I was thinking the same thing in regard to the nails being used to keep
the tub steady. To satisfy your curiosity...the metal tub appears to
have been a single piece of thin metal shaped to fit the contours of a
partly rock-lined cultural depression. I am thinking the rocks may have
originally been used to support the ofuro over a fire.
I have also found some charred wood underneath the metal.

Bob
>>> [log in to unmask] 06/12/04 1:09 PM >>>
Konnichiwa Fellow Histarchers:

I spent six months teaching anthropology in rural
Japan and saw a variety of non-western bath tubs, both
old and new.  Most were elevated higher than ours, so
that you had to step up, over, and in to get into
them.  With a wooden frame and a metal liner, the
nails could have helped keep the tub steady and tight
to the supporting deck/platform.

Out of curiousity, was there a hole to go with metal
tub or was it set completely above the ground surface?


Best wishes,

Dane Magoon

--- Robert Muckle <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Ron,
> I don't have a photo or sketch that I can transmit
> on-line now, but
> maybe next week.
> Anyway, the nails would have been above the
> waterline of the tub. I find
> them (about 100 so far) most often still in the
> metal, and some in both
> metal and wood) at was probably the top rim of the
> tub. The site is in a
> forest not easily accessible to the public.
> Nevertheless, we do get the
> occasional visitor who stumbles upon us. A couple of
> days ago one such
> visitor was a second-generation Japanese-Canadian.
> Upon learning that
> the site was a Japanese logging camp, one of her
> first questions was
> 'Where's the ofuru?" She went on to describe how it
> would be ridiculous
> to think that there wouldn't be one at the site. She
> remembers her
> father and others building ofuros wherever they went
> in the early and
> mid 20th century, making them out of metal,
> surrounded by wooden
> flooring, with water brought in by metal pipes, and
> situated within a
> building. After hearing this, I immediately started
> my search and found
> the feature I described. I found the tub with a
> metal detector. An
> internet search has confirmed that it is very likely
> the camp has an
> uforu.
>
> I don't have sketches or photos of similar Japanese
> ofuros. That is what
> I was hoping to get by posting to HISTARCH.
>
> Bob
>
>
>
> >>> [log in to unmask] 06/11/04 4:47 PM >>>
> Bob,
>
> Wouldnt the nails cause the "bath" to leak? I can
> see soldering or
> welding,
> but not nailing a tank of that size with the
> expectation it would hold
> water.
> On the other hand, I cant see a sauna bath. I think
> more information is
> needed
> to propose an interpretation. Do you have photos or
> sketches of similar
> Japanese ofuros?
>
> Ron May
> Legacy 106, Inc.
>





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