J
apan’slustforconformitymightbestbesummarised
bytheproverb,“Derukuiwautareru,or“Thenail
thatsticksupgetshammereddown” – a responseto
behaviourthatgoesagainstthegrain.
Althoughmostforeigners’fauxpaswillbeignoredpolitelyto
avoidcausingembarrassment,thesentimentis worthbearingin
mindif you’dprefernottoriskinsultingyourhost.Withoutrules
andorder,meticulously systematicJapanwouldfallintochaos,
inevitablyleadingtotheerosionofitscultureandtheunparalleled
respectforseniorityandexperiencewhichsustainit.Butno
pressure.Whenin doubt,simplyobserveyoursurroundings.
If, for example, locals are noticeably quiet thenfollow their cue.CROWD
PLEASER
Japanesesocietyisgovernedbya strictsetof
unspokenrules.JANELAWSONexplainsthebasics
of Japanese etiquette and how to avoid offence.