History is filled with curious anecdotes, and one of the strangest comes from Japan’s Edo period (1603–1868). According to popular accounts, wealthy women of the time allegedly employed special female attendants known as “heoibikuni” (屁負い比丘尼) – literally meaning “nun who bears the fart.” Their supposed duty? To shoulder the embarrassment if their mistress accidentally passed gas in public.

The Edo era was a time when rigid codes of etiquette shaped daily life, particularly among the upper classes. Maintaining grace and composure was essential for women of status, and even the smallest breach of manners could cause humiliation. Within this context, the story of the heoibikuni fits into the broader culture of honor, shame, and the lengths to which elites might go to protect their image.

Modern references to this peculiar “profession” appear in dictionaries of Japanese expressions and in contemporary articles that explore quirky historical trivia. However, scholars note that there is no strong historical evidence that such servants were widely employed. The tale likely survives more as folklore, a humorous exaggeration of the extreme social pressures faced by women in a society that prized dignity above all else.

Whether or not the heoibikuni truly existed, the story resonates because it illustrates a timeless truth: human beings have always gone to great lengths to save face, sometimes in ways that seem bizarre to us today. Like many curious anecdotes from history, it reminds us that behind the rigid formality of past eras were real people grappling with the same small embarrassments we face now—only with far fewer options to laugh them off.