The Japanese Tooth Fairy

All hail the Japanese Tooth Fairy!

It is fairly common knowledge in the UK that when you lose your teeth as a child, the Tooth Fairy comes along and replaces it with money. I was very happy with my 50p coins in the morning! I even remember once getting a shiny £2 coin, which made me jump in glee.

But what about Japan? Does the Tooth Fairy manage to fly all the way over to Asia too?

Apparently the tradition of the Tooth Fairy is not a thing in Japan. Frankly speaking, there is no fairy or other mystical creature that comes in search of milk teeth. How sad!

So, What Do The Japanese Do?

Well, apparently, if a tooth from your top row of teeth falls out, you are supposed to take it up to the highest floor of your house (usually the second floor or the rooftop, if you can make it up there) and throw it onto the ground.

Alternatively, if you have lost a tooth from the bottom row, you must stand on the ground and lob it onto the roof. Being tiny baby teeth, they usually just muddle into the background of stones and muck and stuff, so no one really notices them.

I only found out about this yesterday, so I will definitely be on the lookout for tiny teeth among stone-lined houses now!

So, Why Do They Do This?

Apparently, while lobbing their teeth in all directions, they do so while wishing for the healthy growth and development of their incoming adult teeth. The action of throwing their teeth is seen as a gesture of good luck to the budding nashers that come through.

Alternative Traditions

Throwing your bottom-row teeth towards the sun and burying your top-row teeth in the ground is an alternative tradition the Japanese uphold. I suppose if you only live in a one-floor house or a block of flats, this makes sense too.

Nowadays, Japanese mothers are becoming fonder of keeping the baby teeth as keepsakes or making decorative pendants out of them instead, though. How times change!

And there you have it, smeglets! I definitely learnt something new today, and I hope you did too. Maybe if we wish hard enough, the Japanese Tooth Fairy will spring to life!

I think we should all appreciate the Tooth Fairy a little more. Although lobbing teeth around sounds fun, getting money for your pain (and inability to eat crisps properly for the following couple of weeks) sounds much better to me.

Ciao for now!

Jade xxx

A Jade Abroad

A British Smeg on the Move

Does The Japanese Tooth Fairy Exist? What The Japanese Do When They Lose Their Baby Teeth