The manner of chopsticks

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Eating with chopsticks can be one of Japanese culture. people from the countries where they do not use chopsticks found
the difficulty of how to use chopsticks. But actually even Japanese do not know it.

The ways to hold the chopsticks are unknown. There is a usual way Japanese does. Firstly, hold the first chopstick firm and stationary in fixed position. And next, the other chopstick is held like a pencil, with the tips of thumb, index and middle fingers. Manipulate this chopstick to meet the first chopstick. This manipulation will form "V" to pick up the food. (See Fig. 1.) It is a usual one but most of Japanese uses chopsticks own way that is more comfortable than the standard one. [Picture; From "asian kitchen"]
Fig.1



We also need to know how to use chopsticks. There are some examples of bad manners.

Mayoibashi; hesitate which piece to pick up and move chopsticks from place to place.

Karabashi; pick up and touch the foods with chopsticks once but put chopsticks back without eating.

Watashibashi; put chopsticks on dish like a bridge. Because it is dirty to drip sauce on a table. Put chopsticks on pillow of it.

Namidabashi; drip juice down from the tips of chopsticks.

Yosebashi; move the dish in front of you with chopsticks to be able to eat it easier.

Saguribashi; examine something in the dish to find a piece you want to pick up. Because others might think it dirty that there is something your chopsticks touch more than you need to in a dish.

Kojibash; look for what you want to eat and stir the dish with chopsticks instead of eating food from the top.

Tontonbashi; make the tip of chopsticks uniform on a table or dishes as making a noise "ton-ton". Because it is noisy. Make the tip of chopsticks uniform by hands.

Neburibashi; lick food or sauce left on the chopsticks. It is rude.

Tsukibashi; pick up food in a dish by piercing chopstick. It is also bad manner to point at someone with chopsticks, to take lid off and to ask for another dish while holding chopsticks.

When Japanese starts eating, they say "Itadakimasu" , that originally means a greeting. It expresses a feeling of gratitude to the person who cooked.

References;
"Hashino Bunka Shi ~Sekai No Hashi, Nihon Hashi~" By Hachiro Ishiki (1987)
http://plaza10.mbn.or.jp/~numat/hashi-iroiro.html



Mika

Last updated 6-Dec-2001