None of this is mandatory, the sign says so. They’re social norms, not legal rules. It’s just saying “this is how this food is consumed in its original country, and breaking these norms may result in inadvertently offending someone or embarrassing yourself”, which might be something you’d like to know if you plan to travel to that country, or simply to try experiencing it in the traditional way - after all, most social norms have a hidden logical reason. Many of these exist simply to avoid making a mess.
You’re free to eat however you want, however some cultures do place a lot of significance on food and how it is consumed. People in Italy will lose some respect for you if you try to order a Hawaii pizza, put ketchup on pasta, or use a knife improperly. The same goes for Japan and many other places. You’ll still be served and probably treated with superficial kindness, it just depends on how much weight you put on your experience vs that of others.
I have read the sign, yes, but you have to agree that a sign saying these are big taboos and that it is seen as an offense to Japanese culture and to the chef if I broke them makes it seem like I will be blacklisted and kicked out.
What I didn’t know was where exactly the restaurant is, the people in Italy can after all think whatever they want when the Italian chef is in Sri Lanka and happy to acclimate to local customs.
So anyways, the restaurant is probably “Sushi Kisen” in California, it seems to be a high class one. Given that I am probably expected to identify a salad fork in an equivalent french restaurant, and I don’t sit in front of the chef in that one. They probably in a position to make these demands of their customers.
None of this is mandatory, the sign says so. They’re social norms, not legal rules. It’s just saying “this is how this food is consumed in its original country, and breaking these norms may result in inadvertently offending someone or embarrassing yourself”, which might be something you’d like to know if you plan to travel to that country, or simply to try experiencing it in the traditional way - after all, most social norms have a hidden logical reason. Many of these exist simply to avoid making a mess.
You’re free to eat however you want, however some cultures do place a lot of significance on food and how it is consumed. People in Italy will lose some respect for you if you try to order a Hawaii pizza, put ketchup on pasta, or use a knife improperly. The same goes for Japan and many other places. You’ll still be served and probably treated with superficial kindness, it just depends on how much weight you put on your experience vs that of others.
I have read the sign, yes, but you have to agree that a sign saying these are big taboos and that it is seen as an offense to Japanese culture and to the chef if I broke them makes it seem like I will be blacklisted and kicked out.
What I didn’t know was where exactly the restaurant is, the people in Italy can after all think whatever they want when the Italian chef is in Sri Lanka and happy to acclimate to local customs.
So anyways, the restaurant is probably “Sushi Kisen” in California, it seems to be a high class one. Given that I am probably expected to identify a salad fork in an equivalent french restaurant, and I don’t sit in front of the chef in that one. They probably in a position to make these demands of their customers.