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Review focus: Generally speaking, it is not advisable for Americans or other foreigners to try to behave in the traditional Japanese manner - which the Japanese themselves are trying to give up.
Asian Business Code Words Index NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company Asia Pacific Management Forum
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Among the most practical and versatile of the traditional artifacts of Japan is a square piece of cloth that generally comes in two sizes: approximately two feet by two feet, and four feet by four feet. The smaller size is called an oburoshiki (oh-buu-roe-she-kee). Furoshiki are said to have originated as accessories for use in public bath-houses, which most Japanese used until the coming of affluence and homes that included baths and showers, from about 1960 on. Furo means "bath," and shiki means "threshold" or "something to stand on." After undressing, bathers placed their clothing on a furoshiki, folded the four corners u and then tied them together, making a neat bundle. After bathing it was customary to stand on the furoshiki to keep from dripping on the floor while drying off and dressing. As time went by, furoshiki gradually came to be used as all-purpose carrying cloths because they were instantly adaptable to objects of any shape, could be folded up and carried in a pocket or purse when not in use, would last for decades, and were inexpensive. Large objects and several items bundled together required larger carrying cloths, giving birth to oburoshiki. When loads were too bulky or heavy fro the oburoshiki to be carried by hand, they were slung on the individual's back, like a back-pack, with two of the corners wrapped around the shoulders and tied across the chest. The most common use of oburoshiki was by traveling salesmen, who would bundle their goods into them and trek throughout the urban and rural areas of the country, going from house to house. These traveling salesmen were familiar and famous part of Japanese life for many centuries. Younger, stronger peddlers were proud of their ability to carry huge oburoshiki, and they made a great show of their strength and the number and variety of items they could carry and spread out for the customers to inspect and buy. Eventually, it became common to refer to people who talked big and bragged a lot as spreading oburoshiki. Another historical practice that turned into a colorful figure of speech was the custom of Buddhist priests who lived in remote mountains to use conch horns, hora (hoe-rah), to communicate with each other. Blowing on a horn, hora wo fuku (hoe-rah oh fuu-kuu), came to mean "talking big." Both oburoshiki and hora wo fuku are still frequently heard today, and not surprisingly, they are often used in reference to foreigners, particularly Americans, who tend to talk big and blow their own horns. But the negative overtones of oburoshiki and hora wo fuku are gradually diminishing, as the Japanese themselves become more outspoken and aggressive - an evolutionary cultural movement that is, in fact, being promoted by a growing number of people in highly visible positions who see the traditional low-key, indirect, and behind-the-scenes behavior of the Japanese as a serious handicap in their international affairs. Generally speaking, it is not advisable for Americans or other foreigners to try to behave in the traditional Japanese manner - which the Japanese themselves are trying to give up. Japanese behavior requires extraordinary skill that comes only with growing up as a Japanese, and therefore is difficult for the foreigner to emulate. Foreigners should tailor their behavior toward Japanese by being a bit more formal in introductions, in exchanging name cards, arranging seating, conducting meetings, and so on. And they should restrain any impulse to be extra loud, or to brag, or to be repetitive or over-bearing. But they should be frank, clear, direct and decisive-and diplomatically request that their Japanese counterparts take the same approach.
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Boye Lafayette de Mente is one of our regular monthly columnists at the 
| This month's column is excerpted from Japan's Business Code Words, by Boye Lafayette De Mente available from NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company |
© Boye Lafayette De Mente & the Asia Pacific Management Forum 2000
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