导语本文通过筷子这种取食工具分析日本文化的内涵.日本和中国同属汉字文化圈和筷子文化圈.从中国引入日本后筷子后在饮食生活中得到普及和发展,并产生了独特的筷子文化.筷子的长度和形状也进行了改造,与中国多用竹筷子不同,日本筷子多木制、稍短、尖头粗尾,更好的适应日本饮食多生冷、分餐制的特点.日本筷子还因使用者而有所区别,有儿童专用筷、成人专用筷、客人专用筷,还分男女筷.公用筷和方便筷的产生都缘于日本人认为筷子用后灵魂会停留在上面,不能让别人玷污了自己的灵魂而使自己遭受灾祸.在筷子的使用上有多达几十种禁忌,其中除了不雅举止外,有的还和葬礼有关系.

What do you usually eat with?

If your answer is not, "My hands, " then you belong to one of two minorities on this planet. Thirty percent of us usually eat with cutlery. Another thirty percent use chopsticks.

你一般是用什么吃东西的呢?

如果你的回答说的不是手，那么你便是属于这个星球上主要两大类人群之一了。在我们这个星球上，有百分之三十的人吃饭时是使用刀具的，而另外百分之三十的人则是使用筷子。

How the Japanese began to use chopsticks is a subject of debate. Some say chopsticks wended their way, along with other facets of culture, from China, throughKorea, toJapanaround the sixth century AD. Others, that they were brought directly back toJapanby an imperial envoy at a somewhat later date. In any case, like many things that came fromChinatoJapan, chopsticks were initially revered.

The Japanese word for "chopsticks" is hashi which is a homophone with the Japanese word meaning "bridge". The concept of chopsticks providing a bridge is a recurring motif in Japanese culture, reflected in distinctive shapes and materials that vary with the occasions of their use. In their early history, Japanese chopsticks provided a bridge between the human and the divine.Rather than for taking ordinary meals, they were used, at first, for sharing food with the gods.

日本人是如何开始用筷子的呢?这个问题一直都在被人讨论。有的人说筷子是和其它文化事物一样，大概在公元6世纪的时候，从中国经由韩国，再传到日本。当然也有人说，筷子之所以流传到日本，是当时帝国之间的使者往来所造成的。无论怎么说，像其它早期从中国流传到日本的那样东西一样，筷子从一开始在日本就受到了尊从。

在日文中，筷子的发音是hashi，这和桥在日本中的发音是一样的。而这样的一层含义也就表达出了在日本文化中，筷子是被赋予了搭建各种文化桥梁的深刻含义，这从筷子在不同场合中有不同的形状，材料这一点上可以反映出来。日本的早期历史中，筷子还充当了把人和神联系起来的桥梁，筷子不仅仅是人们平时吃饭时所使用的工具，更重要的是，使用筷子则象征着神是与你一在一起的。

It was believed that when a pair of chopsticks was offered to a deity, the chopsticks became inhabited by that deity. When those chopsticks were used to eat the food that was offered along with them, mortal and immortal dined together.

自从人们把一双筷子敬奉给神明后，人们则认为神明也是用筷子吃饭的，所以当用筷子来吃饭时，无论是凡人还是神明，都是一样在使用筷子。

Unlike their Chinese precursors, of uniform thickness, Japanese chopsticks are tapered along their length. The chopsticks used for ceremonial purposes are tapered on both ends. Akira Izu explained when I visited his chopstick museum in Kyoto, "The gods said, 'One end is for you, the other is for us.'"

和早就在使用筷子的中国不同，中国的筷子上下差不多都是一样粗细，而日本的筷子则是随着筷子的长度，尾端变的越来越细。另外，在商业会餐中使用的筷子则是两边都很细，对于这个问题，曾经我参访京都筷子博物馆时，Akira Izu是这样解释的：“神曰：一边为你，一边是为我。”

This kind of ceremonial chopstick is still in use inJapan, today. One venue is the formal tea ceremony. The form of the tea ceremony was crystallized by the seventeenth century tea master, Senno Rikyu, who prescribed a light meal before sharing tea. It is said that Rikyu would carve new chopsticks, himself, from a fresh block of cedar before his guests would arrive. These had tapered, rounded ends and a squared off middle section so as to be held easily. This style of chopsticks still bears Rikyu's name and is used for the tea ceremony and in many restaurants.

