Manners for Sake Party | How to hold "sake" cup and the drinking way

Good Manner

There is an attractively polite way to hold a sake cup while appearing relaxed.
To hold a sake cup with a wide bottom stem, fit the middle and ring-fingers of your right hand around the bottom stem, and then simply hold the cup lightly between your thumb and index finger.
*: For women, it's more elegant to touch the left-hand fingers to the bottom of the cup and drink with both hands on the cup.

"IKKINOMI"

When drinking sake, pick up the cup, bring it toward you, pause slightly then moving the cup up parallel to your chest, bring it to your mouth and drink.
IKKINOMI ••• Emptying the cup in one gulp is both bad manners and bad for your health.

<< Let's savor the taste of the sake on your tongue while drinking. >>

After accepting a cup of sake, you must drink from it at least once before you put the cup on the table.

Bad Manner

It's impolite to set the cup down without first drinking from it.
Through the cup is small, never drink the entire cup at once, leave about half the amount of sake in the cup before setting down.
An empty cup quickly refilled, so be careful not to drink too much.
It is best to empty your cup before receiving another cup of sake.

To pour sake from your cup into another cup, or to throw it away is bad manner.

You can accept replenishment, but remember to say "SHITSUREI-SHIMASU" or "excuse me".

"OKITSUGI"

Make sure to hold the cup when you are served sake; the same goes for when serving sake to other people.
OKITSUGI ••• To pour sake into a cup set on the table, or to accept sake with your cup set on the table is bad manner.

Good Manner

Whenever you empty your cup, someone will refill it, so if you do not wish to drink any more, leave almost all the sake in your cup before setting it back on the table.
If someone tried to serve you another cup of sake, you can politely decline the offer.
Setting a cup upside-down is a bletant way to show your refusal.

How to hold