TSURUOKA, Yamagata Prefecture—Mako Shibuya’s candid discussions about sex, defecation and other “taboo” subjects concerning disabled people have caused a positive stir on her YouTube channel.

“As for feces, it comes before or around noon every day, so I put on a rubber glove, apply Vaseline to it and stick my finger in,” Shibuya explains in a video, using gestures to describe her daily routine.

She also shares her episodes of fecal incontinence, saying: “It’s so annoying that I wish I could regain the sense of defecation, even if only slightly, rather than being able to walk again.”

The video, posted online in September last year, received 3.3 million views and more than 1,000 comments, most of them favorable.

“I was moved to tears by your courage,” one viewer said.
Another added, “I now understand well about the defecatory disorder.”

FALL THAT CHANGED LIFE

Shibuya, 28, has been using a wheelchair since she suffered a spinal injury from a fall in summer 2018.

She had quit her company job to take over her father’s business of repairing thatched roofs. When she climbed on the roof of a private house to get used to heights, she lost her balance and fell 3 meters into a carp pond, hitting her waist hard.

She was rushed to a hospital and immediately underwent surgery. However, a thoracic vertebral fracture paralyzed the lower part of her body.

Before the accident, Shibuya liked wearing tight clothes and high-heeled shoes, but she had to give up such styles. She felt depressed for a while, and then decided to enjoy fashion in a different way.

As for her positive attitude, Shibuya said with a smile: “I think it’s because I keenly feel how precious it is to spend time with my father whom I respect.”

Her father has maintained many traditional thatched-roof houses in the area. But his strength has clearly declined in recent years.

“My father used to be able to lift a big log by himself, but it has become increasingly difficult,” Shibuya said. “As I see him like this, I don’t want to waste time being sad or troubled. I started feeling that I couldn’t be fixated on not being able to walk.”

STRUCK BY LACK OF INFORMATION

Shibuya searched the internet to better understand her own disorder, particularly about excretion, menstruation, sex, traveling abroad, and whether she could have babies.

She was shocked to find how little information was available.
According to the Japan Spinal Cord Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Tokyo, an estimated 5,000 people suffer from spinal injuries each year in Japan.

“And yet there is so little information,” Shibuya said. “I’m sure there are more people who need help like me. I think it means something if I share information even though I am just one case.”

Shibuya started a blog to talk about her treatment and her feelings about it, using memos and photos she had saved in her smartphone while she was hospitalized.

In August 2019, she switched to posting videos on YouTube to show how she moves during rehabilitation sessions and on other occasions in a more easy-to-understand manner.

As a YouTuber, she calls herself “Maco the modern-day Princess Mononoke,” alluding to her younger days when she ran around in fields.

Shibuya does not hold back in her video posts when she presents the real life experiences of those who suffered spinal injuries.

Topics have ranged from driving a car, taking a bath and other daily actions to traveling abroad and trying sit-skiing.

“I HAVE SEXUAL DESIRES”

Shibuya soon started talking about menstruation and sex.

In October 2019, she posted a video in which she and a female guest discussed sex. At the time, Shibuya hadn’t had sex as a disabled person, so she listened to what the fellow wheelchair user said about her own experience.

Two months later, Shibuya had sex.

“I definitely don’t feel anything below the waist, but we both were so happy and found it fulfilling,” Shibuya said. “At any rate, I was worried about whether I could have sex or not, and when I finally did, I was so happy.”

Talking about disabled people having sex may be regarded as a taboo subject. But Shibuya wants to question why such feelings are widespread in society.

“Even though we use wheelchairs, we are the same human beings. We also want to be happy,” Shibuya said. “I am paralyzed from the waist down, but my mind remains the same as before, and I also have sexual desires and want to have sex when I fall in love with someone. I just want everybody to know that.”

Shibuya plans to post a video soon to talk about her own sexual experience.

Many people have been encouraged by Shibuya’s candid sharing of information.

One inspired viewer is a man who works for Human Fukushikai, a welfare organization based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, that operates sheltered workshops for people who have become disabled later in life.

He has been using a wheelchair since a spinal cord infarction left him paralyzed from the waist down five years ago.

“It was difficult to find information about the disorder and how my life would likely change,” the man said. “I had no choice but to meet others in similar situations and ask questions in person. I feel grateful for someone like her (Shibuya) to actively spread information over the internet.”

According to Chiho Sato, a physical therapist in charge of Shibuya’s rehabilitation program at the Tsuruoka Kyoritsu Hospital in Yamagata Prefecture, other patients are inspired by the YouTuber’s positive attitude.

“She often gives us medical workers information that is helpful in dealing with patients,” Sato said.

Shibuya's YouTube channel has more than 50,000 subscribers.