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The Japanese poop of luck

Posted 03.27.2007 by Bilgepump
Being out of work has allowed a bit of an opportunity to do some poop reporting -- something I really haven't had a chance to do for quite a while. I ran across this article regarding gold poop in Japan (login: b00y44@dodgeit.com pw: bugmenot) in a kind of "Dear Abby" for Japanese culture -- and it sheds a lot of light on the Japanese relationship with poop.
Dear Alice,

While browsing through the souvenir shops on a recent layover at Narita Airport, I came across a very curious Japanese good-luck charm. It featured -- I kid you not -- a gold poop which, by the way, looked disturbingly like soft ice cream! Why poop? Why gold poop? Personally, I can't see anything felicitous in feces. Please tell me what the heck I'm missing.

-- Diane O., Redmond, Washington, USA

Dear Diane,

What you're missing is a pleasing piece of word play. The product you saw is called Kin no Unko (The Golden Poo), a name that plays on the fact that the Japanese word for poop (unko) starts with the same "oon" sound as a completely unrelated word that means "luck." Japanese enjoy this kind of pun -- traditional storytelling is full of them -- which may help explain why more than 2.5 million of the lucky little loads have sold in the last seven years.

{...} Professor Takeshi Mitsuhashi looked the product over carefully, nodded thoughtfully, and gave me just the story I had come for. Mitsuhashi explained that there are many word plays in Japanese religion because puns make information easier to teach and remember. One example is a talisman in the shape of a frog used to pray for the safe return of a loved one, the pun being that the word for frog (kaeru) is a synonym of the verb "to return." "This Golden Poo is very much part of that tradition," Mitsuhashi asserted.

Furthermore, there is a long history of poo-related worship in Japan, according to Mitsuhashi. "There are more gods in the Shinto religion than it is possible to count, and they reside just about everywhere, inhabiting natural things like trees, rocks and waterfalls," he said. "Bodily functions are very important -- think what a problem it would be if a person couldn't defecate or urinate properly -- so it's natural that people worshipped deities linked to these functions." Mitsuhashi, who is in his 60s, remembers his parents burying a pair of god figures, one male and one female, under the privy in his childhood home.

At the risk of getting too graphic, I really must address shape because everyone I spoke to brought it up. Diane, you described the Kin no Unko as looking "disturbing like soft ice cream," while Fujii, its creator, expressed it as a "nice tatsumaki-shape (tornado-shape)."

The difference in perception may lie in toilet types: a Japanese-style toilet consists of a shallow basin built into the floor over which you squat. There's little or no water in the basin until you flush the toilet. So to someone who grew up using Japanese-style toilets, a healthy result would be in the shape of a spiral pile.

The goose that laid the golden egg? No thanks, I'd much rather be the goof that laid the golden poop. PoopReport friends -- and you know who you are -- a preview of next year's Christmas presents!
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The Big Wiper (2245) -- 03.27.2007

I don't know. That gold-plated design could just as easily be a dollop of Dream Whip or some sort of elaborate Hershey's kiss. I wouldn't automatically assume such a piece of jewelry was supposed to emulate poop.

Pulling My Pants Down For Peace, Plop and Posterity!

Lame comment!
Anonymous Coward (not verified) -- 03.27.2007

Uh, wiper, did you even read the article? Or did scroll to the bottom after looking at the pretty pictures?

GottaGoGirl (2616) -- 03.27.2007

TBW, I wouldn't be opposed to wearing one of those for luck, but if anyone asked, I'd SAY it was ice cream! :)

The Big Wiper (2245) -- 03.27.2007

Anonymous Coward: Of course I read the article. And what I said goes: the jewelry is beautiful.

Pulling My Pants Down For Peace, Plop and Posterity!

The Shit Volcano (3740) -- 03.28.2007

Poop means luck in Japan? Calico cats are also good luck in Japan. When I scoop my catbox after my calico uses it, it must stir up some super luck. Hmm... Maybe I should sell it on e-bay.

_______
Behold! My new farting super power! BRAPP!!!

Mary Queen of Scats (387) -- 03.28.2007

For some reason, I've been sitting here pondering the "normal" shape of shit.

I can't remember even one time in my life when I would've produced a pile of poo that looked like that lucky little charm.

Maybe I could try crapping when the toilet is semi-empty to see if the lack of water padding makes my log into a neat pile like the charm.

_______
It's YOUR cat, YOU get his poop out of my sink!

Anal About Poop (240) -- 03.29.2007

Who make Lucky Charms Cereal? Is it Kellogg’s or General Mills? They really need to take a look at this lucky charm and maybe add this one to the box. It can be a brown marshmallow.
Mommy! Mommy! There's poo in my cereal!

GottaGoGirl (2616) -- 03.30.2007

If Lucky Charms are marketed in Japan, maybe there's already an unko in the mix!

The Big Wiper (2245) -- 03.30.2007

The Japanese have always had a very unique culture. Everything from geishas to kabuki to houses made of rice paper. Since joining this site over four years ago, I've also learned about their fascination with *unko.* That they should consider aspects of the subject 'golden,' really doesn't surprise me.

Pulling My Pants Down For Peace, Plop and Posterity!

Anal About Poop (240) -- 03.30.2007

TBW, now that you mention it the only videos I've ever seen of people eating shit where Japanese business men. I'm sure it's just a coinkidink.

The Big Wiper (2245) -- 03.30.2007

I'm suddenly reminded that some of the worst films ever made came out of Japan. Let's get serious here: using children's toys and erector sets for special effects in movies like 'Godzilla,' 'Mothra,' 'Rodan,' and others.

So perhaps it's not surprising that Japan should lead the way in scat videos, too. Oh, and I'd be willing to bet those 'businessmen' were third-rate actors or just guys trying to make a buck.

What a yucky way to make a buck, BTW!

Pulling My Pants Down For Peace, Plop and Posterity!

Miss Simone Scat (570) -- 06.15.2007

I am on a quest to go to Harwin Dr. here in Houston to find a "poop" charm.
Producing waste since 1967

Toots N. McCrack (160) -- 06.15.2007

Now THERE'S a turd you can polish!

_______
'Hey that sounds pretty nasty, how about a courtesy flush over there?' (AP1)

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