#精品长文创作季#
Did you know that in Japan, if you see a noodle shop with the word "soup" written on the front label, you should not think that it is a restaurant? In Japan, the word "yu" is closely associated with their hot spring baths.
In layman's terms, this is a bathhouse, not a place where we usually go to eat. This cultural difference is particularly easy to joke about.
Today, we will talk about Japan's hot spring bath culture, and we may have a certain understanding of Japanese hot spring baths through various channels on the Internet.
Japan's hot spring baths are famous all over the world, and a large proportion of foreign tourists come to Japan every year.
It can be said that the hot spring bath culture has long been the golden sign of Japan's tourism industry. But it is this golden sign of Japan that has been found by its own law enforcement agencies to have a large number of safety and health problems.
On February 24, according to a report by Japan's NHK TV station, a century-old Japanese hot spring bath shop "Daimaru Besso" was found to have Legionella bacteria exceeding the standard by 3,700 times under the surprise inspection of the Japanese health department.
This can be described as a stone that stirred up a thousand waves, and the question of whether the safety and hygiene behind the Japanese soup bath are up to standard quickly caused a large number of netizens to watch and discuss. This has had a big impact on Japan's tourism industry, which has just recovered.
So this inspection revealed how dirty the hot spring baths in Japan really are, and what effect ordinary people have on themselves after soaking in them. And when did the Japanese bath culture originate? Let's move on.
1. The origin of Japanese soup bath culture
Japanese bath culture has a long history, and there have been written descriptions of Japanese bath culture thousands of years ago.
Japanese bath culture itself has a process of development and evolution, and the initial audience of baths is far from reaching the current level.
Japan is one of the countries in the world most affected by crustal movements. Japan, which is located at the junction of the Pacific and Eurasian tectonic plates, is squeezed by two large plates, and large earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur frequently.
According to incomplete statistics, the average number of earthquakes in Japan is 1,000 per year, and on average, about four earthquakes occur every day. Earthquakes of magnitude 6 or higher occur at least once a day. It can be seen that the continental plate in which Japan is located is indeed extremely unstable.
On the one hand, this violent plate movement has had a serious impact on the production and life of Japan, but on the other hand, it has brought something else to Japan, which is hot springs.
Perhaps this is the so-called "gain and loss", and the hot spring water in the deep underground gradually leaks to the surface as the tectonic plate moves, forming natural hot spring pits in some places.
The source of the hot spring bath culture in early Japan was these hot spring pits of various sizes that were evenly distributed in mainland Japan.
At that time, the Japanese were wary of these natural hot springs, because the warm liquid that gushed up from the ground was sometimes seen as a bad omen. This kind of thinking was very common in ancient times.
But in the face of such a wide distribution and after a long period of observation that there was not much harm, the first "crab eaters" appeared.
After some people's practice, they found that bathing in these hot springs not only does not hurt, but even feels very wonderful.
In this way, hot spring baths were developed, and it is recorded in classical books such as the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki that not only Japanese princes and ministers enjoyed hot spring baths, but even Japanese emperors often soaked in hot spring baths.
In the Nara period, Japan's hot spring bathing culture developed dramatically, as a result of the introduction of Indian Buddhism to Japan, and the emergence of a large number of Buddhist temples in Japan.
These monks associate various religious activities such as meditation and rituals with hot springs. At this time, the upper classes of Japanese society gradually accepted the additional sacred properties of Japanese baths and actively participated in related activities.
As Buddhism took further root and spread in Japan, it was only natural that the culture of hot springs and baths was spreading more and more widely in Japan. More and more people are being affected by it. However, at this time, the audience for hot spring baths was limited to monks and princes.
During the Muromachi period, the human rights to hot spring bathing services were strictly limited to monks and princes, ministers, and dignitaries.
Enjoying a hot spring bath is a symbol of status and status to a certain extent. The hot springs will also not be open to the general public.
It wasn't until the recent Edo period that Japan's hot spring bath culture developed again. At this time, with the deepening of Yamashita's understanding of hot springs and the increase in the open use of hot springs, the Japanese hot spring industry has developed unprecedentedly.
Since the Edo period, ordinary people have been able to soak in hot springs, and they have been involved in the construction and development of hot springs. At this time, the Japanese hot spring bath culture was truly popularized and comprehensively promoted, and it has continued to this day.
Second, the benefits of hot spring baths
Hot springs can be formed not only in Japan, but also at the junction of tectonic plates and in places where deep underground springs gush out, but Japan's hot spring bath culture is the most famous in the world.
Since hot spring baths have been able to survive for thousands of years, there must be something unique about them.
The natural effects of hot spring bath to bring people good health, beauty and beauty are the natural secrets of the long-term prosperity of the hot spring industry.
Taking Japan as an example, according to incomplete statistics, there are more than 2,600 hot springs in Japan. There are 750,000 hotels nationwide. An average of 110 million people visit hot springs each year, which is equivalent to the entire population of Japan.
