Tracing the history of poop and toilets, which supported Japan's development!

A world of art to visit, see and feel
File.26　Kawasaki Municipal Japanese Folk House Museum " Poo and Life - From Toilets to Fertilizer "
Miyuki Inoue (Magcal Editorial Department)

Kawasaki Municipal Japanese Folk House Museum, located in Ikuta Ryokuchi, is an open-air museum with a total of 25 old folk houses, including seven designated as important cultural properties by the national government, scattered across a spacious site of approximately 30,000 square meters. The lush garden, where you can enjoy flowers throughout the seasons, is the perfect place to bring a packed lunch and go out.
In this peaceful landscape, a rather unique special exhibition is being held.
The title is "Life with Poop - From Toilets to Fertilizer."
What a straightforward title. I have to go for it!

After purchasing your ticket at the main entrance, first visit the exhibition room in the main building.
The exhibition is divided into four chapters, beginning with an introduction to the various tools that have been used in toilets, an indispensable part of our daily lives, and going on to provide an easy-to-understand display of how human waste has been used and treated.

Although the title features "poop" as the main character, let's start with the "urinal" collection.
Its plump form is cute and its colors are colorful. The rakugo story "Shibin" begins with a samurai visiting an antique shop and buying what he thinks is a vase, and it seems like something that could really happen.

This is a men's urinal and footrest. Perhaps it's the "beauty of utility" that makes it seem so natural even when displayed in a display case.
It also introduces the history of using feces as fertilizer, and the fact that Kawasaki City was the first in the country to use vacuum trucks. It is a compact exhibition, but if you look closely, you will find it surprisingly deep.

After learning about the process from toilets to fertilizer, try doing some field research at an old house in the park while looking at the "Obenjo Map."
First, let's start with the Suzuki Residence, a horse inn (hatago) on the Oshu Highway.

This is a toilet next to the guest room, and it seems to have been used mainly by guests. Inside, it is divided into two areas: a toilet and a urinal.

Next is the Sasaki Family Residence in Shinshu.
The urinal next to the entrance (far right in the photo) was for family use. It was mainly for men, but women also used it when no one was around, giving it a sense of the more generous times. The toilet was apparently in a separate shed.

As the Sasaki family was the head of the village, they had a toilet for guests when they received officials and other guests. It is located at the back of the room and is usually not open to the public, but this time it is open to the public from the back side.

Amazingly, there are tatami mats laid out.
At that time, even the headman apparently did not use tatami mats in his daily life, so this must have been a fairly luxurious toilet.

The Yamada Residence is built in the Gassho style, and even the toilet is built in the Gassho style!
The small hut in the foreground is a toilet called "Henchagoya." It also served as a fertilizer shed and was connected to the main house by a covered bridge.

The Sakuta family residence was once the head of beach seine fishing on Kujukuri Beach in Chiba Prefecture.

This is a toilet for guests, with a urinal in the front and a toilet in the back.
Even though no one is using it, it still feels strange to "peek" into the toilet...

This is the toilet in the foreground. From my current perspective, it seems quite spacious.

This is the toilet in the back.
It may seem new to young children, but this shape was common until Western-style toilets became widespread.

The Kitamura House, which was relocated from Hadano City, Kanagawa Prefecture, was the home of a village headman and farmer who grew tobacco leaves.

The family urinal is located next to the entrance, just like the Sasaki family's.
Apparently the toilet was in a separate shed, but the Kitamura family said that "if the toilet is dirty, the house will not prosper," so the children would clean it every morning.

Next is the outdoor toilet of the Koizumi family in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture. It was located behind the main house and was apparently surrounded by a hedge so that it could not be seen from outside.
The one on the right is for feces, and the one on the left is for urine. The urine and feces collected in the urinals were transferred to a compost pit, where they were left to ferment for two to three months before being used as compost for the fields. In the sense that it was essential for growing crops, there is no doubt that the compost made from urine and feces contributed to the development of Japanese society.

If you look into the "Farm Tool Shed Exhibition Room" next to it, you will see fertilizer barrels and other items on display.

The last one is the toilet of the Kudo Family Residence, a nationally designated important cultural property that was relocated from Iwate Prefecture. It is a large building for a toilet, but it also served as a storage room, and apparently it was used to store ashes from the hearth, which were used as fertilizer.

This is what the inside looks like. It has a simple structure with two boards placed over a "pit basin" for collecting feces. You can even stand on the boards here, so you can step over the pit basin and get a taste of the old days.
However, please note that it is not permitted to actually use it.

"Old houses naturally have toilets. These were popular with children, so I wanted to hold an exhibition focusing on them someday. This is a rare opportunity to take a moment to think about what happens to the things that come out of toilets."
said curator Rina Tamai.

In the past, excrement and urine collected from toilets were effectively used as nutritious fertilizer for growing vegetables. It is natural that the nature of toilets will change with urbanization. However, as long as humans are alive, they will inevitably excrement and urine. This special exhibition will serve as an opportunity to think about what happens "beyond" excretion, rather than just the end of it.

This event has now ended.
"Life with poop: from toilets to fertilizer"
[Dates] Until Sunday, May 31, 2020
[Time] 9:30-17:00
[Location] Kawasaki Municipal Japanese Folk House Museum, Main Building Exhibition Room
[Fee] Free (entrance fee required)