Bowing in Japan

Common card · No. 353494

Bowing in Japan (お辞儀, Ojigi) is the act of lowering one's head or the upper part of the torso, commonly used as a sign of salutation, reverence, apology or gratitude in social or religious situations. Historically, ojigi was closely affiliated with the samurai. The rise of the warrior class in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) led to the formations of many well-disciplined manuals on warrior etiquette, which contained instructions on proper ways to bow for the samurai. The Japanese word お辞儀 (ojigi) was derived from the homophone お時宜, which originally meant "the opportune timing to do something". It did not start to denote specifically the act of bowing in the contemporary sense until late Edo period (1603–1868), when samurai bowing etiquette had spread to the common populace. Nowadays, the ojigi customs based on the doctrines of the Ogasawara School of warrior etiquette—which was founded some 800 years ago— are the most prevalent in society. In modern-day Japan, bowing is a fundamental part...

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