So, today I'm here to educate you about a certain Japanese Myth. A myth about a deity that is
associated with toilets; The toilet god or
kawiyama kami. These deities have been associated with health, well-being and fertility. People have made offers through meditating and praying.
Most bodily wastes were collected and used as fertilizers, ensuring a higher overall level of sanitation than in other countries where wastes were stored in cesspits or otherwise disposed of. Toilets were often dark and unpleasant places where the user was at some risk of falling in and drowning. The protection of the toilet god was therefore sought to avoid such an insanitary fate.
A properly appointed toilet would be decorated and kept as clean as possible, as the toilet god was considered to be very beautiful. The state of the toilet was said to have an effect on the physical appearance of unborn children. Pregnant women asked the toilet god to give boys a "high nose" and dimples to girls. If the toilet was dirty, however, it was said to cause children to be born ugly and unhappy. According to a different Japanese tradition, the toilet god was said to be a blind man holding a spear in his hand. This presented an obvious and painful threat when squatting down to defecate, so it was regarded as necessary to clear one's throat before entering so that the blind toilet god would sheathe his spear.
The Ainu people of far northern Japan and the Russian Far East believed that the Rukar Kamuy, their version of a toilet god, would be the first to come to help in the event of danger.
Similar beliefs also existed in Korea, where the toilet god or
cheukgansin was dubbed the "young lady of the toilet". She was regarded as having a "perverse character" and was propitated each year in October by housewives, along with the other household gods. Yes, everyone had their own toilet god.
In New Zealand, the atua – the gods and spirits of the Māori people – were believed to focus on the village latrine. If a warrior experienced sickness or faintness of heart, he would retreat to the latrine and bite its structure. The gods were said to frequent the latrine in large numbers and excrement was regarded as the food of the dead.
Also, the inhabitants of ancient Rome had a sewer goddess, a toilet god and a god of excrement. All the types~
I'm sure most of you have seen this poop god resembling a foot in Shin Megami Tensei. The myth was also a part of an anime.
I mostly got this from Wikipedia.
