Among the Asian countries that use chopsticks, the Japanese will scrupulously use only chopsticks when eating their Japanese food. For the Japanese, who have traditionally given appreciation to the gods of the sea and mountains for bestowing on them their edible bounties, simple chopsticks are what carry daily meals to the mouth and they remain an important connection between humans and the gods. Japanese chopsticks are therefore painstakingly made to produce a simple but eternally beautiful utensil that can live up to that role.