像这种在不同场合下使用不同的筷子如今在日本依然是一种习惯。正式的茶会就是一个很好的例子，这种形式的茶会的中心思想是源自于日本17世纪一位禅宗大师—利修，他每次在给客人上茶前都会让客人稍微吃一点东西。据说村田每次在客人到来之前，都会亲自用雪松木自己制作筷子，他做的筷子尖顶圆底，筷子中间的部分较平坦，这样拿起来也比较方便。而这种筷子则是用利修的名字命名并一直在日本的茶会和其它餐厅里沿用至今。

You will also find ceremonial chopsticks used in Japanese homes during New Year celebrations. They are made from light colored wood, with a round cross-section throughout. It is common, at a big family gathering, for each member to receive his or her own set of these chopsticks to use throughout the holiday period. Following the holidays these chopsticks are often taken to a temple and burned in a fire maintained for that purpose.

The custom of individuals using their own pair of chopsticks is not only for the holidays.

在新年里，礼仪场合下使用的筷子也会出现在日本家庭中。通常它们都是由明亮颜色的木头制作而成的，两头都是圆柱形。不但如此，逢年过节在大家庭聚会中，大家都使用自己的筷子是再平常不过的了。在一些节日里，这类筷子通常也会被带到寺庙中去被点燃，并赋予上节日的意义。

Chopsticks gradually took their place, in Japan, as a bridge between serving vessels and the mouth in ordinary meals. Unlike Chinese families, who keep a collection of a dozen or so identical chopsticks in a box or a large cup on the dining table, Japanese families tend to keep personal pairs of chopsticks for each family member.

不仅仅是在逢年过节的时候大家都使用自己的筷子，筷子在日本正逐渐变的重要，作为重要场合中的代表以及平常餐饮中的工具，筷子依旧充当连接两者的桥梁。在中国的家，无论是普通筷子还是个人筷子，都是收在一起放到一个盒子里或者一个杯子里并摆放在桌上，而日本家庭则是把每个家庭成员的筷子都单独分好放好。

Japanese chopsticks for every day use are tapered at only the end used to grasp the food, and can be found in vast variety. At the beginning of the seventeenth century the people of Wakasa (an area along theJapanSeacoast) began to apply lacquer to chopsticks. This made them more slippery, but longer lasting.

在日本，通常每天要用的筷子底部都是尖的，这样的筷子哪里都是。在若州(日本一个沿海的小镇)，17世纪初人们开始往筷子上涂漆，这样就使得筷子变得更滑了但同时也使筷子的寿命变的更长久了。

Lacquered chopsticks from Wakasa are among the most traditional styles. They may be dusted with powdered seashells, or coated with several layers of different colored lacquer which are then sanded through to produce multicolored patterns. Other prefectures produce chopsticks featuring the materials or techniques they are known for such as inlays of shells or intricate carving techniques.

若州的漆筷是日本最传统的筷子之一，有的时候是被洒上了贝壳磨成的粉，也有的时候是被盖上了不同颜色漆条然后磨光最后被做成了各种各样的款式。另外，日本有一些地方的筷子的装饰，则无疑显露出其地方高超的镶嵌技巧与精细的雕刻功底，而通常这类地方也因其而闻名。

Modern designs may include your astrological sign (Eastern or Western), the flora or fauna of the seasons, or popular animation characters.

现代的筷子上有可能会有你的星座(无论是西方还是东方)，各种季节的花草或者动物，还或者是流行的卡通角色。

Some stores inJapanare devoted exclusively to the sale of chopsticks.

在日本，有一些商店对筷子的销售作出了极大的贡献。

They offer various designs for eating foods ranging from needle sharp points for fish, to spiraled tips for spaghetti, to almost paddle-like ends for ochazuke (rice covered with green tea). ou can find chopsticks made of ivory, bone, or plastic, but wood is the most common material. Willowis often chosen for a wedding gift because it is long lasting.

