The Kyoto Shimbun
  • Home
  • Education/University
  • News
  • Why Do Japanese People Value "Poop"?
    Harvard University Professor Gives Lecture in Kyoto

    23 July 2017 - Education/University//Kyoto
    Photo= Professor Howell showing a wealth of material to explain life in the Edo Period, at which time human waste was utilized (Kyoto Uzumasa Campus of Kyoto Gakuen University, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto)

    Photo= Professor Howell showing a wealth of material to explain life in the Edo Period, at which time human waste was utilized (Kyoto Uzumasa Campus of Kyoto Gakuen University, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto)

    Why do Japanese people value "poop"? A lecture to explain the culture of the Edo Period from such a unique perspective was held on July 15, on Kyoto Uzumasa Campus of Kyoto Gakuen University, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto. David Howell, a professor of early modern Japanese history at Harvard University, USA, exhausted the topic of the charms of "poop" which can be used as fertilizer and for other purposes.

    Professor Howell mentioned that farmers around Edo City bought human waste from the residents of the city as "fertilizer." He explained its great usefulness in society indicating that the shogunate government, even on the verge of its collapse, was attentive to the distribution of human waste as fertilizer. He even said, "Excretion was conveyed to rural areas so smoothly that the hygienic environment of Edo was better than that of Europe in the same time period."

    He shared an anecdote from his days in Japan as an international student in the 1980s where he was shocked to see that "poop" appeared in comic books as cute characters. He raised a lot of laughs with his hypothesis that "The idea that poop is useful as fertilizer probably led to such characters in comic books."

    (Translated by Mie Hiuzon, Psyche et l’Amour, Inc.)
  • Also in Education/University//Kyoto:

    Professor Yamanaka of CiRA Calls for "At Least One Year's Patience"
    Non-Specialist Continues Sharing Information to End Novel Coronavirus
    15 April 2020

    Publication of Proof of "ABC Conjecture," Modern Math Challenge
    Kyoto University's Professor Mochizuki Publishing in Specialized Journal after Eight Years
    3 April 2020

    Brian May Visits Observatory
    Rock Band Queen's Guitarist Autographs Telescope Mount
    27 January 2020

    A heart model to be sold for surgical training (crossEffect head office, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto)

    Heart Model Texture Getting Closer to Reality
    3D-Printed Surgical Model
    5 April 2019

    Photo= Hino says, "I want to share this pleasure with people all over the world" (Kyoto University)

    "Cap-throwing" to the World
    Kyoto University Student's Challenge in Italy in October
    5 May 2018

News Archive
  • August 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • November 2019
  • More...
Categories
  • Sightseeing/Events
  • Temples/Shrines
  • Tradition/Culture
  • Local topics
  • Education/University
  • Business/Company
  • Traffic
  • Gourmet
  • 1min Kyoto
  • Kyoto
  • Shiga
Web site
Introducing Privacy Policy Japanese Site
Copyright © 1995-2021 The Kyoto Shimbun Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.
We use cookies for a number of reasons, such as keeping our websites reliable and secure, providing social media features and to analyze the performance of ads. Accept & continue Read More
Privacy Policy