Japanese table manners knowledge

Table manners, as the name implies, refer to the common sense of table manners when eating, and the problem of table manners has a long history. So, here is my understanding of Japanese table manners. Welcome to read and browse.

Characteristics of Japanese materials

If you want to know the table manners of Japanese cuisine, you must first understand the characteristics of Japanese cuisine. Japanese materials are seasonal, and the main features can be summarized as follows? Five flavors? 、? Five colors? And then what? Five laws? . Five flavors mean that in different seasons, Japanese people's dietary tastes are different, generally bitter in spring, sour in summer, sweet in autumn and sweet in winter, and they also like astringency. Five colors refer to the collocation of dishes' colors, which are generally Lvchun, Zhu Xia, Baiqiu and Dong Xuan. Five methods refer to harmonious cooking methods, mainly including steaming, burning, boiling, frying and raw.

Here, you can remember a little trick: when eating sashimi and fried food (tempura), the order of enjoying food is from light and light to dark and heavy. In this way, the taste will not be disturbed, and the umami taste of each food can be fully enjoyed.

Use of tableware

If you go to a restaurant, the tableware is often set, so you don't need to worry too much about the placement. But if you are invited to a Japanese home, you should pay attention. Japanese tableware mainly includes chopsticks, teacups, rice bowls and soup bowls. The placing method is to put a rice bowl on the left and a soup bowl on the right, and the chopsticks should be placed horizontally on the chopsticks seat.

1, teacups and flagons

It should be noted that men and women use tea cups in different ways in Japan. The teacups used by men are taller, while those used by women are shorter. So is the hip flask.

2. Rice bowls and soup bowls

So how do you distinguish a rice bowl from a soup bowl? The mouth of the rice bowl is wider, while the soup bowl is deeper and obviously sunken. Among them, the rice bowl used by men is bigger than that used by women, while the soup bowl is higher than that used by women. Both the rice bowl and the soup bowl have lids. Open the lid when eating. Put the left one on the left and the right one on the right. Put the lid on after eating.

3. Chopsticks

Although I have been using chopsticks for several days, it is still very different from us, and the way of using it is the most important. In Japan, chopsticks are called? ご (はし)? We use pointed chopsticks in China, not flat chopsticks. How to use chopsticks correctly is the basis of Japanese table manners.

Then why do chopsticks in China and South Korea stand vertically, while those in Japan stand horizontally? There is no definite answer to this question, but there is a saying that when chopsticks were introduced to Japan, ancient China chopsticks were placed horizontally. In the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't like to put chopsticks horizontally, so China gradually put chopsticks vertically, but the Japanese didn't change it, because they thought it was disrespectful to people to put chopsticks vertically. This is also an answer to the question of chopsticks placement.

Etiquette of using chopsticks

What are chopsticks called in Japanese? ご (はし)? Although the Japanese also use chopsticks, they are still very different from us. There are many stresses in using chopsticks, so we should pay special attention to them. Chopsticks are an indispensable tool for Japanese cuisine, and Japanese people attach great importance to the etiquette of using chopsticks. According to the Japanese, what is Japanese food? ぃにわるぃにまり (starting with chopsticks and ending with chopsticks)? It can be seen that the etiquette of using chopsticks at the Japanese table is important.

Japanese chopsticks are mostly made of wood or plastic. Chopsticks are slightly thinner, so it is more convenient to eat fish with thorns. In addition, there are small boxes for chopsticks in Japan. At home, everyone's chopsticks are also fixed. How to use chopsticks correctly is the basis of Japanese table manners. Let's take a closer look.

Chopsticks are placed horizontally.

1. Take chopsticks

First, pick up chopsticks with your right hand. If there is a chopstick cover, take it off and put it on the left side of the food or next to the mat.

Next, put your left hand under the chopsticks.

Then, the right hand slides under the chopsticks.

Place chopsticks

Hold chopsticks in your right hand and chopsticks in your left hand.

Slide your right hand and grasp the upper side of chopsticks.

Quietly put chopsticks horizontally on the chopstick rack. Chopsticks must be placed horizontally and put back in the chopsticks pillow when eating. Also put it horizontally, and don't point your chopsticks at others. If chopsticks are stained with leftovers, you can clean them with a napkin, not lick them with your mouth. This is very unsightly. If you don't have a chopstick pillow, gently tie a knot in the chopstick sleeve and use it as a chopstick pillow.

3. The correct posture of holding chopsticks

Although both hands can hold chopsticks, if you want to look exquisite, you should hold chopsticks with your right hand, hold the upper end of chopsticks with your thumb and forefinger, and the other three fingers naturally bend to hold chopsticks, and both ends must be aligned.

In addition, we should pay attention to the use of sanitary chopsticks. Generally, sanitary chopsticks are often used when entertaining guests. The more formal restaurants use high-quality products with clear wood grain such as Chinese fir chopsticks. After holding the chopsticks according to the above steps, put the sanitary chopsticks flat and break them when standing up. Just like opening a fan, pulling one is more elegant. Also, in addition to extremely simple chopsticks, it is also a rather bad habit to wipe the tips of chopsticks after opening them.

Then, knowing all kinds of habits, how to use chopsticks when holding a bowl in your hand? When eating Japanese food, most people eat with bowls. If you already have chopsticks in your hand, it's not against etiquette to hold the bowl or put it down with the same hand, but it doesn't look elegant. The elegant way is to put down the chopsticks in your hand and then straighten all your fingers to get the bowl. If you hold a bowl in your hand, the way to hold chopsticks is different. When you hold the left end of chopsticks between the middle finger and the ring finger of your left hand (or between the ring finger and the little finger), then hold it upside down with your right hand. If you feel very troublesome, you must put down your chopsticks first every time you want to take a bowl.

It should be noted that after eating, you must put all the used tableware back to the place where you started eating. You should also cover the bowl and put the chopsticks back in the chopsticks box, chopsticks rack or paper bag. In addition, there are twelve taboos in using chopsticks, which must be remembered, otherwise it will be considered as low personal accomplishment:

Matters needing attention

Poke: Poke food with chopsticks.

みみ: I stuffed all my chopsticks in my mouth.

"せご": Wave your hand and move the plate with chopsticks.

Chopsticks for two people: two people are holding a dish on the plate at the same time.

Pointing: Pointing at people with chopsticks.

ねぶり: Put chopsticks in your mouth and suck.

Vibration: shake the soup off the chopsticks with your hands.

Hold: Hold the bowl and chopsticks with the same hand.

かき: Put the bowl to your mouth, pick up the food with chopsticks and put it in your mouth.

Bang: Chopsticks pick up food and drip soup.

Crossing: Put chopsticks in a bowl when eating.