The Way of the Bath

A sento is a public bath. It is not an onsen resort. Customs are a little different.
Some things are written on the wall - wash with soap before you get into the communal bath. Don’t drip water on the changing room floor, or put your towel into the tub. But there are unwritten rules that a bandai or local elder used to tell you. For example, it is rude to sit on the edge of the tub. If you tried that in the sento down the hill the bandai would stick his or her head into the bathing area and shout to you to, “get down please.”

Another hint, if there here are two baths in the men’s side and two in the woman’s. One bath is kept very hot, the other you can add old water to if you need to cool it. You should find out which is which before you start adding water.

A cover I painted for Sento Magazine

Solstice tomorrow

Last weekend I met some old friends in Koenji. I had painted the walls of that place 25 years ago. Seeing the painting was like seeing an old friend. My friends, the wall, and I have all grown a little wabi-sabi over the years. The isakaya is called, Typhoon

New Year Cards

In America I sent greeting cards to arrive before the holidays. Japanese send New Year Greeting postcards, to arrive in the new year. This year I have had trouble deciding on a painting for my card. Here are two I almost chose.

Gofun

My October was uniquely cohesive this year. But as every year after an exhibition I try to find my way, not follow the same direction. Today I played with gofun, a Japanese white pigment, and painted the garden behind the national museum. You can see Uguisudani peeking behind the trees

Aizume, 50 years open for children!

It was a fine sunny Sunday on the street for the 50th anniversary festival to celebrate the street being open for children to play on Sundays. I got to meet new people and show folks what I do when I go back to my studio.

On the Street

Tomorrow, November 6th there will be a celebration of Isome, the little street that has opened for children to play every Sunday for 50 years. I will join the event with a small table selling my small book, from my exhibition.

The streets featured in paintings in the book are highlighted pink. There are 8 of them on the map, and you can find Isome in the center of them.