To Westerners, Japan has always been stereotyped in having weird and abstract fetishes. Foreigners find themselves befuddled when they come across something that can be considered taboo or offensive, even in another country. However, there is one item in particular I find strange (but intrigued) that actually exists: golden poo charms.
There is an article from Japan Times that discusses in detail the abstractness of these golden poo charms. The article starts with a letter from Diane O Redmond from Washington, USA to journalist to Alice Gordenker. In the letter, Diane discovered this gold poo at a souvenir shop in Narita. The rest of the article Alice Gordenker responds to Diane’s letter.
One thing you must understand about the Japanese is that they LOVE their wordplay. The golden poo charm is a product of just that. This charm is called Kin no Unko literally “gold poo”. Unko is the Japanese word for poo, and the un in the word by itself is the Japanese word for “luck” hence why this item is a good luck charm. The Kin no Unko was created by Ryukodo, a small Kyoto-based company of traditional dolls and season items. The company’s president Koji Fujii came up with the idea in 1999 stating, “Japan was in an economic recession, and the national mood was fairly depressed. I wanted to offer an inexpensive product that would make people smile.”
At least 2.5 million of these charms have been sold between 2000 and 2007. The charm is made of porcelain and coated in 24-karat gold. Despite being encased in gold, a mini version goes for 105 yen while a larger one can be 2,100 yen which sits on a red cushion It’s shape is similar to that of soft-served ice cream, Koji being quoted as a “nice tatsumaki(tornado) shape”. This design can be based on how Japanese toilets are built in the ground and when a person goes…well you get the idea.
The article continues on how Alice had taken a charm to Kokugakuin University in Tokyo. Professor Takeshi Mitsuhashi says that Japanese word play is very important to people. He mentions an example is a talisman with a frog on it as a charm for their loved ones to return safely as the Japanese word kaeru can mean both “frog” and “to return”.
I personally think this charm is a brilliant idea. I just adore Japanese word play so I always enjoy seeing new concepts based on puns. However would I recommend this item as a souvenir? It all depends on your situation. As mentioned before, foreigners who do don’t understand Japanese culture will not find this product appealing. It is understandable if tourists are not interested in poo puns. There are many more interesting and iconic souvenirs you can get while in Japan, but if you have Japanese friends or friends and family that have a sense of humor, then buying this would make it an interesting trophy. If I ever get to go Japan, this wouldn’t be my first souvenir but I would enjoy it in my collection. I just wouldn’t show it my less-cultured family anytime soon.
Japanese Culture Class 