Daughter and men's bath Son and women's bath How old are you? What do you think of mixed bathing with children?

Daughter and men's bath Son and women's bath How old are you?

Mixed bathing with children What do you think? February 12, 15:55

"I was shocked by the words,'I was shocked to have a mixed bath with an 11-year-old girl.'"

A pediatrician's tweet was controversial when it came to saying something like aiming for a girl in a men's bath with her father.

She interviewed what is happening now over the mixed bathing of children in public baths.

(Network News Department Yasuyo Mabuchi Shinya Fujishima Hokuto Takasugi)

The resentment of a pediatrician

This post was posted by pediatrician Imayosuke.

I asked Mr. Imanishi, who is also working on activities to prevent sexual damage to children, what he thought about posting.

Pediatrician Mr. Yosuke Ima,

"I myself feel unforgivable because I am a father with three daughters. I don't think mixed bathing should be prohibited at all, but I am working to eliminate sexual damage to children. I wanted a lot of people to think about this issue. "

Mixed bathing even in the upper grades of elementary school?

Mixed bathing of children in a public bath that Mr. Imanishi raised a problem.

In fact, some local governments allow children to enter with parents of the opposite sex even in the upper grades of elementary school, so the response is divided.

This is a table created based on the survey results compiled by the Local Government Research Organization, which investigates and researches the issues of local governments, as of January 1st.

You can see from what age the mixed bathing of children in public baths is regulated.

The ordinance stipulates the regulated age in 38 prefectures.

▽ Restricted over 7 years old: 16

(Akita, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Tokyo, Toyama, Ishikawa, Gifu, Kyoto, Wakayama, Tokushima, Ehime, Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Oita, Kagoshima, Okinawa)

▽ Regulated over 8 years old: 5

( Aichi, Shiga, Tottori, Kumamoto, Miyazaki)

▽ Restrictions over 10 years old: 15

(Hokkaido, Aomori, Miyagi, Gunma, Saitama, Kanagawa, Fukui, Yamanashi, Nagano, Shizuoka, Mie, Hyogo, Okayama, Kagawa, Kochi)

▽ Restricted over 12 years old: 2

(Iwate, Yamagata)

▽ No regulation: 9

(

Fukushima, Chiba, Niigata, Osaka, Nara, Shimane, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Saga)

To protect children ... 3 things to keep in mind

Mr. Imanishi, a pediatrician, said that when he goes to a public bath with his child, he wants his father and mother to observe the following three points to prevent sexual damage.

1. Teaching

the private zone Never touch or take pictures of the "private zone", a place to hide in a swimsuit.

In case of emergency, teach your parents to tell.

2.

Don't use your mouth. Also teach that you can't touch your mouth or put things inside.

3. Don't miss the sign

Children who have been sexually injured often give some sign.

If you have any suspicious points, throw away your assumptions and listen properly.

Movement of age reduction one after another

The government has also taken measures to prevent troubles in public baths.

In December, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare lowered the age at which mixed bathing in public baths was allowed from the previous "generally 10 years old or older" to "generally 7 years old or older" (* Large scale that became the basis of the age reduction discussion). The results of the attitude survey are at the end of the article).

According to the Local Government Research Organization, in response to this, there are a series of movements to lower the age in various places.

In January, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government reduced the age from 10 to 7.

Currently, Iwate and Yamagata prefectures, which are the highest at 12 years old and over, are also preparing for the reduction.

Some people have unavoidable circumstances

While the age is being lowered, some public bath users are calling for consideration.

A single mother in her 40s living in Tokyo is worried about bathing in a public bath with her 9-year-old son after divorcing due to violence from her husband a few years ago.

It is understandable that girls of the same generation as her son dislike mixed bathing, and although I think that age restrictions are unavoidable, my son with developmental disabilities needs support for bathing.

It is said that it is absurd to let a suspicious person go to the men's bath alone because he is worried that he will not do anything, fall or get injured.

Even if you try to use a private bath or a family bath, there are many places where there is no such facility in the first place, and even if you can make a reservation with a facility, it is said that it is difficult for children to take a bath within the reserved time.

"I would like to have some more coping method. We will allow you to take a bath with bathing clothes so that you can not see the lower body, and we will set up a booth such as a private room in a corner of the bathhouse, considering various needs. I would appreciate it if you could. "

"I'm worried about letting one person enter" "Grace period"

Similar voices have been heard from other single mothers.

"I'm not worried about having one son in the lower grades of elementary school who isn't used to men in single-mother families in the men's bath. "

"In order for a child who has just entered elementary school to enter alone, training is required and a grace period is required."

The demands of the times?

The perception of the business

Businesses also have different opinions.

Hiroyuki Konishi, who runs a public bath in Sapporo City and is the chairman of the "Hokkaido Public Bath Business Living Hygiene Association", which has more than 100 public baths in Hokkaido, is in favor of lowering the age limit.

