Social Codes
Hierarchy, honorifics, and the inside-outside lines that shape Japanese relationships.
4 NOTES
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Nemawashi: The Meeting That Happens Before the Meeting
You’ve been invited to a Japanese company’s strategy meeting. Twelve people in a room. The agenda is clear: a decision needs to be made about a new initiative. The meeting begins. Someone presents. People nod. A…
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Omiyage: The Gift You Bring Back Is Half a System
A coworker comes back from a two-day weekend trip to Kanazawa and walks into the office on Monday with a flat cardboard box. Inside: twenty-four individually wrapped sweets in the shape of small autumn leaves. He…
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Kuuki wo Yomu: Japan’s Invisible Communication Protocol
You’re three drinks into an izakaya dinner with Japanese coworkers. Someone asks the most senior person at the table whether they want another round. There’s a pause. The senior says sou da ne — “yeah, I…
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Japanese Honorifics: The Social Distance Map You Didn’t Know You Needed
The first thing English speakers reach for when they meet Japanese honorifics is the period table of titles: -san is Mr., -sama is more polite Mr., -chan is for kids. It is a tidy translation, and…