Japan raised a high-tech magic wand to the toilet.
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Editor’s note: Washlet is a product invented in the West, but it has been a great success in Japan. The author of this article, Thomas Ambrosini, analyzes Japanese culture’s preference for cleanliness, Toto’s marketing tools, etc. The success in Japan provides an explanation. Original title Toilet Culture: The Bizarre Rise of Japan’s High Tech Toilets
In the public toilet, I am afraid that most people will not use the word “quiet” to describe their feelings. Many people use the word “disgusting”? Maybe. Anyone else will feel “尴尬”? Face to face is quite awkward. There may also be a feeling of “shame”? Sometimes there is such a loss.
But if you’re sitting in the $600 Toto C100 Washlet in the bathroom of any department store in Tokyo, you can feel the warmth of your hips and your feelings may change.
Frankly, the experience of going to the toilet in Japan is very good. You may not help but ask: What do Westerners think when they sit on the toilet, how do you miss this epiphany?
If you haven’t experienced Wei Washi yet, let me give you Amway. In the past 30 years, the West has been in the dark medieval of the toilet culture, while Japan has raised a high-tech magic wand to the toilet – mainly led by Toto’s Washlet.
Wei Washley changed the rules of the game.
Want to pick up the toilet lid but don’t want to dirty your hands? No problem, you just have to press a button. In winter, is the toilet ring too cold for your sensitive ass? Hey, there is a heated toilet seat button. Want a built-in bath function? Have. Automatic deodorization function? Have.
All of these features mean a better toilet experience, which is cleaner and more comfortable than usual. The Japanese seem to think so too, the Wall Street Journal estimates that 70% of Japanese households have installed Washlet.
However, surprisingly, Washlett is an American invention. Washleti was originally for hospitals and recuperationDesigned by the institute, it is mainly sold to these markets, but as Wei Zali enters Japanese families, she is highly sought after, and its success in the United States is less noticeable. Toto said that the sales of Wesley in the United States barely reached several thousand per month.
We can’t help but ask a question: Why can American toilet technology conquer foreign markets, but it is in its own country?
It turns out that all this is related to Japan’s quirky culture and consumerism.
Japan’s “Double Life”
In 1868, the Edo Shogunate returned to the Meiji Emperor, and Japan ushered in the Meiji era. During the Meiji era, the Japanese government became more centralized and absorbed advanced Western ideas, such as the new government emulating Prussian constitution. Time passes by, and these top-down changes gradually infiltrate into the mass society. According to historian Andrew Gordon, until the early 20th century, Japan had all the characteristics of Western consumerism: The favor of a well-educated middle class, a shift to full-time work, and a surge in brands promoted through new channels such as department stores and magazines.
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Meiji Emperor Image
But the influx of Western goods and ideas has created a new cultural conflict in Japan. The core of the conflict is a growing “double life” consciousness (ni-ju seikatsu). On the one hand, the Japanese government actively encourages the adoption of Western values, launches the “League to Reform Everyday Life” project, regularly holds lectures, produces pamphlets, and strives to bring Japan into line with Western cultural practices. On the other hand, famous writers at the time (such as Junichiro Tanizaki) felt sorry for the loss of Japanese national identity, which led to the “Return to Japan” literary movement. Incidentally, Tanizaki Junichiro also used the Japanese traditional toilet as a beacon of Japanese cultural superiority. He wrote in the “Yellow Praise”: “The living room has its own charm, but the Japanese toilet is the real spiritual rest. ”
Tanzaizaki Junichiro’s novel “Love of the Idiot” provides the clearest description of this cultural conflict. In the book, the protagonist is obsessed with Naomi, the incarnation of modern girls, young, economically independent, and very interested in Western culture – and this is the topic of intense debate in Japan at the time. Although cultural purists call this “unnatural,”