When Gizmodo asked our readers to help us understand why exactly it was Japanese love dolls were called ‘Dutch Wives,’ you beautiful, pervy people answered in spades. The short answer? ‘Dutch Wife’ describes a rattan bolster used in hot, humid countries to keep a sleeper’s limbs suspended away from their sticky sheets, “called thus because it was round, fat and just lay there.” More than likely it originates from outside of Japan, and is possibly even a term they picked up from the English. I’ve compiled some of the sources reference, though, and they make for interesting reading.
http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/fullservice-fan-service-015591.php
From groups.google.com – Thanks, Matt!
I don’t know what you exactly mean by love doll (since my dictionaries do not describe theword) though, I guess it sounds right to me. If you mean ‘love doll’ is a doll with which men PRACTICE sexual behavior, it IS ‘datch waifu’ in Japanese.
The origin of ‘datch waifu’ is, as far as I know, literally, ‘Dutch Wife’. I forgot the name of the source but I have this story;
When a Dutch man was stationed in a country (I forgot which) in Southeast Asia a long time ago, he found that it was so hot even at night that he could hardly sleep. One day in one way or another, he found that it felt cool and he could go into sleep when he hugged a bamboo pillow which was woven with thin strips of bamboo and was empty inside just as a bamboo trash box. He ordered his servants to make a larger one so that it could fit his large body. This big bamboo pillow became to be know as a Dutch Wife, and, somehow it became to refer to a sexy rubber doll in Japan.
If somebody out there knows the right origin of the words, please post it to correct my understanding and lots of misunderstanding of lots of Japanese people. Many Japanese do not know what ‘Dutch’ means, and we do not have any intention of making fun of Dutch people.
From UrbanDictionary.com – Thanks, Kevin!
dutch wife 1 vote
n. Blow-up doll. Orig.: Dutch people use body-length bolsters to sleep with…or so they claim.
Going home to visit the Dutch wife.
From an “email” – Thanks, Steve!
I don’t know this for a fact, but I’d bet money that the Japanese got “Dutch Wives” from the British. See, the xenophobic British have this habit of coming up with slang that insults the contries around them. In this case, “Dutch” means “fake,” or “false.” As in: “Dutch Courage” — alcohol “Dutch Treat” — no treat “Dutch Uncle” — not your uncle “Dutch Cure” — suicide (rarely used nowadays) And aside from those, “In Dutch” means to be pregnant.
Curse those damn Dutch and the country they come from, whichever one that is, I’m not really too clear on that.
This is Ed’s definition, who also sent along this link to Chris Kohler’s article about dakimakura, or love-pillows.
Dutch wife: An open frame constructed of cane, originally used in the Dutch East Indies and other hot countries to rest the limbs in bed; also a bolster used for the same purpose. Called thus because it was round, fat and just lay there.
Read – Getting in Bed With the Customer [Wired]
Read – Full-Service Fan Service [Gizmodo]
