朝七時 五畳にて 三人の女
GARARI! is the sound of opening a sliding door…an outdated one.
Garari! I opened a glass sliding door, into the five tatami-mat space. Sulfur-infused steam rushed through the opening and enveloped me in an instant. A large bathtub was built against one wall, and three taps were lined up on the opposite wall. This means a maximum of three people at a time.
There was already a grandma sitting in front of the nearest tap, washing herself. “Good morning,” I said to her with a little bow that she could not see, and aimed for the tap at the other end of the whole line, “Before it gets crowded…”
I sat down. Onto a yellow, plastic seat, which is paired with a wash basin of the exact same colour: the signature items observed in many of these public bathhouses throughout Japan. I looked around and noticed on my right, there was one more tap protruding out of the wall slightly fixed higher than the other three. “For washing hair,” the sign said. Stiff competition over one tap if you wanted to wash your hair… I shifted my gaze back to my tap. It was a button: the hot water will only run for a certain period of time after pushing the button. The other special tap, on the other hand, was the one that water keeps running as long as it’s open.
While I was observing the details of the tiny bath house, I saw another lady coming into the dressing (or undressing) room through the glass door. “It’ll be three of us” I hurried to finish washing myself, in anticipation of her, trying to free up one more space for the comfort of the right distance. She came in before I finished, despite my effort, and, against my expectation, grabbed a basin and went towards the bathtub. She scooped up the hot spring water a few times to quickly wash herself before sinking into the abundance of it in the tub.
Soon enough, I was sitting on the other end of the tub, immersing in the natural blessing infused with the energy and minerals of the earth, with a bit of sulfur smell.
Before my body started to loosen up completely, the lady already came out of the tub and went towards the “Washing hair only” tap. I’ve only been in this space for less than 10 minutes, and observed three dots (i.e., us) maneuvering around the space while keeping a certain distance from one another, without even a word.
In my peripheral vision, I caught her washing her hair. She seems to collect the bubbles from her shampoo in her basin, and brings it closer to the drainage hole to discard. The tap is obviously added later than the others, and there is no drainage under it. If she washed her hair like we normally do, the entire floor would be filled with bubbles. I could tell she was a local and regular here, from her mannerism which were almost to the level of sophistication after the countless repetitions.
The grandma had already placed the set of pail and seat back to where they were in the first place, towel-dried herself before going back into the dressing room.
It was seven in the morning on a regular week day, in a town famous for the hot spring. I came out feeling refreshed, cleansed, and filled with quiet inspiration. I’d assume this is how the children would learn how to use the public and communal space in a town like this. If this is not culture, then what is?
がらりと引き戸を開けると、畳5畳ほどのスペース。
硫黄の匂いと湯気に勢いよく包み込まれる。
一方の壁際には湯船があり、もう反対側の壁には3つの蛇口が並んでいる。つまり同時に体を洗えるのは最大でも3人。
手前の蛇口を使って体を洗っていたおばあさんの背中に、おはようございますと声を掛けて、「今のうちに…」と奥の蛇口に向かう。
黄色のケロリン洗面器と腰掛けセット。座ってから改めて辺りを見回す。
右手の壁には洗髪専用と書かれた標識の下に、蛇口が1つ。他の3つに比べて少し高い位置に備え付けられていた。髪を洗いたい人はこの1つの蛇口を譲り合って使うのですね。
改めて座っている目の前の蛇口に向き合うと、それは押しボタン式で、一定の時間が過ぎるとお湯が止まってしまう。これでは髪の毛を洗うのは至難の技。洗髪用は、ひねるとお湯が出続ける蛇口だった。
そうするうちにもう1人の女性が脱衣所に入ってきたのがガラス扉越しに見える。「3人で並んで体を洗うのは狭苦しいだろうから、先に体を洗ってしまおう…」と、急いで体を洗い始めるものの、終わらぬうちにその女性は風呂場に入ってきた。彼女も「おはようございます」と、先着の2人（おばあさんと私）に声をかけると、私の予想とは反して、湯船側に椅子と手桶を持っていく。湯船のお湯をすくいながら、体をさっと流すと早々に湯船で温まっている。その様子を鏡越しに確認し、体を洗い終えた私も、湯船に。
源泉のお湯がとろりと肌にまとわりつく感触。芯からじわじわと温まる感じがする。
至福の時…と体の節々の緩まる感覚を実感していると、
まるでそのタイミングを測ったかのように、その女性はさっと立ちあがり、洗髪専用の蛇口の前に。この5畳ほどのスペースの中で3つの点が、程よい距離感を保ちながら移動しているのが面白いなぁ…と思う。
視界の隅に、洗髪の様子が目に入る。シャンプーの泡を手桶に集めてから、排水溝の近くに流している。後付けで取り付けられた蛇口だから、そうしないと風呂場の床全体に泡が広がってしまうのだろう。きっと常連の地元の人なのだろうな。
周りを思いやる所作は、何度もの繰り返しを経て、どこか洗練されているようにさえ見える。
そんな大人の姿を見て、子どもたちも、お風呂場での動き方と相手を思いやることを学ぶに違いない。
まだ朝7時半。
先に入られていたおばあちゃんも、きれいに手桶と椅子を元あった場所に戻し、きれいに体を拭き取って脱衣所に出ていきました。
Paper cutting: Megumi Naoi
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