Sento! The “hub” of the city! — The reason we cannot allow Sento to go out of business!

Is Sento Owakon?

With the word “Sento,” what do you visualize on your mind?

Bright, high ceilings and a wide bathtub; tiled floors and fans to cool your body after the bath; the extremely high chimney is a landmark in the city.

For me, living in Tokyo and in my late twenties; the expressions used above make me feel emotional.
In modern times, most homes have a bath. Sento is something “nostalgic” and if I dare to say, it is like Owakon which disappeared from a stage in daily life.

The current state of the Sento industry

The number of Sento have actually been decreasing each year.
According to the Tokyo Sento Association; in 1968, 2,687 Sento existed, however by 2013 it had become 706. In other words, a simple calculation shows that 44 baths per year have been going out of business.

Since the end of May, 2015, “Tsuki no Yu” which in Tokyo, retained the oldest history of Sento has become discontinued. Even the Sento holding the title of “the oldest in Tokyo,” has to abandon its role.

In the times when it was unusual for general houses to have an attached bathroom, Sento was busy operating.
Times have changed and it is now common for normal residences to have a bathroom. The primary role of Sento has been lost.
Due to this change of the life environment, the number of Sento has been rapidly decreasing.

Is it true that Sento is Owakon?

On the other hand, a project supported by many people has been moving to try and maintain, “Tsuki no Yu.”
It seems the movement trying to maintain Sento serving as a bath house, has already ended but is running counter to the current time.
Is there any hope or reason to maintain Sento?

In order to find the answers, we interviewed Ms. Haruka Kurio, a representative from “Bunkyo Youth,” who encouraged the activity to preserve Sento.

Sento provided a place for “active communication.”

Ms. Kurio is responsible for the preservation of Tokyo’s oldest Sento, “Tsuki no Yu.” She informed us that many of old Sento’s not only have value in terms of architecture, but also provided a place for communication between local residents.

“There are many residents who would go to Sento every day, where people can meet and communicate with each other. Going to Sento provides joy every day, “Ms. Kurio informs us.

There is a recognisable issue in all regions of Japan, where the connection between local residents is getting weaker.
The reasons vary in many fields such as the diversity of communication due to the internet and smartphones. There is also the consideration of less shared space for local residents.
While based on a complexed background, maybe as a solution, there is a role to play for Sento to regain a healthy appearance for the local community.

In urban areas of Japan, it has become very common to hear that you do not know the faces of residents who have moved in to your neighbourhood.
Even though you have a normal day-to-day life, it is unlikely you have much interaction with your neighbours.

In that respect, Sento is a shared space that can offer the “opportunity” for regular customers to naturally interact and provide a friendly atmosphere for making conversation with the staff sitting in elevated seating.
After bathing, I wonder if the hot water in the tub helps a closed mind to open a little.
I think Sento has a possibility to restore the local community.

“Tsuki no Yu,” the oldest hot spring in Tokyo.

“Tsuki no Yu” where Ms. Kurio has been working on the safeguarding activities, is located in a quiet residential area of Mejirodai, Bunkyo-ku. Among existing Sentos, this is one of the oldest wooden buildings in Tokyo.
There are many fundamentals stacked in this building, where you can see and feel the history; such as a painting of Mt. Fuji which is said to be a late piece by Mr. Toshimitsu Hayakawa, the maestro of interior paint design and ceiling mounted glass billboards.

Ms. Kurio and “Bunkyo Youth” have been consistently trying to safeguard, “Tsuki no Yu.”

Bunkyo Youth Social media

Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/bunkyo.youth
Twitterhttps://twitter.com/bunkyoyouth
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Unfortunately, despite the fact that they had continued to transmit information through the social medias, by the end of May 2015, “Tsuki no Yu,” was out of business.
Still Ms. Kurio has been continuing to work on this project. Utilising a limited time frame until “Tsuki no Yu” is to be dismantled, she has been seeking for means of how the bath house can survive in order to avoid being knocked down.

