著者

金,泰虎

出版者

北東アジア学会

雑誌

北東アジア地域研究

巻号頁・発行日

no.14, 2008-10-01

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The functional peculiarity of chopsticks and sets of chopsticks and spoons in Japan and Korea shows in the fact that it is hard to eat soup or juicy food with chopsticks, while a spoon is suitable for such dishes. Japanese use only chopsticks through the whole meal, but in Korea chopsticks and spoons are used according to the dish, the spoon playing the main role. Japanese and Korean cutlery has influenced the tableware, the low dining table and the food, making the best out of the particular advantages and making up for the shortcomings of the cutlery. Teacups and wooden bowls in Japan are pointed at the bottom, and are therefore easy to pick up: they tend to be lifted when used. Especially the bowls are produced of wooden material, which makes them easy to lift even when containing hot liquids. Furthermore, vessels tend to be small: small plates and serving plates were developed. It can be said that the characteristics of chopsticks have influenced these kinds of tableware. In Korea, on the other hand, teacups and bowls are wide at the bottom and hard to pick up, and the vessels are big and made of metal. Therefore one can only eat with the tableware left on low dining table. Moreover, big plates for common use were developed showing the influence of the spoon on the tableware. Furthermore, cutlery also influenced Japanese small individual plates and Korean small plates and low dining tables. Because Japanese eat food lifting their plates, it becomes very cramped if the right distance to the mouth is not kept. The Koreans eat from small plates resting on low dining tables and therefore have to make an effort not to drop any food while eating. That is the reason why the rim of Japanese small individual plates are low and the rim of small Korean plates are higher than Japanese ones. Japanese and Korean foods also reflect the functional characteristics of cutlery. Complying to the peculiarity of chopsticks, Japanese avoid soups and juicy foods which cannot be eaten with them. In Korea, on the other hand, due to the usage possibilities of the spoon, many kinds of soups were developed. Therefore one can say that the cutlery in Japan and in Korea has affected the tableware, the tables and the food. These changes, caused by complying to the peculiarities of the cutlery, effectively promote the enjoyment of meals in an efficient and neat way without wasting any food.