Kai (rice scoop) - Kai

…This explanation is quoted directly from the Heian period Japanese book Wamyōshō, showing that the Chinese custom of scooping rice with a spoon had spread among the upper classes at the time, and rice bowls were placed on the dining table from the beginning, and people ate as much as they wanted. At that time, spoons were called kai, which comes from their resemblance to seashells, but according to Shinsen Jikyō, shayaku (rice scoop) is also called kai, suggesting that it was a general term for the modern spoons and spoons. According to the Engishiki (completed in 927), two sets of chopsticks and spoons were placed on the dining table at the imperial court, one made of silver and the other made of wood. …

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "kai (ladle)" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…この説明が日本の平安時代の《和名抄》にそのまま引用してあるのは，中国風にさじで飯をすくって食べる風俗が当時の上流階級の間に伝わっていたことをあらわし，飯を盛った器は最初から食膳に並べてあって，食べたいだけ食べた。そのころ匙は〈かい〉と呼ばれ，貝殻に形が似ていたことに由来するが，《新撰字鏡》によると〈杓（しやく）〉も〈かい〉と呼んでいるので，現在のさじ，杓子（しやくし）の類の総称だったことがうかがわれる。《延喜式》(927完成)によると，宮廷の食膳には銀製のはしとさじ，木製のはしとさじの2組がのせられていた。…

※「かい（杓）」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報