Originally developed in nursing homes, it was used for giving sponge baths to invalids, the U-shaped hole allowing nurses to scrub patients’ nether regions. However, it was swiftly adopted by Japan’s soaplands – sex parlors where women soap down their bodies and rub themselves all over the customer, “washing” them – and employed for rather less wholesome purposes. At these establishments, the customer sits on a sukebe isu just like a regular bath stool, but the hole enables the soap girl to “access all areas” as she lathers him down. It is generally only for washing, and using one for sex would probably be quite dangerous.
