Now the porcelain is the main daily tableware in Japan. But before the porcelain came into wide use, the lacquer ware was the main.<BR>The production of porcelain has started at Hizen Arita in the early part of 17<SUP>th</SUP> century. But in the Edo period, it did not become popular as daily tableware. In the Meiji period, the railway opened to traffic, and the porcelain spread to the whole country.<BR>On the table-tray (zen), the small bowl was the first to change from the lacquer ware to the porcelain, the plate for fish was the second, and the rice bowl was the third. As on the whole, the lacquer ware changed to the porcelain, but the ceramic and plastic rice bowl did not come into wide use.<BR>Why did the rice bowl change to the porcelain? It is generally agreed that the rice is the staple food of the Japanese people, and this is certainly the case today. However, this has not been true at all times or for all people. Throughout the Japanese history, we lived largely on katemesi (mixed rice and cereals) and zosui. Katemesi and zosui need the rice bowl of porcelain.