Japan will often leave you scratching your head. And one of the more disconcerting things we encountered on the streets of Tokyo were the people wearing white surgical masks. They are often referred to as “sickness masks”. And it gives off a zombie vibe. At first, we were like, WTF?
By my own informal count, about one in ten people don a mask whenever they go outside. And many wear them inside too. It was unclear whether this was a courtesy because they were ill, or because they didn’t want to catch the flu or a cold. I wasn’t convinced the masks would really offer very much protection, and as it turns out, scientific research has concluded they don’t.
But after a while, when you’ve been traveling around and seeing so many people sporting the white masks, you start to wonder, “Should I be wearing one too? Is there a plague afoot? Am I in danger?”
I am married to my lovely, sweet little Inna who I love to death, but I’m a fairly normal guy and I can’t help but appreciate a nice pair of legs on a pretty woman. But many of the well-dressed ladies in Japan wear masks, so I found myself always wondering what they looked like underneath. (How’s that for a nice metaphor?) Did they have some hideous wart they were hiding? Were they just trying to be mysterious? The temptation to remove a hottie’s mask was often quite strong. Inna told me to just chill.
I kept wanting to ask someone why so many folks felt compelled to wear a mask but I figured they would find the question both stupid and rude.
So, when I returned home, I did a little research. It wasn’t hard because there are hundreds of blogs like mine that have tried to unravel this mystery. Apparently, most visitors to Japan were as perplexed by the masks as I was.
After visiting like a zillion shrines I was well familiar with the fact that the Japanese have a rich tradition of spirit masks rooted in their Shinto beliefs, but this was clearly something way different.
It turns out the surgical mask phenomenon began many years ago with the 1918 Flu Pandemic that killed more that thirty million people in Japan. Over the years, there have been viral outbreaks like SARS in 2002, the Bird Flu Panic in 2006, and the Flu Pandemic in 2009, and with each outbreak more and more people started wearing the mask as a simple and inexpensive preventative measure. These days, the surgical mask business is a multi-million dollar industry.
So, people in Japan wear masks essentially for health reasons.
- They are sick and don’t want to give their cold or flu to anyone else. (This is so typical of the Japanese imperative to be considerate of others.)
- They don’t want to catch someone’s illness.
- They have allergies and it helps to block the airborne pollen.
- They want to avoid breathing in pollutants.
Okay, that makes sense in a country with so many people packed into such densely populated cities. I mean, even if it doesn’t work, it can’t hurt, right?
But then, it turns out there are other reasons that are a bit unsettling.
Studies have found that among many young Japanese, masks are a way of saying, “leave me alone.” You see lots of teenagers wearing ear buds and masks — particularly young women on trains and buses who are trying not to be harassed. The masks provide relative anonymity and allow shy people to avoid social interaction.
Even weirder, surgical masks are fast becoming a hip fashion statement. They now come in bright colors and are adorned with chic logos and funny images. Some even have fruity scents. So, naturally, the rich and famous are wearing them and it’s the cool thing to do.
Personally, I think the masks are dumb, sad, and borderline creepy.
And I’m still wondering what that lovely lady in the white cashmere sweater and purple scarf, standing in front of the Tokyo Train Station, really looked like.
