I remember the first time I saw it happen in public — I was hanging out one fine day in Yoyogi Koen when I noticed a Japanese couple nearby. The girl was sitting, and her husband/boyfriend was laying down with his head in her lap. She was slightly bent over, gazing romantically at him, and I saw her arm moving in a gentle, rhythmic motion. Then I saw her lift her hand and wipe off the little stick she held.
She was cleaning his ears. I later learned all about mimikaki from an American friend who is addicted to his Japanese wife’s ability to dig wax out of his ears without pulling brain matter out in the process. It’s a Japan thing.
So I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me to see an article in The Japan Times recently about salons opening up that clean your ears (use BugMeNot if it locks out). What better way to cap off a day or work and night of drinking than to have someone jam a camera-enabled pick in your ear so you can watch your very own “house of wax” on TV? A thousand yen gets you a 10-minute ear-cleaning and a quick massage. Ten thousand yen gets you a deluxe ear cleaning and a “happy ending.” (Just kidding — though it would be a great way to drum up some business. Especially if you name the salon Love Canal.)
Sorry. Time for bed.
Ha!
I got a present a few years back of those candles that you burn down in your ears–but somehow the idea of adding wax to clean ears seemed weird…
wtf is this? Not what I expected…
And in Canada we have The Super Soaker D-500.
See:
http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/173/12/1496
Well, that explains this Japanese, bamboo, bird/airplane shaped ear pick with working compass my friend gave me…
http://www.dnahelices.com/mimikaki
man, i’m not sure which is more bizarre… the whole concept of japanese ear wax fetishism, or the fact that i was alerted to your latest post by reading boing boing.
rock on.
Actually, nothing would explain why the hell that ear pick has a working compass on it…
I have a earpick at home, and no one has cleaner ears than I do. When I was a child, my mom picked it for me, now I just do it myself about once three days.
hilariously, we call that ‘shiok-shiok’ in singapore (for the fluffier side of the earpick, that is)
‘shiok’ is a local slang in malay language (singlish in general) and it means feels-good.
and i was actually using my earpick (mine’s made of stainless steel… last longer :)) jux a little while ago… shiok!
The joy of earwax picking in Japan
My favorite gaijin over at Nude Highway Driving has a short post about ritualized earwax picking in Japan. [I] learned all about mimikaki from an American friend who is addicted to his Japanese wife’s ability to dig wax out of his ears without pulling …
no shit. my dear dear friend, who is japanese, has a ear picking problem. the face she makes whilst jabbing that stick in her ear, quite amusing. almost orgasmic she describes!
I’ve always had a thing with my ears. In the shower I could seriously spend a full five minutes just letting the water shoot into my ear canal at JUST the right angle and it seriously is close to an orgasmic experience. And then there’s after the shower with my beloved Q-tips – I can’t start the day without them! Occasionally they will get itchy way down deep during the day and I have a random assortment of tools (ball point pen caps, nail files, etc.) that I will go to town with. If I could find an actual tool designed spcifically for scooping out any itchy wax, that would be a very good thing.
Strange. My girlfriend’s 3rd-generation Chinese and she looooves to dig in my ears. However, she doesn’t know anything about mimikaki. Is it genetic or something?
ear picking is pretty much an asian thing.. most of us have had fond childhood memories of (usually) our moms grabbing us by the head and literally dig the dirt out of our ears. it’s as orgasmic as a good nose picking, but even better – especially if someone else does it for you – unlike nose picking.
damn now i have the urge to do both. ta
Coincidentally, I read a manga last week called “Yamamoto’s Ear Cleaning Shop” that has its protagonist obsessed with the proprietress’s ear cleaners and her personal cleaning service. It actually features a “happy ending” (just the ear cleaning is enough to trigger it, of course). It’s available as part of a larger torrent pack from kotonoha.
