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A Japanese glossary of chopsticks faux pas (2022)

nippon.com

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Re: A Japanese glossary of chopsticks faux pas (2022)

#21

Post by 0x3f »

jeffbee wrote: post #19
cthalupa wrote: post #4

Interesting. Some of these are big deals (particularly the ones mentioned as important) but others I have seen Japanese people in Tokyo do quite consistently. Soroebashi - not on the table, but I've seen chopsticks aligned by pushing them against the plate hundreds of time. I've also seen them used to stir miso soup, etc. plenty. Others I don't know that I would have much of an inclination to do and haven't seen but…

Yeah? How are you supposed to line up the sticks? And stir the soup? I think the "Mawashibashi" faux pas is to whip the soup like a madman, or to aimlessly swish it, and the translated listicle doesn't convey that.

You could surreptitiously agitate the soup as you pull out the solid contents.

Re: A Japanese glossary of chopsticks faux pas (2022)

#22

Post by cthalupa »

WorldPeas wrote: post #8
mjamesaustin wrote: post #7

I 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.

right? What's the right way? I don't want splinters on the most sensitive surface in my body..

The splinters come from where they break apart and there's not really any reason to have that part of the chopsticks touching your skin.

But you move away from break apart disposable chopsticks in Japan long before you get to high etiquette dining. In my experience, basically every restaurant in Japan that isn't of, like, fast food tier, provides actual chopsticks instead of disposable ones.

Re: A Japanese glossary of chopsticks faux pas (2022)

#23

Post by frereubu »

> こじ箸 Kojibashi (also known as ほじり箸 hojiribashi)

> To use the chopsticks to pick something out from near the bottom of the dish.

I think there must be some bits that are lost in translation for some of these. This makes it sound like you can't eat all of the food in a bowl with your chopsticks.

Re: A Japanese glossary of chopsticks faux pas (2022)

#24

Post by wenc »

bigwheels wrote: post #13

Fascinating culture and raises numerous questions arising from my subsequent confusion: 1. > 返し箸 Kaeshibashi (also known as 逆さ箸 sakasabashi) > To turn the chopsticks around when serving food so that the tips of the chopsticks that have touched one’s mouth do not touch the food. Does this mean it is preferable to use the tips that may have touched mouth to then serve more food? Or is this considered fine because it's…

The disposable wooden chopsticks in Japan don’t splinter (they’re higher quality and cost more than the ones we have in the US).

That’s why you don’t need to rub to get rid of splinters.

Re: A Japanese glossary of chopsticks faux pas (2022)

#25

Post by FartyMcFarter »

frereubu wrote: post #23

> こじ箸 Kojibashi (also known as ほじり箸 hojiribashi) > To use the chopsticks to pick something out from near the bottom of the dish. I think there must be some bits that are lost in translation for some of these. This makes it sound like you can't eat all of the food in a bowl with your chopsticks.

Maybe it means that you're digging up food that is under other food?

Re: A Japanese glossary of chopsticks faux pas (2022)

#26

Post by bigwheels »

FartyMcFarter wrote: post #25
frereubu wrote: post #23

> こじ箸 Kojibashi (also known as ほじり箸 hojiribashi) > To use the chopsticks to pick something out from near the bottom of the dish. I think there must be some bits that are lost in translation for some of these. This makes it sound like you can't eat all of the food in a bowl with your chopsticks.

Maybe it means that you're digging up food that is under other food?

It's like core-ing out the goody bits from an otherwise bland pint of ice cream. Who would ever do such a disgusting and selfish thing? :-0

Re: A Japanese glossary of chopsticks faux pas (2022)

#27

Post by frereubu »

FartyMcFarter wrote: post #25
frereubu wrote: post #23

> こじ箸 Kojibashi (also known as ほじり箸 hojiribashi) > To use the chopsticks to pick something out from near the bottom of the dish. I think there must be some bits that are lost in translation for some of these. This makes it sound like you can't eat all of the food in a bowl with your chopsticks.

Maybe it means that you're digging up food that is under other food?

Yeah, could be - that's kind of what I mean in terms of being lost in translation. It feels like there's missing information / context in quite a few of them.

Edit: In fact I think you're completely right - "picking out" something near the bottom of the dish does suggest that.

Re: A Japanese glossary of chopsticks faux pas (2022)

#28

Post by moron4hire »

bigwheels wrote: post #13

Fascinating culture and raises numerous questions arising from my subsequent confusion: 1. > 返し箸 Kaeshibashi (also known as 逆さ箸 sakasabashi) > To turn the chopsticks around when serving food so that the tips of the chopsticks that have touched one’s mouth do not touch the food. Does this mean it is preferable to use the tips that may have touched mouth to then serve more food? Or is this considered fine because it's…

I think it's important to point out that these are good manners for eating with Japanese people, not good manners for eating with chopsticks. There is no requirement to emulate Japanese eating manners if you're not in Japan and not anywhere near a person raised in Japanese cultur. There are other cultures that use chopsticks that do not necessarily have these manners.

Re: A Japanese glossary of chopsticks faux pas (2022)

#29

Post by 0x3f »

wagwang wrote: post #9

Always interesting to see the analogs of island vs continental culture when comparing UK America and Japan China. Seems like islanders, due to their reliance on trade, naturally get specialized and autistic about their craft so they can have a comparative advantage, and their obsessions carry over into stuffy traditional practices.

I counter with the American swap-the-fork-hand-after-you-cut thing. Diabolical.

Re: A Japanese glossary of chopsticks faux pas (2022)

#30

Post by waffletower »

I lived in Japan for nearly 6 years and found that concern for faux pas such as these for hashi (chopsticks) are way way overblown. I used at least one thousand disposable pairs of chopsticks in Japan and never had the desire to smooth them -- they are higher quality than Panda Express offerings. I knew about this "taboo" prior to arrival and it was simply irrelevant. Avoid the obvious symbolic references to makura gohan (bowl of rice offering to the deceased) at the end of your meal and you are probably golden. If you have kids in Japan, gaijin passing food with chopsticks to their children in a restaurant is going to be seen in a neutral or even sympathetic light. The Japanese may silently judge but they rarely sneer or harass. If you spend a lot of time with modern Japanese families you might be surprised to discover Western stereotypes of Japanese taboos are sometimes outdated and even incorrect. They are very aware that foreigners will not understand all of their customs, and many of those customs have decreasing importance as their culture evolves.
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