Goemonburo

There was a semi-legendary Japanese man who was named Ishikawa Goemon (1588-1594). It is said that he stole gold and valuable items to give them the poor. Sounds a bit like Jean Valjean of Les Miserables??? But the difference was that he was a Japanese outlaw. He had committed these unlawful acts since he was a child. At the end, he was caught and boiled to death in a hot cauldron along with his son in public. It's horrible, isn't it? His execution took place in summer. The picture below is about how he was holding his son above to save from the heat. Goemon became a hero and has been played by kabuki drama.

(Compare with Robin Hood). 

Source; Wikipedia

For that reason, an iron bathtub is now called a goemonburo, meaning Goemon-bath. The photo below is an old wooden bathtub. This is not a Goemonburo, but this kind of old bathtub always evoke me about Goemon. I saw this in an old folk house in a museum. And also it reminds me of my grandparents' old bathtub. It was bigger than this but made of wood like this.