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Where was the first public bath in the Edo period? Why do you call a bathtub a "tub"?

It is well known that the Nihonbashi Fish Market has existed for more than 300 years, from the beginning of 1600 to 1935. From now on, I plan to seriously describe the history of the fish shore in several blogs, but I would like to introduce interesting stories such as "sento" and chicken wholesalers used by the common people of Edo.

As part of the "Edo Great Contract" that Ieyasu Tokugawa went after entering the prefecture, the "Hirakawa", which was pouring into the Hibiya Inlet in Edo, is connected to the Nihonbashi River, and ships from Edo Bay also climb to the east side of Edo Castle. It is now coming. When the full-scale construction of the city of Edo began, this area began to be bustling, and Yokkaichi stood on "Yon Day", and fish began to be sold along with rice grains, firewood charcoal, kimono, etc. Machiya was opened, and it was named "Dosanbashi" because the shogun's physician, "Manase Hogen," lived.

Kuemon, the eldest son of Magoemon Mori, opened a fish shop (Uodana) in Dosan Kawagishicho, near the current Tokiwa Bridge near Michizo, while serving as fish for the Shogunate. It is a small one mainly composed of the Shogun's house, and when it is no longer possible to serve the increasingly large set of Edo Castle, clans and people from the same country gradually open stores and begin to form something like a fish shore.

There was a small fish market on the north side of Dosan Bridge, and a green market on the south side across the moat.

The bustle of the Dosan Riverside

Where is the first public bath in the Edo period crowded with Dosan banks? Why do you call a bathtub a "tub"?

There is also a prostitute and a public bath on the banks of Dosan. Tensho 19 (1591), the "steamed bath" opened by Yoichi Ise at the base of Senbobashi is said to be the first public bath. In the early days, bathhouse has no bathtub and is a steam bath.

As the times changed, water was precious, fuel firewood was expensive, and few houses had indoor bath. The Edo kid seemed to have dry skin to go to Yuya many times a day, and it seemed to be smart, saying "It was solid."

It seems that Edokko liked baths so much that it recorded that there were 600 houses in Edo city in the late Edo period. The bathing fee is eight adults (about 120 yen), half of the price of a soba bowl. Many of the public baths were located in downtown areas with many machiyas, so people in the suburbs could not use them. The word "tub" was born because a bathtub was placed on a boat floating on the moat and river in Edo town and migrated as a mobile public bath.

 

Bathtub

What is the first public bath in the Edo period? Why do you call a bathtub a "tub"?

At the dock, a boat that bathed the boatman and cruise passengers appeared, but this is the bathtub. At first, there was no bathtub, and it was called a "watering boat" just by stacking a tub with hot water. Eventually, it became a houseboat with a bathtub, laying it on ports and banks to do business. It is said that the bath fee for the bathtub was half of the public bath = 4 sentences.

The Yokkaichi area has become the most prosperous place in Edo, but once the full-scale construction of the city of Edo has started, the fish shore along the Dosan River will be relocated to the landfill area in Nihonbashi. The full-fledged story of "Nihonbashi Fish Bank" starts next time.

 

Reference:

1) The truth of the Tokugawa Shogun's family: Published by Masaya Yamashita, Learning Research Company, 2007 

2) Nihonbashi Fish Bank Story: Kozaburo Omura's Published in 1984 

3) Hundred Years of Fish Bank: Uogawashi Centennial Editorial Committee, Nikkan Food Newspaper, 1968

4) Chuo-ku History Chart [Nihonbashi]: Chuo-ku, Tokyo Board of Education, published in 1995

5) Nihonbashi Fish Market Picture Map: Tangible Cultural Property designated by Chuo-ku (3-16-4 Tsukiji, Kaneko family storehouse)