Why no soy poured on white rice / other food?

I know it is not polite to pour soy sauce on white rice.
I will not do that.

However, I want to know why it is not done. Is it not a good taste (to Japanese)? Is it a waste of soy sauce? Is it offensive to the chef / cook?

I enjoy knowing why people do the things they do and eat the things they eat.

So, with respect, why is soy sauce not poured on white rice? Is there any food it is okay to pour soy sauce on?

Thanks.

I'm not Japanese though I eat a lot of Japanese food and have plenty of Japanese friends. Generally Japanese rice has plenty of flavour by itself. There are however other things that Japanese will sprinkle on to rice to add flavour. They might also add a raw egg and drop of soy. And while we had a Japanese homestay, she was keen to add soya sauce to different food, so my guess is that it is just a matter of taste

My 2cents.

I think pouring soy sauce over rice is what children do, and they are taught not to do it from a young age. If an adult was seen doing it, it might look like they have been raised up bad parents or a childish thing to do.

Soy sauce isn't poured over rice because the salty flavour will over power the rice, making it inedible.

As a side note, this is also why when you eat sushi, you put the sauce on the fish, not the rice. The rice can also break up if dunked into soy sauce.

It is ok to pour soy source on rice but the rice becomes too salty unless you have raw egg, natto, etc.
Traditionally, the white rice is thought to be the symbol of Japan. Not many could afford in the past and it was a luxury to be able to eat. So contaminating with the black colored soy source was not done. You see often in a bento box in the midlle of pure white rice has a red pickled plum to look like the Japanese flag.
Pure white rice is not a healthy food anyway atripped of any nutrients.

Food guest,

Is it not a good taste (to Japanese)? Is it a waste of soy sauce? Is it offensive to the chef / cook?

No, it is a waste of rice. As mentioned, the Japanese generally consider their rice as having great flavor, and it is the chef's duty to cook it properly so that it would have the proper al dente. The Japanese are even proud of their rice (which is one of the main problems when dealing with the importing of foreign rice). Therefore, it will not only be offensive to the chef, but it will be offensive to the farmers or can be offensive to the gods who have blessed us with this crop.

The other thing, though, is that it's considered "binbou-kusai," in other words culturally and economically poor-looking.

Pouring soy sauce on white rice was/is in fact commonly done among the locals when there isn't much else to eat or if one is in too much of a hurry, or, in fact, when you have nothing but old rice with poor quality.

But if you have the time and money, you would eat something a bit more nutritious and cultural. I mean, furikake that you sprinkle on top is a lot more fulfilling in content then soy sauce and will not ruin the al dente of the cooked rice. That's the idea.

Btw, tamago-kake-gohan (raw egg on rice dish) is also considered to be a bit of a crude way to eat. That's not something you do as a guest unless the chef insists. But it's so yummy that nowadays there are even special soy sauce to go with this type of combination!

My partner told his parents I like just a dash of soy sauce on my rice (even when I begged him not to tell) But they just said ''it's fine! Each person has their own taste!'' I have also seen it done in some very rural places.

I never do it if I have okazu (side dishes) but if I need a quick breakfast, Ill grab some rice from the cooker and just a dash of soy then eat it down and run.

I also like natto on my rice or tamago-kake-gohan.

I like a splash of vinegar and a sprinkle of salt on mine, much to my kids' dismay. But in Japan I put in kombu (sp?) or the plum.

It's mostly traditional thing. Like everyone said... they are taught not to do it.

I'm Vietnamese, and we don't do it often either. We usually dip food (meats, tofu, etc) into the soy sauce and eat the rice plain. Too much soy sauce would make eating the rice more difficult as it would break up.

This being said, I did eat rice with just soy sauce as a child... and still do it when I can't figure out what else to eat!