When in Japan there are a multitude of customary behaviors to adhere to. This is important because not following certain traditional ways, even as foreigners can be disrespectful. These traditional Japanese manners, customs, and courtesies play a vital role in their society. Properly greeting someone is taken seriously and, although foreigners are not expected to fully know these formalities, should be taken as such. When greeting someone, whether it is for the first time that day or not, it is customary to greet them with a bow. Bows range from a slight tilt of the head, if being informal or to friends or acquaintances, to bending at the waist, for a more formal approach. The length of the bow should be no longer than about a second, however when greeting a superior the length should …show more content…
When also greeting someone, it is important to avoid direct eye contact. Direct eye contact can be taken as disrespectful, and instead should focus on the neck. One final thing to keep in mind when greeting someone is the proper use of titles. When referring to someone the suffix "-san", meaning Mr., Mrs., or Miss, should be adding to that person's last name. "Using first names is considered presumptuous, too familiar and rude" (Hays, 2013). There are different suffixes to use for different people, "-san" is used typically for friends and neighbors. A proper greeting is one of many ways to show good manners. The Japanese have an extensive variety of manners from what not to do in public to simply just showing common courtesies. There are many things to not do in public, for instance, it is considered rude to blow your nose in public. If you are sick and have to sniffle that is alright,
In our lifetimes, we meet many people. And, hopefully, with each of them we follow a certain protocol when we first meet them. When one is greeted sweetly, or even sourly, the receiver is expected to graciously accept it and return the favor politely. In other countries, children are taught to show their respect towards elders at all times. Young ones in the Philippines are conditioned to grab an elder’s hand and bring it up to their forehead in a bowing motion, this practice is known as “blessing”. However, no one has ever given a more in depth answer for the reason of these practices other than, “Because you should.”
The Cambodian culture is very collectivistic and a lot of those values are still upheld by the younger generations of Cambodian Americans. In Cambodian culture, family comes first. Terry Nhim, her in-laws Mon Neang and Roeun Muth and her brother in-law Vanna Neang all greatly emphasized the importance of family and looking out for one another. “Our family is large, not being just my parents and sibling but rather my extended family as well. We try to be close to one another and of course, there are some families we’re not as close to as others. Towards my own family, we hug each other after greeting one another. With someone who isn’t family or just not close to me, I just leave it as the formal greeting. With that being said, if we touch, as a family it is fine, it shows love, but to someone ot...
Throughout History, there have been many different groups or events that are still widely known today. Groups of people such as the Indians or Vikings are popular groups which are referenced constantly in today’s society. However, none of these groups is more known or referenced than the Japanese Samurai. Originating in 646 AD, these Japanese warriors developed from a loose organization of farmers to the dominant social class in Feudal Japan. Along with their dominant military and political standing, the samurai brought with them a unique code or moral belief that became the core of Samurai culture. Because of this, the Samurai and their principles still affect modern day Japanese society with social customs today deriving directly and indirectly from the beliefs of the Samurai.
Because of his cultural and racial background, this gentleman was not hesitant to engage in a conversation. He happily shook my hand and it took him a while to step back because I was gradually standing closer and
... in body and mind, to governing of the Emperors, to the study of the martial arts. Their code of honor and loyalty are traditions that all Japanese respect and try to live up to even today. The self sacrifice of ones own life for a common cause was even seen in World War II when Japanese pilots deliberately crashed their planes into United States ships anchored at Pearl Harbor. This was a devastating attack and can show the horror caused by revenge and their belief in sacrifice and honor. They were even called kamikaze pilots after the famous samurai battle of long ago. The influence of the samurai continues to be seen in Japan today in a positive way with the stories and legends of heroic samurai and the bushido as their guide.
Japan is part of our world that not many people know, for the few that do, they know that Japan is filled with an extraordinary history. Some of the history starts with little traditions like, the tradition of kimono’s, to big ones such as their well known Japanese festivals. Ancient Japan was a series of islands and many cultural expansions which included religion, armies, art, classic traditions, and their type of clothing. Ancient Japanese is still alive today, from basic works of art, to then a following of certain religions such as Shinto and Buddhism. Many Americans don’t the cultural aspects that were attributed by many across the world, they don’t know that many of those aspects made what Japan is today in society.
