＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
<8/17/2020 postscript> “High-tech Japanese warm-water washing toilet seats” are selling like hotcakes in the U.S. due to Corona’s influence.
Although “hot-wash toilet seats” have traditionally struggled to spread in Europe and the U.S., they have surprisingly attracted attention as a “Corona countermeasure” and sales in the U.S. are expanding rapidly: TOTO’s “Washlet” has almost doubled in the January-March 2020 period, and LIXIL’s “Shower Toilet” is up 60% year-on-year in the April-May 2020 period. sales of LIXIL’s “Shower Toilets” are on track for a 60% increase over the same period of the previous year in.
The Corona disaster has motivated many American consumers to try it out of necessity, and the realization of its convenience and hygienic advantages has led to increased sales.
1. Even butts need to be washed.
In 1982, Jun Togawa appeared in a commercial for “Washlet,” using the catchphrase “I want you to wash my buttocks, too,” which had a great impact and became a topic of conversation.
2. History of Washlet
In 1964, Toyo Touki (now TOTO) began importing and selling the “Wash-Air Seat,” a hot-water washing toilet seat, from the United States.
In 1969, the “Wash Air Seat” was produced domestically, and in February 1980, the company applied to register “Washlet” as a trademark (it became a registered trademark in March 1984), and in June of the same year, the first-generation “Washlet” was launched.
Since then, we have devised and added various comfortable and convenient functions such as self-cleaning (nozzle washing), water volume control, bidet function, drying function, deodorizing function, seat sensor, soft-closing toilet seat, remote control, ozone deodorization, move function, condensation prevention function, soft washing, heating function, power saving function, and sound princess function.
It is no wonder that when Madonna visited Japan in 2005, she commented that she missed the warm toilet seats of Japan.
Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio also made headlines when he purchased a “toilet with washlet” that cost $3,200.
The product is also sold in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, India, the United Arab Emirates, and other Middle Eastern countries, as well as in the United States and Canada.
And now, the total number of “Washlet” units sold has reached 50 million.
The latest model in the Apricot series has the following innovations for comfort and convenience.
(1) Air is added to the warm water to improve washing comfort.
(2) Pictograms (pictograms) that are easy for foreigners to understand
(3) Battery-free controls (with a built-in generator)
In this way, the “Washlet” has been evolving rapidly with Japanese-like attention to detail.
3. My Failure with Washlet
I am not sure of my memory, but I think it was late in the late 1980’s when we had “western style toilets” in my house to begin with.
It was even later, 16 years ago, when we built the new house where we live now.
Thus, my first experience with a “washlet” was in a golf course restroom. Not knowing how to use it or how it worked, I pushed a button. I was startled and jumped out of the way as water shot out from behind me.
The water drew a parabolic line and wet the inside of the toilet door in vain. I don’t know if there was no “water volume control” at the time, or if the previous user had set the water volume to “high,” but I was surprised anyway.
However, I have become so accustomed to Washlet that when I go out, I avoid places that do not have Washlet toilets, even if they are Western-style toilets.
Washlet” is so hygienic, comfortable, and convenient that I now find it impossible to live without it.
4. overseas diffusion
In Europe, unlike Japan, there are problems with water quality (in the case of hard water, the lime content coagulates, causing pump failure and nozzle clogging, and the water is impure and unhygienic), problems with power supply facilities, and difficulties in maintenance. ), problems with power supply facilities, difficulties in maintenance, and the fact that people are not familiar with the use of the toilet seat with warm-water washing function, so it takes time for the toilet seat to be accepted.
There have also been disturbing reports recently that TOTO is struggling in the Chinese market due to the availability of similar products made in China, including those that infringe on intellectual property.
Just the other day, on a TBS program called “Made in Japan,” a Russian daughter who was visiting Japan surprised her parents by bringing home a “shower toilet (washlet)” as a souvenir. The parents and her friends were thrilled with their first experience with a “shower toilet,” and said, “I think I’m going to become addicted to it. If “foreigners who have actually used the shower toilet and experienced its advantages” spread the word through SNS and other means, I think it will give momentum to the spread of shower toilets.
This “Made in Japan” program is hosted by Ryota Yamasato, who has been in the news for his marriage to Yu Aoi, and is a “heartwarming variety show” that combines a “moving documentary” that shows the “beauty of Japan” and reminds people of the “bonds of family”. This “inspiring documentary” is a “drama” that seems to have been slightly adapted…
I hope that TOTO, LIXIL (INAX), Panasonic (well-known for its “Arauno” commercials), and Toshiba Lifestyle will continue to export their hot-wash toilet seats and make the toilet environment more and more comfortable for people around the world.
TOTO ウォシュレット便座 おすすめ ウォシュレットS1 ホワイト TCF6542 #NW1 S1 壁リモコン ノズルきれい プレミスト
