Survey Report on Japanese Bath Manners Considered from Anime Bathing Scenes
Survey Report on Japanese Bath Manners Considered from Anime Bathing Scenes
Introduction
It is no longer necessary to explain that the Japanese love bathing. Anime shows often feature characters enjoying a bath. The fact that characters are bathed in the same bathtub in public bathhouses and hot springs shows that there is a certain degree of trust between them. However, I suggest that there is an important focus here (Of course, it is not a naked girl.). In Japan, there are some bath manners to follow when taking a bath. It is almost the same at home baths, public bathhouses, and hot springs. Not only in the bath, it is very important to know manners and observe manners. If you ever travel to Japan, the bath manners you learned here will surely be useful. In this article, I will examine the bathing manners in Japan and the character’s personality from the bathing scenes in the anime works. By the end of this article, you will have mastered the skill to not only grin at the naked girl in the bathing scene but also to assume what kind of person each character is.
© 中山幸・芳文社／ブレンド・S製作委員会
Girls und Panzer
These girls are in the second year of high school at Oarai Girls High School. They are members of the same anchor team learning “sensha-dō” (戦車道, lit. “the way of the tank”). I want you to pay attention to their hair. Wearing up your hair while taking a bath is a public bathhouse etiquette. This scene reminds you that they have good manners.
© GIRLS und PANZER Projekt
･Hana Isuzu (五十鈴 華, いすず はな)
Hana (left), who is in charge of shooting in the Anko team, is a neat and tidy Yamato Nadeshiko with long black hair that stretches to the waist. Hana ties her hair up with a hair clip to prevent her hair from soaking in the bathtub. This is a very important bath manner. Hana is also the daughter of a venerable master of flower arrangement. From this one scene, you can reaffirm her good upbringing and elegance.
･Saori Takebe (武部 沙織, たけべ さおり)
Saori (right), who is also in the Anko team, is in charge of communication because of her friendly personality. Saori participates in “sensha-dō” to be popular among men. She is also good at cooking, very sociable, has a big breast and the high level of femininity. Therefore, it is not surprising that she keeps her hair up when taking a bath as a manner. One of her techniques is to put up her hair with a bath towel. She tends to be egoistic about the concept of “love”, but I really hope she can find a true love!
K-On!
They are members of a band in the light music club of the same high school. The bath manners to follow are the same in an open-air bath. I will consider each and every one of them.
©かきふらい・芳文社/桜高軽音部
･Mio Akiyama (秋山 澪, あきやま みお)
Mio (right) is in charge of bass in the band named “Hokago Tea Time.” She is tall and outstandingly stylish. Because Mio’s hair is long, straight and black, she uses a towel to raise her hair when taking a bath. This is a very good bath manner. It is understandable that she took first place in both 2009 and 2010 in the “anime characters I want to marry” ranking in Japan. It is well known that the first place she washes in the bath is the showerhead.
･Yui Hirasawa (平沢 唯, ひらさわ ゆい)
Yui (left)’s hair is semi-long. The length of the hair is up to the shoulders, so the hair barely soaks in the hot water during a bath, but it would be considerate to keep your hair up. She’s a cheerful, innocent, goofy and naturally a bit spacy, but this one scene clearly shows that Yui has a common-sense.
©かきふらい・芳文社/桜高軽音部
･Tsumugi Kotobuki (琴吹 紬, ことぶき つむぎ)
Tsumugi (left) is in charge of the band’s keyboard, has long blond hair. Tsumugi is a millionaire young lady who has been educated for gifted children. It is not surprising that she has mastered bath manners. Surprisingly, the open-air bath where they bathe is one of the Tsumugi family’s cottages. And it’s one of the smaller villas owned by the Tumugi family.
Lucky Star
They are bathing in a hot spring at a ryokan on a school trip to Kyoto. They are close friends who go to the same high school. However, their personalities are completely different, which can be easily understood from this bathing scene.
