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‘Crocodiles’ could spell the end of Japan’s tradition of nude mixed bathing

The unwelcome behaviour of some male customers is putting women off visits to hot springs, where both sexes have mingled for years.

Naked mixed bathing gained acceptance during the Edo period (1603-1868) and survived until 1890, when the country’s leaders imposed a ban, reportedly fearing it was sending foreign visitors – particularly puritanical Americans – the wrong message about the local population’s sense of propriety.

It underwent a revival after the second world war, when the residents of cities destroyed in US air raids had no choice but to bathe wherever hot water was available, even if that meant stripping off in front of their neighbours.

But official restlessness persisted: Tokyo banned konyoku among people aged over 10 in 1964 – the year it hosted the summer Olympics – and reduced the maximum age to seven in the 1990s.

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