Why 5 pieces set in Japan?

Wakasa Chopsticks

Imari Chopsticks Rests



Imari Green tea cups

Imari Sake cups

I got a question from my customer why most Japanese wares are in 5 pieces?

I investigated it and found three reasons as follows.

1. Japanese prefer odd numbers rather than even numbers. We have celebrations on Jan. 1st, March 3rd, May 5th and July 7th. But, we do not have any holidays on Feb. 2nd, Apr. 4th and June 6th…
2. 4 is considered a bad luck number and is connected with “death”.
3. Asymmetrical is good in a tea ceremony. 3 and 5 is better than 4 and 6.

In China, a table is set to mark the 4 points of the compass. They believe it is good luck. Therefore, Chinese ware comes in a set of 4.

It was an interesting story for me. I appreciated my customer giving me a chance to investigate.

White Day

Previously, I presented Valentine’s Day in Japan, when women send gifts and sweets to men. This time I will describe White Day held on March 14th. The event was originated by candy makers in 1980’s as a way for men to return to the favor to the women. Why it is white? Candy is made with sugar which is white. White Day is also funny story.

If a man gets some sweets or gifts from a woman on Valentine’s Day, he has to give back some sweets with gifts on White Day. Giri-chocolate was not meant to be a gift of obligation.

Between students, boys just give back sweets to the girls. It is simple. But, in the business world, it is little bit complicated. Some office ladies send many Giri-chocolates to their coworkers and their bosses, because they expect good gifts back from them. It is the rule, that if a man gets something from a woman, he has to give back gifts worth three times as much to her. It is not only on Valentine’s Day, but also at Christmas time. It is a kind of investment. She spends $100.00 for Valentine’s Day and then expects $300.00 gift value on White Day.

When I was single, I bought dinner for my girlfriend during the White Day season. It was not three times…

Gift giving in Japan is not always a happy time. Boys and guys must think ahead about the next step.

Valentine‘s Day in Japan

I was surprised to discover that there is a big difference between the way the Japanese and Americans celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day is a huge event in Japan, especially among single people. I was so surprised that in the United States Valentine gifts are exchanged between spouses, as well as, between single people. In Japan this day is a big event when single girls and ladies make romantic overtures to boys and guys by giving them chocolates. Japanese women are normally shy, but on Valentine’s Day it is the first time they have a chance to say “I love you,” to a particular boy or man.

We see a lot of chocolate commercials on TV beginning in February. I saw a newspaper article that said this custom was created by chocolate industry in the 1960’s to increase their sales. Now, most women give chocolate to men. This holiday makes up 20 % of sales for one year. It is a national event.

When I was a junior high school student, I was so nervous the night before Valentine’s Day. Boys took pride in how many chocolates they received. I got one or zero chocolates on that day every year. If I did not get any, I was very disappointed that evening. Sometimes, my mother gave me chocolate, but that did not work for me. I wanted chocolate from girls instead of my mom. Star players in sports get many, many chocolates. Idols get tons of chocolate.

In the business scene, ladies give chocolates to co-workers and their boss. It is called “Giri-chocolate”. Giri means obligation in Japanese. So, it means “I give you chocolate, but it is not because of love.” If men get the Giri-chocolate, men have to give back chocolate or some sweets with gifts on White Day. I will explain White Day in the next issue.

All generations of women buy chocolates for this season. Girls give it to boys. Single ladies give it to single guys or their boss and co-workers. Mothers give it to their sons and husbands. In the first weekend of February, all department stores have a special chocolate gift center. If you go to there, you can see tons of women shopping. It is a kind of glorious view.

Roots of Japanese pottery vol.2 Sueki

Sueki is a second generation pottery technique developed from Doki (Please see vol.1.). Sueki techniques came from South Korea in the 5th century. It is the first pottery made using a kiln. Doki pottery was burned with no cover, at a temperature of 600-800 degrees C. The lower temperature made brittle, red-brown ware. The Sueki kiln technique burned pottery at a temperature of 1,100 degrees C which made pottery, stronger. The kiln was a hole in the ground and used an oxidation burning method. The color was dark gray with blue.

In the beginning, Sueki ware was made for noble families in Osaka and Fukuoka. The production of Sueki ware further spread to most of western Japan, and by the 9th century, had reached northern Japan.

After that new technique came from Korea. Sueki was developed in Bizen, Seto, Tokoname, Shigaraki, Tanba and Echizen. We call these cities “Rokkoyo”, because they have each created their own unique version of Sueki technique. Please see the story.

A Sueki technique had also been used for making Kawara -a type of Japanese roof tile. You could see them on old temples and shrines in Kyoto and Nara.

Slender waist is not sexy in kimono world.

Some Japanese wear kimono for the New Year holiday, because they invite families and friends to their homes, or they go visiting. I have also worn a kimono Jan 1st and 3rd this year. My parents and I invited an American couple to my parents’ home on Jan. 3rd. We let them wear kimono and visit a nearby Shinto Shrine. We had a very good time.

My father mentioned that average weight guys look nicer than skinny guys wearing kimono. This is also true for women. I saw many singers who sing traditional songs wearing kimono on TV. I feel older singers look better in kimono than younger singers, because most of them are skinny. Kimono is well-suited for older people.

Many couples wear kimono for weddings. My mother is a professional kimono dresser. She told me that most young ladies put towels under their Obi (kimono belt) and around their breasts, because they are too skinny. She told me that a skinny body breaks the balance and doesn’t look as good.

