– R.Nouchi –
The following thoughts on “Oss” and “Osu” are based on my early upbringing in Tokyo Japan, personal experiences, and opinions from other sources. The seemingly simple expression and word are really very complex. Although we will explore many ideas, I will conclude at the end that, as a member of Shotokan Karate-Do International (SKIF), I must follow our founder Soke Kanazawa’s interpretation and reasoning regarding “Oss” and “Osu”.
It is said that in the 20th century Imperial Japanese Navy, the young officers greeted each other with the expression, “Oss”. This I believe came from the shortened version of Ohayou Gozaimasu (Good Morning), or Onegaishimasu (difficult to translate this but roughly, I am under your care, please assist). Perhaps, Ohayou Gozaimasu became Ohayo-su…Oha-su…Oss, similarly with Onegaishimasu. You will commonly hear versions of this greeting in Japan. “Oss” is a very informal, macho, and not so polite expression used among male athletes, usually equal in status. Women, to some extent, may use this expression in certain circles. I understand some Japanese baseball players greet each other this way…Oss! A Sumo wrestler was heard saying this to his comrade on TV, just the other night.
Similarly, in the American military command of “Attention”, often is said as “Atten-Hut”. Some words or commands tend to be more from the abdomen, making the sounds more shortened and commanding. I was recently informed that the U.S. Marines will answer as “Huah” similar to “Oss” when greeted good morning…”Huah”, are you okay…”Huah”, do you understand…”Huah”, etc. This I’m told is a more recent phenomenon.
In the early sixties, I remember watching movies staring a young male actor and singer, Kayama Yuzo and his young gang of college students commonly saying “Oss” to greet each other. It was a “cool” and macho way of greeting each other, similar to “Yoh” or “Howzit”. I believed then, that it didn’t have any deep meaning; it was an expression, simply a casual greeting used by college age kids.
“Osu”, on the other hand is a word. There are several “Osu” words, pronounced the same way with the “SU” sound. These words may mean push, male animal, or even vinegar. These “Osu” words have different characters with completely different meanings but pronounced the same.
To complicate matters, in some circles, many of these words that end with “U” are pronounced with the “U” silent. As an example, “Ohayou Gozaimasu” (good morning), the sound “U” in “Ohayou” is silent when you say it. Even the word “Gozaimasu”, is pronounced for some without the “U”. But all three “OSU” words mentioned earlier are pronounced with the “SU”, as in “O-SU”. Incase of vinegar…just “SU” or more politely, “OSU”.
Dialects in different parts of Japan also play a major role in how words are pronounced. In the Kansai dialect, the “U” at the end of certain words are pronounced heavily. Commonly used word like “Gozaimasu”…would be pronounced with the emphasis on the “SU”. In other parts of Japan, “Gozaimasu” may be pronounced without the “U”.
Similarly, some words that are pronounced with an “I” at the end, for example are more commonly being used without pronouncing the “I”. Initially, to be trendy or perhaps fashionable, words like “Moshi-Moshi” (hello-hello) when answering a telephone is to many “Mosh-Mosh”. The “I” is not pronounced.
In the early 70’s, “Oss” was not a verbal expression used regularly as it is used today among the Martial Arts world. “Oss” today is now a required expression in some of the dojos. Soke Kanazawa in one of his video interviews mentions, the origin of the word, he thinks stems from Naval Officers’ usage of “Oss”. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2aFUKWvW4Y)
However, Soke Kanazawa explains that the word “Osu” is pronounced as “Oss”, because the word should be expressed from the lower abdomen. He explains the “O” as push and effort; “SU” as endure, and together, they mean to achieve success. This explanation fits well into the Budo concept. But did this explanation come before or after the initial use of “Oss”, nobody really knows. But, many dojos in fact use this word to promote the meaning of “Osu”. Besides SKIF, Kyokushin style of Mas Oyama also follows the same explanation. Detailed thoughts by Soke Kanazawa of “OSS” are given on page 24 of the Karate-Fighting Techniques-The Complete Kumite, Copyright 2004, 2013.
