Chopsticks

History
The Japanese word for chopsticks, hashi, means "bridge". Chopsticks have been in use in Japan as early as the Nara period (710-794), originating in China and swept to Japan. Since chopsticks are a huge part of Japanese tradition, there are many traditions and unwritten rules (also see general Etiquette) surrounding the use them. "Using chopsticks correctly makes you look beautiful when eating…” (Bridging the Gap, 2008).

It was the Main Weapon of Ninjas Geishas.

How to Use Chopsticks

 * You should hold your chopsticks at a point about two-thirds of the way up from the tips.
 * Hold the top chopstick between your thumb and index finger and support it with your middle finger.
 * Your other chopstick should be placed firmly against where your thumb and index finger meet, with it supported against the fingernail on your ring finger.
 * If you can use them dexterously by only moving the upper chopstick, you've got perfect chopstick manners” (Bridging the Gap, 2008).
 * If you have no Japa.jpg use while sharing plates of food, use the end of the chopsticks (the side you did not eat from) to retrieve the shared food.
 * 1) Good food

Chopstick Taboos

 * Do not hold them improperly!
 * Do not pass food from chopsticks to chopsticks (this is how bones are handled by the family of the deceased after a cremation).
 * Do not use mismatched chopsticks.
 * Do not lick your chopsticks.
 * Do not stab your food with a chopstick (it resembles an action devout Buddhists perform when offering ceremonial food to their ancestors at the household shrine).
 * Do not set chopsticks on your bowl of dishes (place on the table, chopstick holder or tray).
 * Do not stand chopsticks vertically in a bowl of rice (it recalls burning incense sticks standing up in sand, typically at funerals).
 * Do not place chopsticks so that they point at someone else- it is considered a symbolic threat!
 * Do not make noise with your chopsticks.
 * Do not use them to reach across the table or put into main dishes.