LIVING OUT LOUD with UT Vol.4

When Sauna no Ume-yu faced closure, sento lover Sanjiro Minato quit his job and stepped up to get the bathhouse back on its feet and enliven the city’s sento culture. Minato in Peter Saville's graphic T-shirt tells us a story about sento.

"I couldn't give up because I started."

One of Japan’s oldest anthologies, Konjaku Monogatari, tells us that there have been bathhouses known as sento in Kyoto since as early as the Heian Period (794 – 1185). There are now just over 100 in the city, but the number shrinks by about seven every year. Despite the severe circumstance, what made Minato get involved into the world of sento?

“I worked part-time at Ume-yu in university, so I knew I had to do something when the owners told me they were closing,” Minato says. “Everyone around me said this was a bad idea, but I ignored them. As a student, I sometimes visited 20 sento in one day, and I’ve been to over 700 around Japan. That’s how much I love sento. But at first, I had no idea how to run a sento. Every day I faced a new problem, and I struggled constantly the first year. I was shocked at the cost of fuel, and the facilities were run down. I think the difficulty in investing in upgrades is contributing to the loss of sento. To be honest, I was ready to give up within a year. It was only my pride that got me up every day to clean the baths and prepare to open, then run the front desk and feed logs into the boiler throughout the day. By the time I closed at 2 a.m., I was too tired to go home—I just slept on the floor by the entrance. I was having a bit of a nervous breakdown, and I felt like I was in prison! (Laughs.) One day, I had someone over to help, so I went out for the first time in half a year. But I felt so lost, I ended up just going back. I was worried about myself.”

Minato bought this jacket to wear on nice occasions, but now it is part of his work wardrobe. The worn-out waist has been patched with denim. As he loads logs into the furnace, Minato is wearing a UT shirt designed by Peter Saville,a graphic designer from the UK.

To preserve sento culture

However, Minato’s mental state considerably improved after some young volunteers began to help—and especially after he fixed a serious leak. Five years after taking over, Minato now has staff who help him come up with new projects and manage day-to-day operations. Ume-yu welcomes 200 customers a day, from neighborhood grandmothers to young people late at night, capping off a drink with a refreshing soak.

The men’s and women’s baths at sento are often symmetrical, but not at Ume-yu. The women’s bath features a wall painting of a pine tree by Mizuki Tanaka, one of just three sento painters in Japan.

“With our first profits, we repaired the chimney and remodeled the second floor,” Minato says. “Local businesses buy advertisements to display on our mirrors, and visitors read the Ume-yu Times as they soak. I have since taken over other struggling sento—Miyako-yu and Yoki-yu in Otsu and Minamoto-yu in Kyoto. Business at these locations still isn’t as good as Ume-yu, but I’m hopeful. I’m also thinking of trying Tokyo next. My brother is in the same industry, and we’re looking for new opportunities. All four of my locations now have a lobby outside the entrances to the men’s bath and women’s bath, so people can relax and bask in the afterglow of their baths. When I see people of different generations talking together, I’m reminded of how important it is to preserve sento culture. I think that years and years of tradition are what makes a culture.”

© Peter Saville and New Order