Yet, another perspective on “Oss” comes from Mitsusuke Harada, who studied under Gichin Funakoshi, Egami, Gigo Funakoshi and Genshin Hironishi, has this to say from an interview comments from the Shotokan Karate Magazine Issue 87, April 2006: “To me this is the sort of attitude (in reference to loud kiais) I associate with the “Ous” salutation which is no more than a low class yakuza way of greeting people which no self respecting educated Japanese would think of using. It is supposed to give the person who utters such greeting a more awesome presence. It is all a question of appearance.”
Obviously, Harada Sensei’s view of “Oss” is that it is an expression and not stemming from the word “Osu”. His view is that “Oss” is a very rough expression only used by ruffians. Words are living things in any culture and meanings change over time. What a word may have meant at one time may have a different meaning today, or it may no longer be used in today’s society. New words and expressions are created constantly. The Japanese have adopted as common usage, many foreign vocabularies. English words are routinely intermingled with their own language, especially in the cities, businesses and with the youth.
More complications…I will try my best to clarify this: In the Japanese language, when you write out the verbal expression “Oss” (not the word “Osu”), because of their language structure, it is written as “Osu”. Other similar examples are the word, “Boss”, would be written and pronounced as “Bosu”. Taxi is pronounced “Takushee”, or McDonalds is pronounced “Makudonarudo”. My name Robert is “Robaato”. Even Japanese words like “dojo” would be written as “Dou Jou” in Japanese. We however, do not write it out as such in the Western world…”Dou Jou” pronounced “Dojo” is written as “Dojo”.
It is very appropriate for a foreigner to pronounce English words as the Japanese do while in Japan. However, it would be silly for an English speaking person to use Japanese pronunciations of English words in English speaking countries. As an example, you would never say I am going to catch a Takushee or say let’s go to Makudonarudo for lunch.
In conclusion, the simple expression and word “Oss” and “Osu” is very complex and no one really knows the origin of the expression “Oss” as it is used today. The usage and meanings are changing. “Oss” and ”Osu” are used in certain circles and are not a nationally used expression. It may be used in few circles in the birthplace of Karate (Okinawa), but it certainly did not originate in Okinawa.
Many Japanese cultural specific idiosyncrasies are difficult to learn. Some cultural nuances are learned from birth. Foreign scholars studying Japanese culture, I suspect, have difficulty trying to decipher some of the cultural uniqueness of Japan. Some things will always be not quite authentic, in the process of interpretation and translation of a language into another language.
Japanese words and expressions in karate are adopted by dojos around the world. If a karate organization insists on using “Oss” or “Osu” in the dojo, that is the culture of the dojo that has adopted its meaning and usage. But we should take caution not to be using it casually outside of the martial arts and certain other related groups. Women in particular may want to refrain from usage outside of this related circle, as many people in Japan may still feel the usage as ruffian.
Whether we decide to spell “Oss” or “Osu” when writing it out in English is a matter of preference and depends on what you think is the origin and meaning. Is it a word or a verbal expression? It is important to know the background.
Here is the bottom line for me, as a SKIF member… Since Soke Kanazawa outlined his beliefs on the matter, as a student of SKIF, I follow his interpretation. He also specifically writes in Japanese on page 23 of “Karate Kyohan” that when written in English, “Osu” should be written as “Oss” because of its strong vocalization from the abdomen. On page 24 of the “Complete Kumite”, he writes his thoughts on “OSS”.
Soke Kanazawa writes: “Oss is not a word to be used casually or indiscriminately. I would like everyone who uses it to do so paying special attention to proper attitude, state of mind, and vocalization. With the chin drawn in and the back straight, “Oss” is said while bowing once. The motion, breathing, and vocalization involved contribute to the concentration of spirit and strength in the lower abdomen.”