????日本是一個(gè)喜歡小玩意兒的國(guó)家，利用科技來(lái)創(chuàng)造一種現(xiàn)代感十足的如廁體驗(yàn)是一件非常自然的事情,。這種技術(shù)最初是馬桶座圈的初級(jí)加熱,。之后,，日本的衛(wèi)浴公司便一直在坐便器上增添各種功能，最終在衛(wèi)洗麗上達(dá)到了頂峰,。一些特殊型號(hào)的坐便器甚至?xí)治鋈藗兊哪蛞?，測(cè)量血壓，還能通過(guò)內(nèi)置調(diào)制解調(diào)器將統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)發(fā)送給用戶的醫(yī)生,。最新型號(hào)甚至可以通過(guò)智能手機(jī)控制,。

????目前,，基礎(chǔ)款衛(wèi)洗麗正在努力將先進(jìn)科技帶入家庭最后的防線——洗手間,。雖然東陶進(jìn)行了狂轟濫炸式的宣傳，但這家公司在美國(guó)的銷(xiāo)量一直不溫不火,。史蒂夫?舍爾是舊金山一家生產(chǎn)智能坐便器的初創(chuàng)公司Brondell的總裁,，他表示這在目前只是一個(gè)小眾市場(chǎng)，僅占美國(guó)馬桶總銷(xiāo)量的1%,。但情況正在逐漸好轉(zhuǎn),。他說(shuō)：“雖然我們有五六年一直銷(xiāo)量平平，但過(guò)去四年,，Brondell和這一類(lèi)產(chǎn)品銷(xiāo)量總體上呈現(xiàn)出增長(zhǎng)趨勢(shì),，我們預(yù)計(jì)這個(gè)趨勢(shì)仍將繼續(xù)?！?/p>

????《廚房與浴室設(shè)計(jì)新聞》（Kitchen & Bath Design News）編輯珍妮絲?科斯特認(rèn)為,，最近經(jīng)濟(jì)情況好轉(zhuǎn)，對(duì)于衛(wèi)洗麗及其同類(lèi)產(chǎn)品而言是好消息,，高端市場(chǎng)或許會(huì)開(kāi)始增長(zhǎng),。她說(shuō)：“科技正在逐漸走進(jìn)人們的浴室，從可編程的淋浴設(shè)備,，到支持藍(lán)牙的淋浴噴頭,，再到高科技坐便器。消費(fèi)者對(duì)于高科技衛(wèi)浴產(chǎn)品有濃厚的興趣,，尤其是具有節(jié)水功能和豪華特性（如可加熱的座圈）的產(chǎn)品增長(zhǎng)最快,。”

????與此同時(shí),，日本的衛(wèi)浴設(shè)備公司仍在繼續(xù)爭(zhēng)搶外國(guó)品牌——來(lái)自東京的驪?。↙ixil）近期收購(gòu)了美標(biāo)公司（American Standard），通過(guò)以41億美元收購(gòu)德國(guó)衛(wèi)浴設(shè)備制造商高儀集團(tuán)（Grohe Group）,，成功打入了歐洲市場(chǎng)——而且,，它還將加大對(duì)高科技坐便器的宣傳。

????東陶認(rèn)為,，美國(guó)老百姓與之前的日本人一樣,，會(huì)逐步選擇新設(shè)備,。上世紀(jì)80年代，這家公司花了10年時(shí)間才讓日本人相信他們需要電動(dòng)坐便器,。驪住也看好自己在美國(guó)的前景,。

????驪住美國(guó)總裁保羅?伯格哈特說(shuō)：“這只是時(shí)間問(wèn)題，越來(lái)越多的美國(guó)人會(huì)體會(huì)到使用高科技馬桶所帶來(lái)的舒適和潔凈,，日本人愛(ài)上高科技馬桶已經(jīng)有50年時(shí)間,。”

????或許伯格哈特說(shuō)的對(duì),。你可能會(huì)回憶起《辛普森一家》（The Simpsons ）中的一個(gè)場(chǎng)景：霍默遇到了一個(gè)日式坐便器,，上面寫(xiě)道：“歡迎光臨。很榮幸接收您的便便,?！币D(zhuǎn)變美國(guó)普通民眾接受這種新的便利，或許要從它的第一次沖洗開(kāi)始,。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：劉進(jìn)龍/汪皓??

????In this gadget-loving country, it seems only natural to the Japanese that technology should be harnessed to create a truly modern lavatorial experience. It all started with an elementary warming of the toilet seat. Since then, Japanese plumbing companies have been loading whistle-and-bell features onto their toilets over the years, and it has reached its zenith in the washlet. Some special-issue toilets even analyze your urine, take your blood pressure, and send the statistics to your doctor via a built-in modem. The latest models can be controlled via smartphone.

????The basic washlet is now at the heart of a fierce battle to bring advanced technology to the final frontier of the home -- the bathroom. But, despite Toto's bombastics, sales are still modest in the U.S. Steve Scheer, president of Brondell, a San Francisco startup that manufactures smart loos, says it's very much a niche market at present, accounting for only 1% of total toilet sales in the U.S. But things are looking up. "While we had about 5-6 years of very flat sales, the last four years have shown substantial growth for Brondell and the product category overall and we expect this trend to continue," he says.

????Janice Costa, editor of Kitchen & Bath Design News, argues that the recent economic upturn has been good for the washlet and its kin, and that the market may be growing at the very high end. "Technology is increasingly gaining a foothold in the bathroom and we're seeing it in everything from programmable showers with blue-tooth-enabled shower heads to high-tech toilets," she says. "There is more interest in high-tech bath products overall, with the greatest growth in water conservation and luxury features (i.e. heated seats)."

????Meanwhile, Japanese bathroom fixture companies continue to snap up foreign brands -- Tokyo-based Lixil bought out American Standard recently, and is establishing itself in Europe with the purchase of German bathroom-fittings maker Grohe Group for about $4.1 billion -- and promotion of its techno-toilets will be ramped up.

????Toto believes the American public, just like the Japanese before them, will adjust gradually to the new fixtures. It took 10 hard years to convince Japanese they needed electro-commodes in the 1980s. Lixil is bullish about its U.S prospects.

????"It is just a matter of time before more Americans experience the comfort and hygiene associated with using the advanced technology bidet toilets that Japan has grown to love for nearly 50 years," says Paul Burghardt president of Lixil USA.

????Burghardt may be right. One might recall an episode of The Simpsons where Homer encounters a Japanese toilet that announces: "Welcome. I am honored to accept your waste." Converting the nation's great unwashed to this new convenience may be well into its first flush already.