- Mingzhu Chopsticks - China Chopsticks Manufacturer
10+years of focus on chopsticks
10+years of focus on chopsticks
Chopsticks are, inarguably, the single most important eating utensils in Japan. The Japanese use them to eat everything from rice and meat, to noodles, salad, and so much more! The Japanese chopsticks are tapered at the tip allowing for easy picking. Eating with chopsticks has many advantages such as picking up food or separating meat or fish and cleaning them is very easy.
There are certain rules and proper etiquette to follow when eating with chopsticks in Japan.
So, here it is a guide to chopstick etiquette, Japanese style. Let’s take a look at 15 of the most important chopstick etiquette!
One of the biggest and most frequent taboos is placing your chopsticks vertically in your bowl
Try to use chopsticks holders if available, but if there are none then place your chopsticks uncrossed on your bowl or plate.
Many foreigners feel that sticking chopsticks in the rice is an easy and obvious way to put them. However, in Japanese culture, this is an absolute no-no because it’s the way a bowl of rice is offered to the spirit of a dead person, at their deathbed or in front of their photograph on the household Buddhist altar.
Another “deadly” mistake is to share food bypassing it with your chopsticks, and having another person take it with theirs.
When you want to share food, it may seem quick and efficient to pass something from your chopsticks directly to your friend’s chopsticks. However, this is practice is considered very taboo during eating, as it is the way that the bones of the deceased are passed during Japanese funeral rituals.
If it is necessary to pass food with chopsticks, it is best to place it directly on a plate so that they may pick it up on their own.
Chopsticks may look like the perfect miniature drumsticks to amuse yourselves while waiting for food to arrive, but playing with chopsticks is definitely considered childish and may invite some strange looks from other diners. It would be the same as using your spoon as an airplane to fly food into your mouth.
In fact, even Japanese children typically refrain from this kind of ‘play’ as they are taught from an early age the importance of mealtime manners.
eating with chopsticks is that one should avoid placing them in an “X” shape. It is said that crossed chopsticks represent death itself in China. While Japan may not associate this practice with death, it is still generally considered bad manners to cross your chopsticks.
Placing your chopsticks across your bowl during a meal tells the chef (and everyone around you) that you no longer want your dish. If you haven’t finished eating, then this can be rude.
It’s also good manners to keep your chopsticks straight instead of having them cross while they’re resting. If you’re not given any chopstick rests, you can place your chopsticks on the wrapper they came in (and place them inside once you’re finished your meal) if they’re disposable. If your chopsticks aren’t disposable, then place the utensils along the left edge of your dish. Do make sure that they are placed together and don’t cross.
point with your chopsticks. Just like pointing at someone with your finger is considered rude, holding a pair of chopsticks and pointing them at someone is considered equally rude. Waving your chopsticks in the air, and using them to point at someone or something are bad manners. Make sure you put your chopsticks down before you start chatting.
Waribashi (割り箸） are those wooden chopsticks that you need to break apart. Some people rub them together as a matter of course, but this is only even needed if the chopsticks are so cheap that they are splintery.
Rubbing your chopsticks may imply that you think the restaurant you’re dining at doesn’t provide quality chopsticks. So, try to remember to avoid this action if possible.
It might not be out of the ordinary to rub disposable wooden chopsticks together as a way of smoothing the texture. While this is a great way to avoid potential splinters, it is actually considered to be bad manners in Japan.
use one chopstick at a time, especially not to spear food. This is considered rude and poor table manners. Your chopsticks are not weapons, so you shouldn’t use them as one.
Chopsticks are always used together as if they are attached to each other invisibly. Think of them as tweezers or tongs, not a pair of skewers.
While you might be keeping them in your mouth for a moment to free your hands, try not to lick or suck on your chopsticks as it is regarded as bad manners and unhygienic especially if you are sharing a plate of food and using your own chopsticks to pick up food from the same plate. Again, use the chopstick holder to keep your hands free.
Do not use chopsticks to either stir or search for food from a communal plate. Using your chopsticks stir and search for food or hovering around dishes is considered greedy. This is considered to be rather insulting to the cook, not to mention…unsightly!
Also, don’t use your chopsticks to pull a bowl closer to you as this is also considered rude. Rather, just use your hands to move a bowl or plate closer to you.
Hovering your chopsticks from food to food or dish to dish, while you ponder what you are going to pick up, is considered to be rather off-putting.
While you decide what to eat, It’s best to take a little from each dish, rather than just taking your favorites each time. Usually, there’s plenty of food to go around, so go wild and select something at random if you can’t choose what to eat next.
Don’t move your dish closer to you by pulling it with your chopsticks (寄せ箸). You also shouldn’t lift a bowl with the hand that’s holding your chopsticks (持ち箸). If you’re having a hard time remembering so many rules, just remember to move dishes with your free hand. You should also reach for a bowl with both hands to bring it closer to you.
Do not wash your chopsticks in a bowl of soup or water to clean it from bits stuck to your chopsticks. It’s also bad manners to rub wooden disposable chopsticks together.
This is done to remove splinters from cheap chopsticks, so doing this is indicating that you think your chopsticks are cheap. Even if you’re given disposable chopsticks, try not to do this unless they are splintery.
This not only looks funny, but it also is reminiscent of some funeral rites. (If you haven’t gotten the message yet, basically anything connected to funerals or death is considered you know, unlucky.)
If you are served family-style, don’t use your own chopsticks if at all possible to pick up food directly from it. This is considered to be unsanitary. You should use the supplied serving utensils.
oki （箸置き）or chopstick rests are little ceramic objects that you are supposed to rest the ends of your chopsticks on when you put them down. If your place setting is supplied with them, use them instead of a plate or bowl when you put down your chopsticks. If you have waribashi, you can make a little impromptu chopstick rest out of the bag.
But if there are no chopstick rests, it’s ok to put your chopsticks down on your bowl. Just be sure to keep them together, not crossed.
– It’s okay to lift a bowl close to your mouth and push food into your mouth with chopsticks.
– Don’t set your chopsticks down pointed at another person at the table.
– Allow elders to be served and begin eating first.
– It’s okay to lift a bowl close to your mouth and push food into your mouth with chopsticks.
– It’s okay to use chopsticks to cut soft food into smaller portions for children.
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– A table setting in Korea will typically have a matching pair of chopsticks and spoon.
– Spoons are used for liquids, chopsticks for solids. Either may be used for eating rice.
– Don’t lift a bowl close to your mouth. Lift food to your mouth from the dish on the table.
– At the table set, chopsticks are placed to the right of the spoon. Placed on the left is done at funerals for the deceased.
– It’s okay to lift a bowl close to your mouth and push food into your mouth with chopsticks.
– It’s a bad omen to set down your chopsticks in a vee shape when finished eating.
https://www.mzchopsticks.com/japanese-chopsticks-rules/
https://www.japankuru.com/tc/culture/e1612.html
https://www.japankuru.com/tc/culture/e1612.html
Proper chopstick etiquette in Japan might seem like there are a lot of rules but actually many apply to a fork and knife as well.Now that you know how to use chopsticks properly, See you soon!
By John Zhang (Best Chopsticks)
