Japan: gestures to avoid and cultural codes

Japan — 84 documented situations where a gesture, a word or a silence does not read the way it does elsewhere. 31 to avoid first, academic sources and dated incidents.

What to avoid first

• Passing food from chopstick to chopstickOffense

  Read as : In Japan, this gesture precisely imitates the passing of cremation bones from one person to another during the Buddhist funeral ritual. Major rudeness and rupture of commensality.

• The index finger pointInsult

  Read as : In Southeast Asia, the Arab world and Africa: accusation, condescension, treating the interlocutor like an animal or an inferior. In a professional context, may signal anger or personal indictment.

• Read a business card (meishi) before putting it awayInsult
• The whistle to call the waiterInsult

  Read as : In France, Belgium, the Netherlands and East Asia, whistling to call a waiter is considered grossly insulting, dehumanizing and akin to calling an animal. It causes an immediate break in service and can degenerate into verbal conflict.

• The pouting kiss-callInsult

  Read as : In the Anglo-American, Nordic and urban Asian world, kiss-calling is universally interpreted as sexual street harassment, catcalling, and a major transgression. It provokes immediate anger, police reaction or verbal conflict.

• Vertically planted chopsticks (Japan, China)Insult

  Read as : A casual gesture or lack of respect for chopsticks. In the West, confused with dropping or misplacing them. Confusion between the materiality of the object and its ritual symbolic dimension.

• Pointing at someone or a dish with your chopsticksInsult

  Read as : Using your chopsticks as an index finger — toward a fellow diner, a dish, a direction — comes across as offhand, even aggressive (sashi-bashi in Japan).

• Pouring your own drink (South Korea, Japan)Insult

  Read as : A Westerner who pours their own soju or their own glass of alcohol sees in it only a practical gesture of self-sufficiency; in Korea, it signals that they are refusing the social fabric of the meal and shaming their table neighbour -- who ought to have poured for them.

• Offering a knife (slicing friendship)Insult

  Read as : In many Asian and Mediterranean cultures, the gift of a knife unintentionally symbolizes a desire to "slice" a relationship, heralding a break-up or conflict.

• White wrapping (funerary taboo - Japan, China)Insult

  Read as : In China and Japan, it evokes mourning and funerals - a bad omen for an ordinary gift.

• White (mourning - China, Japan)Insult

  Read as : In China, Japan and South Korea, white = mourning, death, funerals. White funeral garments, white flowers (chrysanthemums) and white envelopes are reserved for the mortuary context.

• Receiving a business card with both hands (meishi)Insult

  Read as : Handing over or taking the card with one hand, absent-mindedly: in the West the gesture goes unnoticed; in Japan it signals offhandedness and ignorance of protocol.

• Writing on the business card you receiveInsult

  Read as : Annotating, scribbling, writing personal notes on the card you receive.

• Put the card in the back pocket of your pantsInsult

  Read as : Stuff the card in the back pocket of your pants - then sit on it.

• Using the first name immediately (Asia)Insult

  Read as : Calling someone by their first name from the first meeting onwards (American model of equality).

• The Handshake — Grip Strength and DurationMisunderstanding

  Read as : A firm grip read as aggression in East Asia; a soft grip read as lacking confidence or respect in Western contexts.

• The open-palm waveMisunderstanding

  Read as : In East and Southeast Asia, an open palm waved toward another person is read as a beckoning gesture ('come here'). The Western sender saying goodbye is understood as asking the recipient to approach -- a complete semantic inversion on the same gestural form.

• Talking with Hands in PocketsMisunderstanding

  Read as : Insolence, contempt, refusal to engage, secretiveness, or arrogance in East Asia, Turkey, and formal hierarchical contexts.

• The eyelid pull gesture (watch out / my eye)Misunderstanding

  Read as : In Japan (Akanbe): perceived as a childish taunt or minor insult. In Northern European or Anglophone contexts: gesture incomprehensible or confused with eye irritation. Frequent confusion between the vigilance meaning (LatAm/Med) and the disbelief meaning (France).

• Whistling with your fingersMisunderstanding

  Read as : In China, Japan, South Korea and other East Asian cultures, perceived as a call meant for dogs or children; extremely offensive.

Normal here, misread elsewhere

• The V with inverted palmMisread in : Australia, Ireland, New zealand, South africa, UK
• The OK ring (thumb-index circle)Misread in : Brazil, France argot, Germany, Greece, Iran
• Thumbs upMisread in : Afghanistan classic, Greece classic, Iran classic, Iraq classic, Italy south classic
• Thumbs downMisread in : Belgium, Canada, France, Ireland, Luxembourg
• The middle fingerMisread in : Australia, Belgium, Canada, China continental, France
• The Thai Three-Finger Salute (Hunger Games)Misread in : Thailand
• Finger GunsMisread in : Australia, Canada, UK, USA
• Close your eyes and listen (USA vs. non-Western cultures)Misread in : Australia, Canada, France, Germany, UK
• Dog Meat (South Korea — an Evolving Taboo)Misread in : Belgium, Canada, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands
• Eating whale (Japan, Norway, Iceland)Misread in : Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany
• The number 13 (triskaidekaphobia - West)Misread in : Australia, Canada, Ireland, New zealand, UK
• Black (mourning - West)Misread in : Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands

By situation

Documented incidents