For a resident of Europe, who loves and knows a lot about baths, it will be a shock to visit a traditional Japanese bath. What is so striking about her? There are no bath paraphernalia familiar to us - steam rooms, washing, brooms. Just a big wooden barrel and a couch in the corner.
Japanese Furako Bath
This is a large font shaped like a natural wood barrel. Inside, it is divided into two parts by a partition. The larger one has seating, while the smaller one has a wood-burning or electric stove made of stainless steel. With its help, the water in the main part of the furaco heats up to fifty degrees. For a beginner, this temperature is perceived as difficult, but after several visits, full adaptation occurs.
Japanese barrel bath is made of cedar, larch or oak. And this is no accident. The wood of these species enriches the water with essential oils, valuable minerals and tannins. These impurities turn water into a healing liquid.
Wudu treatment
Japanese bath has its own traditions and rituals. visitorplaced in the font so that the water is below the heart. Even in this case, the heartbeat usually increases and the pressure can increase significantly. If the rules are not followed, the consequences can be very serious.
Stay in furaco should not exceed 15 minutes. For such a short period of time in the human body, metabolism is stimulated, the work of the heart and blood vessels improves noticeably, and immunity increases. Connoisseurs say that this Japanese bath can cure diseases of the kidneys, joints, heart, as well as colds. Hot water has a beneficial effect on the skin, opens all the pores and removes accumulated toxins through them. To make the effect even more powerful, extracts of various herbs, aromatic oils, rose petals, and s alts are added to the water.
After the allotted time, the visitor goes to the couch. His rest must be at least an hour. At this time, his body completely relaxes, the nervous system returns to normal. The Japanese furako bath is a real ritual. It is as if four elements are combined in it - Air (steam), Fire (heat), Water and Earth (wood). The legend says that only he can become a true warrior who is able to combine these elements together.
Japanese ofuro bath
As a rule, the Japanese bath complex consists not only of furako. Ofuro is certainly present in it. This is a rectangular wooden container filled with sawdust. For its manufacture, a special thermal wood and a reliable electric heating system are used. Generally easydesign - Japanese bath ofuro. Even a not very experienced specialist can do it with his own hands. It can be installed in a country house, in a country house and even in a spacious city apartment.
Ofuro dive
According to a long established tradition, wooden containers are filled with linden or cedar sawdust, which is mixed with fragrant herbs and roots. Then this composition is slightly moistened and heated to sixty degrees. The visitor is immersed in a fragrant mass. Sawdust covers his body up to the very neck. The procedure lasts no more than half an hour. His body warms up well, then slags come out, which are immediately absorbed by sawdust. After such a session, the skin looks young and he althy, its color improves, various rashes disappear. Usually visitors visit ofuro after furaco.
Sento - public bath
Traditions of using thermal baths are still preserved here. Sento are quite spacious rooms that can serve up to a hundred visitors at the same time. It is divided into two parts - for men and for women. The main feature of this bath is a large hot water pool, in which several people usually bathe at the same time.
Before entering the pool, visitors leave their belongings in the lockers and go to the washing room. Here they, sitting on a small wooden bench, carefully wash their bodies. The contrast shower is very popular among the Japanese.
Then they go into a pool of water heated to fifty-five degrees. You can’t stay in it for a long time - no more than fifteen minutes. After leaving the pool, relaxation is provided in well-equipped rooms with aquariums, flowers and even small gardens. The bathing ritual ends with tea drinking.
The Japanese are extremely proud of the he alth of the nation - no less than achievements in the field of mechanical engineering or electronics. Quite justifiably, they associate a high life expectancy and a fairly low percentage of morbidity with the observance of bathing traditions. According to doctors, they help reduce stress, help relieve accumulated fatigue, and restore strength. The bathing traditions of Japan are part of the national culture, an integral attribute of life. The Japanese have cherished and revered their bathing traditions for many centuries.
