NIHONBASHI MEGURU FES

三井ガーデンホテルズのおもてなし判じ絵のれん

江戸時代に流行した絵解きなぞなぞ遊びの「判じ絵」風に、お客様へのおもてなしの気持ちを江戸の粋と洒落っ気で表現してみました。
熊「暖簾を新調したんだね」
滝「うちの娘のクリがよ、来年は五輪があるからって言うんでね」
熊「五輪ってのは、秋刀魚を焼くあれかい？」
滝「何を言ってるんだい、それは七輪だろ」
熊「で、この暖簾と五輪とは、何の因果があるんだい」
滝「これからはますます『お・も・て・な・し』（表梨）ってことよ」
熊「栗だ、秋刀魚だ、梨だって、秋の味覚満載だな。けどよ、そういう旨い話には裏があるんじゃねえのかい」
滝「そこの皿のところ、めくって見てくれよ」
熊「おぅ、裏は無しだ」
お後がよろしいようで。

Mitsui Garden Hotels ”OMOTENASHI” Noren

We endeavored to express the concept of omotenashi (a uniquely Japanese approach to hospitality) with the refined sophistication and wit of Edo (former name of Tokyo) in the style of a picture puzzle that was a popular form of entertainment in the Edo period.
Kuma: Is that a brand new noren?
Taki: Yes, my daughter Kuri (Chestnut) told me that the Olympics (represented by five rings) would be held in Tokyo next year.
Kuma: Five rings? Isn’t that a hibachi grill used to broil delicious pacific saury?
Taki: What!? No, that’s seven rings 'shichirin' (portable clay cooking stove).
Kuma: Ok, tell me, what is the relationship between this noren and the Olympics?
Taki: The spirit of hospitality will increasingly come into play. (In Japanese, the word for hospitality “omotenashi” can be phonetically reproduced using the kanji characters for “front” and “pear.”)
Kuma: Wow! Chestnuts, pacific saury, and pears, all foods packed with the delicious flavors of autumn, but, you know, there must be always a catch to every good thing.
Taki: Go through the noren and take a good look at the small plate in the back.
Kuma: Oh! There is nothing. There's no catch. (“Ura-wa-Nashi”, phonetically reproduced using the kanji characters for ”back” and ”nothing”, means no trickery behind this too-good-to-be-true story).

The end.