Every country or culture has its own custom of giving gifts, and here I’d like to share with you the most common gifts given to married couples in Japan: a pair of matching tableware.
These kinds of paired rice bowls are called “Meoto-jawan (rice bowls for husband and wife)” , and chopsticks are called “Meoto-bashi (chopsticks for husband and wife).”
By gifting paired items, you’re wishing the husband and wife a long and harmonious life together. And by giving tableware, you’re hoping that they will always have plenty to eat.
We sometimes give paired items as wedding gifts to newlywed friends, and sometimes children present these to parents to celebrate their 25th silver wedding anniversary or 50th golden wedding anniversary.
The paired items often have patterns that are believed to bring good fortune.
For example, the rice bowl in the picture below has six images of gourds. “Muhyo” (six gourds) in Japanese is a rhyme for “Mubyo” ( disease-free), so this pattern conveys your wish for them to stay healthy, with a life free from illness.
In Japan, a rice bowl is held up with the left hand and chopsticks are lifted with the right hand. So traditionally, to fit comfortably in users’ hands, the husband’s rice bowl is bigger and the wife’s is smaller, and the husband’s chopsticks are longer and the wife’s are shorter.
We don’t know who came up with the idea originally, but it is obvious that the creators of the items made them considering the couples who would use them, and that warms my heart.
Also, usually, darker colours like black and blue are used for the husband’s bowl and chopsticks, and lighter colours like pink and red are used for the wife’s.
But in the future, with the wider recognition of same-sex couples and LGBTQ people, the shape and colours of tableware for husband and wife may have more varieties in time.
In Japan, some say “the real value of a thing is determined by the heart of a person who uses it and by how he or she uses it. ”
Every time I use them with my husband, I find myself treating them so carefully so as not to break them. For us, they serve as a perfect reminder of how grateful we are for being able to eat together.
◎In addition to rice bowls and chopsticks, there are also paired tea bowls for gifts.
If you’re visiting Japan and looking for a souvenir for a couple, I would highly recommend choosing them. You can find them in department stores and souvenir shops in Japan.
My name is Mari. I’m a native Japanese living in Japan.
I’m writing about 365 stories of Japanese daily life and culture based on my own experiences and perspectives.
#007 story is about gifts for married couples.