Why Do Japanese Bow?

Why Do Japanese Bow?

Japan as a country is ranked as one of the top southeast-Asian countries in the whole world. It has a rich economy as well as a rich culture. Most of us regard Japanese adhering to high quality standards and values respect.

Quick facts about Japanese practices and culture are; if you’re Japanese, you know how to play sumo wrestling or how it is played. With food, you eat boiled rice most in meals, use soy sauce as a condiment and use the chopsticks. As for health and politics, Japanese count on excellent medical treatment and a multi-parliamentary system is a natural form of government. In custom, the emperor’s name is not mentioned or you don’t know it since the reigning emperor is addressed as His Majesty the Emperor. And the most common evidently seen in Japanese is when they meet people, they greet through bowing to them.

Japanese do bow when they greet people as their sign of respect and regard. As a Japanese child reach past school age, he or she must know that there are various types of bowing or showing respect. There is the small nod, the full length 90 degrees bend to the waist and groveling to the floor.

A small nod is used in informal or casual manner. The Japanese understands that for foreigners, they don’t know how to bow as nodding of the head is common and somehow acceptable. The 90 degrees bend to the waist is the usual bow when one acknowledges someone to be of higher position or social status and this indicates respect. Bowing is also a common way of saying thank you, when one apologizes or request something. But if the greeting takes place in a tatami floor, the Japanese would get down on their knees to bow and show respect. These are the reasons why Japanese bow and what are the different forms of bowing.