(C)美水かがみ/らっきー☆ぱらだいす
･Konata Izumi (泉 こなた, いずみ こなた)
Surprisingly, Konata (right)’s hair is long enough to stretch to her ankles. Therefore, her bath manners are problematic. In public bathhouses, she shouldn’t soak her hair in a bathtub, but she does. But Konata lost her mother when she was young and her father is a super nerd. Konata may not have been taught bath etiquette by her parents. Also, girls generally hate wet hair sticking to their bodies. But she doesn’t care about the details because she’s cheerful and easygoing.
･Kagami Hiiragi (柊 かがみ, ひいらぎ かがみ)
Konata’s classmate, Kagami (Middle) usually has pigtail hair that stretches to the waist. Unlike Konata, an otaku as mentioned above, Kagami is a girl of common sense. So it makes sense that she has her hair up with a towel. You can see the difference in the characters’ personalities in a casual scene.
Encouragement of Climb
Four girls with a common hobby of mountain climbing are trying to heal the fatigue of mountain climbing in a hot spring. This series of hot spring scenes teach you a lot of bath manners. I will explain one by one.
･Aoi Yukimura (雪村 あおい, ゆきむら あおい)
Aoi (right) is a first-year high school girl who is good at cooking and sewing and cares about the level of femininity.
©しろ／アース・スター エンターテイメント／『ヤマノススメ』製作委員会
However, Hinata (left), her childhood friend, warned her that she tried to enter the bathtub without washing her body outside of the bathtub. Aoi is hurriedly washing her body away. Washing your body before taking a bath is one of the bath manners, whether you take a bath at home, at a public bath or hot spring.
©しろ／アース・スター エンターテイメント／『ヤマノススメ』製作委員会
Do not soak your towel in the bathtub. Taking a bath with a towel on your head like her is an advanced technique in public baths and hot springs. I want you to practice it if you have a chance to travel to Japan. The Japanese people around you will think highly of you as a bath master.
©しろ／アース・スター エンターテイメント／『ヤマノススメ』製作委員会
･Kaede Saitou (斎藤 かえで, さいとう かえで)
Kaede (left) is a high school sophomore who enjoys climbing with Aoi and others. Kaede’s grade is one above Aoi’s. She is also a serious mountain climber and she is a reliable elder sister to her junior Aoi. Although she has big breasts and a great figure, she is often careless about fashion and looks rough. However, when she takes a bath, she ties up her long hair that stretches to her waist and has good manners as a girl.
©しろ／アース・スター エンターテイメント／『ヤマノススメ』製作委員会
But I want her to wear sexier underwear. She is wasting her chance to make use of her outstanding figure.
©しろ／アース・スター エンターテイメント／『ヤマノススメ』製作委員会
･Hinata Kuraue (倉上 ひなた, くらうえ ひなた)
So what about Hinata (left)’s bath etiquette when she warned Aoi to wash her body before bathing? She usually has twin tails and her hair is long enough to grow below her shoulders. Generally, you should put your hair up if your hair is shoulder-length because you often soak in the bath up to your shoulders. And while women hate wet hair sticking to their bodies in the first place, the energetic Hinata probably doesn’t care about the details.
･Kokona Aoba (青羽 ここな, あおば ここな)
Kokona (Middle) enjoys mountain climbing with Aoi and Hinata. Unlike the other members, she is the only junior high school student, but she has good bath manners. Her hair is long enough to stretch to the waist, but Kokona uses a hair clip to raise her hair while taking a bath. Kokona is a girl with a cute and distinct mood, but she is surprisingly fit enough to successfully climb Mt. Fuji. She is a lovable ideal girl with cuteness, good manners and toughness (Can someone tell me why there is no such girl in the real world?).
Kill Me Baby
©カヅホ・芳文社／キルミーベイベー製作委員会
･Sonya (ソーニャ, そーにゃ)
Surprisingly, Sonya (left) is a high school girl killer. Sonya has blond hair, blue eyes, and pigtails that extend to the thighs. Her place of origin is unknown (The theory of Russia seems to prevail.), but she is certainly a foreigner. But she must be familiar with Japanese culture and customs. When she went to a public bath with Yasuna (right), she tied her long hair with a towel. Even if you are a foreigner (EVEN IF YOU’RE A KILLER…), it is important to observe Japanese manners in the bath like her.
