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East meets West

In Japan, there are many customs and traditions that seem odd to us, as ours do to them, but we both have the same level of "doing things properly" (what is it about small, overcrowded islands?). However, there are some faux pas that are easy to make which can have some very embarrassing consequences.

In Italy, and increasingly in England, when having a drink together, many people will say "chin chin". Never do this in Japan or with a Japanese person! In Japanese, "chin chin" is a reference to something rather rude. This is probably not the correct response in any culture, on receiving a drink.

Anther way you may be confused and give the wrong impression to a Japanese person is by the way you say "I". In Japanese, there are various ways of saying "I", depending on age, gender and some other factors. For example, the most common way is "watashi" which is used by women generally, and older and more senior men. Another is "atashi", used only informally by women, contrasted by "ore" which is used very informally by men, and carries an air of arrogance, like being "gangsta" in England. The most common way for men however, is "boku", a general, neutral term, but this should never be used by women.

On a non-language note, a few gestures that seem natural to us are completely different in Japan: when you wish to express negativity, don't use the thumbs down gesture; this roughly means "go to hell". If you want to disagree, cross open hands in front of you. Similarly, I was reading a website recently that was written by an English woman teaching in Japan. She demonstrates that gesturing towards your torso to say "me" is not the same: when trying to do this, her pupils thought she meant "T-shirt". The correct way to do this is to point at your nose: I was told by my Japanese teacher that this is to do with the way nose (or hana) and I (or watashi) are written in Chinese symbols. Do not point at another person, though: this is the height of rudeness.

So you see, there are many easy mistakes that can be made, similar to the "false friends" of Spanish; good translation and cross-cultural knowledge can help to avoid embarrassing situations.


Article written by Joe Hardie, a work experience student from Southend High School for Boys, July 2009


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