Kin no unko
{{Short description|Japanese cultural phenomenon}}
{{italics title}}
{{nihongo|Kin no unko|金のうんこ}} or "golden poo" is a Japanese cultural phenomenon. It is a symbol of good luck, as the name is a pun meaning "golden poo" and "good luck" in Japanese. By 2006, 2.7 million mobile phone charms in this form had been sold.{{sfn|George|2009}} The symbol, or something similar to it called unchi, appears as an emoji available on many mobile devices that support a Unicode expansion made in the summer of 2014. The charm is unusual outside of Japan but has been available from the English-language website ThinkGeek.
The flame ornament atop the Asahi Beer Hall in Tokyo is called Kin no unko for its similarity.{{sfn|Zatko|2014}}
In popular culture
- The video games The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017) and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023) contain an item known as Hestu's Gift, which resembles a Kin no unko.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/zelda-breath-of-the-wild-has-a-crappy-reward-for-f/1100-6448741/|title = Zelda: Breath of the Wild Has a Crappy Reward for Finding All 900 Korok Seeds}}
- Several skits of the golden poo appear in the animated American Dad series.
- The video game Cult of the Lamb released an update in which followers of your cult can create "golden poop" which provides money.{{cite web|last=Dedmon|first=Tanner|url=https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/cult-of-the-lamb-sins-of-the-flesh-sex-update-patch-notes/|title=Cult of the Lamb Releases Massive Sins of the Flesh Update|publisher=Comic Book|date=January 16, 2024|access-date=August 7, 2024}}
- The Tamagotchi franchise features several characters based on Kin no unko such as Lucky Unchi-kun from the Tamagotchi Angel (1997) virtual pet, a secret character that is notoriously difficult to raise and considered a symbol of luck like its inspiration.{{Cite web|url=https://fuckyeah-tamagotchi.tumblr.com/post/712070410263511040/|title = Angelgotchi Encyclopedia: Sabotenshi, Lucky unchi-kun, Deburitchi, Bat & Gaikotchi| newspaper=Tumblr }}
References
{{reflist|30em|refs=
{{Citation|title=Gold poop|author=Alice Gordenker|date=March 20, 2007|newspaper=Japan Times|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2007/03/20/reference/gold-poop/}}
{{citation|title=Smile, You're Speaking EMOJI: The rapid evolution of a wordless tongue|work=New York magazine|author=Adam Sternbergh|date=November 16, 2014|url=https://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/11/emojis-rapid-evolution.html}}
{{citation|title=Japanese Golden Poop Cellphone Charm|author=Brian Lam|work=Gizmodo|date=October 6, 2006|url=https://gizmodo.com/205693/japanese-golden-poop-cellphone-charm}}
{{citation|title=Award Your Own Golden Poo To That Special Company In Your Life|author=Laura Northrup |date=June 23, 2009|work=Consumerist|format=blog|publisher=Consumer Reports|url=https://consumerist.com/tag/lucky-golden-poo/}}
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Book sources
- {{Citation|title=The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters
|first=Rose|last=George|publisher=Macmillan|year=2009|page=25|isbn=9781429925488|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ebTmrbjhHOMC&pg=PT25}}
- {{citation|title=The Rough Guide to Tokyo|first=Martin |last=Zatko| year=2014| publisher=Penguin|page=69|isbn=9780241011621|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iI7WAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA69}}
External links
- {{Commons category inline|Kin no unko}}
Category:Japanese words and phrases
Category:Japanese popular culture
{{Japan-culture-stub}}