©カヅホ・芳文社／キルミーベイベー製作委員会
At first, Sonya (right) seemed to be reluctant to be naked in public. She tells this to Yasuna (left) in the dressing room. In Japan, there is an idea of “Hadaka no Tsukiai” (裸の付き合い, lit. “open relationship with naked bodies”). Exposing nakedness to each other at public bathhouses and hot springs is the first step to build a relationship of trust between the two. This is a communication method known in Japan for a long time.
Hyouka
©米澤穂信・角川書店／神山高校古典部OB会
･Eru Chitanda (千反田 える, ちたんだ える)
Eru is a first-year high school girl and her long black hair that stretches to her waist is impressive. Eru is the only daughter of a prestigious family, and she is a neat young lady who uses respectful words to everyone. Naturally, she also mastered bath manners at the hot spring.
©米澤穂信・角川書店／神山高校古典部OB会
She washes her body with “Kakeyu” before soaking in the bathtub. “Kakeyu” is the act of wetting your body with hot water, which not only washes away the dirt on your body but also helps you get used to hot water. It is not bad manners to wrap a towel around your body before entering the bathtub.
©米澤穂信・角川書店／神山高校古典部OB会
Anyway, Eru is sexy.
©米澤穂信・角川書店／神山高校古典部OB会
Gate
© 柳内たくみ・アルファポリス/ゲート製作委員会
Now, the problem is this scene where seven people enjoy hot springs in Japan. Five of the seven women have hair longer than their shoulders. Of the five, only one has her hair up. Why aren’t the four people wearing their hair up? I wonder if they don’t have bath manners and etiquette. I wonder about the personalities and backgrounds of the four.
© 柳内たくみ・アルファポリス/ゲート製作委員会
･Bozes Co Palesti (ボーゼス・コ・パレスティー, Bōzesu Ko Paresutī)
Usually, Bozes (right) has long, curly blond hair. She is the second daughter of the marquis of Palestine, a nobleman of the hegemony state “Empire” in the other world “Tokuchi”. She is an extremely talented female soldier who belongs to the Rose Knights and leads the Yellow Bars. Like Piña, which is described below, the reason why she doesn’t put her hair up while taking a bath is probably because the culture related to the bath is different between Japan and the other world “Tokuchi”.
･Piña Co Lada (ピニャ・コ・ラーダ, Pinya Ko Rāda)
Piña is a beautiful woman with crimson hair and red eyes “Empire” is also the third princess of the hegemony state. She belongs to a knights group that provides formal military education that respects independence, discipline, respect, protection and solidarity, and has a strong sense of duty and ethics as a member of the Imperial family. It is probably due to cultural differences that Piña does not have the manner to wear up his hair when bathing.
© 柳内たくみ・アルファポリス/ゲート製作委員会
In fact, when Piña bathes in “Tokuchi” she does not wear her hair up.
© 柳内たくみ・アルファポリス/ゲート製作委員会
･Tuka Luna Marceau (テュカ・ルナ・マルソー, Tyuka Runa Marusō)
Tuka (right), a fair lady with blond hair and blue eyes is an elf-girl living in another world “Tokuchi”, and although she looks like a teenager, she is 165 years old. Tuka also doesn’t wear her hair up when taking a bath, probably because of cultural differences. However, she is a rare species among special elves, so there is no concept of longevity. In the first place, I feel like it was a problem before the cultural difference…
･Rory Mercury (ロゥリィ・マーキュリー, Rōri Mākyurī)
Rory (left), a girl with black hair and red eyes is also from a different world “Tokuchi”, but she is a person who gained power as a god while holding a human body. The “Emroy” she serves is the god of death, madness, war, and sin. In this way, it will be known that preaching a difference in manners and culture to a person who is close to God is fearful. She is also a girl in appearance, but her actual age is 961.
C3
I question the bath manners of two girls in C3. Even if she took a bath at home, she was not praised for not taking a bath with her hair up.
(C)水瀬葉月/アスキー・メディアワークス/C3製作委員会
･Fear Kubrick (フィア・キューブリック, Fia Kyūburikku)
Fear is a small, slender girl with silver hair that extends to her thighs. No, to be exact, she’s actually a Cursed Tool, whose full name is Fear-In-Cube, a torture device that resembles a solid metal cube. When she was a tool, Fear had the trauma of slaughtering many people, young and old, including those close to it. And she was cursed to the point of becoming a person. It is nonsense to preach bath manners to her (torture and execution equipment).
