Mariko Aoki phenomenon
The Mariko Aoki phenomenon (青木まりこ現象 Aoki Mariko genshō) is a Japanese expression referring to an urge to defecate that is suddenly felt when stepping inside bookstores. The phenomenon's name derives from the name of the woman who mentioned the phenomenon in a magazine article in 1985. According to Japanese social psychologist Shozo Shibuya, the specific causes that trigger a defecation urge in bookstores are not yet clearly understood (as of 2014).[1] There are also some who are skeptical about whether such a peculiar phenomenon really exists at all, and it is sometimes discussed as one type of urban myth. At the same time, there are also intellectuals who have attempted to discover the mechanisms behind the phenomenon using knowledge from fields such as biology and psychology.
The series of processes through which being in a bookstore leads to an awareness of a defecation urge is something that cannot be explained from a medical perspective as a single pathological concept, at least at present. According to a number of discussions on the topic, even if it can be sufficiently found that this phenomenon actually exists, it is a concept that would be difficult to be deemed a specific pathological entity (such as a "Mariko Aoki disease," for example). On the other hand, it is also a fact that a considerable number of the intellectuals (particularly clinicians) who discuss this phenomenon have adopted existing medical terminology such as from diagnostics and pathology. Borrowing from this approach, this article also uses expressions from existing medical terminology for convenience.
Origin
The term receives its name from Mariko Aoki, an otherwise little-known Japanese woman who contributed an essay in 1985 to the magazine Hon no Zasshi (which means "Book Magazine").[2]:55 In that essay, she related how she came to the realization that for some years, walking around a bookstore inevitably made her want to go to the restroom. The editors of the magazine received reports of other readers who had similar experiences, and named it the "Mariko Aoki phenomenon".[3]:2-15[4]
Hypotheses
Possible theories behind the phenomena include the smell of paper or ink having a laxative effect,[4] the association with reading on the toilet at home,[4] and the posture of browsing making bowel movement easier. The evidence for these explanations however remains weak.[5]
History in Japan
Before "Mariko Aoki"
One known mention in Japan dating back many decades regarding a relationship between bookstores and the defecation urge is in Jun'nosuke Yoshiyuki's Amidst the Hustle and Bustle (1957),[6] and similar mentions can be found in works by Jo Toyama (in 1972's The Emperor and the Lieutenant or Shoichi Nejime (in 1981's Words, Too, Can Sweat--Literally), but it is uncertain from exactly what point in time the phenomenon first began to be a topic of discussion.[7] It appears to have already been raised in the media from as early as the 1980s. For example, the magazine Common Man Weekly (August 31, 1984 issue) records television newscaster Tetsuo Suda talking about a similar experience. Also, the radio program Young Paradise (on Nippon Broadcasting System from 1983 to 1990) had a corner for sharing bowel movement related episodes, and one time the defecation urge felt in bookstores was discussed by being referred to as the "Yoshiko Yamada syndrome."
Vol. 39 of Book Magazine (December 1984; Book Magazine Company) contains a man from Ikoma city in Nara prefecture discussing a similar experience. Although this man's account of his experience did not garner any particular attention at the time of Vol. 39's publication, the magazine's publisher Koji Meguro later conjectured that the phenomenon probably already existed "below the radar" even before "Mariko Aoki."
Special feature article of Book Magazine and naming of the phenomenon
The name "Mariko Aoki phenomenon" had its beginnings in a real-life experience account sent in to the readers' letters column of the Japanese magazine Book Magazine (published by Book Magazine Company) in 1985. Printed in the magazine's 40th volume (in February 1985), the letter was by a woman from Suginami city in Tokyo who was 29 years old at the time, and stated that "I'm not sure why, but since about two or three years ago, whenever I go to a bookstore I am struck by an urge to move my bowels." The magazine's publisher Koji Meguro has recalled that at the time "Chief editor Makoto Shiina included the letter because he thought it was amusing." Although the letter itself was short in length and was not augmented by any particular editorial comments or the like, immediately upon the magazine's publication a large number of readers troubled by the same phenomenon sent opinions in to the editorial department. Due to the scale of the reaction, the next issue (Vol. 41 in April 1985) included a special feature article bearing the sensational title The Phenomenon Currently Shaking the Bookstore Industry! , containing discussions on the issue from various perspectives. In the course of such discussion, the phenomenon (the sudden occurrence of a defecation urge when in bookstores) came to be named the "Mariko Aoki phenomenon," after the author of the original letter. In relation to this, it has been noted that it was popular in late 1980s Japan to have words ending with "... phenomenon," an example being the use of the expression "Akira Asada phenomenon," which took the name of a central figure in the "new academism" that was a much-discussed topic at the time. Although the feature article ran very long at 14 pages, it did not ultimately offer any clarity regarding an explanation for the phenomenon. The name of the phenomenon was also displayed on the cover of that issue, which has been said to have led to the name's becoming known throughout Japan.
