Unko – Culture of poop in Japan

Did you know that the Japanese have a certain obsession with toilets? Yes, we can see animes with poop, the god of toilets, golden poops standing out in a building in Tokyo and much more. In this article, we will delve into the culture of poop in Japan [unko].

Poop, feces, or excrement in Japanese is called unko [うんこ], which can also be used to refer to some crap, junk, or trash. A literal word to refer to solid feces, which appears in an unimaginable way somewhere in Japanese culture.

Unko – Feces in Japan

Japanese poop got the name unko because un is the sound of force when pooping. The ko [子] is used as a diminutive. Another word used for feces is daiben [大便] which also means excrement and crap.

In Portuguese, we have the habit of saying poop and crap to talk about something bad, in Japan they use words like kuzo [糞] but rarely does this word literally refer to poops, feces, or excrement. The word to defecate is kusomaru [糞放る]

Feces in Japan are represented in a spiral shape, as it is very common to find squat toilets (those with a hole in the ground where one squats), so the expected shape of Japanese feces is really a spiral.

There is a company called UNCO that manufactures quality clothing, but after a while, it started making products related to poop. We can find items like t-shirts, socks, sneakers with poop marks and poop characters.

What do you think of plush toys of the poop emoji? Or better yet, what do you think of eating curry on a plate that looks like a toilet? These are some of the unusual things we only find in Japan.

Kin no Unko – The poop of good luck

In Japan, there is the “good luck” poop known as kin no unko [金のうんこ]. This golden poop has become a local icon simply because its sound ‘un‘ at the beginning of the word unko corresponds to the sound ‘un‘ of the Japanese word for good luck [運].

This golden poop became so popular that in 2006, about 2.7 million keychains resembling golden poop were sold. One of the main companies behind the golden poop is Ryukodo from Kyoto.

Koji Fujii, president of the company, had the idea of manufacturing poops at the end of 1999. Due to Japan’s economic recession and the depressed national mood, Koji wanted to offer a cheap product that would make people smile. So he got the idea from the toilet.

Some of the kin no unko are made of real porcelain and coated with 24-karat gold. A mini poop keychain can cost from 105 yen, while a giant poop on a red, silky cloth costs at least 2,100 yen.

The products went viral in 200 when high school girls on school trips started buying them as souvenirs. The kids started a boom of successful products, with news coverage from all over the country.

In the game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, we can find an item known as Hestu’s Gift, which resembles a Kin no unko. It is unknown if it is a joke, as to receive this gift you have to collect all the korok seeds.

Some argue, with quite credible reasoning, that this is where the ubiquitous and enigmatic smiling poop emoji [?] came from in 2014, constantly used and affectionately called by the Japanese unchi.

Asahi Beer Hall – The poop building

In Sumida, Tokyo, there is a prominent building called Asahi Beer Hall, but also nicknamed Kin no Unko for its resemblance to poop. Sometimes the construction is also called unko-biru which means poop building.

Of course, this was not the original purpose of the building, as Asahi is one of the most popular beer companies in Japan. The design was done by a French designer named Philippe Starck and was completed in 1989.

The shape of the building is like a beer glass, designed to complement the neighboring building in the shape of a golden beer mug that houses the offices of Asahi Breweries. It is considered one of the most recognized modern structures in Tokyo.

The golden structure on top of the Asahi building represents the burning heart of Asahi beer, and a frothy head. The golden flame weighs 360 tons and was built using ships and underwater construction techniques.

The god of toilets

There are more gods in Shinto religion than can be counted, and they reside almost everywhere. Feces are not left out. There are some Japanese gods that have strong connections to the toilet.

Until recently, it was common to worship deities collectively known as benjo-gami (specific gods), placing religious figures inside or under the toilet. Others buried divine figures under the bathroom.

In more traditional times, Japanese farms used to collect human waste to use as fertilizer. From this daily occurrence, the local belief in the toilet god, also known as kawaya kami, arose.

Because of its agricultural properties, the kawaya kami also played a significant role in promoting fertilization. Every New Year, rituals were performed, asking for help from the kawaya kami in producing a good harvest in the following year.

In the ritual, rice was eaten, symbolizing something great that the god had left behind (could it be feces?). Often, a toilet was decorated and kept as clean as possible. Perhaps this god is the reason Japanese toilets are so clean.

There are also bathroom ghosts like Hanako-san and Aka-Manto. Stories similar to the blonde in the bathroom where we need to perform a ritual repeating words 3 times. When will the bizarre stop?

Unko for kids

Learning kanji is difficult for anyone, especially for small children. To try to alleviate the monotony of studying more than 1,000 kanji characters, Japan created the best friend teacher for kids, Teacher Unko.

This spotted mustache, using poop in emoji style, has been such a huge success that its books have sold over 1.83 million copies so far. Who would have thought that a poop book is leading children to learn Japanese?

To make matters worse, there is an anime called Unko San released in 2009. The anime tells the story of a fairy that can bring good luck. Only this fairy is a poop, all the characters are poop, even the island is shaped like poop.

Poop museums in Japan

We are not talking about bad things, but literally about poop. There is a Japanese Museum about feces inside the Himeji Literature Museum. Among other exhibitions, we find “Excretory Literature,” books about poop and related subjects.

Or better yet, there is permanently and literally the poop museum in Tokyo and Yokohama. The museum was a temporary idea but ended up becoming a permanent attraction in Odaiba. A colorful place full of poop that receives 100,000 visitors per month.

In this Museum, everything is shaped like poop or a toilet. Balloons, foods, toilets with poop inside, and many colorful and fun things for you to visit. Don’t miss the chance to visit the poop museum in Japan!

These were some fecal highlights from Japan. I hope you enjoyed the article… We appreciate the comments and shares! To finish, watch a video of the poop museum: