Already very early, in comparison to other countries, Japanese collected body waste and used it as fertilisers leading to high levels of sanitation. Being associated with fertility, rituals were performed to ask the kawaya kami (the god of the toilet) for help in producing a good harvest. Toilets would be decorated and kept as clean as possible, as the toilet god was considered to be beautiful.
The state of the toilet was also said to have an effect on the physical appearance of an unborn child - leading to rituals where pregnant woman would clean toilets to secure the health and happiness of their unborn.
Many regional believes and names have evolved during the centuries and though, from our western point of view, seem to be questionable superstition. This might partly explain the reasons why toilet design technology in Japan is so advanced.
Furthermore it also reflects how religious believes have influenced Japanese cleaning culture. Even finding their expression in contemporary pop songs, e.g. “Toire no Kamisama” by Kana Uemura.
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