Hot springs are so sought after by everyone, nature and his effect are inseparable, according to the Showa 23 "Hot Spring Law", the Japanese gave a more scientific definition of hot springs, and there are objective statements about the efficacy of hot springs.
There are 11 types of hot springs depending on the pH of the water. According to the temperature of the hot springs, the temperature is less than 34°C for low temperature hot springs. A hot spring greater than 34° but less than 42° is considered a medium temperature hot spring. Above 42°C is a hot spring.
The pH of the hot spring is different, and the temperature of the hot spring water is different, and its effect is naturally different. However, these differences do not differ significantly.
Hot springs generally have the following effects: First, hot springs contain a variety of active trace elements and minerals.
Regular soaking in hot springs can improve a person's physique, increase the body's resistance, and have the effect of preventing diseases.
Although it is an exaggeration to say that life is prolonged, the benefits of hot springs are obvious.
The reason why people get sick is because the human ecology is imbalanced due to various reasons such as external forces, viruses, and bacterial infections.
Soaking in hot springs can replenish the trace elements in the body and help the body better absorb these trace elements to achieve ecological balance in the body.
This also explains why bathing in hot springs can improve physical fitness and prevent diseases.
This is the same as basking in the sun to supplement calcium. Especially now, people are under more and more pressure in life and work, and we need to spend time on our own body conditioning and maintain our own physical health.
Secondly, regular bathing in hot springs is effective in treating diseases of the locomotor system such as obesity, chronic rheumatoid arthritis, and other neurological diseases.
The therapeutic effect of hot springs for these diseases has been proven by modern medicine, and soaking in hot springs, especially medium and high temperatures, is a miracle in treating obesity symptoms.
The trace elements in the hot spring water can moisturize the skin, soothe the body and mind, relieve fatigue, and are also beneficial for the treatment of some neurological diseases.
Finally, soaking in hot springs has an obvious effect, which is to relax the body and mind, so that our tired body and mind can be temporarily liberated.
Sometimes people soak in hot springs to enjoy the comfort brought by hot springs, and sometimes they "covet" a trace of tranquility when soaking in hot springs.
Soaking in a hot spring is like traveling to the mountains, a long vacation for busy people to take for their tired self. In a fast-paced life, we should all have our own slow lives.
The comfortable and slow pace of life such as soaking in hot springs can often heal our tired body and mind well.
Therefore, because of the many benefits of bathing in hot springs, more and more people are yearning for a hot spring bath trip.
Here's a tip: As mentioned above, hot spring baths are not only unique to Japan, but also have local characteristics and affordable hot spring baths in the northeast of the mainland.
3. Frequent thunderstorms in Japanese hot spring baths
Take the 100-year-old hot spring restaurant "Daimaru Besso" mentioned above as an example, after the problem of the hot spring bath shop, some Japanese media dug up the black history of this hot spring restaurant.
It's really not a matter of not knowing, and I'm shocked when I check it. As early as February 24, before the store was found to contain 3,700 times more Legionella bacteria, the store had already been closed by the relevant health authorities because of a customer who fell ill after enjoying the hot spring bath at the store.
This happened half a year ago, when the boss of Daimaru Besso still behaved in the same old Japanese way: bow and apologize, but just don't change.
At that time, the Legionella content in the Daimaru Besso hot spring bath had exceeded the standard by two times.
Who would have thought that half a year later, this store not only made rectifications, but even intensified.
In fact, the hot spring bath is not very troublesome, as long as the hot spring water in the pool is changed every week and the appropriate amount of chlorine is added to disinfect it.
But even if it was such a simple operation step, the old hot spring shop still refused to implement it.
According to follow-up reports, the owner of Daimaru Besso admitted that the hot spring water in the store had only been changed twice in the past year, and that it had never been disinfected with chlorine.
Coincidentally, a tourist in a hotel called "Arima Onsen" in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, died of serious illness due to Legionella infection after soaking in the hot spring at this hot spring shop.
Legionella bacteria is extremely harmful, and people infected with Legionella bacteria can induce acute respiratory infections at least and death from shock.
Every year, tourists in Japan die of Legionella bacteria infection while bathing in hot springs.
Japanese bath culture can be said to be the golden sign of Japanese culture, but it is clear that a series of Japanese hot spring bath safety incidents have made this golden sign less attractive.
epilogue
Nowadays, people are paying attention to the quality of life, and hot springs have become the choice of more and more people. In the face of frequent health and safety incidents in Japan's hot spring bath industry, people who travel to Japan have to be vigilant.
On the other hand, the mainland's current domestic tourism market is showing a hot development trend. As one of the few places in China where you can enjoy hot springs, you should pay more attention to related health and safety issues. We should take caution from the thunderstorm of Japanese hot spring baths.
Resources:
https://tv.cctv.com/2020/05/28/VIDEj1SfU92hw8T13TlWpWiM200528.shtml (CCTV: Japanese hot spring bath under the crisis)