bathing; bathing attendant
Archaic uses: the act of bathing, or a person who assisted a noble with bathing. These senses are not used in modern Japanese.
In old houses, the bathing room was sometimes in a separate building.
In ancient documents, there are descriptions of those who attended to nobles' bathing.
Oyudono no ue no nikki
Compound of 湯 (hot water) and 殿 (hall, mansion), literally 'hot-water hall'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it has been used since classical times to refer to bathing facilities.