HOW THE JAPANESE KEEP WARM

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Which explains how men, women, children-and babies-get comfortably through a cold Japanese day. And that brings us to late afternoon and the ofuro, or public bath.

(I don't really know what I'd choose as the absolutely best part of Japanese life if I had to make the choice, but the ofuro would surely make it into the finals. As a matter of fact, if I found myself back in Japan right this very minute, I know exactly what I'd do: make a beeline for the public bath.)

I hesitate to tell you how ofuros are built, because I'm not positively certain I know. So if there's a knowledgeable engineer-or anybody!-out there who can supply this information, please feel free to go right ahead. In the meantime, I am quite sure of how such a bath functions and I think 1 could construct one that would work so here, until we are all told better, is what I know about ofuros.

An ofuro can be built either inside your main house or in a separate building. (When I was two years old and we lived up north in Sendai, our bath was in a building of its own. And, believe it or not, the structure had so many missing wall boards that snow drifted into the steaming tub and the wind blew out our only illumination, a candle!)

I'm familiar with two types of ofuro, and both are splendid. There is

[1] the ordinary ofuro, which is a wooden tub heated from the outside, and

[2] the guemonburo, a huge iron pot with a fire under it. The second, by the way, was named after a criminal who was boiled to death as punishment which doesn't sound too bad when you're cold!

Ofuro water should be quite hot. Hot enough so that it takes you a while to get all the way in and leaves you good and red when you come out.

CAUTION: My husband says you should never take one of these hot baths after drinking because you can pass out from the combination of alcohol and extreme heat. Also, if you have a heart condition, there's a strong possibility that you shouldn't try the ofuro at all.

If you are up to the bath, though, you should begin by undressing and putting your clothes where they won't get splashed . in a separate room, if possible. Then, in the room which actually contains the ofuro (or in one immediately adjacent), begin your bath with the single piece of personal equipment that is absolutely essential: a pan or bucket. You should also have one of the cute little traditional dippers for filling the bucket with hot water from the ofuro and, if possible, a little stool about four inches high to sit on. The room in which you start your bath should be outfitted with a drain in the floor and-if it can be arranged-a spigot of cold water with which you can cool the ofuro, if that becomes necessary

Now Your a ready, Not to plunge into the big communal tub but to dip hot water into your personal bucket, wet your tenagui (a cross between a towel and a washcloth), soap up, and start scrubbing. Then rinse off by refilling your bucket with clean hot water and pouring it over you. It may be hard to take, but this first dose of the steaming liquid will make it easier a little later when you want to get into the big tub itself.

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