在这样商店中，你可以看到各式各样的用来吃饭的筷子，无论是细尖的用来吃鱼的筷子还是那种用来吃意大利面的螺旋形的筷子，亦或者是那种底部像勺子一样用来吃茶泡饭的筷子。你可能也看到过象牙做的筷子，骨头做的筷子或者是塑料做的筷子，但是最普通的也是最常用的制作筷子的材料是木头。人们一般都会选择用柳木做的筷子作为结婚礼物送给他人，因为柳木象征长长久久。

The Yoshino area, in Naraprefecture, is known for its cedar forests and as the origin of waribashi, "disposable chopsticks". During the seventeenth century, Yoshino was a production center for sake barrels and began turning the leftover scraps into the kind of chopsticks that are now commonly found in restaurants all over the nation.

在日本吉野一块，奈良因其茂盛的雪松以及一次性筷子而闻名，在17世纪，吉野是日本产清酒桶的中心地带，经常会有很多制桶剩余下来的木屑，于是这样剩余的木屑就被做成了现在哪里都能看到的一次性木筷。

Waribashi are made from a single piece of wood, partially split in the middle. The end user completes the splitting by pulling apart the two halves.

一次性木筷是由一小块木头做成的，可以从中间断开，许多人用完后就把它从中间一掰为二。

There is some controversy over disposable chopsticks. Some argue that, since they are made, even today, from scrap wood, they pose no threat to the environment. While this is true of waribashimade inJapan, it is estimated that ninety percent of the disposable chopsticks used inJapanare made in China, where trees are harvested for that single purpose.

对待一次性筷子，始终是有一些争议的。有些人说自从一次性筷子被创造出来，时至今日，对木头，对环境是极大的威胁。而事实上在日本，一次性筷子确实是起到了危险自然的作用，在日本百分之九十的一次性木筷都是由中国生产的，换句话说茂盛的树木只是为了生产一次性木筷这个仅有的目的。

A recent invention has eased the minds of both those who are concerned with the preservation of natural resources and those who feel squeamish about chopsticks that have been previously used by strangers.Tsunagibashi (literally "connecting chopsticks") are chopsticks with a socket halfway through their length so they cam be taken apart and fit into a convenient carrying case, to go anywhere with their owners.Connecting chopsticks are a thoughtful souvenir for the eco-friendly traveler.

最近一项发明平衡了那些环境保护主义者和拒绝使用公用筷子者之间的争端，Tsunagibashi(也就是所谓的“伸缩筷”)是一种中间有槽可以把筷子下半部缩进去的并且便于携带的筷子，人们走到哪里都能带着它，而伸缩筷也就成为了崇尚生态友好旅游人士最有意义的礼物。

Japanese chopsticks have also been made from silver and gold, especially for use in royal households where food tasters were employed.There was a time when it was believed precious metals would turn black when in contact with certain poisons. Japan's royalty may have lost some of its food tasters to this myth.

日本的筷子同样也有银做的和金做的，特别是皇室里那些仆人试菜时就经常要使用到。有一段时间，人们相信当接触到有毒物质时，那些珍贵的金属是会变黑的，所以日本的皇室的试菜仆人很有可能因为这样子虚乌有的理论而丧生。

And speaking of death brings us back to the ceremonial use of chopsticks.

谈到死亡，这里就不得不提到日本筷子特殊场合的另一种用法。

Cremation is nearly universal in modern-day, Japanese funerals. The body, however, is not reduced entirely to ash. It is customary for the extended family to transfer the bones of the deceased into an urn with chopsticks. Funerary chopsticks are tapered at only one end, but are quite different for those used at table. One is made from bamboo and one from wood, representing the elements of water and fire, thus creating a bridge between this world and the next.

在如今葬礼可以说是很普遍的事情，然而日本的葬礼，人死后的身躯并不是归于灰烬，在那些有势的大家族，他们通常会选择把逝者的骨头做成骨灰瓮，再搭配筷子。配合骨灰瓮的筷子一般都是只有一边尖头，但和通常在饭桌上使用的筷子是不一样的。前者是用竹子做的，后者则是用木头做的，骨灰翁配竹筷象征火与水，好比为现世和来世搭建了一个桥梁一番。

In the Japanese way of thinking, there is a lingering sense of the divine in any pair of chopsticks.A pair of your own, inhabited by memories made inJapan, can bridge the gap between the present and the past.

从日本人的思考方式看来，每一双筷子里都有神明的意识在回荡。自己的那一双来自日本的筷子，到处都充满着回忆，且相连着前世今生。