1.
Otohime; toilet sound-masking device
A small device installed in many Japanese women's restrooms that plays a continuous flushing sound on demand. Designed to mask the sounds of using the toilet without actually flushing water, saving water that would otherwise be used to provide the same cover.
トイレで音姫のボタンを押した。
I pressed the Otohime button in the toilet.
音姫のおかげで節水できる。
Otohime devices help save water.
女性トイレの個室には音姫が備え付けられていることが多い。
Stalls in women's restrooms often have an Otohime installed.
Trademark of the TOTO company, but used generically. Literally "sound princess." Found mainly in women's restrooms because of a longstanding social practice of repeatedly flushing to cover the sound of using the toilet; 音姫 provides the same audio cover without wasting water.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 音姫のボタン: Otohime button
- 音姫を鳴らす: to activate the Otohime
- 音姫付きトイレ: toilet equipped with Otohime
CULTURAL CONTEXT:
The device was popularized in the 1980s by TOTO as a water-saving alternative to the habit of flushing repeatedly to mask sound. It is now standard in many public women's restrooms in Japan and is regarded as a small but distinctive example of Japanese restroom design.