This would make a great poster to give to our local sushi bar chef/friend.
edit: Gemini makes great infographics https://imgur.com/a/V2D9VlM
A Japanese glossary of chopsticks faux pas (2022)
221–230 of 408 posts
Re: A Japanese glossary of chopsticks faux pas (2022)
#222Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think the deeper question is whose standards and why should we consider them the standard?
Some of them of course are invented whole cloth. British Received Pronunciation was invented and needs to be learned and is the standard of the upper class. It's neither right nor wrong but it's there to differentiate.
"Received Pronunciation was invented"
How so?
Re: A Japanese glossary of chopsticks faux pas (2022)
#223Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's not really a coherent statement. If people don't even know it, it's not part of the culture.
I feel like there was a brief period when middle class came to existence and started mimicking customs of the upper class, which were very complicated because the upper class was mostly bored and had invented this shit to kill the time. Then two things happened: 1. Upper class stopped being formal because formality stopped being a signal of upper class. 2. Middle class stopped having social gatherings in general. So,…
> invented this shit to kill the time
This is unnecessarily flippant, trivializing, and reductive.
The upper classes had the time and position to refine manners. I think one mistake people make is to think manners are arbitrary nonsense. But manners, when fitting, honor the self and others with conduct that suits the dignity of the human person and functions as a sign of that dignity. You cannot tell me that a man hunched over a table cramming food down his throat gaping at a television is no different than one who eats according to the above custom of etiquette.
I’m not one for stiff artifice especially when slavishly applied, but I don’t think manners as such are arbitrary. That nobody cares would explain why so many people look like slobs and behave like boors.
If we begin with human nature and then view the virtues as perfections that actualize the fullness of that nature, then it becomes clearer that some behavior is more fitting and honored better by certain practices.
Re: A Japanese glossary of chopsticks faux pas (2022)
#224I was shocked to find it's a faux pas to rub disposable chopsticks to remove potential splinters. I was taught this is what you're supposed to do with disposable chopsticks.
I ate at a very nice restaurant (think The Menu) in Kagaonsen last week and the main course was served with lacquered chopsticks but another course was served with disposable chopsticks and the waiter actually broke them and rubbed them together for me. I think the social faux pas is making a show of doing it.
You know you're at a fancy restaurant when the waiters have an entire dish emulating what the poors are eating. Reminds me of a restaurant I used to really like in NYC called 'Peasant' :-/
Re: A Japanese glossary of chopsticks faux pas (2022)
#225Earlier quoted context omitted.
The difference between the American and European styles has been used as plot point in fictional works, including the 1946 film O.S.S. and the 2014 series Turn: Washington's Spies.[5] In both works, using the wrong fork etiquette threatens to expose undercover agents. Nuts. Apparently I have been a German spy all this time. I don't have time to waste swapping a fork around.
American zigzagging utensil acrobatics always seemed like a lot of nonsense to me. It looks bad and fiddly.
You may "enjoy" this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1VRIEg2Xsw
Re: A Japanese glossary of chopsticks faux pas (2022)
#226Earlier quoted context omitted.
When it comes to manners, I'd say seeing enough people fail to meet a standard means it's not a standard, at least.
No, that's argumentum ad populum. Mind you, I'm not saying that standards must be followed. I am just saying the same thing I tell my kids: - the standards are there, wishing they didn't exist doesn't invalidate them - the reason rules and standards came to existence might or might not be applicable to our current context, but some people will expect you to follow them regardless. - If a rule or standard seems silly…
> the standards are there, wishing they didn't exist doesn't invalidate them
But not observing them does. There are standards no one in the world follows anymore. They may still “be there”, but are only used for mocking purposes.
> If a rule or standard seems silly to you, make your best attempt at understanding why people would still follow it. (Chesterton's fence)
The corollary to that is that anyone who rebukes anyone else for not following a standard must be able to explain why it exists. “Because it’s rude” it’s not good enough, explain why it’s considered rude.
Re: A Japanese glossary of chopsticks faux pas (2022)
#227Re: A Japanese glossary of chopsticks faux pas (2022)
#228Yeah, definitely not the "straight in" one...
Re: A Japanese glossary of chopsticks faux pas (2022)
#229Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's not really a coherent statement. If people don't even know it, it's not part of the culture.
Is is also topic od relevance. Poland has honorifics that are probably on par to those in Japan, but since the language is difficult to learn and frankly speaking nobody cares about Poland, barely anyone even knows this. Also lots of corporations prefer "american style" approach of just refering by name (even to the CEO), so this dissapears. Probably could write few pages about this, but nobody would care to read.
While historically Polish honorifics are one of the most elaborate in Europe because of its noble culture, I wouldn’t say they are as elaborate as the Japanese, at least not in the same manner.
Re: A Japanese glossary of chopsticks faux pas (2022)
#230This is why Japan is not having kids. They are more worried about rules to make everyone’s life miserable.