What the Japanese really think of your chop stick etiquette

by Shayna Glick (Subscribe to Shayna Glick's posts)
Posted May 21st 2008 1:03PM
Filed under: Asia, On the Blogs

Artistic view of a pair of chopsticks on a chopstick rest.

I just came across a new blog (for me) called What Japan Thinks. As I am a lover of all things Japanese, this could be an invaluable resource. Of particular interest to me, on this visit to the blog, was an article on chop stick etiquette.

The blog post is really a vehicle to share the opinions offered in two surveys about using chop sticks. One deals with bad habits that you can't break, and the other is about bad habits that you can't help but notice other people doing.

I thought I was sure to have bad chop stick etiquette, as I have never had any pointers from anyone beyond the very basics of how to use them, but I actually did pretty well based on the habits mentioned in the two surveys. I am really bad about laying the utensils across the top of the plate, but I definitely don't stick them straight up in a bowl of rice. Check it out, and see how your chop stick manners compare.

Tags: chopsticks, etiquette, Japan, manners

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-21-2008 @ 5:13PM

joe said...

From my, experience, japanese people are thrilled, when a foreigner can even hold chopsticks, much less use them. Waiters comment all the time when I go out to eat.

5-22-2008 @ 1:49AM

Emma said...

Chopsticks etiquette, Japan? Oh, I think that is China. It is believed the first chopsticks were developed over 5000 years ago in China. By 500 A.D., chopsticks had spread from China to other countries such as Korea, Vietnam and Japan. And as an Amarican, I think, now I know how to eat with chopsticks. But before that, I knew nothing about chopsticks until I read this book "The Story of Chopsticks": http://dealstudio.com/searchdeals.php?deal_id=104394&ru=279 , I think that is really interesting. Then I started to use chopsticks. It is nice to use them!!

5-22-2008 @ 11:58AM

M scanlon said...

I'd like to see a list of good chopstick manners. If you shouldn't put your chopsticks across the top of your plate, where should they rest?

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