Before everyone gets here, one of the first manners people usually explain is the “don’t point with your index finger!” rule. But the thing is…I see Japanese people point with their fingers not too infrequently. I think they don’t point at PEOPLE that way, but pointing at objects or general directions seem to be fine.
Other rules such as chopstick etiquette and how money is handled are 100% true. But the index finger pointing one…I see it in my daily life often enough that I have to question it a little bit. I think gesturing with an open hand is the more polite thing to do for sure, but it doesn’t seem ridiculously strict. Do you find this rule to be as true as people claim?
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Use the open palm upside down, now they are more lenient thought, just use your hand. That’s it. Younger Japanese staff do it, because they haven’t been taught not to. This is a holdover from older times, you will notice the older employees will scold you for using a finger, where the young ones just use a finger lol.
I have never heard of pointing at objects or a direction as being rude. Only pointing at people is rude.
If you think Japanese as polite people, I have to say clearly you don’t understand what is going on in that country. Japanese are only nice to strangers. It is a superficial side of them. You are lucky if you can’t tell their language well. “Don’t do that because it is against ethics” they might say to you in person. But behind your back, it is ashamed of saying, Japanese do those kind of things and don’t seem care for others at all. I’m not saying all of them are so. I’m saying Japanese are playing completely different game from yours.
Pointing at people is an aggressive way of speaking, so it’s bad to do so. Pointing at things – whatever. I am not going to open palm point or disney point anything, because I am not in the service industry anymore.
Funnily enough, I’ve always thought the standing chopsticks in rice bit was overdone as who would think to do that anyway, but last weekend in a Gusto I saw it for the very first time in 20+ years, and the culprit was an old Japanese lady who’d one would have thought would know better.
Not heard – Don’t point with your finger. But then upon reflection, I don’t think I’ve seen them do it. Certainly see shop staff point and lead a customer with an open palm.
As an aside, I’ve often seen Japanese point at things like menu items with their middle finger.
If it’s that rude then how come when a kid points at me and shouts “look a foreigner!” their parent doesn’t tell them, “hey don’t do that, it’s not polite.”?
Here I was thinking it was just rude to see a foreigner on the street and shout out their ethnicity, now I find out the pointing part is rude as well?
I apparantly point at a lot of things with my feet when at a store/ supermarket. Apparently its even worse lol.
It’s called 人差し指 for a reason… I guess.
Put both your hands together in the ‘bow’ pose and use it to point, it’s less aggressive.