Japanese culture of bowing

June 8, 2020 – Study Abroad Guide.

Japan, a country always resiliently standing up after unnecessary natural disasters, the economic development here also makes neighboring countries and the whole world surprised, at present, Japan’s economy is only ranked behind the US and China in many metrics, without any valuable resources and always suffers from the world’s biggest tsunamis, but with the spirit of self-reliance and resilience without fear of difficulties has created. so a strong Japan until now. Join VXT to learn more about the interference between modernity and traditional features of a long-standing culture, which is the culture of bowing, a beauty that makes the world learn about respect and humility. .

The Japanese people highly appreciate their own honor and national self-esteem, which are the outstanding qualities of the Japanese people, the communication of long-standing cultural quintessence. And all are reflected in the Japanese culture of bowing.

In Japanese culture, the greeting is called ‘’ojigi”. Bowing to each other in the most basic way of respect, or to say hello, thank you, apologize and when needed help, Japanese people bow their heads. Also in many other Asian countries, there is a clear hierarchy of family, company or age. If the lower the head, the more respectful the other person shows.

There are a total of five ways of bowing in Japanese culture, with each bow depending on age, position, or circumstances.

Here are the five bow steps of the Japanese:

► The first way to bow is to give a slight nod when meeting friends of the same age, junior co-workers, or people of a younger age.

► The second way is called “eshaku”, which is a 15 degree bow, which is used to greet people who have known for a short time but are not too close.

► The third method is called “keirei”, which is a formal way of greeting someone who is older than you or to your boss or boss.

► The fourth way of greeting is a 45 degree bow, almost parallel to the ground, called a “saikeirei”, which expresses gratitude to someone.

Finally, the way of greeting is called “dogeza”, when greeting, the greeting person will have to kneel on the ground, his head bowed low. Dogeza is used when a person greeting someone of a very high status or when the person has made a very serious mistake and wants to apologize. In some cases the Japanese also bow in a dogeza style when they want to ask for a favor from the opposite person.

Under the Lords era, improper bowing to Lords or sumarai could immediately receive death there. Up to the present time, the punishment has been eliminated for the sake of humanity, but bowing still retains a hint of the basic Japanese culture. When crossing the street, for example, pedestrians, including children, bow their heads to drivers to thank them for giving way to them.

This Japanese bowing ceremony subtly incorporated ancient virtues such as respect, respect, gratitude and modernity of the world’s most developed society, and transformed it. into an art form characterized by the land of the rising sun.

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