Umeno-yu is a traditional bathhouse that reminds one of nostalgic childhood. It has white tile walls and two bathtubs made of blue tiles. The partition separating men's and women's sections is made of lava. Kutani-yaki tile pictures are set on both sides of the partition. Blue Mt. Fuji seen from Nishi-izu is pained on the front wall spreading over men's and women's sections. It was painted by the late Toshimitsu Hayakawa, a painter, in 2004. There are washbowls on which old-fashioned characters of "Kerorin" are printed. A large wall clock hung at the center of the dressing room, an old-fashioned scale and a massage chair which are placed in it and a high coffered ceiling recall a flavor of a traditional bathhouse.
Takehiko Kurokawa, the owner of Umeno-yu
Smoke is discharged from a chimney after circulating under floors so that sparks and smoke are not directly discharged into the air. Therefore, floors of the house are warmed up and heating is not necessary even in winter, but rooms become very hot in summer.
Q: How and when did you begin this job?
I came from Niigata Prefecture. At that time, many people from the region where I grew up had run bathhouses in Tokyo, and some of the people were very successful and returned home after becoming rich. I saw those people, so I started working and living in a bathhouse. Nowadays, such a thing is not applied.
Q: What are your business hours? Also, are you using well water? Have you taken some measures against disasters?
We open from 3:00 p.m. to midnight. We clean bathtubs and do other chores after closing the bathhouse, so we go to bed around 3:00 a.m. We are now using tap water. Although there was a well, but it was filled when a subway was constructed, so we have used tap water since then. We fill bathtubs with warm water overnight in preparation for disasters, assuming that the water might be used in an emergency. A water temperature is adjusted for customers who come to the bathhouse before it opens.
Q: How do you obtain fuel?
Scrap wood from demolished houses have been brought to the bathhouse, so we have little difficulty in obtaining fuel. However, it is fairly difficult to dismantle and break up the scrap wood. Bathhouses in the neighborhood have shifted from wood to gas and heavy oil. In order to heat bath water by using wood, it is necessary to prepare it early. When priority is given to accepting elderly people, we have to prepare it since morning.
Q: Has an atmosphere around the Kuramae area changed? Also, have types of recent-day customers significantly changed?
In the past, Kuramae was very crowded with people because there were the Kokugikan Arena and teahouses around it.
Many people who worked at the arena and teahouses also came to bathhouses, but traces of them have disappeared since the arena was relocated to Sumida City.
Although foreign backpackers have recently come to the bathhouse, they seem uncomfortable when they see me sitting on Bandai. Bandai is necessary in order to watch out for accidents and criminal acts, but young people might feel uncomfortable about it. If we install a counter instead of Bandai, it might also cause problems. Since condominiums have bathrooms, the number of customers does not increase anymore.(continued in the right column)
Many customers leave their toiletries at the bathhouse and go home. The number of customers who carry around their toiletries just like it used to be has decreased. Some people advised me that shared toiletries, such as shampoo, be placed in the bathhouse, but it is difficult to do so without guidance and agreement from neighboring bathhouses and the Sento Association.
Q: Do you have any plan to remodel the bathhouse so that more young people use it?
It is difficult because remodeling would take a great deal of money. Also, it might be better not to significantly change it for regular customers and elderly people. Recently, customers participating in "Sento Ohenro" also come to the bathhouse, but the number of them is not so large. If the bathhouse is equipped like a health resort, the number of customers might increase, but more human hands would be needed. Currently the number of customers is limited, so it is difficult to do so. Foreign customers sometimes come to the bathhouse, but regular customers are from the Kuramae, Torigoe and Misuji areas, so it is fairly difficult to run the bathhouse. The fact is that the number of customers has decreased year after year.
Q: The building of Umeno-yu has the flavor of an old-fashioned bathhouse, so it looks attractive in films or TV dramas, isn't it?
It is hard to maintain it. We have repaired it little by little, but it has gradually become older. The picture of Mt. Fuji was painted five to six years ago, but the bathhouse painter passed away. Art school students also have difficulties painting large pictures like this, so we have to ask professional bathhouse painters.
Q: Exhibitions of films and TV dramas and by students of Tokyo University of the Arts have been held. Have you actively planned exhibitions?
No. Art works are exhibited and events are held outside the opening hours. Most of them were requested by other people, so we have not approached them. Those exhibitions and events have not directly led to an increase in the number of customers. Only my wife and I have run the bathhouse, so it is a little bit hard to provide spaces for exhibitions and events.
The picture of Mt. Fuji seen from Nishi-izu was painted by the late Toshimitsu Hayakawa, a painter, in 2004.
As I talked with Kurokawa, I could realize how hard it is to run the bathhouse. On the other hand, the value of old-fashioned bathhouses other than facilities, such as a super sento, that attach importance to convenience, has recently been reconsidered through films and exhibitions. Unfortunately, Umeno-yu closed at the end of September, 2012. Although the number of old-fashioned bathhouses has decreased, people continue to seek elegant spaces like bathhouses where they can take a break in urban areas.
"Hashitte Nagashite Yamagadekita," an exhibition held at Umeno-yu, took advantage of the features of the bathhouse building.
Kutani-yaki tile picture (women's section)
Kutani-yaki tile picture (men's section)
Takehiko Kurokawa, the owner of Umeno-yu
Smoke is discharged from a chimney after circulating under floors so that sparks and smoke are not directly discharged into the air. Therefore, floors of the house are warmed up and heating is not necessary even in winter, but rooms become very hot in summer.