Why Is Japan Going Wild For Luxury Toilet Paper?

There’s so much of history and vastness to it when it comes to a nation commonly described as the ‘land of the rising sun.’ Surely, it ought to be said that there’s more to Japan than meets the eye. This is, after all, a country that birthed the timeless warriors in its Samurais. This is also, after all, a country that homes the world’s most successful and where the current period stands, then the largest corporate in the automotive space (speaking of Toyota). But what’s fascinating is that in a country where a peaceful philosophy and way of life such as Buddhism dictates leading an existence sans too many wants or desires, why is luxury toilet paper in Japan creating news?

This is, after all, a country that birthed the timeless warriors in its Samurais. This is also, after all, a country that homes the world’s most successful and where the current period stands, then the largest corporate in the automotive space (speaking of Toyota).

But what’s fascinating is that in a country where a peaceful philosophy and way of life such as Buddhism dictates leading an existence sans too many wants or desires, why is luxury toilet paper in Japan creating news?

Yes, you read that right. In the current moment, of all things luxury toilet paper in Japan is creating national headlines and to a good measure.

Various news outlets dispassionately report that Japan is going wild for luxury toilet paper, even if that means that a single roll is priced as high at $12 per piece.

So that clearly means that for a change, there isn’t some leading automotive produce or a hi-tech product that is creating a wave among the locals in the far east of Asia.

The latest ‘must-have’ item in all of Japan is something that one is commonly getting to read lots of exciting reviews in glossy magazines and lifestyle publications.

And therefore, it’s only worthwhile to suggest that a country that has added something outstandingly luxurious in redefining the concept of personal hygiene- not to forget electronically controlled, heated, hi-tech toilets-has offered something rather simple albeit unusual in the space of hygiene, once again.

The fact that luxury toilet paper in Japan is the latest contribution to lavatory luxury is something that comes across as being both surprisingly addictive as a habit apart from being somewhat uninitiated.

But at the heart of luxury toilet paper in Japan lies a simple, uncomplicated town called Tosa, not exactly a very touristy destination in a country no stranger to natural pitfalls in climate and taxing ecological disturbances.

Yet, what makes Tosa- located toward the southwestern island of Shikoku- interesting is that it is commonly regarded as the paper-making town in all of the country.

And more interestingly so, central to the creation of luxury toilet paper in Japan lies no woman, girl or buzzing model in the making. It concerns this ageing, average, mild-mannered Japanese man.

When the owner of the family-run paper company- that goes by the name of Mochitsuki Seishi- was experiencing some skin-trouble, then keen to find a lasting solution, he led to the creation of a convention that is currently being used heavily instead of being a symbol of ostensible consumption.

It appears, that the skin trouble for the ageing Japanese man ran so intense that even upon wearing something as simple as a neck-tie, there appeared redness along the neck region. It would become a problem that had to be immediately controlled and countered.

And from that point on, began a process of constant tinkering with the quality of toilet paper, leading to a newfound creation that was achieved at the back of inverting the process of modern paper manufacturing.

Leading global news platform CBS News carried more insights into the landmark creation that has seemingly captured the imagination of the Japanese populace and it reported the following:

Instead of large-volume, high-speed production, Morisawa’s “Usagi” (Rabbit) brand toilet paper is made by delicately processing the paper pulp fiber and precisely managing the water temperature used in the process. It yields a softer wipe.

“It’s like grilling hotcakes,” said Morisawa’s wife. “If you turn up the heat too much, the hotcakes come out tough!”

The resulting three-ply toilet paper is so fragile it has to be rolled by hand. The original 10-person Mochitsuki Seishi factory is too small, so the rolling work is farmed out to part-timers who do it in their homes. 

One roll of the Rabbit brand white toilet paper retails for 500 yen, or about $5 — roughly the price of 12 regular rolls. But that’s the budget option.

It is also known that each toilet roll, that comes wrapped in handmade Japanese “washi” paper is being considered as an apt gifting item for birthdays and besides that, is also being picked up habitually as an ideal “thank you” gift for wedding guests.

In fact, the prices of the same article have shot up significantly in a quick span of time, with a gift-box of eight artistically patterned, pastel-coloured rolls from the house of Mochitsuki costing about $100.

And where it stands at the moment, then the demand for the famous hygiene article has shot up so astronomically that despite hiring new staff, Japan’s famous luxury toilet-maker is finding it tough to keep up with the rising demands.