The Number of Plates Shows a Suspicion of a Love Affair

The basics of a Japanese meal consists of a bowl of soup, three side dishes and rice.

The soup is usually made of soybeans with vegetables and it's the most delicious when it's piping hot. 

The main dish usually consists of fish or meat. The three side dishes are usually root or leaf vegetables, soy bean products, seaweed or eggs. Please bear in mind this is the absolutely minimum. The person will add more on as they please. It's all about the variety of food for Japanese people. 

The more plates on the table, the happier they are..

When you're expecting a visitor,　the number of plates express a service from the heart.  The whole of the table is covered with many kinds of meals and this shows that you are much welcomed.

However, this isn't just a happy occasion. Sometimes the way a meal is set up can lead to a domestic dispute with a suspicion of a love affair! Yes, you heard right...

When the husband comes home after hard working day, he'll usually come home to at least 3 small dishes, a beer or sake prepared by his wife and a few other dishes and the main course.

However, if husband finds only one plate sitting on the table with sake, then he knows something is up. He starts to panic. He knows his wife is mad about something, so he starts to search his memory for everything he may have done wrong recently.  The wife would never tell him,  she just shows her feeling by the number of plates lined up. Basically, one plate means "I saw that lipstick stain on your shirt, buddy...."