Assignment on Existence of Omotenashi

Running head: OMOTENASHI
Omotenashi
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

1OMOTENASHI
Introduction
The term Omotenashi has recently come into the international media and is being
repeatedly highlighted in the news. It is due to the 2020 Olympic that is to be held in Japan.
Literal translation of the Japanese term Omotenashi means “hospitality” or “service” that is
integrated with the Japanese culture in their everyday life. One can tell the high level of customer
service the Japanese provide in every sector if they have visited the country. It far exceeds the
expectation of the foreigners that can never be found elsewhere. The presence of Omotenashi is
evidenced from the early days or Japanese culture that will be discussed in the following.
Moreover, there are certain characteristics that Omotenashi carries, which is also discussed in the
essay.
Origin of Omotenashi
Evidence of Omotenashi is present in their culture since the early history of the country
and they have emphasized it. It is believed that the concept of Omotenashi has originated from
cha-no-yu, which is their tea ceremony. This tea ceremony exists in Japanese culture since 16th
century and was established by Sen-no-Rikyu (Sato & Parry, 2015). Japanese tea ceremony is
indeed popular and known around the globe. The host of the tea ceremony is expected entertain
his or her guests and expect nothing in return. Guests on the other hand are expected appreciate
the warmhearted nature of the host and reflect their gratitude toward the host (Fuji-
academy.co.jp., 2017). It is believed that this reflects optimum purity in communication or
referred as spiritual communication and much different from the pragmatic practice seen in daily
life. This is indeed a spiritual aspect of Japanese culture, which is not visible or tangible.
Concept of Omotenashi does not restrict the Japanese to provide good and efficient service to
their guests, but asks the service provider to put their heart and soul into the service. The

2OMOTENASHI
Japanese take special training and devotion of the individual for fully understanding the process
of service deliverance with a true heart. This is what makes the Japanese service or Omotenashi
different form services provided by other cultures. Moreover, this concept is not limited to
special occasions or ceremonies, but is seen everywhere in daily life. It is involved in every
aspect of Japanese society starting from industry to private lives (Al-alsheikh, 2014).
The existence of Omotenashi is no consequence in Japanese culture, as the Japanese are
known to be specialized for doing things. “Kata” is another Japanese word often related with
Omotenashi that means rules to be followed. It is integrated in almost everything in Japanese
culture. They have a set of rules for doing almost anything and their life is bound by the rules.
The reappearance of Omotenashi and Kata in Japanese culture became visible to the
outsiders after 1950s when the country took back their control in their hand. Prior to that, the
Japanese products were believed to be poor in quality as the foreign importers only focused on
the quick profit. Japanese then reestablished their traditional kata and omotenashi for providing
optimum quality in any field.
Another believe prevails that the Omotenashi has originated from the late Heian period
and the early Kamakura period when emergent warrior class of Japanese society started using
renga as a tool for discriminating between friends and foes as well as for confirming the
solidarity. They started using it as an efficient tool for building human relationships in the
unquiet times. According to Aishima and Sato (2015), this can be a possible origin of
Omotenashi in the Japanese culture.
Characteristics of Omotenashi