Hiroyuki Konishi

"I think it's a trend of the times, so I like to accept the reduction of the age limit. When a small child enters, if it's a public bath, you can ask the regulars to" take care of it a little ", so that's what it is. I want to follow you in the form. "

On the other hand, a man who serves as an officer at a super public bath in Tochigi prefecture, whose age limit has been lowered from 12 years old to 7 years old since January, has mixed feelings while showing an understanding of the reduction.

Male officer of Tochigi Super Sento

"If a child takes a bath by himself, there is a risk of slipping and falling or getting burned, which is scary for a business operator. Also, parents and children who cannot come due to age restrictions, etc. I think it's a painful and difficult problem for some people to not enjoy the bath. "

Awareness of "mixed bathing" Changes with the times

There are various opinions about mixed bathing for children, but how was it in the past?

I asked Shinobu Machida, a director of the Japan Public Bath Cultural Association, who is familiar with the history of public baths.

According to Machida, there was a time when "mixed bathing" was common in Japanese public baths.

It was during the Edo period that bathhouses for business purposes, which charge a fee, expanded.

At this time, most of them were mixed bathing, and both men and women used the same space.

Naturally, it seems that the children were also included with their parents.

The background to the general use of mixed bathing is the influence of the times when there was little resistance to seeing nakedness, and the fact that it is more efficient to use one jointly than to make separate facilities for men and women in terms of management. It means that there was also.

In the Edo period, it was a social status society, but at the bathhouse, the samurai also left their swords and became naked and took the same bath as the townspeople.

However, because men and women use the same place, the morals may be disturbed, and the shogunate often cracked down on it, but it did not disappear.

After that, as Westernization progressed in the Meiji era, the government began to crack down on it, and the modern style of bathing separately for men and women became established.

According to Mr. Machida, after the war, more detailed rules were set for public baths, and in 1948, mixed bathing for people over 10 years old was prohibited in Tokyo.

Shinobu Machida, Director of the Japan Sento Cultural Association

"In Japan, some people say" Itadakimasu "when you take a bath, and" Feast "when you leave, but the unique feeling of bathing is as important as eating. Therefore, it was not only to clean the body, but also to interact, heal, and relax. However, the consciousness of nakedness changed drastically and the way of thinking of each individual was different, so I decided the rules firmly. I think it will be a place where people can enjoy themselves with peace of mind. "

Reiwa's bath culture and respect for diversity

The culture of baths that changes with the times.

New movements are also being born.

At a public bath in Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, we rented out a facility and held an event for sexual minorities last November.

This is an initiative to encourage LGBTQ parties who usually give up using public baths to enjoy the bath without hesitation.

Mr. Inari, the representative, once refused to use people with sexual minorities, but when he learned that a man he knew was wearing long hair and dressed as a woman, his feelings changed little by little. went.

"Horai-yu" Inarimi

"When I was surprised to contact you, I said,'I've hidden it, but I want to be honest with myself.' In the past, sexual minority people were beyond my understanding. However, I think that the people who were close to me appeared and gradually began to feel like being close to each other. "

Some people took the trouble to participate in the event from outside the prefecture, and I heard a voice saying, "I'm glad I enjoyed the relaxing bath for the first time in a long time."

Mr. Ina still thinks that it is better to keep his natural body as it is, and I feel that there are some aspects that I do not agree with sex reassignment surgery.

However, she feels that talking with the parties for the event is "valued like a long journey to find a way to live on both sides," and she wants to continue working on it. She is thinking.

Ms. Inarimi

"After doing the event, I started to want to respect the feeling of facing my own sexuality head-on in order for the parties to pursue happiness. Above all, I am a bathhouse, so it feels good to everyone. I want you to enjoy the bath. "

The bath is a valuable time to heal the tiredness of the day and cultivate the vitality for tomorrow.

We would like to create a new bath culture in the Reiwa era that everyone, both children and adults, can enjoy.

Reference materials Awareness survey on age reduction

There is a survey that underpinned the debate on reducing the age of mixed bathing for children.

This is a large-scale awareness survey conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in a research project.

In a survey of more than 3,600 adult men and women nationwide (conducted in December 2019), 80.3% thought that mixed bathing of children "needs to be banned according to age." I found out that there is.

Regarding the ages to be banned, 18.5% were from 6 years old, followed by 15.7% from 7 years old and 8.5% from 5 years old.

(Conditional indicates that we think age restrictions are necessary, but we don't have to set a uniform age limit.)

The survey also asks children's awareness.

In a survey of 1,500 men and women between the ages of 7 and 12, we asked "the age at which I began to feel embarrassed to enter a bathhouse of the opposite sex without a swimsuit."

As a result, ▽ 6 years old was the most common at 27%, followed by ▽ 7 years old at 21.2% and ▽ 5 years old at 16.1%.

From the results of this survey, it can be seen that both children and adults tend to regard the ages of 6 to 7 as the boundary between mixed bathing and non-mixed bathing.