[What Day Is Today Essay | #06] The longest night of the year. The sound of firewood crackling and the Goemon bath that was too hot.

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Today is December 21st. It is the "Winter Solstice."

The night with the longest duration of the year. Will you be taking a yuzu bath today?

Thinking of that vibrant yellow color and refreshing scent of yuzu always pulls my memories back to that old wooden house where I spent my childhood in Yokohama.

Looking back now, it's a story that makes me want to ask myself, "What era was that?" When I was really small, my family home actually had a "wood-fired bath."

Yes, that's the one where you boil water in an iron cauldron, like a Goemon bath, by burning firewood underneath.

When winter came, it was a daily scene to see my father procuring wood from somewhere and diligently chopping firewood during the day. That was the preparation for the bath at night.

There were no convenient "reheat buttons" like there are today.

"Kotori, are you cold? I'm going to add a little more firewood, so wait a moment."

When I was in the bath, I could hear my mother's voice from the furnace area outside. The sound of firewood crackling. Eventually, the water that had started to turn cold would begin to warm up gently from the bottom.

Sometimes it would get so hot I felt like I was going to get dizzy, and I'd shout, "Hot! Mom, it's a bit too hot!" But I remember that the exchange we had through the steam was warmer than the water itself. "Kotori, how is it? Is it warm now?" "Yeah, it's just right!"

It took effort, and controlling the fire was difficult. But that bath, boiled by my mother using firewood chopped by my father, was the ultimate place that would warm me to the core, even on the longest winter night of the year.

A little while after that, we rebuilt the house, and we were able to boil water with the push of a button. On the winter solstice, my mother would float plenty of yuzu she bought at the supermarket in the new bathtub.

"Doing this makes your skin smooth and keeps you from catching a cold," she would say.

As she said that, my mother would rub the yuzu against my small body. The sensation of the bumpy peel and the slightly bitter, refreshing scent of winter spreading throughout the bathroom.

Even though the shape of the bath changed, there was always the love of my family trying to keep me warm.

Tonight is the longest night of the year. If there is anyone whose heart or body is feeling cold, please try to gently bring to mind the face of someone who cares about you while you soak in a warm bath.

I am sure it will warm you from the core more than any bath salts ever could.

Kotori 🕊️

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