The history of 'Gochisosama'

Good morning everyone,

I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the nice weather will continue for a few more days-till Saturday it looks like. On Saturday the clouds will roll in and then it's looking more and more like we can expect some rain on Sunday. The cloudy weather will continue on Monday and then it should clear up and be sunny again from Tuesday. Saturday and Sunday are looking cool-with highs both days around 22C but the rest of the week is looking much warmer with highs around 26C or 27C.

We say 'gochisosama' after every meal in Japan, but do you know where the word comes from? 

Did you know that 'gochisosama' (ごちそうさま) is connected to running around on a horse. But I'm getting ahead of myself...
gochisosama

When Japanese people finish eating, they say, 'gochisosama'. If they want to be a bit more formal, they say 'Gochisosama deshita'.
The word gochiso these days refers to a feast, luxurious food or a good meal. It´s a way to show appreciation for both the food and the people who were involved in the preparation of it (or the paying of it). In other countries, it´d be, Thank you for the meal” or “That was delicious!". Like saying Itadakimasu before they eat, Japanese people are strictly taught to say, Gochisosama after eating from a young age.
 

But what is the origin of this word? Gochisomam can be written in Kanji, ご馳走さま. 馳走 (chiso) means running around or to make every effort. In ancient times, people would hop on a horse and run around to collect food for the guests. And like most words, the meaning grew to mean anyone who would run all over the town to prepare the meal for their guests, and eventually the word chiso began to include the meaning of invite people to eat.

  
 These people must be preparing a big meal!
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In the late Edo period (江戸時代/ 1603-1868), the words Go (御) and Sama (様) were added to show politeness and Japanese people began to use Gochisosama at the end of the meal.
 
 
Now...if I had a meal like this, I'd definitely say 'Gochisosama'!
gochiso
 
A lot of work and effort goes into everything we eat. It's unlikely that you get such a feast every day, but each and every plate in front of you are gochiso in a sense that someone made an effort to grow the food or prepare the dish and added love to it. 

Maybe if we all thought about that, we would show more appreciation for the meal in front of us and we wouldn´t be able to throw the food away so easily. We should say, Gochisosama to thank everyone involved in preparing our meals for us!  
 

Or, if you are like me and my friends, when you are out for dinner, the last person to say 'Gochisosama deshita' has to pay for the meal. In that case, you really appreciate it! Everything tastes better when someone else is paying for it! Ha ha!

Have a great day!

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