TOKYO — Japan’s latest must-have product isn’t high-tech, and it definitely won’t get rave reviews in fashion design magazines. High-tech toilets with electronic controls, heating and bidets are common in the country and, in fact, add luxury to toilets.
High-quality toilet paper is about to disappear from shelves. So what makes Japanese consumers pay more than $12 per roll?
It all started five years ago in Tosa, a quiet paper-making town on the southwestern Japanese island of Shikoku. Mochizuki Jingshi is a little-known family-owned paper manufacturing company. The elderly boss is deeply concerned about skin sensitivity and is determined to find a solution.
“His skin turns red even when he wears a tie,” said Masayo Morisawa, the company’s managing director and the wife of its executive. “He needs softer toilet paper.”
After years of searching, 63-year-old Ryosui Morisawa has finally found a cure for buttocks, revolutionizing modern paper production.
Instead of high-volume, high-speed production, Morisawa’s Usagi (rabbit) brand of toilet paper is made by finely processing the cellulose fibers and precisely controlling the temperature of the water used in the process. Provides a softer wash.
“It’s like baking buns,” Morizawa’s wife said. “If you turn up the heat too much, the cake will be tough!”
The resulting three-ply toilet paper is so fragile that it must be rolled by hand. The original Mochizuki Seiko factory employed only 10 people and was too small, so the rolling work was outsourced to part-time workers who performed it from home.
A roll of white Rabbit brand toilet paper retails for 500 yen, or about $5, which is about the price of 12 regular rolls. But this is a budget option.
A gift box containing eight pastel-colored, artistic burritos from Mochitsuki’s luxury Hanebisho series sells for about $100. “A great gift for birthday celebrants and wedding guests,” each roll is wrapped in handmade Japanese washi paper.
The company’s handmade toilet paper became revered as a local souvenir on the rural islands of Shikoku, and then celebrities took up the idea and began praising the ultra-soft toilet paper on television.
This luxurious three-ply toilet paper quickly became popular across the country. Mochitsuki Paper used to produce 300 rolls per month, but now it can only produce 12,000 rolls per week, making it difficult to meet demand.
“He took it home and checked it every day,” she said. “He’s not 100 percent happy. Now we’re looking at four floors!”
Post time: May-31-2024