Itadakimasu

Before eating, Japanese people say "Itadakimasu". "Itadaku" means "receive", a kind of polite form of it used to lower your own position and raise someone else's. "Itadakimasu" basically means "I will receive." But it is used to generally convey a sense of gratitude for the food. Often it is directed at the person who made the food, you might say it to them when they give you food similar to a situation where it might be appropriate to say "thank you" in English, or say it in the host and cook's direction at a table particularly if you are a guest at their house, however it is not said specifically to them and the person who cooked also says it. It is also said if nobody at the table made the food, like if you are eating at a restaurant or the food is purchased. Sometimes a prayer position of the hands is formed and whether or not this is done it can be assumed that Gods are addressed. However the focus is on the eater's sense of gratitude rather than on specifically who is thanked. A student told me, however that in the past the prayer was actually directed primarily towards the food itself to thank it for giving up its life.

At the end of the meal, the eater says "Gochisosama deshita"