It’s not just an Asian thing. I’m Black and my parents are from the South (Mom St. Louis; Dad, Alabama); they taught all of us kids how to clean our ears from the time we were toddlers. (Well, actually they cleaned them until we were old enough to do it ourselves). We use a plain black bobbypin and it’s true what they say: once you go black, you’ll never go back. 😉 Thin, short ones are best. They look like this:
http://static.flickr.com/30/48180509_8579330234_m.jpg
Stay away from the gold and decorative bobbypins, they’re too big to comfortably insert in your ears and harder to manuever. Sterilize your tool with some soap and hot water, rinse it, dry it off, and insert into your ear. Gingerly work your way from the outer ear to the inside scooping out small bits of wax as you go. Wipe the wax on a nearby kleenex or sibling and continue until you’ve reached the back. Some tips:
1. The first time you clean your ears, you may start to cough as you get deeper inside. This is common and nothing to worry about; just be prepared so you can either stop moving or quickly take out the hairpin so you don’t inadvertently jab yourself.
2. Never clean your ears if there are sick people around you; the waxy buildup actually protects you from their cooties. No kidding! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been perfectly healthy only to get the flu from somebody at work shortly after cleaning my ears. This goes for allergies, too; wait for the pollen to die down before cleaning your ears or you will suffer more than usual.
3. Never clean your ears on a bed. Murphy’s Law dictates that once you’ve gone in good and deep, some fool will take the opportunity to dive bomb the mattress and assist you in your quest to puncture your eardrum.
4. Don’t clean your ears too often or you risk irritating the inner ear and possibly getting an infection. Once every week or two is plenty. No matter how good it feels, restrain yourself or you’ll live to regret it. As in all other pleasurable pursuits, moderation is key.
5. Have a friend with a videocamera nearby the first time you clean your ears. It will undoubtly be a memorable event. The first time I cleaned my boyfriend’s ears, I pulled out a massive inch and a half blob of dark black wax; it was the exact size and shape of his ear canal! I nearly fainted from shock.
I have way too much wax in my left ear; often when I wake up I can’t hear out of it too well because the wax is clogging things up. After I’m awake for 20 or 30 minutes it must settle into some other position, because then I can hear.
I keep thinking I need to get the doctor to clean it out, but you all make it sound so easy. If I puncture something, can I come back to yell at you guys?
I used to spend quality time on earal hygiene until some diver friends introduced me to hydrogen peroxide. Apparently empacted ear wax can be problematic at depth. The peroxide bubbles the wax away. It tickles a bit, but I get to devote my picking time to horses, final four teams and my banjo.
Um, I think I meant im- not em-
This isn’t a solely Japanese thing. Koreans do the same thing and I’d be surprised if Chinese didn’t do it too.
I have been picking my ears since I was five. Only now that I begin to see it as a real problem have I looked for others with the same problem. It is definitely an erotic experience but I don’t do it in front of people. Recently I found out that it’s a kind of Impulse Control Disorder from the OCD spectrum. A woman who did this excessively developed a tumour and died of cancer in the ear. I’ve been doing it a lot lately and afterwards my ears still feel tickly and buzzy. Sometimes, usually at night I feel a pleasant fluttering in my ears which happens spontaneously without me having to put anything into them. I’ve been single for a long time since a bad relationship. Now I wonder if I do it more now for the erotic pleasure it gives me in the absence of a partner! Half the time I don’t know I’m doing it. I want to stop now because I’m sure I waste hours every week on it and I’m worried about doing serious damage.
I can’t believe what I’m reading !!! It’s ridiculous.
Earwax is healthy in normal amounts and serves to coat the skin of the ear canal where it acts as a temporary water repellent. The absence of earwax may result in dry, itchy ears.
Most of the time the ear canals are self-cleaning and don’t need fingers, ballpojnt pen tips or !! Bobbypins !! Old earwax is constantly being transported from the ear canal to the ear opening where it usually dries, flakes, and falls out.
You’ll inevitably just push the wax deeper and compact it more, causing a problem. If your ears are block, use softening drops, or go have thm syringed. As for everything else I’ve read…. just ludicrous, and very wierd !!!