An oshibori ( or ), or hot towel in English, is a wet hand towel offered to customers in places such as restaurants or bars, and used to clean one's hands before eating. Oshibori have long been part of hospitality culture in Japan: in the Tale of Genji era, it was used for visitors; during the Edo period it was used in hatago; later, it started to be used in many restaurants. It eventually spread to worldwide use. Cold oshibori are used in summer, and hot oshibori in winter. In Japan, October 29 has been observed as the day of oshibori since 2004. Etymology The word oshibori comes from the Japanese verb , meaning "to wring", with the honorific prefix o-. In Japanese script, the word oshibori is normally written in hiragana (), and seldom using kanji ( or ). Oshibori are also known as o-tefuki; tefuki refers to ordinary handkerchiefs, and these derive from the Japanese (hand) and , to wipe. In mah-jong parlors, the words atsushibo and tsumeshibo, from the Japanese adjectives , hot, and , cold, are sometimes used to refer to hot and cold oshibori respectively. Typical oshibori A typical oshibori, made of cloth, is dampened with water and wrung. It is then placed on the dining table for customers to wipe their hands before or during the meal. The oshibori is often rolled or folded and given to the customer on some kind of tray. Even if a tray is not used, it is usually rolled up into a long, thin shape, although this is not necessarily the case with oshibori provided with, say, bento lunch boxes. Many establishments also give out towels made of non-woven cloth or paper, which are generally used once and then disposed of. Paper ones sometimes contain a sterilizing agent such as alcohol or stabilized chlorine dioxide. Paper oshibori, as well as cloth oshibori, are often folded and sealed into a plastic wrapping for inclusion with packaged products such as bento lunch boxes in convenience stores, or to pass out at weddings, corporate events, or hospitality-related venues. Hot and cold oshibori An oshibori can be moistened with hot water at an appropriate temperature or steam to make a hot oshibori, or placed damp into a refrigerator to make a cold oshibori suitable for use in summer. Restaurants usually use an electric appliance such as a heating cabinet or refrigerator for