What cutlery to use for Japanese dishes?

Hi :)

I'm really into japanese culture and food and often cook japanese dishes for myself. Now my sister has married to a japanese men (living in Germany) and wants to visit me as soon as possible, so I decided to cook something japanese for them.

Now I am struggling with which cutlery I should provide for which kind of japanese dish...

Normally chopsticks are used, but what about dishes like zenzai or anmitsu?

Is there a general rule on which cutlery is used for which kind of japanese dish?

This might be a stupid question, but I would really apreciate it if someone could help me :)

Hello, I don't think there is a general rule, except that knives/forks are very rarely used. If you cook a tonkatsu, make sure you cut it in smaller pieces before serving it :)

Japanese curry is eaten with a spoon, same for chawan-mushi, but for miso soup it is chopsticks.

For wagashi, in tea shops, they have some small wooden forks, or something that looks like a toothpick (no idea how that's called, sorry!). For anmitsu/ice cream/kakigori/purin : spoon.
Western sweets are usually served with a small spoon or fork.
But sweets are more often eaten as a snack, in the afternoon. Dessert is generally a fruit, or nothing at all.

Generally, all Japanese food can be eaten with chopsticks alone, because you are supposed to hold the bowl with your other hand as you bring the food to your mouth. In other words, you can drink liquid directly from the bowl/plate.

But anmitsu is a relatively modern Japanese food (at least post-ice-cream era), and a lot of people would serve it with a small spoon, preferably made of wood or bamboo. Also, Chinese ceramic spoons (we call it "ren-ge") are typically used for pot stews (nabe-ryouri). Here are some Google image of examples.

https://www.google.com/search?q=%E3%81%82%E3%82%93%E3%81%BF%E3%81%A4&t...

https://www.google.com/search?q=%E3%81%9C%E3%82%93%E3%81%96%E3%81%84&t...

https://www.google.com/search?q=%E9%8D%8B%E6%96%99%E7%90%86%E3%80%80%E...