the sauna
in germany i really enjoy going to the sauna and i love to try baths and saunas wherever i travel. so far i really enjoyed turkish and hungarian baths and especially the russian sauna in new york city. none of them prepared me for what was to come. choku and i decided to visit the sauna in the evening after having ikei ramen. 30 minutes drive later we were handed the keys for the lockers. i got an extra sticker to put on my tattooed body “respect the rules” it read. no clue what that meant but i will figure it out some day. marking the marked - very odd. anyway, hot wood fire oven, everyone (only men) naked, cold baths, a bunch of showers and some chairs to relax in - solid place to sweat in my opinion. i just get out of the cold tub when i see one of the staff going from relaxing room to room announcing something. the door to the sweat-cell is open. my sauna instincts begin to tingle. he is letting in some cool air before making the infusion. the quiet before the storm, minus the quiet. from a jbl box there is loud rock music playing - some anime intro song is my guess. i slip past him as he enters the sauna room. it is packed and i am lucky to find a free spot in the top row. the sauna man is giving a talk of which i can only understand the “if too hot you can leave”-hand gesture. here and there people laugh. then, a scene you possibly know in some form from physical education or a silly motivational-coaching-course. the sauna man shouts “we are” and everyone replies shouting “ex” raising their arms forming an x. sauna man shouts “you are” - “ex” same procedure. okay, this is not the usual thing happening in a sauna but maybe it is just…I stop thinking about it because the guy leaves the room. this surely cannot be it! the lights change to turquoise. the music box stays and a rock ballad with piano comes on. the door through which the sauna men disappeared opens again. in comes the same guy now with fake leather pants, black shirt and blonde wig. howls of excitement from the crowd. an air piano-solo is followed by three big scoops of the papaya(?)-scented water to the sizzling stones. if towel wielding was a martial art, you would not want to have this guy as your opponent. turning, twisting and flicking this piece of cloth so skillfully - all to the rhythm of the song. i start to feel the temperature climbing as he comes back to the “you are” - “ex” - “we are” - “ex”. twice more the stones get watered and the vapor spread with the towel’s help - sweat is running down everybody’s backs, i am holding back a burst of laughter. the towel’s master leaves the room again. the light changes to pink, the music to a metal song. the wigged sauna man reappears, this time with drumsticks. he sits down on a little stool in the middle of the room and all of a sudden starts frantically hitting the imaginary snares, bells, crashes and tom-toms. with the same energy scooping water on the oven, making one of the men sitting close to the fireplace scream as a hot splash hits his leg. “you are” - “ex” - “we are” - “ex. the controlled and fine-tuned movements of the towel are now abrupt and executed with controlled aggression. “you are” - “ex” - “we are” - “ex. he rips the shirt from his body. gusts of hot air blast through the room. “you are” - “ex” - “we are” - “ex. the first people leave the sauna as he leaves for the third time. the light now painting the room red, the music box continues to blast the metal tune. my jaw drops to the floor. this cannot be legal. he walks in with an electric leaf blower and some more people hastily leave the room like drops of sweat fleeing from my body. water gets poured, 18v leaf blower, i join the chant. “you are” - “ex” - “we are” - “ex” - “you are” - “ex” - “we are” - “ex.”
lets see what happens next - kunde
recommendation:
choku kimura (artist, friend and my very helpful host for the first weeks in japan) https://www.chokukimura.com
sasha kurmaz (artist) https://sashakurmaz.com/Intervention