What are the etiquette taboos in Japan - Japanese etiquette taboos

What are the etiquette taboos in Japan - Japan’s eight etiquette taboos

Many people who want to study in Japan or travel to Japan are most concerned about what is important in Japan. Taboo, in case it makes a joke after going to Japan. Next, I will tell you about eight Japanese etiquette taboos, let’s learn about them together!

Social taboos

Japanese people do not receive guests in the office, but in conference rooms and reception rooms. , they will not easily lead people into confidential office departments. Japanese people do not have the habit of toasting cigarettes to each other. When visiting a Japanese family, make an appointment in advance. You must take off your shoes when entering a Japanese home.

When visiting Japan, it is rude to peek into the host’s kitchen. It is not customary in Japan to invite colleagues to your home to socialize with the whole family. Japanese people never bring their work home, and wives also regard it as a virtue not to participate in their husband's career.

Japanese smokers prefer to smoke by themselves and rarely offer you a cigarette, because Japanese people believe that cigarettes are harmful to the body. When Japanese people have a cold or cough, they wear white masks when going out.

Clothing taboos

Japanese people always dress with their clothes turned to the right, and when a person dies and is buried, they should cover their clothes with their clothes turned to the left. Because in the underworld, which is completely opposite to the real world, the clothes of the deceased must also be the opposite to those in the human world. Therefore, Japanese people will not buy clothes with left-facing hems, even if they are international brands.

When getting married, if a Japanese bride wears a traditional kimono, she should avoid wearing a haori (outer coat) because women were prohibited from wearing a haori in the Edo period. After that, only geisha from Fukagawa were allowed to wear it. Therefore, today’s brides You will never wear a haori at a wedding. Violating taboos can cause bad luck or lower one's status.

Language taboos

The Japanese have many language taboos, such as "bitter" and "death". Even some words with homophones are also taboo, such as the numeral 4 The pronunciation is the same as death, and the pronunciation of 42 is the verb form of death, so hospitals and hotels generally do not have beds and rooms with numbers 4 and 42.

It is also taboo for users to use 42 for their phone number, and prisons generally do not have cell number 4. 13 is also a taboo number. Many hotels do not have floors 13 and rooms 13, and Haneda Airport does not have apron 13.

On festive occasions such as weddings, avoid using words that are unlucky and ominous, such as going, returning, returning, leaving, breaking, thin, cold, shallow, extinguishing, repeating, again, breaking, and cutting off. When opening a store or completing a new store, avoid using words related to fireworks, bankruptcy, collapse, tilt, loss, decline and fire.

In conversations, avoid talking about people's physical defects. Do not use words such as big, short, fat, bald, pockmarked, blind, deaf, mute, etc. Instead, call disabled people people with physical disabilities, and call blind people people with no eyesight. Those who are free call deaf people those whose ears are not free, etc.

Business Taboos

When negotiating, the Japanese circle their thumb and index finger into an O shape. If you nod in agreement, the Japanese will think that you will give him a sum of cash. In Japan, scratching one's scalp is a sign of anger and dissatisfaction.

Color and flower taboos

Most Japanese people believe in Shinto and Buddhism. They do not like purple, thinking that purple is a sad tone; they are most taboo about green, thinking that green is an ominous color. The Japanese are taboo about lotus and think it is a funeral flower.

Do not use camellias and light yellow or white flowers when visiting patients. Japanese people are not willing to accept things or gifts with chrysanthemums or chrysanthemum patterns, because it is a symbol of the royal family. Japanese favorite patterns are pine, bamboo, plum, duck, turtle, etc.

Gift-giving taboos

Japanese people often adopt this approach when giving gifts: that is, they give gifts that are of no use to the owner, because the recipient can transfer them to others. It can also be transferred to a third party.

The Japanese are very disgusted with things decorated with fox and badger patterns, because the cunning fox is a symbol of greed. When visiting a Japanese home, the chrysanthemum you bring can only have fifteen petals, because only the royal cap badge has sixteen petals.

Dietary taboos

It is taboo to hold chopsticks in the mouth or tongue when eating. It is taboo to talk with food in your mouth or stand up while chewing something in your mouth. Otherwise, you will be considered to be lacking in education. There are many taboos in Japanese diets in different regions or families in Japan.

For example, some people do not eat mixed food during the first month; some villages or tribes do not eat chicken or eggs. However, making noise while eating or drinking soup is not a taboo but welcome to the Japanese. Because this behavior is often considered to be the diners' praise for the meal or a sign that the meal is delicious.

Banquet taboos

Banquets are not popular in Japan, and business people do not have the habit of bringing their wives to banquets. Banquets in the business world are cocktail parties held in large hotels. When dining at a banquet, it is taboo to speak loudly with people who are far away. It is taboo to make gestures or say sad or critical words when speaking.

It is taboo to discuss politics, religion and other issues at banquets related to weddings and weddings. At a larger banquet, when you have to leave midway for some reason, it is taboo to make any noise, otherwise the host will be unhappy and others will be disappointed. ;