Gadget Helps Women Use Bathroom in Japan

[jamotto]

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By AIKO HAYASHI, Associated Press Writer

TOKYO - When Naoko Ito uses a public bathroom, she cringes in embarrassment at the thought that other patrons can hear the sounds coming from her stall. That's when she turns to the "Sound Princess."

Ito, like a rapidly growing number of Japanese women, presses a device installed in public toilets to simulate the sound of water flushing ÔÇö and mask the cruder noises of nature.

"I usually use the flushing sound when I go to a public bathroom, such as at a department store, because I get a bit self-conscious," said Ito, a 60-year-old waitress.

The device ÔÇö a curious mix of Japanese bashfulness and modern technology ÔÇö is spreading rapidly through public buildings and has now become standard equipment for new construction.

Leading toilet producer Toto Ltd. has sold 500,000 of their "Sound Princess" ÔÇö "Oto-Hime" in Japanese ÔÇö since 1988, and the company says orders surged 125 percent in 2003 alone.

"The core of our clientele is schools and companies," Toto spokeswoman Kumi Goto said. "Japanese women are very embarrassed by the sounds they make in a toilet."

There's another reason behind the increase in the gadgets: ecology. Women in Japan have traditionally flushed several times to cover up their noises, so the Sound Princess is saving water and cutting down on public building operators' utility bills.

The Sound Princess is fairly simple. The user passes her hand over a sensor, and the convincing sound of a torrent of water comes from a speaker.

Such gadgets might seem a dainty, modern excess of a shame-obsessed society, but the Sound Princess has deep roots in Japanese culture.

The Japanese are notoriously fastidious: the daily bath is practiced with near-religious fervor, and walking inside with your shoes on is considered filthy. The Japanese word for clean ÔÇö "kirei" ÔÇö also means beautiful.

And what happens in a bathroom stall is, well, among the dirtiest things that humans do.

Going to the toilet has been considered embarrassing and even shameful for women since ancient times in Japan, said Noriji Suzuki, a parasitologist at Kochi University Medical School.

"Sometimes you see people talking to each other over a stall in Western countries, but that would never happen in our culture," he said.

The trend is not limited to women these days. Some schools have done away with urinals because boys are increasingly too embarrassed to use the stalls, since going there would tell onlookers exactly what's going to happen next.

Tadafumi Morioka, a spokesman for another Japanese toilet maker, INAX Corp., said his company also started selling a similar product in 1988 amid concerns of wasted water.

He said the installment rate of such devices in modern skyscrapers in Japan is 100 percent. INAX's sales increased 25 percent in 2003, Morioka said, although he refused to give precise numbers.

"Most of the demands for the device come from public facility owners and managers including department stores and elementary and junior high schools," he said.

But for now, "Oto-Hime" seems to likely to remain for women only.

"I still haven't heard of men who say they want 'Oto-hime' in men's rooms," said Goto.

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[LostInSpace]

Like i've said "Women are Insane!". They can't even deal with natural biological processes and the noise that are associated with it.

[Charles Lindsey]

I had a female friend over once and had to excuse myself for a second. When she nosily asked what I had been doing I looked her square in the eye and said "Gaseous Expulsions".

[jamotto]

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Originally posted by Cmdr Chavik:

I had a female friend over once and had to excuse myself for a second. When she nosily asked what I had been doing I looked her square in the eye and said "Gaseous Expulsions".

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I bet the look on her face was priceless

[Supreme Cmdr]

They should be seeing a psychiatrist; not relying on a gadget to curb their self-esteem issues.

[Guest]

well at least its something 'understandable' albeit a bit over the top.

But explain to me THIS

[jamotto]

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Originally posted by Tac:

well at least its something 'understandable' albeit a bit over the top.

But explain to me

THIS

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The pillow makes sense to me makes them feel "safe". Now the "Sound Princess"

[Charles Lindsey]

The pillow gives me the willies. A disembodied arm?

Then again, I also will flush to mask awkward sounds.

I hate it when people at work want to chit chat with you when you are doing your business. The urinal is not so bad but the other??? Yup I'm modest.

Hey! We all know we do it but it's not a pleasant thought.

[echo]

Women are raised thinking men don't want to hear certain noises from women. A guy I know actually says "girls don't poop" (poop meaning #2). So why in the world would we think it is ok to pass gas whenever we feel like it?!?

Even when you guys say we can, if we do, you quicly change your minds. I bet someone reading this may even think for a split second "Oh hot Echo passes gas? gross" hahahaahaha

I feel bad for these women. I know at work me and my friends get a huge laugh if one of us slips up!

But is that what this product is for, or is it just regulare pee pee sounds?

[Wolferz]

Echo,

Darlin you are such a treasure.

Passing gas is a natural thing for every animal on the planet. Rotting food will produce methane gas. Having too much methane within one's colon isn't healthy and can be quite painful. Therefore it must be expelled.I'm sure the sound princess is made for a dual purpose; ie: To mask the sound of escaping gas and to mask the sound of fecal matter splashing into the bowl after doing a one and a half gainer and giving you an impromptu sitzbath. The Japanese are such sticklers for cleanliness, it's only natural that the dirtiest of human actions would embarass them. On the other side of the pond we have us. Some of the crudest human beings on the planet. Just ask anyone who has had the gross opportunity to visit a truckstop mens restroom or a military latrine. Some of those guys are in serious need of medical intervention as well as psychological treatment, when they raise a stink to high heaven and then proudly crow about it.

If we invented a way to collect all that methane, we could probably put a big dent in our current energy problems.

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You can tell when someone really loves you if they are willing to share their gas with you.

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