Sento: manners at the public bath
How a neighbourhood bathhouse works, why you rinse before the tub, and what to do with your towel. JLPT N3 reading with translation.
Passage (Japanese)
「銭湯」は、お金をはらってだれでも入れる町のお風呂です。各家庭にお風呂がそろっていなかったころには、近所の人たちが毎日のように通う、生活に欠かせない場所でした。入り口を入ると、昔ながらの銭湯では「番台」と呼ばれる高い席で料金をはらい、最近のお店では受付の「フロント」ではらうところも多くなっています。家庭にお風呂が広まったことなどから銭湯の数は年々減ってきていますが、今でも各地で親しまれています。
銭湯にはみんなが気持ちよく使うための作法があります。まず、服をぬいで浴場に入ったら、いきなり湯船には入らず、お湯を体にかける「かけ湯」をします。これは体の汚れを軽く流すためと、急に熱いお湯に入って体がおどろかないようにするためです。
さらに、湯船に入る前には体や髪をきちんと洗うのが基本です。湯船の中では、タオルをお湯につけないように、たたんで頭の上にのせる人が多く見られます。髪が長い人は、お湯に髪がつかないように結んでおくとよいでしょう。みんなで同じお湯を使うので、お湯をできるだけきれいに保つことが、何よりも大切にされているのです。
Translation
A "sento" is a town bathhouse that anyone can enter by paying money. Back when not every household had a bath, it was an essential place for daily life, where neighbors would go almost every day. Once you enter, at old-fashioned sento you pay at a high seat called the "bandai," while at recent establishments many places have you pay at a reception "front" desk. Although the number of sento has been decreasing year by year due to baths becoming common in homes and other reasons, they are still loved in various places even today.
Sento have manners so that everyone can use them comfortably. First, after taking off your clothes and entering the bathing area, you should not suddenly get into the tub but instead do "kakeyu," pouring hot water over your body. This is to lightly rinse off the dirt on your body, and also to keep your body from being shocked by suddenly entering hot water.
Furthermore, it is basic to wash your body and hair properly before getting into the tub. In the tub, many people fold their towel and place it on their head so as not to dip the towel into the water. People with long hair would do well to tie it up so that the hair does not touch the water. Because everyone uses the same water, keeping the water as clean as possible is valued above all else.
Comprehension questions
Choose an answer for each question, then check.
Q1本文によると、昔の銭湯はどんな場所でしたか。
According to the text, what kind of place was the sento in the past?
Q2「かけ湯」をするのはなぜだと書かれていますか。
Why is "kakeyu" done, as written in the text?
Q3湯船の中でのタオルの扱いについて、本文に書かれているのはどれですか。
Regarding how a towel is handled in the tub, which is written in the text?
Q4銭湯の作法で、何よりも大切にされていることは何ですか。
In the manners of the sento, what is valued above all else?
