O Zen
O-Zen ( Japanese お 膳 or 御膳 ) or just Zen (the “O” is a Japanese honorific prefix ) is a frame that is equipped with the cutlery and food necessary for a single person's meal. Since they are easy to move, they can also be used as boards. O-Zen spread in Japan during the Edo period as well as on the Korean peninsula .
O-Zen in Japan
There are various customs depending on social position or custom, e.g. B. the men sit a little low cross- legged and the women a little high in Seiza . Before modern times, the essentials for consumption on tatami or on the floor could often be seen in the distance, but with the spread of communal consumption in the presence of several people on tables, opportunities for separate meals became rarer. A kaisekizen ( 会 席 膳 , O-Zen for festive meals) in the form of a flat tray is also used on a table .
O Zen in Korea
There are O-Zen that differ by region or purpose, e.g. B. in Naju , Tongyeong (South Korea) or Kaishū .
use
- As a base for food, tea, sake (food and drink, as a tray in motion)
- For notebooks (note taking)
Also as a tray for flowers.