During the 150 or so years of civil war, samurai tried to kill each other for land and glory while everyone else tried to stay out of their way. Then the Edo Period rolled around, peace was achieved, and the old rules went out the window together with a bunch of jobs. People looked for anything that allowed them to make a living, and in the process, some of them carved for themselves the strangest niches in Japan’s labor history. One of those jobs was “fart-claiming nun.” During the Edo Period, farting was a very gendered issue. While it was hilarious when a man did it, women were expected not to produce a single toot, squeak or rumble that people could hear. That proved difficult in autumn when all of Japan enjoyed roasted sweet potatoes, one of the most powerful flatulence fuels ever. If a young woman broke wind in front of a customer at her parents’ shop — or worse, in front of a prospective husband — the shame was apparently big enough to drive some to suicide. That’s why smart sweet potato-lovers employed the services of a heoibikuni. Translated to “the nun who takes responsibility for farts,” these were usually older women who were sometimes actual Buddhist nuns or just wore their clothing. On the surface, they were employed as handmaidens or ladies-in-waiting. Their real job, however, was to be by a young woman’s side and say, with their hands raised, “I did it” if anyone heard a “rear cheer” or smelled an ill wind. Apparently, the idea of blaming it on the dog hadn’t yet been invented. It didn’t matter if everyone knew who really farted. Feudal Japan operated on appearances, and as long as there was a party willing to take the blame, then everything was fine. As for the farting nuns, they were forgiven on account of their age.