(C)水瀬葉月/アスキー・メディアワークス/C3製作委員会
･Kuroe Ningyouhara (人形原 黒繪 Ningyōhara Kuroe)
Kuroe used to be the same Cursed Tool as Fear, but now the curse is broken. As the name suggests, Kuroe was originally a Japanese doll with long black hair below the knee (She can control the length of her hair,). Now She is humanized. However, it is nonsense to preach bath manners to dolls. Wouldn’t it be scary if a doll with its hair up was in the bathtub?
Blood-C
(C)2011 Production I.G, CLAMP/ Project BLOOD-C TV/ MBS
She has good manners as she takes a bath with her hair up at home. You can learn a series of actions related to bath manners from her bath scene. For the time being, I would like to describe her as “GIRL/WOMAN” in this introduction.
･Saya Kisaragi (更衣 小夜, きさらぎ さや)
(C)2011 Production I.G, CLAMP/ Project BLOOD-C TV/ MBS
Each woman has their own preference as to whether she washes her hair before or after soaking in the bathtub. Saya seems to be the former, and she takes a bath with her long black hair below her waist, shampooed and tied up with a hair clip. She is a high school girl who acts as a shrine maiden with dark hair and dark eyes and a simple Japanese look. She has a cheerful, easygoing, cheerful personality. It is no wonder that she has mastered Japanese bath manners. However, she has unrivaled power to subdue a monster called “Furukimono” (古きもの, “Old Things”, also called “Ancient Ones”) with a sacred sword handed down at a shrine by order of her father. Yes, she’s a stranger. I would like to refrain from commenting on her because her identity will be revealed, but her behavior, which embodies the manner of bathing as well as Japanese who love bathing, is praiseworthy.
Nyaruko: Crawling with Love
(C)逢空万太・ソフトバンク クリエイティブ／名状しがたい製作委員会のようなもの
The protagonist of “Nyaruko: Crawling with Love” is an ordinary high school boy named Mahiro who lives on Earth. And the main female character is Nyaruko, a beautiful girl with silver hair living in Mahiro’s house. She is Nyarlathotep, “The Faceless God” who appears in the Cthulhu Mythology, and introduces herself as an alien.
･Nyaruko (ニャル子, Nyaruko)
(C)逢空万太・ソフトバンク クリエイティブ／名状しがたい製作委員会のようなもの
After all, she doesn’t know the culture of the earth and Japan for aliens, so I wonder if she wears her hair up when taking a bath. The answer is no. Complicating matters, Nyaruko, who is taking a bath in this picture, is swapped in mind and body with the main character, Mahiro. Nyaruko’s body in this bathing scene contains the spirit of Mahiro, a boy. It can’t be helped that male high school students don’t know how to take a bath with women’s hair up. Also, since Nyaruko can change her appearance freely, there is no guarantee that this beautiful silver hair is also a hair (there are many scenes in which it is thought to be a tentacle rather than a hair).
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed the naked bodies of beautiful girls and women in the bath scene. No, I hope you learned Japanese bath manners from the bath scene. From this article, you can understand that there are three main points about bath manners. First, you need to tie your hair up when you soak in the bathtub. As long as you don’t soak your hair in the bathtub, you can tie your hair in any way you like. It is good to tie it up with a hair clip or towel. Second, you need to wash your body before entering the bathtub. It is hygienically important not to bring dirt into a bathtub, whether it is a bath at home or a public bath. Third, you can’t soak your towel in the bathtub. There are very few public baths or hot springs that allow bathing in a bathtub with a towel wrapped around the body. I think foreigners are reluctant to be naked in public. However, it is common in public baths in Japan to be naked in public. If you have a chance to travel to Japan, I would like you to learn Japanese manners and enjoy your time in Japan.
*: Some point out that the reason why women in anime don’t wear their hair up in the bath in the anime is because there are many male cartoonists and animators and animators. And there’s a blog post looking into this point. Sure, some of the points may be true, but this article assumes that the scenes are intentionally staged.
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