Chopsticks - hashi

Japanese: 箸 - はし

A pair of thin, rod-like implements used to hold food when eating or cooking. Unique to the Orient. It is said that ancient Japanese chopsticks were tweezers-like implements made by shaving thin strips of bamboo and bending them in half. As described in the Manyoshu, under the influence of Chinese culture, the use of two chopsticks had already become common during the Nara period. The origin of the word hashi is said to be a bird's beak or tip.

[Tomomi Kono]

kinds

Chopsticks are made from a variety of materials, including bamboo, cedar, willow, and other woods such as Nandina, Cypress, Mulberry, Rosewood, and Ebony, metals such as gold, silver, iron, and aluminum, animal bones and horns such as ivory, deer antlers, and animal bones, and plastic. Wooden chopsticks come in either plain or painted varieties, and the latter include those decorated with makie (lacquer lacquer) or raden (raden). Chopsticks come in a variety of shapes, including round, square, thick, thin, tapered, flat, and disposable.

[Tomomi Kono]

Applications

Various types of chopsticks have been used for everyday meals as well as ceremonies and other events. In everyday use, there are various types of chopsticks according to their purpose, such as saibashi (cooking chopsticks), toribashi (serving chopsticks) for serving food from a single dish, and meimeibashi (personal chopsticks). Saibashi are round chopsticks used in cooking and plating food, and are often made of bamboo. Those for grilled or fried foods are about 30 cm long, while those for salads and simmered foods are slightly shorter. Other types include plating chopsticks with metal tips for plating small dishes and sashimi, deep-frying chopsticks with wooden handles and metal tips, and wooden chopsticks for making tempura batter that are much thicker than regular cooking chopsticks. Kashibashi (confectionery chopsticks) are a type of serving chopsticks used in entertaining guests, and are mainly used to accompany raw sweets. Kuromoji (chopsticks made from Kuromoji wood) are used in the tea ceremony. Iwai-bashi are round chopsticks used for gifts of congratulations, and thick round chopsticks made of willow wood are considered the standard, and are also called willow chopsticks. Willow was used for gifts because it is hard to break. The ones used for New Year's are called zoni-bashi. Rikyu chopsticks are square cedar chopsticks with the edges removed and both ends cut thin, so they can be used from either side. They were invented by Sen no Rikyu and used in tea kaiseki, but are now also used for general cooking. Wari-bashi are disposable wooden chopsticks that are split and used, unique to Japan, being convenient and clean. They were invented at the end of the Edo period and are widely used in restaurants and for guests. In addition, mana-bashi, a special type of chopsticks, are used to cook fish and poultry at ceremonies and special occasions. Chopstick accessories include chopstick rests, which were traditionally called chopstick stands, chopstick cases, chopstick jars for inserting chopsticks, and chopstick holders.

[Tomomi Kono]

Usage

The correct way to hold chopsticks and etiquette for using chopsticks during meals are passed down as part of discipline. For example, using uribashi (transferring chopsticks from one dish to another), mayoibashi (deciding which to use), pushing chopsticks into the mouth, saguribashi (groping chopsticks) feeling around in a bowl, mawashibashi (rotating chopsticks) stirring soup, mogibashi (licking rice grains off the chopsticks), and sorabashi (placing chopsticks back in the mouth after eating) are all considered bad manners.

[Tomomi Kono]

Folklore

There are many folk customs relating to chopsticks, and it is considered an old-fashioned custom to make new chopsticks from clean wood such as chestnut, willow or reed for New Year's, Bon, seasonal festivals, festivals, birthday celebrations and so on. For example, in some regions chopsticks are carved to be offered to the New Year's deity for New Year's Eve ceremonies, and in some regions the oldest man in the year makes chopsticks from chestnut wood for New Year's ceremonies, which are then preserved and used for meals on millet sowing day. In some regions, at the end of the sixth month of the lunar calendar, chopsticks made from Japanese kaya or Japanese silver grass are offered and people eat with them on occasions such as New Hashi no Iwai and Aohashi no Toshitori. Other examples include chopsticks made from hemp husks for Bon, long chopsticks for the Ino Ko festival in October, and three chopsticks for the Daishi Ko festival in November. On the other hand, there is also a widely-held legend about chopstick stands, in which saints and nobles such as Kobo Daishi and Minamoto no Yoritomo stuck the chopsticks they used for eating upside down into the ground, causing them to sprout and grow into large trees. It is also said that breaking chopsticks while eating is an omen of misfortune, that two people pinching each other with chopsticks is disliked as it is seen as bone-picking at a funeral, and that if you do not break and throw away the chopsticks you used when eating outdoors, they will be picked up by monsters and you will become ill.

