Konyoku - Mixed Gender Onsen in Japan

What is a Konyoku?

Konyoku is a mixed onsen in Japan. Like other onsens, this is a nude onsen but here, both men and women bathe in the same bath. This is an old tradition but it has been falling in recent times since it is considere rude and vulgar. Outlawed in Tokyo and other urban centers, konyoku onsen can still be found in most prefectures, often in remote locations. 

They’re on the wane — estimates say there are a few hundred left — and most of them seem to cluster in Tohoku, among which Nyuto Onsen in Akita is perhaps the most notable. Another one is Aomori’s Sukayu Onsen with its famed Senninburo (1000-person bath). When I recently visited Aomori, I decided to finally take the plunge myself.

History of Konyoku mixed onsen

Konyoku onsen type is a very old Japanese tradition that is dating back as long as the 9th century. The number of mixed-gender onsen had started to decrease during the Edo period (1603-1868) due to two factors. First is inappropriate behavior coming from men who would stare or even worse harass women. Second is the influence from abroad. During the end of the Edo period, Japan opened its borders to the west. Newly arrived foreigners were shocked by the custom of men and women bathing together in the onsen. 

After the end of the Edo period, Japan wanted to join the club of the “western developed countries” so foreign influence became even more dominant and konyoku took another hit. Since then, the traditional concept of konyoku has evolved to meet foreign perceptions. For instance, the ancient konyoku strictly forbade men and women bathing to wear a towel or swimsuit to protect their modesty. Now, women are provided towels to cover their bodies while men bathe fully undressed.

Visiting Konyoku for the first time

I wouldn't prescribe attempting to go to one of these in the event that you object to being naked around the other gender. In the West we have rules about washing along with the other gender – you wear a swimming outfit. Here in Japan this standard is acquiring broad acknowledgment, and I'm here to tell the prigs that I will battle you until the apocalypse. 

Initially, you need to check whether you should wear a bathing suit. And furthermore, you need to check in the event that you should put on a towel around your midsection prior to going into Konyoku (Mixed Gender Bathing). Some konyoku will allow you to wear a towel, however not all. Fundamentally, placing a towel into natural aquifer isn't useful for sterilization, so there are numerous Konyoku (Mixed Gender Bathing) saying not to put and bring a towel. 

Each natural aquifer has each way and rules, so already, if it's not too much trouble, check the note about utilizing Konyoku (Mixed Gender Bathing). Then, in the wake of concluding the subtleties at registration, it's headed toward the konyoku hotspring! You will get bare and, in the wake of getting the 'wrap towel' around yourself, continued to the outdoors shower, also called rotenburo. So exactly what were her underlying feelings? Besides, exactly what sort of individuals really regular such a spot? 

While washing in the konyoku blended onsen, she was frightened by one specific scene; albeit Japanese bathers conveyed their towels with them, the encompassing couples from abroad were totally stripped, and appeared to be not at all piece embarrassed to uncovered all. It is regularly imagined that guests to Japan are a little reluctant about entering totally starkers into a particularly open spot, and in this vain, briefly, Tomoe wound up dismissing the genuine outsider. 

Fall of Konyoku in Japan 

At the point when Japan facilitated their unfamiliar limitations during the nineteenth century, some were dismayed at what they saw. Blended sexual orientation onsens were classified as "indecent" or "indiscriminate". Another pervasive issue which drove these blended showers bankrupt lies in the terrible habits among bathers. They are known as wani, or crocodiles. Wani alludes to a gathering of men or some of the time even ladies, who prowl in the water for quite a long time, hanging tight for a brief look at exposed skin. 

These unwanted irritations would gaze as they go after different bathers. From that point forward the number has been falling a great deal. There are no authority measurements on the quantity of blended showers in Japan. At the point when you check all such onsen 23 years prior, the all out came to more than 1,200. By 2013, that figure had tumbled to under 700. I had an inclination that they weren't as numerous konyoku as in the past, yet when I really took a gander at the figures, there had been an enormous drop.