Japan, a View from the Bath

Often books about Japanese culture speak as much about the cultural biases and beliefs out of which they were written than about the Japanese themselves. There aren't many I'd recommend - Ruth Benedict is still useful, as is Suzuki and Oiwa's THE JAPAN WE NEVER KNEW. Few of the books dealing with cultural difference that I looked at prior to coming to live in Japan were as well-written as this one, however -- JAPAN: A VIEW FROM THE BATH --and few chose as interesting a perspective from which to view Japanese culture and customs -- by focussing on bathing in history and in present times. Customs surrounding bathing here are very different from those in the west; public bathing is still popular, and families will often share water within a single household -- sequentially bathing in the same tub, with the senior members going first. It is considered proper even when bathing alone, however, to wash oneself BEFORE getting into the tub, so that one doesn't end up soaking in dirty water; to serve this end, there is a grate in the floor of every bathroom in Japan, so that one can simply stand outside the tub and splash oneself. Most houses also separate the "bathroom" from the "toilet" and Japanese find it strange and not particularly appealing when they discover that toilets and tubs are usually in the same room in the west (at the very least, they find this inconvienient; what if someone has to use the toilet while another person is bathing? -- a problem that seldom comes up here, though smaller, western-style apartments often now have western bathrooms, too -- though they still have the floor-grate). The points of difference between east and west are sufficient and significant enough that the choice of focus makes perfect sense. Clark writes clearly and intelligently and has done his homework. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in Japan, and certainly for anyone coming to live here (where you will no doubt be eventually asked either to bathe communally or share water, if you stick around long enough).