Hi Thersa! Thank you again for your stories. As a pure Chinese, I am lacking in all the chopstick rules and I am holding it wrongly. I learned how to use one by myself when I was very young and the wrong holding method carried on. Sometimes, it's awkward but I don't want to make it such a big deal. But for the Chinese, it's very similar to the Japanese rules. There's one Hong Kong ghost story documentary film showed "how to call for spirits/hungry street ghost". It's so eerie!!! By knocking a pair of chopsticks onto a ceramic rice bowl! yikes!!! (tataki bashi?) . My brother in law sternly advised me when I poked my chopsticks on my noodles long time ago... "your food is not for the dead.... don't use your chopsticks that way". Oops.
WOW! I didn't know this about the How to Call for Hungry Street Ghost documentary. It sounds so interesting. And, yeah, so much of the culture has come from China. Of course some things have changed, but it's all fascinating to me. I studied Chinese (language and culture and martial arts) for many years before I came to Japan. It's what made me fall in love with kanji!
@@UncannyJapan Hi Hi... I think you are more Asian/Chinese than I am. hehehehhehehe. I'm not Chinese educate (can only speak and read easy Chinese words). Studying Japanese is like learning 3 languages in 1 (Hiragana = Japanese, Katakana = JP+ENG and Kanji = JP+CHI). Martial arts!? wow! My conservative parents didn't let me learn karate when I was 13. They didn't want their daughter to turn tomboy... which I'm naturally am. LOL! Thanks for your reply Thersa. Have a nice day.
Hello! An interesting and important subject again. Hashi/箸/はし. I remember I was surprised to see there were no "my hashi" at our American friend's house, for we took granted that in ours. I tend to be very attached to the things I have/use, so, as you said, my current Hashi is more than 15 years old and the previous one is still kept in case. About the Hashi taboos, my husband and children has done "Tataki-bashi" on a whim many times before. (They are members of Japanese drum group.) That means we invited the evil spirits... oh, well. And your analysis of why we have such rules is correct, I think. A small country with many people. Offending others isn't good. Many warn about Japanese taboos including chopsticks rules, but the most of the Japanese "turn the blind eyes" to the small "rule breakings" of the tourists. (Or they just don't say anything out of politeness...) I'd like to say - just look around and see how people are/aren't doing, and learn!
So nice to see you again. Yes, my son was a drum NUT when he was a toddler on up through, well, high school. So back when we didn't have phones or tablets to keep the little ones occupied, he would go to town with waribashi on everything. It was so cute. I had no idea we were inviting bad spirits. Ooops. Obaachan didn't complain, though! Absolutely agree about looking around and learning. I just visited my son in Hokkaido and we went out to an izakaya (first time since before covid!) and he held up his chopsticks and said, I just listened to your show and had no idea inoribashi was a bad thing. Also, his holding technique is really bad! I feel like a terrible mom now. 😔
@@UncannyJapan Yes, I think all kids are drum nuts - actually all humans are, born with that gene. It is much fun, the drumming! (And, of course, no obaachan would complain about what her grandkids' doings, being one.) 居酒屋 is one of many things I miss dearly. (Oh, 魚のアラ煮!) Well, one more good things about chopsticks - you can entertain your little ones in restaurants till the food arrives by making origami dogs and birds with your chopsticks paper covers.
Hi Thersa! Thank you again for your stories. As a pure Chinese, I am lacking in all the chopstick rules and I am holding it wrongly. I learned how to use one by myself when I was very young and the wrong holding method carried on. Sometimes, it's awkward but I don't want to make it such a big deal. But for the Chinese, it's very similar to the Japanese rules. There's one Hong Kong ghost story documentary film showed "how to call for spirits/hungry street ghost". It's so eerie!!! By knocking a pair of chopsticks onto a ceramic rice bowl! yikes!!! (tataki bashi?) . My brother in law sternly advised me when I poked my chopsticks on my noodles long time ago... "your food is not for the dead.... don't use your chopsticks that way". Oops.
WOW! I didn't know this about the How to Call for Hungry Street Ghost documentary. It sounds so interesting. And, yeah, so much of the culture has come from China. Of course some things have changed, but it's all fascinating to me. I studied Chinese (language and culture and martial arts) for many years before I came to Japan. It's what made me fall in love with kanji!
@@UncannyJapan Hi Hi... I think you are more Asian/Chinese than I am. hehehehhehehe. I'm not Chinese educate (can only speak and read easy Chinese words). Studying Japanese is like learning 3 languages in 1 (Hiragana = Japanese, Katakana = JP+ENG and Kanji = JP+CHI). Martial arts!? wow! My conservative parents didn't let me learn karate when I was 13. They didn't want their daughter to turn tomboy... which I'm naturally am. LOL! Thanks for your reply Thersa. Have a nice day.
Hello! An interesting and important subject again. Hashi/箸/はし. I remember I was surprised to see there were no "my hashi" at our American friend's house, for we took granted that in ours. I tend to be very attached to the things I have/use, so, as you said, my current Hashi is more than 15 years old and the previous one is still kept in case.
About the Hashi taboos, my husband and children has done "Tataki-bashi" on a whim many times before. (They are members of Japanese drum group.) That means we invited the evil spirits... oh, well.
And your analysis of why we have such rules is correct, I think. A small country with many people. Offending others isn't good.
Many warn about Japanese taboos including chopsticks rules, but the most of the Japanese "turn the blind eyes" to the small "rule breakings" of the tourists. (Or they just don't say anything out of politeness...) I'd like to say - just look around and see how people are/aren't doing, and learn!
So nice to see you again. Yes, my son was a drum NUT when he was a toddler on up through, well, high school. So back when we didn't have phones or tablets to keep the little ones occupied, he would go to town with waribashi on everything. It was so cute. I had no idea we were inviting bad spirits. Ooops. Obaachan didn't complain, though!
Absolutely agree about looking around and learning. I just visited my son in Hokkaido and we went out to an izakaya (first time since before covid!) and he held up his chopsticks and said, I just listened to your show and had no idea inoribashi was a bad thing. Also, his holding technique is really bad! I feel like a terrible mom now. 😔
@@UncannyJapan Yes, I think all kids are drum nuts - actually all humans are, born with that gene. It is much fun, the drumming! (And, of course, no obaachan would complain about what her grandkids' doings, being one.)
居酒屋 is one of many things I miss dearly. (Oh, 魚のアラ煮!) Well, one more good things about chopsticks - you can entertain your little ones in restaurants till the food arrives by making origami dogs and birds with your chopsticks paper covers.