Japanese ofuro bath, benefits and treatment

First public baths - sento - were arranged in Japan by Buddhist monks at the temples of the ancient capital of Nara in the UI century.  The tradition was interrupted in the 18th century due to endless wars between samurai clans. After the unification of the country by the rulers-shoguns from the Tokugawa clan, in 1581. The first commercial bathhouse was opened in the new capital of Edo (now Tokyo). She had a resounding success and soon there were already 600 paid baths in the city, which became the main place of communication for the Japanese. 

Since then, the appearance of baths in Japan has not changed much, they look like small pools with hot water, but fundamentally differ from European ones in the sequence of hygiene procedures. If the Europeans first steam out in the steam room, and then wash and bathe in the pool, then the Japanese first wash themselves to a creak, for which rice husks, fine sand and fly ash were previously used. Having passed the locker room, the Japanese sit down in the common bathing room on low wooden stools and thoroughly wash themselves with soap and a washcloth, pouring water over them. The shower is missing. Only then do the Japanese climb into the pool.

In Japan, the height of romance is swimming in "open furo" - natural pools in the rocks filled with healing water from hot springs - onsen. There are more than two thousand of them in the Japanese archipelago. And nowadays, onsen is often used to supply hot water to public baths. Trips to onsen with family, friends or alone are almost a mandatory ritual for many.  Japanese.

The ofuro national bath gives a sense of belonging to an ancient ceremony, it is a whole ritual, and in the Land of the Rising Sun, more attention is paid not even to the process itself, but to how it is happening. Ofuro not only allows you to be clean, but gives rest to tired muscles and relieves tension. The Japanese take "ofuro" almost daily before dinner. It's just as important a part of life as well as regular tea drinking. After, wrapped in a sheet, they rest on a tatami (mat).