If you live in Japan then you have surely come accross the ear-cleaning-scoop-things (耳かき - mimi kaki) used for the horrifying practice of mimi souji (耳掃除).The Japanese love to clean their ears, and cleaning a child's ears is a sacred moment akin to breast-feeding.
BUT I have some terrible news for the proponents of this practice, and some weird genetic information (!!!).
Read on.
First of all, Japanese ear wax is not the same as gaijin ear wax. I can hear your "WHAT?" from here - this sounds exactly like the kind of thing a Japanese person would say (like when the nurse asked my girlfriend what temperature gaijin were supposed to be), but actually it's true.
- In East Asians (and Native Americans), a dry, grey type of ear wax is the most common, whereas on the other side of the world - Europe/Africa, you'll find we have the moist orange gunk. It's something to do with ancient climates. Weird. The moist stuff is dominant, though, which means that if you have a half-Japanese baby you can be assured it has good old Western Wax.
So okay, the Japanese are right this time about being different from the rest of the world, but they are most certainly wrong about thwe need for mimisouji in the first place. Here's a tip for you curious gaijin out there: don't buy a mimikaki and definately don't stick it in your (or anyone else's) ears.
- Wax is in your ear for a reason, it's a normal secretion which is naturally removed when necessary. If you have a blockage, go to an ear doctor. Never put one of these things inside yourself or you could end up with some serious internal damage. You can't see what you're doing in there. Furthermore, scraping at the walls of your inner-ear actually causes more discharge. だめ！
More
- Mimikaki come in all shapes and sizes. You can get them with red LEDs inside, anime characters on the end, in horrible multi-layers dental tool fashion, and far too many other styles. Google images has more.
- The weirdest part of this whole situation is that you can pay (~3000yen) for a kimono-clad woman to rest your head gently on her lap and scrape at your ear-canals for 30-minutes. No thanks. Sounds even less fun than getting an ear-candle (which, incidentally, is totally useless and potentially harmful).
- If you're completely twisted you will probably enjoy watching this disgusting yet fascinating Japanese video of earwax removal:
- You could go even further and use one of these mimikaki with a camera on the end. We recommend you don't.
- For yet more fun, there is a(n award-winning) manga short-story entitled Yamamoto's Ear Cleaning Shop which you can read here.
that was fun to read xD
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say (being of Chinese descent) that as a child, I always looked forward to getting my ears cleaned. It was very calming and it actually felt good. And I would add that it was usually a waxing consistency but drier and occasionally flaky.
ReplyDeleteI understand it is a very pleasurable experience for many Asian people. But it's still bad for you!
ReplyDeleteLike you never used a ear bud to scratch inside?
ReplyDelete@Yash. Ever stuck a finger up ur butt? Doesnt make it right.
ReplyDelete@Dom
ReplyDeleteWell have you learned about the ear scope GXL in which you can actually see what's inside your ear
to be too uncomfortable to use,there is the option to hook it up to an LCD TV so that all and sundry can see what lies inside your ears.
So that means this safety issue would be already saved by using that device and with a jetstream and hydrogen peroxide
Wow. I always found ear touching to be very.. er... sensual. Yeah. that's the word I'll use. So to find out a country has a "practice" of ear cleaning is amazing.
ReplyDeleteThis is not weird at all, and I'm so surprised and happy to see this is commonly(?) practiced in Japan, too! My father used to do this to my brother and I when we were very little! He would do it with Q-Tips here in Hawaii, though… We used to adore and look forward to my father's gentle ear cleaning! He would rest our heads on his lap and gentle twirl the Q-Tip around in our ear canals and then the exterior of the ear. I miss this so much actually! Odd as it may seem, this is one of my fondest memories.
ReplyDeleteFunny written truth.
ReplyDeleteWe had a Japanese friend visiting Canada and invited her to our wedding. The plan was for her to make paper cranes as table favors. Instead, she secretly went above and beyond ... and bought ear cleaners as table favors. She was very proud that she was contributing to the wedding, but I think it confused her when we told people they were plant markers. We didn't think our small town families were adventurous enough to receive ear picks.
ReplyDeleteEar cleaning is only a cover, earlier it’s really about, Auriculotherapy.
ReplyDeleteDIY: Indian Super brain Yoga.
ReplyDeleteJust FYI, you are supposed to see what you're doing; that's why the other person's head is on your lap. You grab a lamp or something, and make sure that you can clearly see their tympanic membrane (eardrum), so that you know what to avoid, lol.
ReplyDeleteFor those interested...you can buy Mimikakis on eBay.
ReplyDeleteDom, being of Western up bringing but from Japanese parents, we have always used mimikaki in our families while leaving in a tropical climate. For the past 45 years I can report have not had any accidents or infections. Maybe you should research this subject further before posting it as it is in my view more of a personal assessment rather than based in facts and practice.
ReplyDeleteOk, sorry but
ReplyDeleteHAVE ANYONE TRIED EAR-CANDLE ?
Because I did so cut the crap with the totally useless and even harmful (wtf how could it be, it's even made from natural material and it was used by Amerindians).
I had an ear with earwax plug (yeah.. sorry) anyway, I had bought those things one day so when I noticed my ear was blocked I tried to use one. It was fast, relaxing and my ear was back to normal. Also clean like never.
It's also well known that cotton bud do mainly just block pores..
I don't understand why you speak of mimikaki for when the ear is blocked, since it's so obvious people wouldn't push further the plug..
And am I alone here to be 外人 and I must say, though I don't know about mimikaki, rarely, it has happened that I scratched softly inside my ear with a pencil aand.. felt good.