AUTHOR’S NOTE

Jasmine and her family often eat meals with chopsticks, called hashi (HAH-shee) in Japanese.

It is believed that the Chinese people first used chopsticks over 5,000 years ago and that they were introduced to Japan around 500 CE. Japanese chopsticks are typically pointed and are made of lacquered wood—painted with a shiny coating. The Japanese people were the first to lacquer chopsticks. Disposable chopsticks were invented in Japan in the late 1800s.

There are rules (of course) for good manners when it comes to eating with chopsticks. Here are some that Jasmine follows:

• Use your chopsticks for eating. They are not toys. Do not use them as drumsticks to hit the table or plates and glasses.
• If you want to pass food to a friend or family member, place the food item on the other person’s plate. Do not pass food directly from chopsticks to chopsticks. This is similar to a funeral ritual (passing cremated bones), so it is considered rude to do that with food.
• When you are not using your chopsticks, place them parallel to each other on a chopstick holder or plate. Do not stick them straight up in your food. That would look like incense in a burner, which is also associated with funerals.
• Do not point with your chopsticks.