I just watched From Martha’s Kitchen and saw a segment about Japanese rice wine or sake. Her guest was a gentleman from Japan. Each time Martha wanted to pour the sake into the cup, the man would insist, politely, that he pour it for her.
I found this very intriquing and wondered if this is a widely practiced custom in Japan or was the man simply being a gentelman?
Thanks in advance for the replies.
The custom in Japan is that you pour a drink for the other person. Man pours for woman, woman pours for man, man pours for man, woman pours for woman. You never pour your own drink.
I see. Thank you. Although I’m no Martha fan, I collect tokkuris and chokos. The funny thing is I’m not the world’s biggest fan of sake.
When I have my sake party, though, I just wanted to make sure I follow the correct custom(s).
Old time customs were that women pour the sake for men as a sign of humbleness (not practiced everywher except by the most singent) but now or days it dosen’t matter much,espically in a casual enviroment. But nope,no one ever pours their own drink.
P.S Have a good sake party! What kinds are you going to use? If You have guest that cannot handle the “hard” stuff,I reccomend “Umeshu” or plum sake.It’s not as high ni alcahol content (Some even refer to it as “juice”) and it’s sweet tasting. It can also be used as medicine to settle your stomach…which gave me plenty good excuse to drink lots of it L
Remember that if you’ve had enough to drink, you should keep your glass full. Most people will still urge you to drink a little so they can top you up as a sign of courtesy, but if you empty your glass, you are really asking to have it filled up again, and you will end up rolling on the floor in no time!
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At Japanese wedding receptions, there are buckets under the bride and groom’s table so that people can come up and pour the new couple drinks, but the couple don’t have to actually DRINK the stuff. They just throw the booze in the buckets when they’ve had enough.
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Incidentally, the custom Terminus Est mentioned applies to all beverages, not just sake.