Photo/Illutration Elementary school children wash their hands at a temporary installed hand wash facility of the schoolyard in Aichi Prefecture in May 2020. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

This winter, youngsters at a kindergarten in Sapporo are cheerfully reciting this magic spell in unison: "Onegai kame-san oyama ookami baiku tsukamaeta!"

This translates literally as "Please, Mr. Tortoise, mountain, wolf, caught a bike!"

It's utter gibberish to adults. But this chant actually serves as a step-by-step instruction on proper handwashing for infection prevention.

At "Please," you join your palms as if in prayer and rub them together vigorously. Then, wash the back of each hand, imagining it's the shell of a tortoise. The "mountain" means the spaces between your fingers, the "wolf" refers to the fingernails, and the "bike" denotes the shape of your hand when washing your thumbs.

Finally, you give your wrists a good scrub as you shout, "caught!"

Based on a TV commercial jingle produced by Kao Corp., the chant has been introduced to kindergartens and nursery schools by Asae Oura, 46, a public health expert and lecturer at Sapporo Medical University.

Oura started specializing in handwashing education three years ago, but this year has brought her far more requests for lectures than before, she said.

"In Hokkaido where the air and tap water are cold, even adults tend to be sloppy with handwashing," Oura noted.

She wanted children to acquire a good handwashing habit first, in the hope that their parents and grandparents will eventually pick it up and practice it, too.

She let me watch a video quiz she and her colleagues produced for that purpose.

Shown on a big screen at Sapporo Dome during a pro baseball game, the video asked many youngsters true or false questions about handwashing.

One question went: "Running water alone is good for washing your hands. True or false?" (The answer was true.)

There were also hard-to-answer questions, which reminded me that handwashing isn't as simple as it seems.

According to Chinese authorities, the first case of novel coronavirus infection was confirmed on Dec. 8, exactly one year ago.

Perhaps this year could be called "Year One of Handwashing" for the global population of some 7.5 billion people.

Incidentally, my handwashing routine doesn't come even close to the thoroughness with which kindergarten kids perform their ritual. I failed the test.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Dec. 8

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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