...e as you want to be treated is a good way to make friends and do business." (Blanco 270)
In the Grenadian culture, everyone is greeted the same way however, in the Nigerian culture their greetings are very symbolic. Because in the Nigerian culture, one’s age and social status demands respect. Whenever you meet an elderly man or woman, you must greet them in a particular way; you extend your hands to them and bow your heads. Also, you must take time to ask about their health and well-being. Because, rushing a greeting is considered as being rude. Unlike the Grenadian culture, there is no set way in which we should greet anyone, furthermore, greeting people is a matter of choice. One can choose to greet or not to greet anyone, either way it can be considered as being
The establishment of the caste system during their feudal development insured unity and lack of diversity would be a theme through the rest of their history. During the Nara period the Japanese society was separated into classes which were based on the position of each family. Whether the position was of a court official, samurai, or peasant farmer, each class carefully blended together. The appearance of unity was paramount. Individual rights were non-existent. It became common place to respect and even worship the ancestral heritage. Wisdom was thought to be a combination of knowledge and a practical application of that knowledge. Therefor, the older family members were thought to have to most wisdom from the lives they spent applying their knowledge. They were revered and respected by the younger generations in the family. Another way in which the traditional family structure in Japan supports the conformity of its’ member is through the Bushido influence. This "way of warrior" has permanently established in the Japanese culture during to Tokogawa Era. The warrior code dictated that loyalty, respect, and honor were the most important personal ideals one could have. These ideals filtered out of the samurai class and eventually rooted deeply into the national character of Japan. Conformity is required through this ideal because an individual mentality would not consider loyalty to be as important as society viewed it. In addition, by behaving out of the norm, shame would be brought to a family. The individualistic mentality runs contradictory to the traditional fam...
These were solid points that the Europeans could relate to in Japan. The royalty of Japan and their warrior class were held in high regard, much like the nobility and royalty in Europe, thus the punishment for offending one was similarly high. The Daimyos of Japan were held in high regards and even the Europeans who came were not exempt from their laws. The punishment were the same for the explorers as they were for the other people of Japan, this can be seen with how a European was punished for insulting one. “Capt. lafevre was beaten and drubed per the rascall labourers of Hirado, because he landed at Kinges steares.”
Many of us, if not everyone, has heard of the country of Japan through various means. Possibly through popular films such as Godzilla or the renowned horror films which the country produces. Perhaps through the various anime TV shows that have been dubbed in English creating a massive fan base here in the United States, or the massive franchise Nintendo that has filled our child memories with countless hours spent in front of a screen playing Mario or Pokémon. One way or another the Japanese have shared their culture with a huge audience but thats only scratching the surface of the Japanese culture. The country of Japan wasn’t always the islands that we see there today, the formation of the islands occurred during 50,000 BC and ended in 10,000 BC following the end of the last ice age. This is when we find the first signs of civilization in Japan but they are nowhere near the modern day Japanese culture today. The early beginnings of today’s Japanese culture dates back to the year 538 AC with multiple time periods slowly building up to today. The Japanese culture of today shares a few aspects with our American culture we are familiar with, both cultures love baseball, we both have representative democracies as a form of government, and both cultures do not label outsiders differently and accept them just as equally. Even though we may share aspects of our culture with the Japanese our cultures couldn’t be anymore different from each other.
Japan is a harmonious society with low rates of litigation, crime, and divorce. Their citizens learn to be attentive to others, to value group goals more than immediate personal gain, and to broadly include everyone in group activities and decisions.
Culture shock occurs because most Japanese cannot easily escape from the formula "politeness= indirectness." Compared to the American way of speaking, Japanese speak much more indirectly. Directness is considered a form of impoliteness in Japan. Therefore, when we want to be polite, we speak and act very indirectly. For example, we seldom say, "I'll go to a bathroom," except when we are with close friends. Usually, we say, "I'll go wash my hands." Especially when we are at the table or with an important person, we say only, "Excuse me. I'll be back in a minute" because we do not want to remind other people of the bathroom, which is considered a dirty place, even though it is actually clean. Also, other Japanese can infer that we are going to a bathroom from this phrase. But Americans cannot. They ask where we are going since they have no idea what we are going to do: make a phone call? buy something? Yet, in this case, these questions make Japanese frustrated, wondering why these Americans do not understand our polite expression.
“You never get a second chance to make a good first impression” (Forbes, 2014), a quote often attributed to Will Rogers, is a clever summary of the importance of making a good first impression. Most of the time we forget the power of making a good first impression and the role it plays in our daily lives. The impression we get the first time we meet a new coworker or acquaintance immediately influences how we treat them. “Just three seconds are sufficient to make a conclusion about fresh acquaintances” (Flora, 2004). Not much can be spoken in three seconds, so our nonverbal cues during a first meeting are exceedingly important.
The need to be punctual is based on the status of the person whom you’re meeting with. People with a higher status have more leeway when it comes to being late. Their greeting and introductions are formal. Handshakes are common with men, but the most common greeting is still a bow. Younger or lower status people bow until it is returned with a bow or handshake. “Loyalty to the government is emphasized. Extended family, close colleagues at work, and friends are stressed as less important than service to the state” (Operational Cultural Awareness Training – North Korea, 2008).