What are the modern “rules” for bowing in Japan. Who does it, when and how? Are there various bows, or just one all purpose one? Is a nod of the head ever ok?
Who does it? Everyone. I mean it. Even my ATM bows to me.
When? All the time. I mean it, people bow when talking on the phone, or when driving.
A nod of the head, called eshaku in Japanese, is enough for most informal occasions. Or when driving. It’s purpose is to aknowledge the other person. Speaking from experience, it’s a completely instinctive reaction. I do it even when I’m outside of Japan.
In more formal situations, bowing is slightly more codified. In some large companies recruits are even trained in proper bowing with specific angles for the rank of the other person. The higher up, the lower you bow.
How to bow in formal occasions:
Stand straight, feet close together, look forward, hands unclenched, by the side.
Bow with a straight back; the head can be slightly tipping forward.
Hold it in this position for around 2 seconds, then revert to original position.
I’m interested in the kowtow, where you go down on your knees, let your hands touch the ground and then bow repeatedly. From what I gather, it’s self-sacrificing, since begging for forgiveness is a selfish act?
Kowtow, which is a Cantonese word, was essentially a Chinese tradition. At least, in the imperial days. It was an act of extreme deference towards the higher nobility. When people were granted an audience with the Qing emperor, they would perform something called san guei jiou kou tou, where you get down on your knees, touch the ground three times with your forehead and repeat these actions three times. The character for “kowtow” or “koutou,” in Mandarin, mean “hit head” and refer to the act of touching the ground with your forehead.
The Japanese “ask for forgiveness” action is a bit different from a “kowtow.” You get down on your knees and put your hands on the ground, on each side and slightly forward. That kind of gesture is certainly archaic and you’re not expected to use it unless you really, really screw up. Say you kill someone’s son or something. It can also be used when begging for something. The only place you’re likely to see this, though, is on tv or in mangas, for extra dramatic effect.
Japanese Buddhist monks also perform a variation on the Chinese kowtow, where the palms are raised upwards.
In the Japanese Tea Ceremony, Cha no Yu, most of which is done from a formal seated (kneeling) position, seiza, you place your palms flat on the floor in front of you, thumbs toward you, elbows out, and bow your head toward your hands (only once) when served or when serving. The aim is an atmosphere of humility and tranquility.
On news reports of the impeachment vote in the South Korean parliament yesterday, they showed video of ruling party officials kowtowing afterwards in apology for allowing the vote to happen! They’d tried to stop it by throwing shoes and smashing ballot boxes.
How much casual bowing is there? E.g., between male teenage friends?
If you count head nods, then quite a lot. Like I said, it’s totally instinctual. With your general body language you can make it to mean “hey yo.” In Japanese that comes out as “oss.” Formal bow? Not unless the occasion is, well, formal.
Though it’s a bit more common to see teenage male friends waving to each other and saying “Bye-bye!”. No, it’s not considered effeminate.
How to Bow, an amazing collection of films about the strict code of bowing and, er, exchanging business cards.
Wow, what a coincidence. That animation was shown in an exhibition organised by people I know very well. That was, like, a week ago.
[QUOTE=jovan]
A nod of the head, called eshaku in Japanese, is enough for most informal occasions. Or when driving. It’s purpose is to aknowledge the other person. Speaking from experience, it’s a completely instinctive reaction. I do it even when I’m outside of Japan.
[QUOTE]
I once watched some Japanese game shows on fast forward. (Don’t ask.) It was strking to see how almost literally continuous this behaviour was. You don’t really notice it in real life but people do this so much that, in fast forward anyway, they resemble pigeons.
I’m not sure quite how to ask this, and I’m sure the economists on these boards will provide learned responses dealing with such things as, uh, economics. But that’s not quite what I mean.
Here’s what I mean:
The Japanese yen is worth something like $0.0132.
The British pound, OTOH, is worth something like $1.69.
The Euro, last I heard, was worth around $1.18.
The American dollar is worth, uh, $1.
So is the pound the single most valuable unit of currency (in terms of its value on the foreign exchange market)? Do you guys have any idea what I’m trying to ask?
And BTW, another thread mentioned that the 500 Euro note is the single most valuable bank note in the world today. What’s the most valuable coin (let’s exclude ceremonial coins such as the $20 gold double eagle, or whatever it’s called)? I nominate the Japanese 500 yen piece, worth around $5, give or take.
That post was meant to go in a new thread. I’m e-mailing a moderator now. Sorry.
(Hopefully this will get moved with your post.)
You should comparing the yen to the penny or the pence, not the dollar. There is no decimal currency in Japan, unlike most other Western countries.
Oh…
BOWING.
I’ll SPARE you what I thought the OP asked. 
You too, huh, ltfire? 
Now I can’t help wondering what a Japanese bowling alley looks like.
False. One yen is divided in 100 sen.
And once upon a time, half a pence was a hapennie, and I don’t know much more than that about English currency. No one uses the sen anymore, at least not in everyday life.
Just so that I don’t seem like I’m spouting out my ass, I also found this link:
I hate to sound like the meister nitpicker, but… Not true. I hear the word “sen” everyday. Or rather, everyday from Monday to Friday, when exchange rates and stock indexes are given on the news. To be fair, though, that’s pretty much the only use left for the sen.