Mariko Aoki phenomenon

The Mariko Aoki phenomenon (青木まりこ現象, Aoki Mariko genshō) is a Japanese expression referring to a sudden urge to defecate that is felt upon entering bookstores. The phenomenon is named after Mariko Aoki, a woman who described the effect in a magazine article published in 1985. According to Japanese social psychologist Shōzō Shibuya, the specific causes that trigger a defecation urge in bookstores are not yet clearly understood. 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.

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).

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 ("Book Magazine"). 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 toilet. The editors of the magazine received reports of other readers who had similar experiences, and named it the "Mariko Aoki phenomenon."

Hypotheses

Possible theories behind the phenomenon include the smell of paper or ink having a laxative effect, the association with reading on the toilet at home, and the posture of browsing making bowel movement easier. The evidence for these explanations, however, remains weak.