湯上りを暫く冬の扇かな
yuagari o shibaraku fuyu no ougi kana


after a bath
i fan myself
folding fan in winter
— Meisetsu


(Tr. David LaSpina)

_{("Two Fans" by Teisai Hokuba)}

This may seem a strange image—fanning oneself in winter?—but it is easily understood if you know anything of Japanese bathing culture. Japanese typically bathe daily. The bath in Japan isn't for cleaning, it's for relaxing. You clean yourself completely in a shower area before entering the bath, then you relax there for awhile, then rinse off again and finish.

Because baths are for relaxing and not a lot of movement, they are often kept in the 45-50 degree range (113–122 Fahrenheit) in many public baths, and usually people set around the same temperature for their home baths. This is hot enough that after a few minutes you are sweating. It's also hot enough that many foreigners unused to sitting in such hot water become light-headed and even pass out if they get up too quickly after sitting in the bath awhile.

Anyway, since we are so hot after a bath, often the after-bath shower rinse will be cooler water. With this in mind, one can easily imagine someone fanning themselves after a Japanese bath, even in winter.

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Don't miss other great haiku in the Haiku of Japan series!

#1–10 — Haiku of Japan :: Collection #1
#11–20 — Haiku of Japan :: Collection #2
#21–30 — Haiku of Japan :: Collection #3
#31–40 — Haiku of Japan :: Collection #4
#41–50 — Haiku of Japan :: Collection #5
#51–60 — Haiku of Japan :: Collection #6
#61 — Turncoat Umbrella
#62 — Ten Autumns
#63 — Scattering Leaves
#64 — Gravekeeper
#65 — To Kill an Ant
#66 — Frosty Rose
#67 — Don't Give Up
#68 — Matsushima
#69 — Meeting With the Buddha
#70 — Winter Wind
#71 — Born Lucky
#72 — Late New Year's
#73 — New Year's Cleaning
#74 — Dreams of Turtles
#75 — An Early Spring

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I post one photo everyday, as well as a haiku and as time allows, videos, more Japanese history, and so on. Let me know if there is anything about Japan you would like to know more about or would like to see.

Who is David?
	David LaSpina is an American photographer lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time.