Editing Bathing (section)

===Private baths===
[[File:Kusakabe Kimbei - B1098 Home Bathing.jpg|thumb|Home bathing (1900s), by [[Kusakabe Kimbei]]]]

Although baths at home had been prevalent to some extent since the Edo period (1603-1867), the common people usually went to public bathhouses during the first half of the Showa period (1926-1989), and only wealthy families had their own bathrooms. Home baths became commonplace since the period of rapid economic growth after World War II.<ref>{{Cite web |title=入浴文化の変遷―日本人がお風呂に求めるものとは {{!}} ストーリー {{!}} 株式会社LIXIL |url=https://www.lixil.com/jp/stories/stories_08/ |access-date=2024-11-27 |website=www.lixil.com}}</ref> Bath water in Japan is much hotter than what is usual in Central Europe. The temperature is usually well above {{cvt|40|C}}. In medical literature, {{cvt|47|C}} is considered bearable.<ref>K.Kubota, K.Tamura, H.Take, H.Kurabayashi, M.Mori, T.Shirakura: ''[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=7730738 Dependence on very hot hot-spring bathing in a refractory case of atopic dermatitis.]'' in: ''Journal of medicine.'' 25.1994, 5,333–336. {{ISSN|0025-7850}}</ref> The heat is considered a prerequisite for complete relaxation. The custom is to thoroughly clean oneself with soap and rinse before entering the tub, so as not to contaminate the bath water.