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Japanese Chopstick Etiquite

Chopsticks are called hashi in Japanese and the following is an informal list of rules and suggestions for proper Japanese hashi use.  Many of these rules have their origin in religious belief and are taken seriously by most Japanese.  Though few would actually say anything to a foreign rule-breaker, most Japanese find the following actions a bit difficult to witness.

The Rules:

1. Never let the business end of your chopsticks touch the table top.
2. Don't wave the chopsticks or use them to hover over food while deciding which morsel to pick up.
3. Avoid food dripping or falling from your chopsticks.
4. Do not spear food with your chopsticks.
5. Don't suck on the ends of chopsticks or close your mouth completely around them.
6. Speakers at formal meals should never tap their chopsticks against tableware in order to gain the attention of others.
7. Never exchange food via chopsticks.  Always place shared items on a plate and pass the plate to the intended recipient.
8. And by all means NEVER stick your chopsticks into your rice bowl and leave the chopsticks standing on their own!  This particular rule stems from the Japanese funeral and memorial practice of using a bowl of rice with chopsticks stuck in the top as an offering to the spirits of the dead.  I've personally experienced the lightning fast reflexes of an otherwise gentle and demure Japanese mother who quickly snatched my hashi from my rice bowl after my first (and only) experience violating this rule.

Disposable Chopsticks and Improvised Chopstick Holders

While the Japanese enjoy using beautifully designed and decorated reusable chopsticks at home, diners at Japanese restaurants (even very expensive restaurants) will likely be given a pair of cheap disposable wooden chopsticks to use with their meal.  The disposable chopsticks consist of a single piece of wood which is split up the middle.  The restaurant diner makes use of these by first removing the paper cover and then pulling the sticks apart to separate them.  Some people then brush the eating ends together several times in order to remove any small splinters or rough edges which may remain.  When dining with Japanese people please keep in mind the rules noted above and follow the lead of your hosts.  When you wish to rest your chopsticks be sure to use a chopstick holder (hashi oki) or, if no holder is available, you can rest your chopsticks on the lip of any large plate or bowl.  Surprisingly, most Japanese restaurants do not provide any hashi oki for their customers, and many Japanese are therefore adept at making their own from the paper which covered their disposable wooden chopsticks.  Reminiscent of the unique Japanese paper-folding craft called origami, folded paper hashi oki are a utilitarian wonder of inspired necessity, crafted with care by people who take their mealtime etiquite seriously and who are able to preserve propriety through creative ingenuity. When dining with Japanese people keep an eye open at the start of the meal and you just may witness someone engaged in the skilled act of making their own paper hashi oki.  If you ask, I'm sure that they would be delighted to teach you to do the same...

	Click here to see chopsticks and accessories available for purchase in our eBay store The Old Tokaido
	Click here to learn about the history and cultural significance of rice in Japan.

Research on Japanese Chopstick Etiquite:
Nicholas Bornoff, Michael Freeman "Things Japanese"  Hong Kong:  Periplus Editions, 2003

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Last modified: 03/17/07