11 Japanese Etiquette Rules Westerners Won’t Understand

japanese etiquette that westerners won't understand from an outsider looking in at a country's etiquette rules and manner it can be easy to get culture shock that's especially true when like japan the country is famous for its complexity of its social rules Japanese culture prizes harmony and social order and that focus is reflected in its social customs according to Japan guide calm there are certain things you should know about Japanese etiquette if you are planning on traveling there and will tell you about some of them in this video before we begin this video about etiquette rules in Japan make sure you subscribe to our channel so you can always be notified about our latest new videos that way you'll never miss one of our awesome videos and you can stay up to date with everything from your number-one bestie now keep watching to find out the Japanese etiquette that most Westerners just don't understand number eleven serious business offering business cards Mishi is a serious ritual in Japan and the market for business cards in the country is over four hundred and twenty billion everyone carries business cards and most business people order cards three times a year it's a serious faux pas to get caught at a business meeting without one number ten basic rules when in a business situation there are a few simple rules for exchanging business cards people offer and receive cards with both hands ensuring that the card is turned towards the receiver and carefully read the card after taking it the person with the lower social status is supposed to present their card first and at a lower level do you know the difference between honorifics and suffixes that the japanese add two names to convey social standing well stick around to the very end and find out what they are number nine gifts gift-giving is serious business in Japan the trick is to put as much effort as possible into the gift while not appearing to put any effort in there are two gift-giving seasons in Japan see bow in the winter and Shogun in the summer in these seasons gifts are given out to the people the giver as close to especially superiors gifts are impeccably decorated to a degree that will put a North American mall wrapping kiosk to shame number 8 gifting no nose a bouquet of white flowers wouldn't be an appropriate gift in Japan as they're often associated with funerals and death a little like giving kala lilies as a present in the West people giving out wedding presents generally avoid anything breakable like ceramics or a mirror or anything used to cut like scissors or a knife because of the bad symbolism for the upcoming marriage and gifts for someone moving into a new home or starting a new store shouldn't include anything to do with fire like lighters or ashtrays keep watching as we continue to countdown Japanese etiquette and manners that most Westerners just won't understand number 7 gifting rituals of course even if someone gives out a really inappropriate gift it will probably be received graciously because gift receiving is just a serious business in Japan as gift-giving there's a real ritual to it the person receiving the gift should feign surprise the more the better and the person giving the gift should emphasize that it's cheap small and that the gift er is embarrassed by it size' or kneeling with legs together and the tops of your feet flat on the ground is a formal way to sit on the floor in less formal situations men tend to sit Agora with crossed legs and women tend to sit yokas wari with legs folded back to the side increasingly women may sit Agora but it's not seen as especially ladylike number six sitting pretty if you're not used to sitting size' it gets uncomfortable very quickly as more people in Japan are unaccustomed to sitting size' for a long time there is now a discrete size of stool that folds away to fit in a handbag low enough to be visually unimposing it helps keep some of the person's weight off the feet alleviating some of the discomfort associated with size' number five money matters in Japan most businesses discourage you from handing the money directly to the cashier instead providing you with a tray you can put your money on for them to take ending money to a cashier when they have one of those trays in front of them would be the Japanese equivalent of slapping your money down on the counter and yelling gimme change number four eat your heart out a lot of Japanese eating customs are just normal politeness things that even Westerners should understand but the rules surrounding chopsticks can be opaque for Westerners you shouldn't stab food with your chopsticks use them to gesture or use them as a knife you also shouldn't rub your chopsticks together as that is often done with cheap chopsticks to remove the splinters number three hard pass while chopstick rules are pretty relaxed passing food to friends between chopsticks is a serious nono that's because in the Buddhist funeral tradition the cremated bones of a person are passed between family members with chopsticks before being deposited in the urn for very obvious reasons this is considered bad luck when done at the dinner table number two stuck-up Japan also has different dining etiquette rules that you should know about in a similar vein it's a serious faux pas to leave your chopsticks sticking upright in the bowl the reason is chopsticks are often placed vertically in a bowl of rice to honor the dead at their funeral or in front of a photograph of them in a home altar it's also said to resemble a stick of incense sticking up in an offering bowl so get your dining etiquette game in check if you want to plan on visiting Japan number one take a bow or Westerners bowing is probably the most visible form of Japanese etiquette rules or manners in Japan people bow to say hello or goodbye to thank or apologize or congratulate or to ask for favors and depending on the context of the bow and the relative social status of the people involved there are multiple different vows that can be given bowing basics a proper Japanese bow starts from one of two positions size' the formal seated position or sarod Zhu a formal standing position a proper Sara Tzu involves standing with legs close together hands on thighs and a fist width of space between the elbows and the rest of the body whatever kind of bow you're using the slope of your neck and back should be straight a curry I bough this one is only used in very informal situations and it's not even exactly a bow per se instead the Bauer nods the head at the person bowing more with their eyes than their bodies obviously this is pretty much restricted to close friends and equal status family members as shocked ooh 15-degree greeting bow this relatively casual bow is used with acquaintances of equal rank while it shouldn't appear rushed this modest bow doesn't need to be lingered over and only needs to last a few seconds syn ray 30 degree polite bow syn ray is semi-formal the bowing equivalent of a business casual designation on an invitation and it can only be entered into from a sitting position the Bauer bends forward 30 degrees sliding their palms toward their knees at the same speed and looks down at the floor khari 45-degree respect bow this is the bow for being confronted by a superior or someone who is more socially powerful than you are not only does the Bauer bend forward for the length of a total breath in and out they also place their hands in a triangle on the floor if the bow starts from a seated position all right you've made it to the end here are the different phrases and suffixes Japanese people add to their names when speaking to certain people honorifics our phrases meant to clarify a person social standing like dr. mr. or miss Japanese honorifics a set of suffixes added to names to convey relative social standing and be confusing to outsiders but most common honorifics are actually pretty easy to explain even to people who don't know anything about the system to start San is the most common honorific and has the same connotation as mister or missus school children and coworkers typically refer to each other with San sama on the other hand is more formal and is generally used for social superiors or a person whom the speaker admires it's also used for oneself if you want to be a smart aleck meaning something like my honourable self kun is typically used for people talking to someone of lower rank than them or a man the speaker is emotionally attached to Chan is a suffix used for someone the speaker thinks is cute like a child or a pet tan is an even more cute version of Chan and can be used with equals if you're close to them but they shouldn't be used for superiors senpai earlier colleague is used for peers in higher grades at school and anyone with more experience at work school or club the equivalent of senior this is used for classmates in higher grades kohai later colleague is the opposite but it's not generally used as a suffix as the speaker risk sounding condescending from dining etiquette to manners there are all sorts of Japanese etiquette rules that most Westerners probably don't understand did you know any of these have you ever been to Japan let us know about some other types of etiquette manners and traditions from other cultures that most people aren't aware of by commenting below enjoyed this video hit the like button and share with your friends also subscribe to our channel for more videos like this thanks for watching you

Channel: Bestie

Views: 307,304

Rating: 4.2633781 out of 5

Keywords: Bestie, Bestie Videos, Trending, japanese culture, japaneese culture, japanese traditions, japanese food, Japanese Etiquette That Westerners Won’t Understand, japan, japanese, japan travel, rules in japan, japan trip, japan travel guide, tokyo, interesting facts, interesting japanese culture, Japanese etiquette, japanese customs

Id: 3-vzs8UYK9Y

Length: 13min 7sec (787 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 19 2018