Physical origin of a complicated tactile sensation: ‘shittori feel'

Shittori feel is defined as a texture that is moderately moisturized; however, many people experience ‘shittori feel’ when they touch a dry solid material containing little liquid. Here, shittori feel was evaluated for 12 materials. We found that the highest score of shittori feel was achieved by powders. Multiple regression analysis showed that shittori feel is a complex sense of moist and smooth feels. We analysed the relationship between the physical properties and the moist/smooth feels to show how subjects felt certain feels simultaneously. The moist and smooth feels are related to the surface roughness and friction characteristics of the materials. The moist and smooth feels can be perceived when the finger starts to move on the material surface and when the finger moves and rubs the material surface, respectively.