Reaction to the naming
When the special feature article was published in 1985, the Mariko Aoki phenomenon received considerable coverage, with even one of Japan's leading magazines Weekly Bunshun (published by Bungeishunju Ltd.) being quick to feature the topic in its May 2, 1985 issue. Book Magazine publisher Koji Meguro believed that one of the reasons that the reaction was so considerable was that it was an ordinary, young woman who had divulged this concern regarding the delicate topic of her own defecation urge. Mariko Aoki herself has been interviewed multiple times by the Book Magazine editorial department since 1985, and has remarked that she is not particularly bothered by her name being used. The phenomenon has continued to be referred to sporadically in various media since 1985 and has given birth to a large amount of conjecture and speculation.
In the 1990s (television programs that sought to verify the phenomenon)
While there has at times been a tendency to view the connection between bookstores and the defecation urge as a preposterous urban legend, specialists have also appeared who have added detailed insight into the topic, such that in the latter half of the1990s it came to be accepted as an actually existing phenomenon. This can be considered to be due to the impact of television programs that were broadcast during that time.
The topic was favorably introduced on 1995 on the television program Lifestyle Refresh Morning (in the episode broadcast on July 26, 1995 on NHKG).
On the 1998 television program The Real Side of Un'nan (in the episode broadcast on October 28, 1998 on TSB Television), personalities claiming to have experienced the phenomenon--including Kiyotaka Nanbara, Maako Kido, Seiko Ito and Keisuke Horibe--carried out extensive tests that also featured experts. There was a big response to this broadcast, and the program featured special segments related to this topic on multiple occasions thereafter (such as in the episode broadcast on January 20, 1999).
In the 2000s (the Internet era)
From the year 2000 onward, as the Internet grew so did the Mariko Aoki phenomenon come to be even more widely known. As of 2002, an Internet search using the keywords "bookstore, defecation urge" produced links to dozens of websites discussing the phenomenon. Another factor that increased its visibility was when, in 2003, the weekly magazine Aera (November 17, 2003 edition; The Asahi Shimbun Co.) compiled a comprehensive report on the phenomenon. According to one person from the bookstore industry, around that time university students could often be seen visiting bookstores to interview staff in order to research the phenomenon.
See also
References
- ↑ Shibuya, Shozo (2014). Manga de wakaru shinrigaku nyumon [A manga introduction to psychology]. Japan: Ikeda Shoten. p. 97. ISBN 978-4262154152.
- ↑ Hon no Zasshi (in Japanese) (Hon no zasshi sha) (40), 1985 Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Hon no zasshi (in Japanese) (Hon no zasshi sha), no. 41, 1985 Missing or empty
|title=(help) - 1 2 3 "書店にいると便意を催す 伝説の症状裏付け？" [Visiting a bookstore makes you want to defecate], Tokyo Shimbun (in Japanese), April 19, 2012, p. 27, archived from the original on 2012-05-09, retrieved 2014-05-13
- ↑ "『青木まりこ現象』不滅の掟" ["The Mariko Aoki phenomenon" - The eternal rule], Aera (in Japanese) (Asahi Shimbun-sha), November 17, 2003, p. 74
- ↑ Book Magazine Special Crab-gaited Journalist Team (本の雑誌特別ガニマタ取材班) (1985). "Pursuing the mysteries and truths of the "Mariko Aoiki Phenomenon" that is currently shaking the bookstore industry!! (いま書店界を震撼させる『青木まりこ現象』の謎と真実を追う！！)". Book Magazine (本の雑誌) (Book Magazine Company (本の雑誌社)) (Vol. 41): 4.
- ↑ Book Magazine Editorial Department, ed. (本の雑誌編集部（編）) (1985). "We received many letters--ranging from angry to complimentary (怒りの鉄拳からおホメの言葉までたくさんのハガキがきた)]". Top selections from "Book Magazine" No. 7, a supplement to Book Magazine (『「本の雑誌」傑作選』7 〈別冊 本の雑誌〉) (Book Magazine Company (本の雑誌社)): 80-93. ISBN 978-4938463083.