🔞 The Amazingly Versatile Sex Toy of Edo Japan

A lusty, lusty plant...

Note: Some of these images are explicit, so be warned.

If there is a god, it appears this holy being wants us to have fun. There’s a plant that seems to be specifically created for self love, and the Japanese used it to make the most creative line of sex toys ever: Higo zuiki.

Lusty plant

It’s called the giant elephant ear, a close relative of the taro. Its common Japanese name is hasu-imo (ハス芋, or “lotus yam”).

It looks like a normal plant, nothing weird about it, but don’t judge a leaf by its chlorophyll. It’s a nasty boy. When you soak the stalk of the giant elephant ear in water, it gets soft and slippery. That’s because it contains a divine chemical, a type of saponin.

Mix a saponin with water and it lathers up. You can actually use it as soap, but the Japanese saw a much better use for it: natural lubrication. Not only that, the chemical stimulates the sexual organs, especially the vagina, and also increases blood flow. It’s perfect.

Preparation

Turning the plant into a pleasure tool requires some preparation, but it’s worth it. The leaves are useless, it’s the stalks that we want. Here’s what they look like inside:

I’ve actually eaten giant elephant ear stalks before. They’re an ingredient in a common Vietnamese dish. I’ve never felt increased blood flow in my southern region though, but to be fair, I’ve never thought to pick the stalk from my soup and rub it on my crotch before. Mom from across the table would have choked and possibly died.

The Japanese did not cut the stalks crosswise. They peeled lengthwise, then let the strings dry into cords. The resulting dried stalks is called zuiki (ずいき or 随喜).

It’s more commonly called Higo zuiki (肥後ずいき or 肥後随喜) because the Hosokawa clan from Higo was famous for making them. The clan gave them as gifts to the Tokugawa shogunate and they became very popular, especially in the shogun’s harem.

An obscene poem

They say the word zuiki comes from a poem by famous Zen monk Musō Soseki:

いもの葉に置く白露のたまらぬはこれや随喜の涙なるらん
The morning dew that cannot stay upon the taro leaf, could it be tears of joy?

Zuiki (随喜) means “overwhelming joy.”

This poem seems beautiful at first, but if you look deeper you’ll find that it’s even more beautiful. Morning dew (白露) could be read as “white dew,” which brings to mind a certain white dew that emits from a man. Knowing this, the poem hits differently: the taro plant is so good you won’t be able to hold in your white dew, instead you’ll be shedding tears of joy. Lovely.

Usage

These dried zuiki cords can be tied into many different shapes. Now I took one look at some of the products you’ll see below, and trembled. These torture devices look like they would tear your insides. Good thing I’m into that.

Just kidding. Apparently, they are softer than they look. Before using, you must soak it in hot or cold water. Now I’m pretty open-minded, but who are these absolute degenerates soaking it in cold water?

A few minutes in water and the Higo zuiki should get softer, fuller, stretchier, and slippery. You can wrap it around your katana or plunge it inside your sheath. After 10 to 20 minutes, you should really start to feel the saponin molecules fellating your nerve endings.

Higo zuiki products

They come in many forms. Oh boy.

The string

The simplest toy is just a long cord for men. Unfortunately, I’ve only been to one Boy Scout meeting when my dad sent me in for a trial run, and now I regret not staying for the lesson on dick knots.

I have to hand it to the Japanese, they can achieve mastery in anything. I don’t think I can keep it hard for 30 minutes while fumbling with the knots. It looks cool if you do it right though. Bonus: it’s ribbed for her pleasure.

If you don’t have the digital dexterity or sanguineous control, you can buy it pre-tied in the proper shape.

Higo Japanese water iris (肥後花菖蒲)

You know those wool balls you toss in the dryer that bounce around to soften clothes? Same concept here. Three balls attached to the end of a string. Slip the balls in your vagina and roll them around to give yourself a unique sensation. When you’re done, pull it out with the string.

Kokeshi (こけし)

Kokeshi are Japanese wooden dolls, but these kokeshi are for adults only. They’re expertly tied to make it look like a traditional kokeshi. And to save you the embarrassment of explaining to the ER doctor how you accidentally sat on a doll and it got stuck, there’s a helpful ring at the bottom for pulling it out.

There are even really adorable ones (see the first image, aww…you just want to give her a nice, cozy home up in your cooch).

The neat thing about the kokeshi dildo is that it has attachments!

Higo iris (肥後菖蒲)

The name for this ring refers to a different iris from the three-ball toy before. The previous one was hanashōbu, which grows in wetlands. This iris is ayame, which grows on dry land. It’s just a ring you can put on your fingertip or attach it around your kokeshi dildo for some extra stimulation. All of the ring attachments here, you can wrap around the kokeshi.

Higo peony (肥後牡丹)

Two rings you can put on two fingertips, or put one ambitious finger in both holes.

Higo bellflower (肥後竜胆)

This can go on your fingertip or all the way down to the base of the finger, so you can insert the finger and the tongue part can act as a…tongue part. There’s also a smaller version of this called Higo camellia (肥後山茶花).

Higo small chrysanthemum (肥後小菊)

I know, it’s horrific, something you want to shove inside your worst enemy rather than your nice lady friend. But the spikes get softer with water, remember. They’re more like petals.

You can buy these today??

Yes, you can actually buy them today online for entirely way too much. They will probably only get more expensive as the market is small and there are not many people making them. Even worse, it’s recommended to dispose of the toy after one use, which makes it an expensive hobby. That’s somewhere around $80 per session.

For the poors, if you ignore that advice and reuse them (which you probably will), it’s best to wash with lukewarm water and dry them in the sun before the next use. Luckily, if a neighbor sees you sunning your collection, you can easily pretend they’re traditional Japanese dolls.