Oshibori

Oshibori presented on a small bamboo stand

Oshibori in JR express train, Japan

An oshibori (おしぼり or お絞り^[1]) or hot towel in English is a wet hand towel offered to customers in places such as restaurants or bars, and used to clean one's hands before eating. Oshibori has long been used in Japan. In "The Tale of Genji" era it was used for visitors, Edo period it was used in Hatago (旅籠), later used in many restaurants, Oshibori has been Hospitality Culture in Japan.^[2] It eventually spread to worldwide use. Cold oshibori are used in summer, and hot oshibori in winter. In Japan, October 29 has been observed as the day of Oshibori since 2004.^[3]

Derivation of word

The word oshibori comes from the Japanese word shiboru (絞る), meaning "to wring", with the honorific prefix o-, which is added to several types of nouns, including many nouns related to washing or food; onigiri/omusubi (お握り and お結び) "rice ball" follows the same pattern – see honorific prefix usage. In Japanese script, the word oshibori is normally written in hiragana (おしぼり), seldom using kanji (お絞り or 御絞り).

Oshibori are also known as o-tefuki; tefuki refers to ordinary handkerchiefs, and these derive from the Japanese te (手) (hand) and fuku (拭く), to wipe.

In mājan parlors, the words atsushibo and tsumeshibo, from the Japanese words atsui (熱い), hot, and tsumetai (冷たい), cold, are sometimes used to refer to hot and cold oshibori respectively.

Typical oshibori

Small hot towels are often distributed to airline business class passengers. Disposable towels seen here prior to preparation

A typical oshibori, made of cloth, is dampened with water and wrung. It is then placed on the dining table for customers to wipe their hands before or during the meal. The o-shibori is often rolled or folded and given to the customer on some kind of tray. Even if a tray is not used, it is usually rolled up into a long, thin shape, although this is not necessarily the case with o-shibori provided with, say, bentō lunch boxes.

Many establishments also give out towels made of non-woven cloth or paper, which are generally used once and then disposed of. Paper ones sometimes contain a sterilizing agent such as alcohol or stabilized chlorine dioxide. Paper o-shibori, unlike cloth o-shibori, can be folded and put into a very thin plastic wrapping, for inclusion with packaged products such as bentō lunch boxes in convenience stores.

Hot and cold oshibori

An oshibori can be moistened with hot water at an appropriate temperature or steam to make a hot oshibori, or placed damp into a refrigerator to make a cold oshibori suitable for use in summer. Restaurants usually use an electric appliance such as a heating cabinet or refrigerator for this.

Rented oshibori

As many establishments use oshibori in large quantities, they often do not prepare them in the store, but instead employ a rental service which launders them, rolls them into the typical cylindrical shape, and delivers them already damp. These rental service companies services frequently wrap each oshibori individually in a clear, lightweight plastic seal (polyethylene film), which can be easily broken and removed by the customer before using.

Oshibori dispenser

Now some beauty salons and dental clinics prefer to use a standalone oshibori dispenser, with which a freshly made towel is manufactured at the client's request. In this case, the towels are often made of a non-woven fiber.

Around the world

Oshibori is usually translated as "hot towel". Most airlines distribute hot towels to international first and business class passengers prior to the first meal on long haul flights. The heated towel used in barber's shops to moisturize the skin or beard and make it easier to shave can also be thought of as a type of oshibori.

See also

• Wet wipe

References

Sources

Much of this article was translated from the equivalent article in the Japanese Wikipedia, as retrieved on November 26, 2006.