What are some Japanese taboo's?

Question:

Just want to know.

Answer:

Wearing shoes inside the house is a definite no-no. Most of the time you'll wear house slippers inside the house. There are different slippers you wear while in the toilet - and forgetting to switch between house and the toilet slippers is a common boo-boo new visitors make.

Not knowing how to take a bath is another problem many people face. In Japan, you clean yourself off completely outside of the bathtub. Only when you are completely clean do you enter the tub for a soak. Because the entire family shares the same tub of water, and usually as the guest you are allowed to bathe first, it is very important you understand this procedure. Getting soap, or dirt, in the tub is a very big no-no.

Not knowing how to bow is another mistake a lot of people make. Men keep their arms at their sides while women cross their hands in front of their legs. In either case, you bend at the waist, keeping your back straight. You're supposed to keep your head down as well, but you'll see business people 'cheat' by keeping their head up, so they can judge how far they should bow. Traditionally, you bow deeper to those who are your superiors. However dealing with non-Japanese makes things difficult...you are the honored guest, but they are the honored host... In most cases, just making the attempt will be good enough, but watch out - some will try to shake your hand, assuming that as a foreigner you won't know about bowing at all. I once bowed to someone who tried to shake my hand. It was pretty funny actually even if my host didn't think so...at first anyways.

In conversation, three topics you never discuss are: WW2 (obviously!), Korea - especially Koreans living in Japan, or the Burakumin, which was the lowest caste of people back when Japan still had a caste system. Even though the caste system was abolished several hundred years ago, even today there is subtle discrimination against those who are suspected to be descendants of people who were Burakumin.

When eating, do not jam your chopsticks into rice. Instead if you need to put them down, put the chopsticks down flat on your plate or across your bowl. Jamming them into your rice is a sign of death in Japanese culture...however most people just consider it to be rude.

Be aware of titles. Japanese society is very vertical - meaning they are very aware of who is above them, below them, and at their same level. These relationships constantly change based on context, and using the wrong form of address at the wrong time can be taken as an insult. In fact, Japanese has no real swear words - simply addressing someone in the wrong way is far more shocking and insulting than any English expletive. This is perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of the Japanese language for non-Japanese people to learn.

This is why it is so important to have a proper business card. Without it, the other person does not know how to address you because he doesn't know how you fit into his relationships. When offering a business card, hold it by the corners with both hands. Accept a card offered to you in the same way. Be sure you review the card before carefully storing it. Never be without business cards. (well, unless you're a student...)

If you have a Japanese boyfriend/girlfriend, public displays of affection - even holding hands - is a no-no.