This time, I painted pain, bamboo, and plum on a matcha bowl. It has the same design as two pairs of teacups I've already posted here. In the previous post, I've written about the combination of pain, bamboo, and plum is a symbol for celebration in Japan.

Today, I'd like to share one more interesting story.

There are words describing ranks such as, standard, business, and premium or silver, gold, and platinum. In Japanese, pain, bamboo, and plum are used for describing ranks as well. When you go to a fancy Japanese restaurant, you might see the words on the menu. In that case, pain (松) is the highest rank, the next is the bamboo (竹), and plum (梅) is the lowest. The ranks are used for ryokan (traditional Japanese inns) as well. I hope this tip is useful when you order something at one of these places.

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