User blog comment:IamJakuhoRaikoben/Chapter 508: Pleasure and Agony, Review./@comment-4583965-20161031202008/@comment-4829046-20161101072446

Actually since I've had to read up on Japanese history since BC times for my College assignments, that is a bit inaccurate. They had particular periods(long before Portuguese and Dutch) where that was forbidden. It varied of course, and it would also depend on whether the different classes of the society adhered to the same system or not(a question of whether the politics of each period were strong enough to shape the behaviours of the average citizen). The ideas of 'purity' and 'refinement' certainly made it so that a woman can only be seen nude by her closest male relatives and spouse, which was not exclusively a Western concept per se. In areas where mixed bathing is allowed though, no harm no foul. Those of status still had/have restrictions though(like not being able to leave the house or go into certain areas of the house).

I'm not disagreeing with it not being a sin(you know that by now since we have discussed it for years now lol), just that Western culture is not the only factor. Japan was actually very serious about not getting contaminated, and they even made that part of their slogan during the Imperial Era, much to the chagrin of the other Asian countries under Western colonial powers. The more you know~ :D