[Mizuo Miyamoto]

"Chopsticks and Forks" by Isamu Kawase (1976, Kosaido Publishing)" ▽ "Chopsticks, Forks and Cooking" by Asako Higashihata (1982, Tokyo Shoseki) ▽ "The Book of Chopsticks" by Soichiro Honda (1985, Nihon Jitsugyo Publishing)"

Main types of disposable chopsticks
Cho-roku: The most basic type with just a slit. Genroku: A groove is made in the slit, and all four sides are chamfered. Ten-suge: The end of the handle side is beveled. Rikyu: Both ends are cut into thin pieces, similar to the Rikyu chopsticks used for tea ceremony and kaiseki. Fusei: The tips of each chopstick are rounded, and the end of the handle side is left square without being split. © Takashi Aoki ">

Main types of disposable chopsticks

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

食事や調理の際に食物を挟む、一対の細い棒状の器具。東洋独特のものである。日本の古代の箸は、竹を細く削って二つに折り曲げたピンセット状のものであったという。『万葉集』のなかにも詠まれているように、中国文化の影響を受けて、奈良時代にはすでに2本の箸の使用が一般化していた。箸の語源は鳥の嘴(はし)あるいは端(はし)ともいわれる。

［河野友美］

種類

箸の材料には、竹・杉・柳のほか、ナンテン・ヒノキ・桑・紫檀(したん)・黒檀などの木材、金・銀・鉄・アルミニウムなどの金属、象牙(ぞうげ)・シカの角・獣骨など動物の骨角、およびプラスチックなどが使われている。木箸は木地のままのものと塗り箸があり、塗り箸には蒔絵(まきえ)や螺鈿(らでん)を施したものもある。形は丸型、角型、太型、細型、先細型、平(ひら)型、割り箸などがある。

［河野友美］

用途

箸は、日常の食事のほか、儀式その他の行事などに、いろいろな箸が用いられてきた。日常的なものでは、用途別に、調理用の菜箸(さいばし)、一つの器に盛られた料理を取り分けるための取り箸、個人用の銘々箸などがある。菜箸は調理や料理の盛り付けに使う丸箸で、竹製のものが多い。焼き物・揚げ物用は30センチメートルくらいの長いもの、和(あ)え物、煮物用はやや短い。そのほか、細かい料理や刺身を盛り付けるための先が金属製の盛り付け箸、柄(え)が木製で先は金属製の揚げ箸、普通の菜箸よりずっと太い、木製のてんぷらの衣づくり用箸などがある。菓子箸は、接待用の取り箸の一種で、主として生(なま)菓子に添える。茶道では黒文字(くろもじ)（クロモジの木でつくった箸）が用いられる。祝い箸は祝儀に用いる丸箸で、柳の木を使った太い丸箸が本式とされ、これを柳箸ともいう。柳は折れにくいとして祝儀に用いられた。とくに正月用を雑煮箸という。利休(りきゅう)箸は、杉製の角箸の面をとり、両端を細く削ったもので、両方から使える。千利休が考案し茶懐石に用いられたが、現在では一般の料理にも使う。割り箸は、木製の割って用いる使い捨ての箸で、便利さと清潔さを備えた日本独特のものである。江戸時代末期に考案され、飲食店や来客用に広く普及している。そのほか、特殊な箸である真魚(まな)箸は、儀式や特別の席で魚や鳥などを調理するのに用いられる。箸の付属品としては、古くは箸台とよばれた箸置き、箸箱、箸を挿しておく箸壺(はしつぼ)、箸筒などがある。

［河野友美］

使用法

正しい箸の持ち方、食事作法のうえでの箸の使い方のエチケットなどが、しつけとして伝えられている。たとえば、おかずからおかずへ箸を移す移り箸、あれこれ迷う迷い箸、口の中へ箸で押し込む込み箸、椀の中をさぐるさぐり箸、汁物などをかき回す回し箸、箸についた飯粒をなめてとるもぎ箸、食べようとして箸をつけてから引っ込めるそら箸などは、行儀の悪いこととされている。

［河野友美］

民俗

箸に関する民俗は多く、正月をはじめ、盆(ぼん)、節供(せっく)、神祭り、誕生祝いなどには、とくにクリ、ヤナギ、アシなど清い木を切って新箸(にいばし)をつくるのを古風とする。たとえば、年越しの行事に箸を削って年神に供えたり、正月行事に年男がクリの木で箸をつくって用い、これを保存してアワ播(ま)きの日の食事に使うという地方もある。また旧暦6月末には、新箸の祝い、青箸の年取りなどといい、カヤやススキの箸を供え、これで食事する地方もある。このほか、盆には麻幹(おがら)の箸、10月の亥(い)の子には長箸、11月の大師(だいし)講には3本箸が用いられた。一方、弘法(こうぼう)大師、源頼朝(よりとも)など聖人・貴人が、食事に用いた箸を逆さに地面に挿したところ、芽を吹き、大木になったという箸立(はしたて)伝説も広く行われている。また、食事中に箸が折れるのは凶事の前兆であるとか、2人が箸で挟み合うのは葬式の骨拾いとして嫌われるとか、野外で食事をしたとき、使った箸は、かならず折って捨てないと、妖怪(ようかい)に拾われ、病気になるなどといわれている。

［宮本瑞夫］

『川瀬勇著『箸とフォーク』（1976・広済堂出版）』▽『東畑朝子著『箸とフォークとクッキング』（1982・東京書籍）』▽『本田總一郎著『箸の本』（1985・日本実業出版社）』

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丁六　割れ目を入れただけの、もっとも基本的なもの元禄　割れ目に溝を入れ、四方を面取りしたもの天削　持ち手側の端を斜めにそいだ形状にしたもの利休　茶懐石に用いる利休箸と同様に両端を細く削ったもの双生　箸先は1本ずつ丸く削り、持ち手側の端は割らずに四角い形状を残したもの©青木　隆">

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