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Manners :: eating

In fact, leaving the last bit of any dish is a must-must and a direct demonstration of the 'enryo' in the Japanese society.
If A,B and C are eating and A eats the last bit of the dish, then B and C may think "oh heres one rude guy. he didn't even to bother to think whether we may want to have the dish".......On the other hand A may not eat the last bit thinking "the others may want to have it, i shouldn't be rude enough to finish it" and in the end , noone has it. In fact, the Japanese elders of today complain about the lack of 'enryo' among the Japanese youth nowadays!

In fact, one of the proverbs in Japanese I can't bring myself to agree with is "shitashiki nakanimo reigi ari"(Theres formality even among intimate friends)
C'mon.......gimme a break......

I have a question though. Considering that the Japanese have so touchy customs, is it ok to sleep in a meeting?

Many a time, when someone makes important presentation or in meetings, the 'buchou' snores right in front of the presenter and believe me, it is really really irritating. Is it not basic etiquette to listen/pretend to listen to the speaker however insignificant/unimportant the matter/speaker may be?!
Is this behaviour quite common or was what i saw many times just exceptions?
 
Placing your chopsticks so that they stand up in your rice bowl is like placing incense into rice while your praying to your dead ancestors.
This is a pretty sick image and many people might just turn green from the sight not out of envy but trying to prevent from going sick.

If Japanese didn't use the same utensils for both eating and funeral rituals, there would be less rules and fuss about politeness and manners. Why don't they use other specific recipient and sticks than the one used in daily life for food ? Is that so difficult to change their shapes and names ?

Slurping noodles if soba/ramen is ok. While spahgetti is not.

I was told that it was only ok (and necessary) for ramen, not soba (certainly not yakisoba).

slurpping ... I tried but end up making a mess. Besides I have "neko shita -- cat's tongue" meaning I can't stand hot things. I burn my tongue very easily which makes eating in Japan a bit of a problem since soup/drink temperatures are higher than in America/Europe.

I have a good trick for this, as I am also "nekojita" : take some ramen in your chopsticks, keep them a few seconds in the air and blow on it to cool it down. It seems perfectly acceptable and work wonders. 😋:

@last morsel
ahh, is this reasoning behind the Japanese custom or is it from other cultures. I was brought to eat everything in site since children are starving in Africa. Definitely, good insight ! Thanks. Tom!
There is nothing particularily Japanese behind this.
My grandmother used to tell me to finish my plate or I would get it cold for breakfast the next morning. She also had for argument that people are starving in Africa. Her logic was that we had to eat while there was food. It's not because I risk an indigestion by eating too much that it will help the people starving. If the mentality between people in the same country and the same family can be that different (ie me and my grandmother), cultural misunderstanding are inevitable.

In Thailand, it's rude to finish the plates/dishes. It means that the host has not been able to satisfied you and consequently that he is too poor to provide enough food. That brings same and loss of face (very important in SE Asia).

That makes me ak, quoting TomAsInfinity :

You should never take the last piece because by finishing it all, it is saying that the host did not order enough food for everyone. Never take the last piece of anything to be polite

Tom, are you Thai ?
 
@sleeping in meetings
hmmm ... not just in business but also in politics and various other meetings.

The Management class are most of the time just figure heads and their underlings are the ones who normally know more and do most of the work. The Buchos and such just make sure things run smooth. Not all companies of course, but quite a few.

Meetings themselves are terribly boring and if you had to sit through one you'd find it hard to stay awake too. The presentators normally just present something which most of the group already knows or is normally not big news. I evade most of the meetings at my high school since nothing really happens besides reading of news it seems.

Just another thing to get used about Japan ;)
 
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