I was watching NHK one quiet morning when a news segment caught my attention. It reported that 日本では多くの男性が自宅トイレで座って用を足すそうです (Nihon dewa ōku no dansei ga jitaku toire de suwatte yō o tasu sō desu, in Japan, many men sit down to relieve themselves in their bathrooms at home). The term 用を足す (yō o tasu) is a polite way of saying “go to the toilet,” and the clip suggested 衛生 (eisei, hygiene) as the reason they were being encouraged to do so.

I looked around my own mixed-nationality household. うちの男性たちはみんな立ってしているようだ (Uchi no dansei-tachi wa minna tatte shite-iru yō da, In my home, all the men seem to stand when they use the bathroom). I suddenly wondered: Is the decision to 座って (suwatte, sit) or 立って (tatte, stand) personal or cultural?

I took to social media to ask what others thought, posting a question: 日本の家庭では男子に座って用を足すように言っているとか！みなさんの家庭ではどうなってますか？ (Nihon no katei dewa danshi ni suwatte-yō o tasu yōni itte-iru toka! Mina-san no katei dewa dō nattemasu ka?, I heard that in Japanese households, boys are told to sit when they relieve themselves! How is it in your home?).