Lindera umbellata; spicebush
A species of spicebush native to Japan. The wood is aromatic and traditionally used for toothpicks and tea ceremony chopsticks.
The branches of the spicebush give off a pleasant fragrance.
Specifically a toothpick made from the aromatic wood of the クロモジ tree. Common in traditional settings.
At high-end Japanese restaurants, toothpicks made of spicebush wood are sometimes provided.
natural wooden chopsticks (tea ceremony)
Used in the context of tea ceremony, referring to chopsticks made from the natural wood of the クロモジ tree, often for handling sweets.
In the tea ceremony, you take sweets with spicebush-wood chopsticks.
black characters; black text
Literal reading of the kanji. Used to describe text or characters printed in black, as opposed to red or other colors.
Please print this document in black text.
General word for chopsticks; 黒文字 refers specifically to the aromatic wooden chopsticks used in tea ceremony.
Standard kanji spelling for all senses.
Katakana spelling, often used for the plant name in botanical contexts.
The kanji 黒文字 literally mean 'black characters', which is one sense. The plant name クロモジ likely derives from the appearance of the bark or the dark markings on the wood, but the exact origin is uncertain.