An Exhibiton organized by Bunkyo Youth

The exhibition of “Machitsugi | Anchoring the story of the town,” organised by Bunkyo Youth, was carried out between, Thursday 9th and Sunday 12th July, 2015.
“Tsuki no Yu,” where dismantling is approaching, showcased many difficult to obtain, precious items.

The exhibition of “Machitsugi | Anchoring the story of the town”
Date and time: Thursday 9th — Sunday 12th July, 2015 10:00–18:00
The venue: Bunkyo Civic Center 1F Gallery Civic/Art Salon
http://bunkyoyouth.com/2015/07/05/info%E3%80%8C%E3%81%BE%E3%81%A1%E3%81%A4%E3%81%8E%E3%80%8D-%E3%81%BE%E3%81%A1%E3%81%AE%E7%89%A9%E8%AA%9E%E3%82%92%E3%81%A4%E3%81%AA%E3%81%8E%E3%81%A8%E3%82%81%E3%82%8B-%E5%B1%95-%E5%90%8C%E6%99%82/

If you are not “positive,” you cannot protect old buildings.

Characteristics of these preservation activities for “Tsuki no Yu,” is “the positivity!”
Ms. Kurio informed us, “How great a place Sento is and during the interview, would like to promote it with a positive image”.

Since Bunkyo Youth was established, Ms. Kurio has experienced two of Sento’s discontinued services. What she learned from the experiences were words such as, “I feel nostalgic,” “It is wasteful!” and “It is a pity.” All of which cannot bring any concrete activity. Her fundamental idea of, “I do not want to be perceived incompetent!” So only a confident outlook can generate positive activities, which avoids activating any negative images.

Furthermore, she realised, “Only having knowledge in the construction sector, cannot protect Sento.”

“The deeper she became involved in the preservation activities, the more she realises the complexity of preventing the discontinuation of Sento. For example, the ageing generation of the Sento management; the changing environment where any house owns a bath; the dilapidated buildings and rising fuel prices. Among these examples, the only area I can help is from the point of the architecture, which means, the dilapidated building only.”

Based on wisdom gained from this experience, without limiting people in the Sento and the construction industries, she has been organising a meeting to brainstorm ideas for the future by gathering experts from various fields. She believes it is important to work on projects with people from a diversity of fields.

Currently experts from a wide variety of occupations, such as students involved in architecture and design, professors at university, creators and people working advertising agencies have all been supporting the project to save “Tsuki no Yu.”
We can feel the source of power from the conservation activities, such as, the designs look “positive” and their attitude to saving “Tsuki no Yu” is “positive.”

Students proposed and made a passort of Sento, which they called, “An invitation to your neighbouring Sento.” It includes photos of each Sento and introduces some features. There is an accompanying Sento map of Bunkyo-ku, a guide to, “Measuring your body temperature after bathing.” Their ingenuity will make you familiar with the Sento concept.
Even though Sento is a place of communication; no communication would exist if there was nobody there. So this is a straight forward approach inspiring people to come to Sento.[/caption]

The activities by Bunkyo Youth have been a gradual step by step process. However, communication itself is a repetition of steady actions.
People create a pleasant space and a good community will be born!

Now that I finished writing this article, I will think farther whilst bathing, about the way to preserve “Tsuki no Yu.”

The activities of Bunkyo Youth

They are collecting signatures on the website below. Who cannot agree upon the idea of the conservation of “Tsuki no Yu?”
“Currently, we have reached nearly 1,500 people. If you also agree, then please refer to the following page!”
Let’s preserve and utilise “Tsuki no Yu,” the oldest Sento in the city!

Bunkyo Youth are looking for “experts” who can cooperate with their activities.
“You do not need special skills! We just need somebody who likes Sento and to come up with ideas on how to maintain “Tsuki no Yu.” Please refer to the following site for details.”
Bunkyo Youth Website
http://bunkyoyouth.com/
Bunkyo Youth Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/bunkyo.youth