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The Okinawan Toilet God!
Here I squat, wisdom uncharted,
came to go, but now I’ve started…
To ponder, that is—about one of Okinawa’s most fascinating and, dare I say, eco-friendly deities: Fuuru nu kami, the Okinawan toilet god. Before modern plumbing, Okinawan toilets weren’t just for human use; they doubled as pig pens. Yes, you read that right. The waste management system of the Ryukyu Islands was ahead of its time—transforming, quite literally, waste into sustenance.
A Self-Sustaining System
In traditional Okinawan homes, toilets doubled as pig sties, creating a loop of organic recycling. Human waste–mixed with hay– became pig feed, which in turn fueled fatter pigs and provided more food. While it might sound unappetizing by today’s standards, this closed-loop system minimized waste and embodied a form of sustainable living that modern eco-enthusiasts might begrudgingly respect.
A Dirty Toilet, A Haunted House
Neglect your toilet, and you risked more than just a bad smell. Okinawan folklore warned of malevolent spirits drawn to filth, each carrying its own form of mischief or misfortune:
Furu-utaki Spirits – Some homes treated toilets as sacred mini-utaki (sacred sites). Disrespecting them meant throwing off the spiritual balance of the home, leading to illness, misfortune, or eerie disturbances.
Akaname (垢嘗, “Filth Licker”) – A red-skinned, long-tongued yokai known in mainland Japan, but whose presence could be felt in any neglected space. It thrived in grime, spreading disease as it fed off the filth.
Makura-gaeshi (枕返し, “Pillow Flipper”) – A trickster spirit that could disturb sleep, but if toilets were left unsanitary, it might escalate from flipping pillows to unsettling hauntings.
Furubachi (古鉢, “Old Basin Spirit”) – Any neglected object in Okinawan folklore could develop a spirit. A long-abandoned, filthy toilet? Prime real estate for an angry, restless force.
Kijimunaa (キジムナー) – These usually playful tree spirits despised filth and disrespect. If angered by an unsanitary toilet, they could bring bad luck—or make their mischief far less amusing.
The Decline of Fuuru
As Okinawa modernized, these traditional toilets faded away. Near the tail-end of the Meiji Era (around 1917), the practice of pig-toilet composting was outlawed by the police chief noting that Fuuru had to be destroyed in the presence of a local official. On Okinawa now only a handful of examples exist. With their widespread destruction, the worship of traditional Fuuru dwindled, leaving behind only folklore and the occasional whisper among history buffs. But, this was not to be the end of the Okinawan toilet god.
The Toilet God Remains
Fuuru’s tale reminds us that waste isn’t just something to flush away—it once played a vital role in a sustainable cycle of life. The story of toilet gods transcends this one region and is a mythological phenomenon across the globe. Many cultures have various gods associated with bodily waste. The example posited here about the Okinawan toilet god is but one among them. Today Okinawa continues, in part, this tradition along similar lines of the Japanese Kawaya no Kami’s lingering presence. Through maintaining a clean toilet folks honor this deity, inviting prosperity and good fortune into their life.
And maybe, just maybe, keeping your bathroom clean would be a wise decision… unless you’d like to test whether those spirits are still lurking.
Hungry for more knowledge on Japan?
Check out some of our other articles about Japan and Okinawa!
Amamikyu and the Origin of Okinawa
Shisa: The Ancient Guardians of Okinawa
