Secret Words at the Sushi Restaurant (Part 2) (Patreon)

Hey, All, ♪(๑ᴖ◡ᴖ๑)♪

I'm in the U.S. and my mind is blown. This place is wild. So much sensory overload, and it's all over the place, from friendly little chats with people I literally bump into while shopping to the super mean guy standing behind us who glared at me when I was having trouble paying for something. He didn't even succumb to my most dazzling smile. Yowch. What a hard life he must be leading.

It's Monday. I had been working on a post, so I wanted to put it up. We'll be traveling next Sunday, but I'm hoping to have one ready to go and schedule it before then.

Impressions: So much space! So much stuff! Wide open skies (Omaha, Nebraska) and all manner of people. It's like everyone you meet is some vibrant character from some fictional story.

Now for Secret Sushi Words Part 2.

This is a part two of curious words used in izakaya and restaurants around Japan. So we ended on five last time. Let's start with six.

6) I'll start with a yucky one to get it out of the way. This one isn't used by customers but by restaurant staff. It can also be used by regular people, too, though. Instead of saying the gross real word, to add a little decorum to your conversation, you can say the code word "G" when referring to a cockroach. Since they're gokuburi in Japanese, G it is.

But many people already know what G means, so if they hear a waitstaff say, "There's a G near table five. Take care of it" they'll understand exactly what is being said and understandable freak out. Because of that, the names "Taro-san" or "Hanako-san" are used instead in some places, with Taro-san being a bigger insect that Hanako-san.

Taro-san and Hanako-san are also the two typical names used everywhere, especially the examples to follow when filling out forms. Taro Yamato or Hanako Yamato (Yamato meaning the Japanese race). Jane Doe or John Doe would be equivalents in English.

7) Shari (舎利). This one was new to me and quite fascinating. The shari is the vinegared rice part of your sushi. Shari is also a Buddhist term (Sanskrit: śarīra) that refers to what is left after a cremation. In this case, it means the fragments of the Buddha's bones. You see, in the late 5th centuries some tiny bits of sacred Buddha bones were brought from India along with the teachings and enshrined in several temples across Japan. A very observant person noticed the little shards looked like grains of rice.

I found this comparison.

Indeed they do!

So it goes to reason that shari would come to mean the rice portion of your sushi.

8) If the bottom is the shari the top is the "tane" or "neta". The original being tane which means seed. This is the fish or egg or cucumber or whatever you have on top of your rice. Why seed, not exactly sure. But you'll often hear words flipped in Japanese or said backwards and this is one that was used that way. Neta being tane said backwards. Now both tane and neta means the top part of your sushi.

9) Namida. Tears! Why, of course, this refers to wasabi. 😭 Can I have some namida?

10) And last, oaisō (お愛想). I knew about this one and how to use it, but the history of it kind of blew my mind.

Oaisō is your check. But interestingly, it's a humble word and has the connotations of "so sorry the service wasn't good, but could you please pay your bill".

Let me explain.

Evidently, it comes from the phrase "Kare ni wa aisō ga tsukiru," or "I've run out of love and affection for him." This sentence was used by courtesans who fell out of love with a once favorite customer.

Now, here's how it has come to mean a very polite way for the wait staff to talk about your bill.

Back in the Edo Era there was something called "tsuke", which basically means, "put it on my tab". Customers did this as a way of promising they'd be back because they really liked the restaurant. The owner trusted the person to return and pay the bill. So you'd come, you'd pay last night's bill, eat, put that on your tab, then return the next day to do the same thing all over again.

IF, however, a long time customer paid off the entire bill and those old ones, too, it meant they were unhappy and would not be returning. This was expressed the same as the above, losing love or affection for someone, in this case the restaurant.

Over the years, of course, people just started paying their bills on time.

However, this phrasing continued. When giving the check to the customer at the end of the night, the server started saying: "Oaisō tsukikashina koto de mōshiwake arimasen. Okanjo wo onegaishimasu."

Which basically means, "I'm sorry I was so unkind as to lose your service (love, affection), but please pay the bill."

Isn't that wonderful? So dramatic. Again, over time it's been shortened to oaisō, which just means affection or love or "the bill".

Another interesting point is that while you the customer will ask for your bill ("Kanjo kudasasi"), the wait staff will bring it and call it your "oaisō".

That said, you'll very often hear in Japan, the customer also call out for "Oaisō!", which technically is wrong. It would mean if you're looking at the original usage, "I'm cutting relations with this restaurant because I not longer love it."

But I don't think many people know the history of the phrase and use it anyway. It's a really nice sounding word, aisō meaning love or affection so these days you'll hear customers call out, "Oaisō!" all the time. Even though they should be just saying "check please!" ... "Kanjo kudasai".

Okay, stay safe and well everyone, XOXO,

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