The Japanese character for "to eat" 食 has two readings. The first that students of Japanese learn is "taberu" (食べる), which carries connotations that most people associated with eating: sitting at a table with family and friends to consume a meal. The other reading "kuu" (食う) treats the act as a bodily function with no graces. This distinction separated farm women from town women.
From: "Life in the Sewing School (お裁縫所の暮らし)," told by Oshima Mitsu, born 1906
