Japanese odd toilet culture

Most Japanese women know “sound princess”. It is the device which turn off the privacy sound at the bathroom. Some days ago, I casually read the description where is written on the “sound princess” when I use bathroom, ”you edge your hand to sound princess”, and flowing water sound flows 25 second.”, furthermore “you edge your hand there again midway, and it extends.” I was thinking that it’s 25 sec. But when I completed, I noticed sound was still flowing. I wonder 25sec is longer than I thought. The time is not 15sec or 30 sec, but 25sec.I think 25sec is odd time and I wonder how the time is set.

So I interviewed TOTO which developed “sound princess” right away. Goto in public information dept said ”We calculated 25sec by the company internal monitor. we supposed the time is average of urination + α. TOTO reminds us developing “washret” The episode is famous that the employee cooperated with design the position of the nozzle. After all development “sound princess” needed cooperation of the employee. “I’m not sure about detail as I wasn’t employee at that time, but everyone perhaps measured by stopwatch whenever they use bathroom.”

“Sound princess has sold since 1988 May. The large shortage in Fukuoka 1978 caused the opportunity of development. Many Japanese women had the habit of flowing the water for washing toilet to turn off the sound when they use bathroom. Generally speaking, they used to flow water 2 times when they use it once. We can estimate volume of water is between 10 and 15 liter when we use it once. It’s clear that using water to turn the sound off is waste of the resource.

We can read water saving effective case in HP of TOTO. According to that Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Inc.) with in the office of entire country 43 when 1516 “sound princesses” are installed, they could reduce annual water rates 6,400 ten thousand Yen. It is enormous, it is “the sound princess” effect. And we are surprised with abundance of women who are sensitive to the sound of the bathroom.

To tell the truth, the most sensitive women about the sound of bathroom are Japanese women in the world. So “Sound princess” is sold in only Japan. This is individual shyness of the Japanese women, the foreign women are surprised that there’s the sound effect device in Japanese bathroom. We can realize the Japanese culture such a place.

Anyway the water is the important resource, we should stop waste.