By Chamiya Carnathan

I decided to join Japanese Tamago because I was interested in Japan’s culture and I wanted to learn Japanese. I was also greatly encouraged to learn more about Japan because of the growing popularity of anime and ramen. I’ve continued with the program because I have learned a lot from the program, both the Japanese language and culture. 

One thing that I learned from Japanese Tamago were the origins of Japanese chopsticks and their similarities and differences with Korea’s and China’s chopsticks. Chopsticks originated from the Shang Dynasty and both Korea and Japan adopted the chopsticks from China. There are some similarities between the three chopsticks, but China, Korea, and Japan have different customs that associate with their chopsticks. 

As you can see, Chinese chopsticks are the longest out of the three, while Japan’s chopsticks are the shortest. Chinese chopsticks are usually made out of bamboo, plastic, or ivory and they are about 10 inches long. They have blunt ends and they are a rectangle shape. Chinese chopsticks are long because they could be used as cooking utensils and also for shared dishes. Korean chopsticks are usually made with metal and they are a rectangular shape. They could also be decorated at the ends. Japanese chopsticks are shorter and rounder than Korean and Chinese chopsticks. They also have a pointier end because it makes it easier to eat fish. 

I encourage you to research the different customs and history for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean chopsticks. It is really interesting and engaging and I enjoyed learning about it. 

https://pogogi.com/differences-between-japanese-chinese-and-korean-chopsticks