Whether it's at a shop where the salesperson has escorted the buyer to the door and then thanked them and both bowed, or when work colleagues seem to have met on the street they also bowed. No matter where you are, you see this behavior of bowing always in Japan.
Of course, I knew this form of politeness before I arrived here, but it was difficult for me to do it to someone else. Especially because bowing is not just once, but sometimes it is several times, and I didn't know how often you should bow to someone. In order not to do anything wrong, I read some articles on this and it confused me even more. Since according to the reports there are several ways of bowing even the posture when bowing is important or if you are standing or sitting. There are many rules and different names for it. So, I decided to keep observing it and when someone bowed to me, I tried to observe it and then imitate it at the same way.
According to some reports, bowing is deeply rooted in their history. It has been part of Japanese culture and other Asian countries for decades. You bow to show that you are ranked below someone in some situations, or you do it as a form of politeness. Since the ranks between people are very important here, one should observe such behavior very well and behave accordingly.
Here in Japan, for the first time, I worked very hard on my body language and start to observe people's behavior and posture a lot. This is very important as a foreigner in Japan, because otherwise you will into the “Fettnäpfchen treten”, as you would say it in German. So, after a few weeks I didn't notice it myself and "learned" the habit of bowing. I see it as a good way of showing gratitude. It is a better way than just saying "thank you".
So that’s how, the unfamiliar bowing became a familial habit for me.
by Stefany Michel Alessandra Velasquez Sarria -