now this old traditional culture is gone. because of western culture, the style is changed but, bathtub culture is still alive in Japan.

This is the picture of the bath at my house. Usually in the bath, if it is apartment, there is a huge mirror and the small shelf where the washbowl, shampoo and body soap are put. Beside the shelf, there is the bathtub with some bath salt in it. This is why the color inside of the bathtub is green. There is also little chair we use when we wash hair. Shower is attached to the pole and it is vertically movable so that people can change the height of showerhead. Since Japan is the bathtub culture, we usually use bath salt when we take a bath. You can find a bath salt everywhere that so many kinds of bath salts are in LOFT or drug store.

Bathsalt

Usually, in order to separate changing room and where we take a bath, the door is shut completely in order to avoid overflwing water. Morover, unlike western counries, the floor is lower than bath floor in Japan. Unlike other countries, beside the bathtub, there is a covered drain to avoid overflowing water.

What Japanese People Do??

                When it comes to describe Japanese, they are usually described as shy or hardworking.
Also, Japanese prefer to work as group rather that individual work compared to other countries. Why is the group work is prefered in Japan then? This is because Japanese maku much of "Wa"(和) which is the Japanese traditional style of how to communicate with others. Not only when we work, but also when we go to school or go home, even when we go to bathroom, we prefer to stay as a group. This habit, going to bathroom with friends or as a group, is seen mostly among girls. This habit gradually starts around 5th grade in an elementary school. They keep doing the habit after they enter junior high school and high school. The habit seems end as they enter the university; however, some girls still like to doing it. It is likely that girls who went to a girls' school stick to their friends comapred other girls. Actually, I went to a girls' school for 12 years and so it is hard for me to go to the bathroom alone. Moreover, I think the girls, who still cannot go to the bathroom alone, is mostly from a girls' high school. There is a term for going to the bathroom with friends and that is called "Tsureshon"(連れしょん). We hardly use this term but still it is common word, especially, for boys. Now, what is the topic talked about inside the bathroom? They usually talk about boys, cosmetics, classes, homeworks, boys, girls they don't like, teachers, and boys. Nothing is different from the conversation in the classrooms except they talk more about boys.

Bathroom with friensds

Japanese are also described as hardworking. The picture is my friend studying for her mid-term exam at the computer lab in CIE. Japan is known as one of hardworking countries. It is illegal for companies to force peole to work more than 8 hours a day (from 9am to 5pm) and 40 hours per week without paying extra money for overtime work; however, it is common in Japan to work from 9am till late at night without extra money for overtime work.

mess on the desk