Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

BATH HOUSE TUB (O-FURO)

Date Range From

1940

Date Range To

1945

Materials

WOOD

No. Pieces

2

Height

69

Length

107

Width

76.5

Description

RECTANGULAR WOOD BASIN. BOTTOM OF TUB EXTENDS BEYOND SIDES. TWO LONGER SIDES OF TUB ALSO EXTEND BEYOND PERPENDICULAR SIDES. SIDES OF TUB ARE EACH MADE FROM 3 HORIZONTAL SLATS OF WOOD. TUB COMES WITH A 'LID'. LID IS MADE OF 8 SLATS OF WOOD WITH STRIPS OF WOOD NAILED ACROSS THE TOP TO HOLD IT TOGETHER. TUB IS STAINED AND DISCOLORED THROUGHOUT.

Subjects

PLUMBING FIXTURE

Historical Association

DOMESTIC

PERSONAL CARE

History

BELONGED TO DONOR'S PARENTS KICHIZO AND KIMI TAKAGUCHI. USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH P20030063002-4-GA. DONOR BELIEVES JAPANESE-STYLE BATHTUB WAS PURCHASED AROUND 1943 IN RAYMOND FOR $75. WAS LOCATED IN BATH HOUSE ON FAMILY FARM. ORIGINALLY LOANED TO MUSEUM FOR USE IN NIKKEI TAPESTRY EXHIBIT. SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR PHOTOS. KICHIZO CAME FROM JAPAN IN 1916, AND KIMI IN 1924, BECAUSE THEY FELT THEY WOULD FARE BETTER IN CANADA. THEY SETTLED IN RAYMOND AND HAD 4 CHILDREN THERE (INCLUDING DONOR). THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WAS PROVIDED BY KAZ TAKAGUCHI (DONORS WIFE) IN JANUARY 2007: KICHIZO TAKAGUCHI WAS SPONSORED BY MR. HATANAKA AND IMMIGRATED TO CANADA IN 1916. HE BOUGHT THE HOMESTEAD IN 1918 FROM KINCHI IWAASA AND A COUPLE OF YEARS LATER RETURNED TO JAPAN TO MARRY KIMI SARUGAKU. THEY HAD SEVEN CHILDREN: TWO SONS WHO DIED IN INFANCY, THEN ECHI, YOSHIFUMI, ATSUKO, HARUMI, AND ROBERT. THEIR HOMESTEAD WAS DIFFERENT FROM MOST FOR THEY HAD AN O-FURO (HOT TUB) IN THEIR HOUSE. NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW WHEN THIS FIRST O-FURO WAS BUILT. I HEARD THAT ONE DAY THE O-FURO WAS FOUND PARTIALLY BURNT. WHEN AND HOW IT HAPPENED SEEMED A MYSTERY BUT THE FAMILY WAS GIVEN QUITE A SCARE. THE SECOND O-FURO WAS BUILT BY MR. SHINICHI KAWADE IN THE EARLY 1940’S AFTER THE INTERNMENT AND IT WAS HOUSED IN A SEPARATE BUILDING. THE NEW HOT TUB WAS BUILT WITH 2 X 12 LUMBER AND THE DIMENSIONS WERE 28” X 37” X 24” DEEP WITH A SHEET METAL SUB-FLOOR. TIN FLOORING WAS USED TO HEAT THE WATER. CAULKING WAS PUT BETWEEN THE BOARDS TO MAKE THEM WATERPROOF. A SLATTED WOOD PLATFORM (A BIT SMALLER TO ALLOW FOR EXPANSION FROM SWELLING) WAS MADE TO FIT INSIDE THE O-FURO SO THAT WHEN YOU GOT IN YOU WOULD STAND ON THE PLATFORM AND NOT ON THE HOT TIN FLOOR. THE TUB WAS SET ON A BRICK BASE WHICH ALSO FORMED A FIRE BOX FOR HEATING THE WATER. A SLIGHTLY SLANTED PLATFORM WAS BUILT AGAINST THE TUB SO THE WATER WOULD FLOW AWAY AND DRAIN. NOW THE O-FURO WAS READY TO BE FILLED - ½ FULL OF WATER. THE FIRE WOULD BE MADE IN THE FIRE BOX PIT AND WATCHED CAREFULLY SO THAT THE WATER DIDN’T GET TOO HOT. A LARGE BUCKET OF WATER WAS ALWAYS HANDY, JUST IN CASE. A COVER WAS MADE WITH TONGUE AND GROOVE TO CONSERVE HEAT. WHEN THE WATER WAS NICE AND WARM, YOU WOULD STIR IT THOROUGHLY. UNLIKE A CONVENTIONAL BATHTUB, YOU NEVER GOT INTO THE O-FURO DIRTY. YOU