{"id":13584,"date":"2015-10-20T13:37:19","date_gmt":"2015-10-20T23:37:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=13584"},"modified":"2015-10-20T13:37:19","modified_gmt":"2015-10-20T23:37:19","slug":"onsen-ken-shinfuro-video-japan-synchro-swim-team-promotes-oita-pref-onsens-and-breaks-most-bathhouse-rules-doing-so-historically-insensitive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=13584","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Onsen-Ken Shinfuro Video&#8221;:  Japan Synchro Swim Team promotes Oita Pref. Onsens &#8212; and breaks most bathhouse rules doing so.  Historically insensitive."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>eBooks, Books, and more from Dr. ARUDOU, Debito (click on icon):<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/handbook.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11452\" title=\"Guidebookcover.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Guidebookcover.jpg\" alt=\"Guidebookcover.jpg\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/japaneseonly.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11335\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/japaneseonlyebookcovertext-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"japaneseonlyebookcovertext\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/handbook.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1298\" title=\"Handbook2ndEdcover.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Handbook2ndEdcover.jpg\" alt=\"Handbook for Newcomers, Migrants, and Immigrants to Japan\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/inappropriate.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8577\" title=\"inappropriatecoverthumb150x226\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/inappropriatecoverthumb150x226.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/japaneseonly.html#japanese\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1700\" title=\"jobookcover\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/jobookcover-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\u300c\u30b8\u30e3\u30d1\u30cb\u30fc\u30ba\u30fb\u30aa\u30f3\u30ea\u30fc\u3000\u5c0f\u6a3d\u5165\u6d74\u62d2\u5426\u554f\u984c\u3068\u4eba\u7a2e\u5dee\u5225\u300d\uff08\u660e\u77f3\u66f8\u5e97\uff09\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cinemabstruso.de\/strawberries\/main.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2735\" title=\"sourstrawberriesavatar\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/sourstrawberriesavatar.jpg\" alt=\"sourstrawberriesavatar\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?cat=32\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4921\" title=\"debitopodcastthumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/debitopodcastthumb.jpg\" alt=\"debitopodcastthumb\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12473\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-12474\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/FodorsJapan2014cover-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"FodorsJapan2014cover\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nUPDATES ON TWITTER: arudoudebito<br \/>\nDEBITO.ORG PODCASTS on iTunes, subscribe free<br \/>\n&#8220;LIKE&#8221; US on Facebook at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/debitoorg\">http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/debitoorg<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/handbookimmigrants\">http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/handbookimmigrants<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JapaneseOnlyTheBook\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JapaneseOnlyTheBook<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BookInAppropriate\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BookInAppropriate<\/a><br \/>\nIf you like what you read and discuss on Debito.org, please consider helping us stop hackers and defray maintenance costs with a little donation via my webhoster:<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/donate.cgi?id=17701\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/secure.newdream.net\/donate4.gif\" alt=\"Donate towards my web hosting bill!\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<i>All donations go towards website costs only. Thanks for your support!<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Hi Blog. \u00a0As a bit of a tangent (but only a bit). \u00a0Check this out:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/20ZWZJgixtw\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/20ZWZJgixtw\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/20ZWZJgixtw<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>COMMENT<\/strong>: \u00a0This is an excellent video featuring the former Japan synchronized swimming team in various hot springs (onsen) around Oita Prefecture. \u00a0I have been to some\u00a0of these myself, and can attest to the magic of both the location and the waters.<\/p>\n<p>BUT<\/p>\n<p>I hate to pee in the pool here, but there are several things happening here that are absolutely impermissible by Japanese standards (in fact, they were cited as reasons for excluding all &#8220;foreigners&#8221; entry to the baths <a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/otarulawsuit.html\">during the Otaru Onsens etc. Case of 1993-2005<\/a>):<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Making noise in the bathing area.<\/li>\n<li>Splashing about.<\/li>\n<li>Wearing bathing suits in the pool.<\/li>\n<li>Wearing towels in the pool.<\/li>\n<li>Mixed bathing in a non-rotenburo area.<\/li>\n<li>Not washing off one&#8217;s body completely before entering (note that they get in dry after\u00a0only a cursory splash).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>If anyone does any of these things\u00a0in real life, they will probably get thrown out of the bathhouse. \u00a0Worse yet, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/embeddedracism.html\">if anyone who DOESN&#8217;T LOOK JAPANESE did\u00a0anything like this, everyone who doesn&#8217;t look Japanese (i.e., a &#8220;foreigner&#8221;) <em>a priori <\/em>would be\u00a0denied entry at the door, merely by dint by phenotypical association<\/a>. \u00a0That&#8217;s why I have a hard time enjoying this video knowing the history of Japanese public bathing issues, where <a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/roguesgallery.html\">stone-headed onsen owners looked for any reason to enforce their bigotry<\/a> on people they thought\u00a0couldn&#8217;t learn Japanese bathhouse rules.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, without any irony whatsoever, we have the Japan synchro swim team breaking most of them. \u00a0To raucous applause. \u00a0Good thing they didn&#8217;t bring in a NJ synchro team to do this stunt &#8212; because then &#8220;cultural insensitivity&#8221; would creep into the mix.<\/p>\n<p>Granted, there is a lengthy disclaimer at the end to say that swimming and bathing suits are not allowed in Japanese\u00a0baths, and that rules etc. must be followed. \u00a0But I still remain grumpy at the lack of historical sensitivity shown towards\u00a0the &#8220;foreigners&#8221;\u00a0who suffered for being\u00a0refused entry to Japan&#8217;s public baths despite following all\u00a0decorum and rules.\u00a0\u00a0Dr. ARUDOU, Debito<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here is an excellent video featuring the former Japan synchronized swimming team in various hot springs (onsen) around Oita Prefecture.  I have been to some of these myself, and can attest to the magic of both the location and the waters.  However, I hate to pee in the pool here, but there are several things happening here that are absolutely impermissible by Japanese standards (in fact, they were cited as reasons for excluding all &#8220;foreigners&#8221; entry to the baths during the Otaru Onsens etc. Case of 1993-2005):<\/p>\n<p>Making noise in the bathing area.<br \/>\nSplashing about.<br \/>\nWearing bathing suits in the pool.<br \/>\nWearing towels in the pool.<br \/>\nMixed bathing in a non-rotenburo area.<br \/>\nNot washing off one&#8217;s body completely before entering (note that they get in dry after only a cursory splash).<\/p>\n<p>If anyone does any of these things in real life, they will probably get thrown out of the bathhouse.  Worse yet, if anyone who DOESN&#8217;T LOOK JAPANESE did anything like this, everyone who doesn&#8217;t look Japanese (i.e., a &#8220;foreigner&#8221;) a priori would be denied entry at the door, merely by dint by phenotypical association.  That&#8217;s why I have a hard time enjoying this video knowing the history of Japanese public bathing issues, where stone-headed onsen owners looked for any reason to enforce their bigotry on people they thought couldn&#8217;t learn Japanese bathhouse rules.  Instead, without any irony whatsoever, we have the Japan synchro swim team breaking most of them.  To raucous applause.  Good thing they didn&#8217;t bring in a NJ synchro team to do this stunt &#8212; because then &#8220;cultural insensitivity&#8221; would creep into the mix.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,34,20,26,4,13,56,60,2,48,55,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cultural-issue","category-exclusionism","category-history","category-ironies-hypocrisies","category-japanese-government","category-media","category-nj-legacies","category-nj-voices-ignored","category-otaru-onsen-lawsuit","category-shoe-on-the-other-foot-dept","category-tourism","category-8"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13584\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}