Chopsticks
Eating elegance & craft excellence in Japan
The history of Japanese food culture is the history of chopsticks. Chopsticks have been around for more than 2,000 years. In the beginning, people used one stick like a simple fork, instead of the chopsticks pair we are so familiar with today.
Though the Japanese diet has changed a lot, and many Japanese people love western food and use forks and spoons every day, chopsticks are always the eating utensil of choice when it comes to Japanese food as well as other kinds. Many Japanese people continue to use chopsticks for everything they eat. Though chopsticks have become an international eating tool today, there is so much more about chopsticks about their history, philosophy and how to use than you can ever imagine.
History
Chopsticks have an extremely long history. The origin of today’s chopsticks is said to date back to pre-historic times, when people used fire to cook meals and needed to use something to get food out of the fire or to carry hot food to a hungry mouth.
The oldest historical record about chopsticks in Japan is found in the Kojiki (Japan’s first history book completed in 712). The oldest record in the world is in China in which the emperor requested his servant to make him a set of gorgeous ivory chopsticks; that was 4,000 years ago! Japan’s double chopstick pair sets entered Japan from China via Korea in the 6th century.
Ritual utensils for the Gods
In the early days in Japan, chopsticks were used only to offer sacred items to the Shrine god or deity, for example as a part of the autumn ritual to thank heaven and earth for a good harvest. All food in such ceremonies and rituals were handled not by hand but with chopsticks (a human hand should not touch food meant for the gods).
These ritual instruments are still used and have a special shape. Both ends of the stick are identical in shape and have almost the same thinness at either end. One end is for food meant for the gods and the other is for food for the people (or whoever performs the ritual/ceremony). So you could say that the Japanese Gods and the Japanese people share the chopsticks and become one through that sharing. Chopsticks play a very important role in Japanese folk culture as a way of showing thanks to the powerful and natural deities that ultimately feed them with rain, earth, wind, and sun.
Choosing great chopsticks
Since there are so many kinds of chopsticks, it can be difficult to decide which are best suited to your needs. An appropriate length and tip thickness are the most important points to consider after appearance. Super thin long chopsticks can be difficult to manage for an inexperienced person.
Generally speaking, the best chopstick length is said to be the 1.5 times the distance between one’s thumb and forefinger (with your hand spread wide open) or said another way, roughly 15% of your height. Therefore, if you are 170cm tall, then your ideal chopstick length is 25.5cm. Also try not to choose chopsticks that are too thin (unless you plan on practicing; you will learn to eat even uncooked tofu with thin chopsticks).
Must-know Chopstick Manners!
There are a number of manners and taboos regarding how to use chopsticks. Though chopsticks are an international eating tool today, here are some things you should NOT do in Japan.
Tate-bashi: only for the dead In Buddhism, when someone passes away, people place rice in a bowl by the pillow with a single chopstick standing up in the rice. This tradition is also called Buddhist chopsticks and should never be practiced at home or a restaurant table.
Sashi-bashi: stabbing by chopsticks Do not stab your food with chopsticks.
Yose-bashi: pulling dishes Do not pull dishes towards you with your chopsticks; use your hands for that.
Hashi-watashi: giving and receiving food by chopsticks Do not give or receive food directly with your chopsticks. You should place the food on a plate and then hand the plate to the other person.
The three companies, whose products, machines and tools, and business fields were completely different from each other, were able to demonstrate their individual strengths. Their enthusiasm to create something new accomplished such a big project that no one had ever done before. The spirit of taking on new challenges without preconceptions, without regard to differences in industry or lack of precedent, is one of the things Kyoto can be proud of in the world.
In the Shinkyogoku Shopping Arcade there is a small but incredible chopstick shop: Chopstick Gallery MON. Believe it or not, there are over 2,000 pairs of chopsticks in the shop! MON offers every kind of chopstick, from traditional or modern glass ones to simple or highly decorative. Some incorporate the traditional craft skills of Kyoto and designs including Nishijin woven textile and Kiyomizu-yaki ceramics.