WASHED YOURSELF WITH SOAP AND WATER BEFORE YOU STEPPED INTO THE HOT TUB. YOU THEN IMMERSED YOURSELF IN THE WARM O-FURO BY BENDING YOUR KNEES AND CROUCHING UNTIL THE WATER WAS UP TO YOUR CHIN. THE WATER IN THE O-FURO COULD BE RE-USED TWO OR THREE TIMES SINCE YOU HAD WASHED BEFORE YOU GOT IN. THE O-FURO HELPED TO RELAX AND SOOTHE YOUR ACHES AND PAINS AFTER A HARD DAY’S WORK MUCH LIKE THE MODERN DAY HOT TUB. DEPENDING ON HOW BIG YOU WERE, OUR TUB WOULD ACCOMMODATE UP TO TWO ADULTS OR THREE CHILDREN. THEN THE TAKAGUCHI FAMILY MOVED TO THE TOWN OF RAYMOND IN 1946, THE MEN COMMUTED BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THE NEW HOUSE IN TOWN AND THE FARM TO LOOK AFTER THE LIVESTOCK. DURING SPRING SEEDING AND HARVESTING THEY COOKED AND ATE AT THE OLD HOMESTEAD AND USED THE O-FURO EVERY DAY. WHEN YOSH AND I GOT MARRIED IN 1957, WE MOVED BACK TO THE HOMESTEAD. WE CLEANED UP THE O-FURO AND GOT IT BACK IN SHAPE AND STARTED USING IT AGAIN. DURING THE WINTER WE WOULD GO TO BATHE IN TOWN. IN 1965, WE BUILT A NEW HOSE ON THE FARM AND INSTALLED A WESTERN-STYLE BATH AND SHOWER. THUS ENDED THE USE OF THE O-FURO. WASHING IN THE TUB AND SOAKING IN THE SOAPY WATER WAS DIFFERENT, BE WE SOON ADJUSTED AND GOT USED TO IT. THE SHOWER WAS NICE BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T SIT AND SOAK IN YOUR SOAPY, DIRTY WATER. I HEARD THAT DURING THE DEPRESSION, WHEN THE CHILDREN WERE SMALL AND ONE TRAVELED BY HORSE AND BUGGY, PEOPLE WOULD HAVE PARTIES AT NEW YEAR, BIRTHDAYS, OR ANY OTHER SPECIAL OCCASION. IF THEY HAD MADE A TRIP TO LETHBRIDGE, THEY WOULD BUY WHITEFISH OR OTHER FOODS THAT WERE UNAVAILABLE IN RAYMOND. THEY WOULD THEN CALL THEIR NEIGHBORS AND HAVE A PARTY WHICH MIGHT INCLUDE SUPPER, JAPANESE CARD GAMES, TIME IN THE O-FURO AND SOMETIMES A SLEEPOVER. ANOTHER INCIDENT THAT OCCURS TO ME WAS THE TIME A SPECIAL FAMILY FRIEND CAME VISITING. FRESH, CLEAN O-FURO WATER WAS IN ORDER. THE GENTLEMAN WAS VERY ANXIOUS AND HONORED TO BE THE FIRST ONE IN A FRESH O-FURO AND HE COULD HARDLY WAIT. HE CHECKED THE WATER AND DECIDED THE TIME WAS RIGHT SO HE WENT OUT TO THE HOT TUB. HE WAS GONE FOR QUITE A WHILE. THE FAMILY WAITED FOR HIM TO COME OUT AND WAS WONDERING WHAT WAS TAKING HIM SO LONG. ONE OF THE MEN DECIDED TO CHECK ON HIM. HE KNOCKED AND OPENED THE DOOR BUT THE VISITOR WAS NOWHERE IN SIGHT. THE COVER WAS ON THE O-FURO AND THE VISITOR’S CLOTHES WERE HANGING ON THE HANGER SO THEY PEEKED UNDER THE COVER AND THERE HE WAS. HE WAS OKAY! WHEN HE GOT INTO THE TUB, THE WATER WAS STILL ONLY LUKEWARM AND HE FIGURED THAT IT WOULD HEAT UP EVENTUALLY. IN THE MEANTIME, HE PUT THE TUB COVER OVER HIM, TRYING TO KEEP WARM. IT TOOK A LITTLE WHILE LONGER BUT HE FINALLY GOT WARM AND JUST A LITTLE SHRIVELED UP FOR STAYING IN THE WATER SO LONG. FOR A WHILE, THE STORY WAS A TOPIC OF CONVERSATION AND GOOD-HUMORED TEASING. FOR A SHORT STORY BY RUTH LISKA (NEE IKEDA) PER HER CHILDHOOD RECOLLECTIONS OF JAPANESE BATHS IN GENERAL, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20030063001

Acquisition Date

2004-03

Collection

Museum

Less detail