The Hourglass

Before I first arrived in Japan nearly 20 years ago, I had been told by many that the Japanese people are so polite. Well, I must say that in my experience, they certainly have lived up to the stereotype. Naturally, I've met a few rude ones over the years, and I've met some who thought they were being funny, but from my own cultural perspective were being downright rude. However, those disappointing encounters have been few and far between and essentially all of the people I have interacted with over the years have been exceedingly polite.

There has in fact been one particular form of politeness that has been so systematic and almost formulaic across so many people and so many places that it is quite striking. This is the custom where Japanese people say Thank You twice. I don't mean that they say Thank you, thank you! as an expression of gratitude. Rather, they are sure to say thank you in each of two independent and successive encounters.

Read the rest of this entry »