She told me kimonos were developed by the Japanese a long time ago. People were not tall and skinny. Today Japanese is taller and skinnier than in the past. Of all the developed countries, Japanese people are the skinniest. I feel Americans look better in kimono than current Japanese. Japanese are growing away from their traditional culture, while Americans are growing toward traditional Japanese culture. I’m just kidding.

Christmas in Japan

Nagoya train station

2 million Japanese Christians live in Japan, which is only 1.6% of the Japanese population. Most Japanese enjoy celebrating Christmas, regardless of their spiritual beliefs. It is a funny custom.

When I was a kid, I believed Santa Claus gave me a gift if I was a good boy. I learned about Christmas from my parents and my kindergarten teacher, but not from Christians and ministers. My family was not Christian, but we had Christmas parties. We did not sing any gospel songs. We sang some Santa Claus songs in Japanese. When I was young, I didn’t know Christmas was Jesus’ birthday. I enjoyed the party and gift from my parents.

When I got a girlfriend, I knew I would have to spend time with her on Christmas Eve. We exchanged gifts. The young man has to buy a more expensive gift than the young women has to buy. Of course, the young man has to pay for dinner and a hotel, if necessary. It is a common rule among singles. It is not so bad for men, because most women do not want to be alone on Christmas Eve. It is a huge opportunity to impress a new girlfriend. One of my friends told me this day was the toughest in the year, because he had to choose one girl from his several girlfriends. So, it is the worst day for playboys in Japan.

I don’t know why most Japanese eat chicken for Charismas Eve dinner. Most families do not have big ovens. They have to buy grilled or fried chicken at the stores. No doubt, KFC could make record sales at that time of year.

Avocado in Sushi

Over 12 years ago, on my first trip to America, I discovered something strange. Americans were eating avocado in sushi. Then, about 10 years ago Japanese sushi restaurants began to use avocado. The idea came from the US! Avocado in sushi has been popular ever since.

I ate a rainbow roll at a Chinese/Japanese restaurant in Western North Carolina in 1997. I was so surprised and loved the combination taste. While I lived in America I tried many kinds of American sushi,

Here are my three, favorite American sushi;
No.1: Dragon roll is made with cooked eel, avocado and sweet soy sauce on the top. I think cooked eel and avocado are a great match.
No. 2: Rainbow roll is made with avocado (inside) and several kinds of sashimi on the top. The sashimi can include tuna, salmon, red snapper and others. These sashimi are very colorful and beautiful.
No.3: Sunrise sushi is very rare. It is wrapped with tuna sashimi instead of nori (black seaweed paper). There is egg yolk from an “uzura” and tobiko on the top (“uzura” is a small chicken). The egg and tuna complement each other very well.

I eat avocado with tuna sashimi now. It is a very easy recipe.

Cut tuna sashimi and avocado into 1/2” squares.
Put them into a dish and mix.
Put sesame, chopped nori (black seaweed paper) on the top.
Sauce is made by mixing soy sauce, wasabi and lemon juice.
Put the sauce on top of the tuna and avocado.
Optional: tomato, green onion
Salmon can be substituted for the tuna.

I went to Ohio on a business trip. My customer told me he couldn’t buy any sashimi in his town. He enjoyed avocado with soy sauce and wasabi. It tasted very similar to good tuna sashimi. He enjoyed it instead of real sashimi.

I do not know who started to eat avocado with soy sauce and cook avocado in sushi. The idea is great and a wonderful combination - Japanese culture and avocado!
I welcome that kind of combination and will keep searching for it.

Pentagon Chopsticks

I can tell you these chopsticks are the best chopsticks in my store. I prefer the new pentagon shaped chopsticks and here are some reasons why:

The pentagon shape is a modern, non-traditional shape in chopsticks. Most Japanese chopsticks have a square or round shape. Why a pentagon shape? Because in Japanese “Gokaku” translates to pentagon and ”success on an examination”. This item has become more and more popular among students and parents.

The pentagon shape is uniform from top to bottom. The edges are also pentagon-shaped and are useful for handling. They can hold slippery foods, such as noodles, very easily. Have you eaten noodles with round chopsticks? It was very hard, wasn’t it? Even the Japanese have difficulty sometimes.

The chopsticks are crafted with compacted plywood and resin, which make them very strong but still light weight.

Slim chopsticks provide very good handling, especially when eating grilled fish. You can separate fish meat and bones with ease.

Doki gallery

Roots of Japanese pottery vol.1 Doki

Doki pottery originated 10,000 years ago and continued until 1,500 years ago in Japan. After that, new pottery techniques were brought in from Korea. One technique was the use of a kiln for the burning process. Doki pottery was burned with no cover, at a temperature of 600-800 degrees C. The lower temperature made brittle, red-brown ware. The kiln technique burned pottery at a temperature of 1,100 degrees C which made pottery stronger.


In the beginning Doki did not have a pattern on the surface. A later development involved using a rope to create a pattern. Before the burning process, the potter rubbed a rope over the surface of the pottery piece. Around 3,000 years ago people began to use a spatula to make the pattern.

Some of Doki pottery exhibited very aggressive designs and were not functional. Those pieces were used for ceremonies or funerals. Some present day artists value them very highly and appreciate them for their imagination. Taro Okamoto is one of the famous Japanese artists who is inspired by Doki.

Some Japanese archaeologists say that at time, the ancient people were a hunting society not an agricultural society. Their lives were unpredictable and survival was a way of life. Daily fear created a very aggressive imagination.

Production of Doki was discontinued when kiln techniques arrived from Korea. Now Doki can be found in ancient ruins throughout Japan.