Comments on: Omotenashi in Product Design

By: Richard Rahn

Richard Rahn — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 15:18:13 +0000

Hello Christoph,
As you suggest in your conclusion, Omotenashi may sometimes be unintentionally too much and make the recipient feel uncomfortable (with the best of intentions, of course). I was staying at a temple in the town of Koyasan in the early 1980’s and was probably the only westerner there. I was helped by one of the young monks who spoke English. When he asked what I wanted for dinner, I requested “shojin ryori” thinking that it was standard temple food that I had read about. What I got was an amazing assortment of dishes that were culinary works of art, and obviously the result of a huge amount of work.
When I think about it, even after all these years, I feel bad about putting the temple kitchen staff through all of that effort. It must have been hours, in order to satisfy a foreign guest’s casual request. A polite “no” would actually have been better, and my correct request (now that I know better) should have been “whatever you are having”.

By: Christoph Roser

Christoph Roser — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 12:49:39 +0000

Hi Gowri, that is a very nice example. I have experienced that, too, in Japan.

By: Gowri Shankar G

Gowri Shankar G — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 11:53:54 +0000

Hi Christoph,
Thanks for this article! Been a regular reader for the last few years. Thanks again for the wonderful blog.
I want to share one incident from my former boss (FB) when he and some others were invited to Dr.Kano’s home for dinner. When he arrived, my FB left his footwear outside Dr.Kano’s home (per Japanese custom). But, when he and the other guests were about to leave(after dinner) and came out of the house, they noticed that the shoes were pointing away from the door!! This ensured that the visitor had to directly slip on the shoes rather than exit the house-> turn around -> wear the shoes -> turn around once more to leave the building! My FB thought that Dr.Kano and his wife had quietly rearranged while the guests were having dinner. Hope that was good info.
Best regards