XaviersXian
Posts: 525
Joined: 9/8/2007 From: Australia Status: offline
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greetings to all, This is just the president obeying Japanese custom. One always bows to someone who is of superior station. If I went to Japan, I would bow to everyone I meet, regardless of age, or station, purely because having been born and raised within the culture, those people are more knowledgeable than I am in things Japanese, and are my "elders and betters". The depth of the bow (in the president's case, deeply) denotes how senior the other person is in relation to yourself. For some people, a slight incline of the head and shoulders is sufficient, but for others (like in this case) one bows both head and shoulders to end up beneath the shoulder line and gaze of the other person. The emperor is the "highest man in the land" and so bows to no one, because in his homeland, there is no one above him in rank. If he were to go to the US, he would give the president a deep bow, because in the US, the president is above him in station. Just .02 from a woman who has extensively studied Japanese etiquette and culture. well wishes,
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