Holy water
Posted by ampontan on Thursday, October 23, 2008
OPEN-AIR BATHS, known as rotenburo, are one of the delights of Japan. Now, imagine how much better they could be if the water were sanctified instead of just sulfurous.
The people who live in or visit Maniwa, Okayama, already know. Every June for the past 22 years, they’ve celebrated Rotenburo Day in the city’s spa district to give thanks for the healing waters. This year’s ceremony attracted 5,000 people.
The day got started with an early morning rite that involved dipping water out of 11 of the district’s baths. Then officials and tourists took that water to another open air bath that also has a sand bath next to the Asahi River to give them a cleaning. (The principle is the same with sand baths. The bathers get covered up to their necks in sand to work all that sweat out.) That was followed by the Gathering to Give Thanks to the Hot Spring, during which the miko, or shrine maidens, dressed in white and red in the photo, poured the water from the spas into the sand bath to purify it.
Rotenburo Day features more than just Shinto services. There were also performances by local taiko drum groups, children’s flute and drum groups, and chindon bands to create a festival mood. And if that weren’t enough, the 20 baths at the local inns and spas in Maniwa were open to the public for no charge.
Spending a day outside relaxing in a hot spring, getting purified in spirit and body both without any psyche soap, and enjoying taiko and chindon performances…that’s enough to get me pricing train tickets for a trip to Maniwa next June!
Afterwords: You’re right, this is a few months late. I just rediscovered it in a corner of my files and thought it was too good to save until next year.
