Have you ever wondered what a bath-house architect from ancient Rome would think if he found himself swept through a time warp into a modern Japanese Spa? Wonder no more! Emily and Cam discuss Thermae Romae, a 2012 Japanese Film that seeks to explore precisely this question by dramatizing the adventures of one Lucius Modestus, an engineer who becomes Emperor Hadrian’s personal bath-house designer.

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Useful Links:

1. Watch Thermae Romae (with English Subtitles) on Dailymotion
2. Watch the Thermae Romae Novae anime series on Netflix

Cover art adapted from Joseph Theodor Hansen, "Tepidarium at the Forum Baths in Pompeii"

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00:11 - Introduction

01:56 - Thermae Romae: the basics

1. 02:28 - How to watch Thermae Romae
2. 03:29 - A plot summary: Lucius Modestus travels through time, learns lots about Japanese bathing culture, and applies his knowledge to Roman bath-houses in the time of Hadrian
3. 06:59 - The original Thermae Romae manga series
4. 08:13 - The film’s success and the Thermae Romae Universe

10:17 - A Fish-out-of-Water Comedy

1. 10:24 - The basic premise and some of the movie’s quirks
2. 13:35 - Modern Japanese and Ancient Roman bathing cultures, compared
3. 19:16 - Lucius bumbles his way through modern Japan and discovers the marvels of Japanese bathing
4. 26:05 - Poking fun of Japanese onsen culture (and a digression on the challenges of translation)

29:46 - Thermae Romae and Roman Culture

1. 29:56 - A quirky interpretation of real Roman history: the reign of Hadrian, the death of Antinous, and the question of succession (and deification!)
2. 38:54 - Lucius’ (very Japanese) critique of Roman bathing culture
3. 42:09 - Does Lucius’ critique hold water? Imperial bath-houses, neighborhood bath-houses, and bath-house sociability
4. 47:04 - The old men from the onsen teach Lucius to care less about honor and more about community spirit
5. 49:36 - Some final thoughts about the movie

51:25 - Wrap-up

1. 51:31 - What’s up next: the Odyssey—both Homer’s Odyssey, and Nolan’s Odyssey
2. 52:26 - A plug for “The Return” (and for our episode about it!)