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The word 忙中 (bōchū: during the busyness of work) abbreviates a charming (and very formal) compound: 御多忙中 (go-tabōchū: while you are so busy, in the midst of your work).

This is the kanji for the honorific o- or go-, which we usually see in hiragana, as in お名前 (o-namae: name) or ご家族 (go-kazoku: family). The o is the kun-yomi, whereas GO is the on-yomi.

Oddly, when functions as a verb, it takes the form of compounds such as these:

御する (gyosuru: to drive (e.g., horse, carriage); to control, manage))

制御する (seigyo suru: to control, govern, suppress)
     system + to handle (affairs)

For all the respectfulness and humility involved in the honorific prefixes o- and go-, this kanji partly turns out to be about controlling others! Come to think of it, perhaps politeness in any culture isn’t truly an expression of deference so much as covert manipulation! Maybe there’s a reason we so often conclude, “The butler did it.” The flip side of his subservience is a murderous tendency!

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