Japanese culture and its living customs

Japan attaches great importance to politeness, so we must pay attention to this when dealing with Japanese friends. A slight faux pas may make the other person unhappy. Gong Ju ceremony is the most common Japanese etiquette. In most cases, only a shallow bow is needed, and a deep bow is needed for the elderly or people with higher status. When visiting a Japanese friend's house, you must take the initiative to take off your shoes, even slippers. Japanese people make a loud noise when eating noodles, which shows that they are very satisfied with the food they eat.

As for gifts, China's calligraphy and painting, Four Treasures of the Study and so on. Very popular, but it needs to be carefully packaged and even numbers should be avoided. Japanese usually use odd numbers such as 1, 3, 5, 7, etc.

Numbers "4" and "9" are taboo in Japan, because "4" is the same as "death" and "9" is the same as "suffering" in Japanese pronunciation. In addition, the Japanese taboo green, hate lotus.

tea ceremony

Japanese tea ceremony is world-famous. It is a tea culture ceremony with a long history in Japan, and it is also the etiquette for Japanese to receive distinguished guests. Japanese tea ceremony originated in China, the hometown of tea. When tea was first introduced to Japan, it was very expensive. Drinking tea has become a fashionable and ostentatious behavior in the upper class. Later, after the transformation of several tea ceremony masters, Zen Buddhism was introduced into the tea ceremony, which gradually improved and eventually evolved into a etiquette of the aristocratic class.

The steps of tea ceremony are complex, unique and solemn. Tea ceremony must be held in a formal place, and tea tasting is generally held in a special teahouse. There are many nicknames in the teahouse. In addition to the guest seats, there are also a full set of tea stoves, tea sets and the usual decorations such as flower arrangement. After the guests are seated, special tea makers light the fire, boil water, order tea, make tea, make tea and serve tea, with detailed steps. Guests must take tea in both hands, drink it slowly, turn the tea bowl three times and put it back. Tea tasting is divided into "single drink" and "round drink". Single drinking means that one person drinks a bowl of tea, while round drinking means that guests take turns to taste the same bowl of tea. After praising the exquisite tea set, the guests bowed and left, and the host sent it rationally. In short, the tea ceremony is over.

Tea ceremony also pays attention to "four rules" and "seven rules", mainly focusing on the spirit, attitude, etiquette of both the host and the guest and the requirements for the environment of the teahouse.

With the planting of Japanese tea trees, tea leaves entered the homes of ordinary people, and tea ceremony was popularized. Now the population of tea ceremony in Japan has reached tens of millions. As a representative of Japanese culture, the core of tea ceremony is to sharpen people's hearts with complex and solemn etiquette. Skillful and strict etiquette makes people detached from things, and the bitter taste of tea makes people meditate on life, thus reaching the realm of enlightenment.

Japanese life etiquette and taboos;

Etiquette and manners

Japanese people often smile all over their faces, but not only when they are happy, but also when they are embarrassed and angry, so as to hide their true feelings. When a woman sits on the floor, she always sits with her legs curled up. Different gestures have different meanings: the thumb and forefinger form a circle, and the other three fingers extend upward to indicate money; Hold out your little finger to indicate a woman, etc.

Drinking etiquette

Japanese people have been eating rice as their staple food since ancient times and like to eat fish. Generally do not eat fat meat and pig offal, and some people do not eat mutton and duck. No matter at home or in a restaurant, the seats are graded and generally can be arranged by the host. In Japan, there is a national custom-tea ceremony, which is full of Zen meaning and is used to cultivate interest. Although many modern Japanese youth are no longer interested in it, it is still regarded as a traditional art by society.

Meeting etiquette

Japanese names generally consist of four words. The first two words are surnames, and the last two words are your own names. Generally speaking, Japanese people don't like to introduce themselves. As an introducer, you usually need to tell the relationship between the introduced person and yourself, as well as his title and the name of his unit.

Wedding and funeral etiquette

In Japan, people still attach importance to the birth of new life. The traditional Japanese wedding ceremony is: three days before the wedding, the bride's family moves all the bride's things to the new house; On the wedding day, the barber will dress up the bride. There are many kinds of weddings in Japan now, some in shrines and some in Christian churches.

business etiquette

For business activities in Japan, you should choose February-June and September-165438+ 10. At other times, locals take more vacations or are busy with festivals. Japanese people attach great importance to the role of business cards in business activities. They think business cards show a person's social status, so they always carry them with them. Japanese businessmen pay more attention to establishing long-term cooperative partnership. They pay great attention to maintaining each other's face in business negotiations and hope that the other party will do the same. When giving gifts, local people attach great importance to class or rank, so don't give too expensive gifts, lest they mistakenly think that your status is higher than theirs.

Fashion etiquette

Japanese people attach great importance to their clothes, whether on formal or informal occasions. On formal occasions, men and most young women wear suits. Men usually wear ties when they wear suits. Kimono is a traditional Japanese costume, which is characterized by sewing a piece of cloth. Nowadays, except for some special professionals, men rarely wear kimonos in public. Japanese women like to stroke their eyebrows, and generally like to draw thin eyebrows that are slightly curved. They think this is the most modern femininity.

Main taboo

Japanese people don't like purple and think it is a sad tone; The most taboo is green, which is considered unlucky. They avoid using numbers like 9 and 4; They also taboo three people taking pictures together, thinking that the middle person is sandwiched between the left and right people, which is an unlucky omen. The Japanese hate gold and silver cats and think that people who see such cats will be unlucky; They don't like foxes either.

Travel etiquette

In Japan, many streets have no names. If you get lost, you can ask the police for help. Buses in urban areas extend in all directions. It's expensive to take a taxi. Tips are not very popular in Japan. If you are not sure, don't tip. Tips should be put in envelopes or wrapped in paper towels. The Japanese feel embarrassed to accept cash.