去別人家做客時借用衛生間，在里面answer the call of nature的時候，又擔心聲音太響，很尷尬？不用擔心，日本已經發明出完美的遮音工具“聲音裝飾家”，這種設備可以在你如廁的時候發出大森林的美妙聲音，不僅可以完全遮蓋掉你的小便聲，還能讓你感到放松。

Japan is known as the most polite nation on Earth, and that extreme politeness extends to all aspects of life, including bathroom etiquette. Many public toilets feature a wall-mounted device that, when pressed, creates a sound that masks that of urination. However, electronics company Roland has come up with an improved version that drowns out embarrassing bathroom noises completely.
日本號稱是全球最有禮貌的國家，這種極度的禮貌滲透到日本人生活的方方面面，如廁禮儀也不例外。日本許多公廁的墻上都有一種裝置，按下按鈕就可以發出一種聲音來掩蓋小便聲。電子樂器制造商羅蘭公司日前研發出了一種改良版馬桶，可以完全蓋過令人尷尬的如廁聲音。

Before the technology boom of the 1980s, toilet users would either flush the toilet or turn on a sink to mask the sounds they made when relieving themselves. However, as this was a needless waste of water, a more eco-friendly solution was sought, and thus the concept of the toilet sound generator was born. The most famous of the resulting devices, developed and manufactured by toilet brand Toto, is the Otohime (literal translation – “sound princess”). These devices resolved the water waste issue but only partially efficient in making people comfortable in the toilet, because the sound they generated didn’t do a perfect job of masking the embarassing noises. Luckily, a better solution is now available to them.
在20世紀80年代技術蓬勃發展之前，如廁的人會用沖馬桶的水聲或打開水龍頭來蓋過小便的聲音。然而，由于這種做法是無謂的浪費水資源，人們開始尋找更為環保的方法，于是廁所發聲器應運而生。最著名的廁所發聲器名為“音姬”（直譯是“聲音公主”），由馬桶品牌Toto研發和生產。這種設備解決了浪費水的問題，但也只是稍微讓人在廁所里感到舒服一些，因為這種發聲器產生的聲音并不能完美地掩蓋令人尷尬的聲音。幸運的是，現在已經有了更好的解決方案。

Japanese homeware brand Lixil has partnered with instrument maker Roland to address the sensitive issue of bathroom noises. They’ve created a new device called the “Sound Decorator”, which, unlike current solutions that only try to mask noises by emitting another sound, generates a pattern that makes the original sound less audible altogether. They achieved this by engineering a sound with a similar but stronger wavelength to that of urination, and, through what is known as the “auditory masking” effect, they were able to neutralize the weaker wavelengths and thus cancel out the unwanted noise.
日本家居用品品牌驪住集團和樂器制造商羅蘭公司合作，共同解決如廁聲音的敏感問題。他們聯手研發了一款名為“聲音裝飾家”的新設備，與目前的通過發出另一個聲音來掩蓋如廁聲音不同，這種設備發出的聲音會讓如廁聲音幾乎聽不見。他們通過編輯出一種和小便聲音波長相近但更強的聲音，利用“聽覺掩蓋”效應，就能削弱波長較弱的小便聲，從而消除不想要的聲音。

When the device is activated, it evokes a serene forest, with a babbling brook and the chirping of songbirds. As Lixil’s press release says, “We brought the equipment up to the mountains and recorded many samples such as wild bird’s chirping. You can taste relaxation with the sound that makes the image of the forest.”
當設備被激活時，就會發出寧靜的森林之聲，包括小溪的潺潺流水聲和黃鶯的啁啾聲。如驪住集團的新聞稿所寫的：“我們將設備帶到高山上，錄下了很多音頻樣本，比如野鳥的叫聲。這種聲音可以讓你感到放松，讓你的腦中呈現出森林的畫面。”

Lixil began selling their “Sound Decorator” systems from February 1st, but the devices are only available in Japan. There are two versions available, one that is activated by a motion sensor when the user waves their hand close to the panel, and the other which automatically generates the sound when someone approaches the toilet.
驪住集團從2月1日開始出售“聲音裝飾家”系統，但是這種設備只在日本有售。目前有兩種版本，一種是通過用戶在控制面板附近揮手，觸發運動傳感器來激活，另一種是在用戶接近馬桶時自動發出聲音。

The hand operated version costs 21,800 Yen, and the automatic version costs 32,800 Yen.
手動版價格為21800日元（合1248元人民幣），自動版價格為32800日元（合1877元人民幣）

There is no word yet on whether the technology will expand to include the infinitely more embarrassing noises produced by gas and defecation.
該技術的覆蓋范圍是否會進一步擴展，來掩蓋放屁和排便這些更尷尬的聲音，目前還沒有相關消息。

日本人為了能夠優雅而舒適地上廁所可謂是用心良苦。不信，就來看看日本衛生間內各種令人嘆為觀止的設計和發明吧。

智能馬桶蓋：馬桶蓋永遠溫暖如春，便后自動用溫水沖洗馬桶蓋，洗完還會用熱風吹干。當然還可以溫水沖洗PP，洗完可以暖風吹干

馬桶水箱上的洗手池：馬桶水箱的上面設計成洗手池，洗手水直接沖馬桶，衛生又環保

智能浴缸：可自動放水、保溫、調溫，甚至可以通話

換衣臺：要使用時可以放下，站在這個板子上換衣服，不容易弄臟襪子和衣服

浴室防霧鏡：日本的浴室鏡都是防霧鏡，所以浴室鏡從來不會被霧氣所困擾

電熱毛巾架：日本洗手間的必備神器，這樣每次擦手都能用到又干又熱的毛巾

拉伸式水龍頭：這種水龍頭可隨意拉出來使用，非常方便

智能坐式淋浴：可以讓老年人也輕松淋浴，噴頭多方位對準身體，“手臂”可根據個人高度調節

洗臉盆能給寶寶洗澡：日本很多衛浴品牌的洗手盆設計的都偏大，而且底部扁平，這樣就是為了方便媽媽們給寶寶洗澡。

整體浴室地板：地板無縫對接，用海綿擦一擦就干凈了，而且地板和浴缸采用的是相同的一套保溫系統，能夠調節溫度，踩上去非常舒服。

潛水艇式隱形地漏：清理起來很方便，永遠不用擔心頭發、臟物堵住下水道。隱形地漏上面是與地面一樣的蓋板，美觀又易打理。

另外，日本專門成立了“廁所協會”，還把11月10日定為全國的廁所節，每年這一天，日本都要舉行各種各樣宣傳“廁所文化”的活動。（資料來源：筑客網、搜狐網）

怎么樣，是不是服了呢？

英文來源：Odditycentral
翻譯&編輯：丹妮