FOOD/DRINK/DINING
Oshibori and the Scarcity of Napkins in Japan
The custom of providing an oshibori to dining guests has been around for centuries. But the use of a standard napkin is practically nonexistent.
Oshibori is a wet hand towel that is often provided to guests in restaurants, bars, airplanes, and the bullet train (shinkansen) to cleanse their hands before a meal. Providing an oshibori before a meal is a simple gesture of hospitality and the type of oshibori provided is an indication of the level of service.
It is said that the use of oshibori began in the 1600s when tea houses and innkeepers presented a piece of cloth soaked in water to weary travelers who stopped by to rest and needed to wipe off the “travel dust”. The warmth and cleanliness of the cloth was a heartwarming gesture to travelers. The popularity of oshibori spread and has become an important component of customer service in modern Japan.
The traditional oshibori is a small cloth towel that has been dampened with water, wrung out, neatly rolled up, and placed on some kind of tray on the table. It may be offered cold in the summer months and hot in the winter, or just room temperature. The term oshibori comes from the Japanese verb “shiboru” meaning to “to wring”. In some regions of Japan, it may be referred to as otefuki; derived from the Japanese “te” (hand) and the verb “fuku” (to wipe).
For an establishment to prepare a hot oshibori, it can be moistened with hot water or placed in a hot cabi towel warmer to slowly steam to a suitable temperature. In the hot and humid summer, oshibori might be chilled in the refrigerator. The labor required to launder and prepare the cloth can be quite costly, so some companies have turned to machines to do the work for them. An oshibori machine will warm or cool a cotton towel before individually sealing it in a plastic bag, making it ready for distribution. Another alternative is for a hotel or restaurant to contract with a supplier that collects, launders, sterilizes, moistens, re-packs, and delivers the oshibori for use.
A restaurant with a more modest level of service (the majority) will simply provide the disposable kind. These are the most common and cost-effective for the restaurants. Rather than a cotton towel, a disposable oshibori is a moist non-woven cloth, paper, or synthetic material wrapped in plastic- similar to a wet-wipe or towelette in the U.S.
What about napkins?
Good question, because a visitor to Japan will quickly learn that paper napkins are scarce. That is because the Japanese generally don’t use napkins. The purpose of the oshibori is to cleanse the hands at the start or possibly wipe at the end, but it is not intended to be used as a napkin. If you’re lucky, you may find a chain restaurant that has a napkin dispenser with small, waxy-textured napkins.
Surprisingly, napkins are not used in the typical Japanese home either. People will sometimes use a tissue if the need arises, but napkins in the home are rare. There may be several reasons for this. Typical Japanese meals are not drippy or finger foods. Meals are prepared to be bite-sized and eaten with chopsticks, so there is no need for a knife or fingers. There isn’t much contact between food and fingers or food with the sides of the mouth.
Another factor may be that Japanese have been taught from an early age to carry a handkerchief with them for drying or cleaning their hands. In the last few decades, there has been a trend, especially for women, to carry a small towel. So a handkerchief or the towel (depending on the person) is always available if necessary. The sale of stylish handkerchiefs and small towels is big business.
It is a common sight for men to use a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from their foreheads in the steamy summers or for men/women to dry their hands after using the bathroom because - it shouldn’t be a surprise - there are no paper towels.
Sources: ohanatowels.com, yabai.com
